How many lures do you sell a month?
My husband and I want to open a small bait and tackle shop near Lake Erie. About how many of each kind of lure should we plan on having to open our doors, and about how many sell per month (on average)? We've already figured some numbers for live bait, but I'm having a hard time finding information on selling lures.
More Questions From This User See All
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
I live in MN, so our "soft water" season is approx 6-7 months long, (with May-Sep being the best for fishing).
My Bro-Inlaw purchases about $20,000 a season for "soft water" tackle- this includes lures, rods/reels, ETC.
When he first purchased the shop, it wasn't well-known for lures. Slowly, over 2-3 seasons, he's narrowed down exactly what DOES sell and what doesn't sell- and buys accordingly.
When purchasing lures, keep in mind what fish species your average consumer is targeting.
Example:
1. The typical fisherman that walks into my Bro-Inlaws shop is targeting, (in order) Crappie, Bluegill, Walleye, Pike, Bass.
If you plan to purchase Pike and Bass lures you'll need to do some research on what your local fishermen usually use. Plus, you need to "grow your market" when thinking about pushing Bass/Pike lures- meaning: Most serious Bass fishermen don't shop at a Bait & Tackle shop that has only 6 Rapala's and a short end-cap of funky-colored Berkley soft plastic's. Unfortunately, you'll need quite a bit of a selection to entice Bass/Pike fishermen to shop at your store over Walmart, Gander Mt, Cabelas, BPS, ETC.
Currently, (after 3 seasons of growing his Bass fishing market), my Bro-Inlaw sells quite a bit of lures over the season. But, to grow the market took time and money. Joining a B.A.S.S. club and sponsoring some tournaments helps........
Your distributor should have some info on what sells in your area- try "Big Rock Sports" as a distributor.
Hope this helps?
PS- After "experimenting" with different bait tanks THE best tank is the Living Stream product's, (bar none). If you don't want to lose large batches of (expensive) minnows and Suckers you NEED to think about purchasing a Living Stream. They are expensive- but when you start losing hundreds of minnows per day (from heat, algae build-up or poor filtration) the cost averages out!
Good luck!