Hunting and Fishing Supplies

Hunting and fishing are two of the oldest outdoor sports. The number of potential customers online with an interest in these sports is huge. The specialty equipment that is available for these two sports is amazing. There is so much special equipment that it would be almost impossible for any store to carry the full range—especially in a small populated region. The Internet is the serious huntsman’s or fisherman’s dream come true. Any product or piece of equipment is available with the click of a few buttons online.

You will want to have an online storefront to provide pictures of the products you sell as well as textual information about the product. Make sure that the storefront option you choose is very user-friendly.

Make sure you carry a broad enough range of products so that your target customers will consider your site a one-stop shop for all their needs. You may also choose to have a section of your storefront where you can advertise products that you can get if the enthusiast is willing to wait a little longer, granting access to even the rarest items for the part-time enthusiast.

You will make your money primarily by selling hunting and fishing equipment through your Web site. The huge variety of equipment for these two sports will necessitate a huge online catalogue unless you limit yourself initially. It may be a good idea to focus on a niche to start.

SKILLS NEEDED

You will need to have some familiarity with hunting and fishing products and the laws regarding their sale and use. Knowing something about marketing on the Internet would also be a very useful skill.

COST TO START THIS BUSINESS

Costs will range from $10,000 to $250,000. This includes the purchase of a computer, appropriate software, a printer, a scanner, and a digital camera. You will need to purchase your initial inventory. You will also need to have your Web site designed, developed, and hosted. The start-up cost for this business will be higher than most other businesses due to the higher cost of your inventory items.

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NEEDED TO START

This business can be started fairly easily with only one employee. Once the Web site is set up, most of your effort will be concentrated on updating your Web site, advertising your Web site, and shipping your product.

INTERNATIONAL POTENTIAL

The international potential of this business is relatively high. There are hunters and fishermen in most countries, and some of the products and specialty equipment may not be readily available in their local stores. Some items used for hunting are of a quasi-legal nature, especially firearms. In many countries these are controlled items with special import laws. It is important that you find out the import laws for the countries that you think you will be doing business with.

E-BUSINESS MODEL/PAYMENT PROCESSING METHOD

E-business level 3 is most appropriate for this type of business. If you have an offline store as well, you may want to look at level 4.

IMPORTANT BUSINESS ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED

Several legal issues arise from selling hunting and fishing products internationally. Firearms are the most obvious restricted item; however, importing certain knives may be illegal as well.

ONLINE MARKETING TECHNIQUES

Developing a comprehensive affiliate/associate program would not only increase the awareness of your hunting and fishing supplies site, it would also send referral business to your site.
Launching a strategic banner advertising campaign on Web sites frequented by your target market would be a great way to increase traffic to your site. Sites that you could place banner ads on include noncompeting hunting and fishing sites, and other Web sites that would be of interest to your target market.
You could hold a weekly or monthly contest on your site for a free gift. You could ask people if they would like to be notified of the winner via e-mail. This would encourage them to return to your site and re-enter your contest, thus re-exposing them to your products.
Develop as many links as possible from Web sites, directories, metaindexes, and Web rings frequented by your target market.
You could develop a Featured Product page on your site. You could change this product every week. People will continue to return to your site to see what the featured hunting- or fishing-related product is. You could even ask people if they would like to be notified of new featured products via e-mail. This would be a great way to encourage repeat traffic.
Develop a sponsored listings campaign to bid on appropriate keyword phrases with the popular search engines.
Online coupons and discounts can be used as an incentive to have visitors return to your site. You can ask if your visitors would like to be part of your preferred customers program, where they are notified weekly of specials and provided with coupons for online purchases.

ADDITIONAL INCOME

To generate additional income, you could expand your Web site to include equipment for other outdoor adventure sports. Several adventure sports can be categorized with hunting and fishing—including camping, hiking, gliding, and boating. You should be able to add any of these sports without compromising the feel of your Web site too much.