Firearm-friendly eCommerce Platforms

Gun dealers, parts and accessory retailers, manufacturers and wholesalers

When you’re choosing the best firearms eCommerce platform, you need to factor in several firearm-specific needs, such as:

Age verification systems and more robust fraud-preventing measures, for a customer illegally getting a firearm from your site cannot be allowed to happen.
An upsell system that recommends the right ammo or accessories for each firearm is needed. Firearms are highly mechanical and technical products, and specific accessories are needed for each make and model. Because of this, a sophisticated upsell and accessory program is necessary.
Integrating with key marketplaces and distributors. To increase sales, you should sell firearms and firearm accessories on your site and third-party sites like GunBroker and Guns International. Plenty of platforms don’t have ready-made integrations for firearm retailers, so you’ll need a customizable platform.
Integrating with local retailers. Plenty of our customers are or work with local firearm retailers, showcasing locally available firearms. So you want to display that inventory and handle sales.

And, of course, you still have general eCommerce needs, such as:

Figuring out how much the site will cost. First, you need to know how much it costs to maintain the subscription with the eCommerce platform. Then there’s the migration contract, which you want to ensure you fully understand. Otherwise, you might a) lose a lot of valuable data as you migrate your current site into your new eCommerce platform or b) pay significantly more than you expected due to extra fees and hidden costs.
Is it secure and stable? The goal of any eCommerce platform is to serve as an online retail store. This means welcoming visitors and guests without crashing and making them feel secure enough to purchase on your site. If your platform is unstable and crashes often, you’ll hurt not just your organic search performance but also your conversion rate, which will steadily drop as your customers choose to shop with another online firearms retailer.

At SwiftOtter, we’ve helped all industries – including firearms retailers – set up and maintain secure, stable, and profitable eCommerce platforms. We took that 10+ years of experience and created this list of 8 of the best firearm-friendly eCommerce platforms.

Free Comparison Guide
Overview
Over Platforms
Under Platforms
Conclusions

But before we begin...

We have developed an at-a-glance view of the most popular platforms in this space. Thanks to our expertise and extensive research, we have rated these platforms against 63 unique and pertinent criteria.

Overview: the platform pools

We've split our firearm-friendly platforms into two pools for an easier selection process:

Firearms retailers with over $1MM GMV

At this point, you are ready to put down some serious chips. You already have an established eCommerce experience and are prepared to double your odds for success. You are bumping into the limits, and your frustration level is increasing. It’s time to lay your cards on the table and talk shop. We, as your eCommerce partners, ensure you are betting on the right platform the first time.

Firearms retailers with under $1mm GMV

You fit into this category if you wish for your eCommerce experience to be fairly automatic. There is nothing wrong with going all in at this level.

If eCommerce is an auxiliary to local/walk-in traffic, you likely fit into this category. This represents the majority of local gun dealers. You are, by no means, limited to this, but running a successful eCommerce business takes significant effort. The market is crowded, and standing apart is challenging. You would have to dedicate substantial and ongoing resources.

In many cases, this dedication is impossible while maximizing local outreach. Thus, a well-integrated platform allows you to supplement your store’s stock, net some extra sales, and provide a quality brand representation.

How we evaluated each eCommerce platform:

When reviewing platforms, we factored in both general eCommerce concerns and also concerns specific to firearm retailers, including:

Philosophical alignment: In other words, how likely is this platform to pull the rug out from under you? While open-source platforms offer some insulation, the reality is that you are using their software under license.
Total cost of ownership: How much does it cost to sign a migration contract through the five-year mark? Lowering the cost while still getting good features can be a game-changer.
Security and scalability: How secure is this platform? How many visitors can it handle before it crashes? These questions generally only apply to Open-Source platforms where you are responsible for hosting.
Firearm feature alignment: Most platforms we review do not have native (out-of-the-box) firearm features. Most are accommodated through extensions, some of which are free, some of which cost. Some platforms (like Shopify Plus) have strict regulations on what kinds of firearms can be sold.
Marketplace and distributor integrations: Listing products from your distributors and selling products on other websites, like GunBroker, Guns International, and (in some cases) Amazon or eBay, can dramatically increase exposure and, thus, sales.

What’s the difference between open-source and software-as-a-service (Saas)?
Open-source means the code is accessible to a developer: they can edit, add or remove. The upside is infinite customization. The downside is upgrades and maintenance tend to be tied to the number of extensions and additional code in the system. These platforms tend to be ideal for companies that require significant modifications to business processes. Additionally, with open-source software, you host your code. While it feels safer to have the code hosted on your servers, the reality is that this introduces more maintenance and outage risk.
Software-as-a-Service means the code is a black box. Developers have no visibility into the inner workings. As such, you must trust that the eCommerce platform is secure and reliable. The good news is these companies likely invest millions of dollars into security, scalability, and maintenance. You get to enjoy the benefits of their efforts. What seems to be the most significant disadvantage is the inability to customize system operations. With the API connections, there is little that is off-limits.

8 Best Firearm-Friendly eCommerce Platforms

The recommendations in this space are powerful and customizable to almost any business need.

1. BigCommerce Enterprise: Best Firearm eCommerce Platform

BigCommerce powers many firearm-related websites, such as Smith & Wesson, Desantis Holster, HK Parts, Impact Guns, and Cheaper than Dirt. The names on BigCommerce should speak for themselves. It is powerful and capable.

SwiftOtter is a BigCommerce Partner. If you’re interested in this route, we can guide the process to ensure a successful implementation. Click here to learn more.

BigCommerce is SwiftOtter’s default recommendation for eCommerce. We are consistently impressed with its reasonable price, expanding but solid feature set and platform support.

Philosophical alignment

We see no evidence that BigCommerce is “against” the firearm industry. Their presence at trade shows like SHOT Show could demonstrate that they are doubling down on this market segment. It would be unwise to double down and then leave it.

Total cost of ownership

BigCommerce is Software as a Service. In our experience, there is less cost than open source to build and maintain. However, it remains flexible for most changes.

Security and scalability

BigCommerce owns/maintains security and scalability: this is no longer the merchant’s responsibility. It is technically infinitely scalable. We have never heard of an outage or security breach on a BigCommerce store. This means that no matter how big or popular your eCommerce store gets, you can count on BigCommerce to keep things up and running smoothly.

Firearm feature alignment

BigCommerce has apps in its marketplace for common firearm-related functionality, such as FFL locators. The majority of these features are set and ready to go, so you don’t need to go looking for extra extensions or finding a developer to help you add on extra features.

Marketplace and distributor integrations

BigCommerce can make it easier to leverage distributors like Davidsons, Lipseys, or many others. This can increase the size of your catalog, and your customers don’t have to leave your store to find the kind of firearms they’re looking for.

Plus, BigCommerce can be a source of catalog data for platforms like Guns.com, GunBroker, or Everest.

2. Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento 2)

The selling points of Magento 2 are these two items:

It is infinitely customizable, so the answer is never “no”, but rather “how long”.
It is open source—it can be hosted at a place of your choosing. You would theoretically have more notice if Adobe were to pull the carpet out from under you.

Magento 2 powers several firearms-related websites, like Silencer Shop, MagPul and Sig Sauer. The biggest downside to Adobe Commerce is the ongoing cost of maintenance. Many Magento 2 websites were built by less-than-qualified developers and this drives up the subsequent costs even more.

SwiftOtter’s legacy has been built on Adobe Commerce: we are an Adobe Partner with the Commerce specialization. We are one of the most capable agencies in this space.

This is best for

Merchants with complex or highly customized order workflows. Examples could be if you need custom order statuses or need approval before shipping an order. Or, perhaps you have more than 600 variations of a production. While these are overcomeable on BigCommerce, they represent additional work. SwiftOtter can help you establish a total cost of ownership model to determine the best long-term fit.

Philosophical alignment

Adobe has taken a neutral stance. We cannot reference the company supporting or protesting the Second Amendment.

Total cost of ownership

Unfortunately, this is the Achilles heel of the Adobe Commerce platform. It is perfect if you believe you need infinite extensibility. Few merchants need this. But many are paying for the massive maintenance costs.

Security and scalability

Adobe Commerce has had some security-related history. Typically, though, they are quick to release patches for critical security incidents. Your website’s security is directly correlated to the quality of modules installed and the speed at which patches are applied. Good agencies, like SwiftOtter, pride themselves on how quickly these patches are deployed.

If you are hosted on Adobe Commerce Cloud, Adobe is responsible for scaling your website. However, if you are responsible for your own hosting, you are also responsible for keeping the lights on. We have a preferred partner and can help you ensure your website is stable into the long term.

Firearm feature alignment

Pre-built modules are available to handle all major features required to power a firearms-related website.

Marketplace and distributor integrations

No marketplace or distributor integrations exist out of the box with Adobe Commerce. However, using a tool like Feedonomics can quickly bridge the gap.

3. Shopify Plus

Shopify has earned the top place in the eCommerce world thanks to their massive marketing investments. But Shopify has kicked many firearm sellers off the platform with minimal notice. This makes it a niche pick for our customers.

Shopify can work as your entire eCommerce solution, or just part of it, if you’re using your website to list California-compliant guns and related parts.

This is best for

Outdoor sporting goods apparel manufacturers. That said, we highly recommend doing an in-depth comparison with BigCommerce as the latter is a strong competitor.

Philosophical alignment

Shopify has excluded selling the most popular firearms from their website.

Total cost of ownership

Shopify is software-as-a-service, meaning you are not responsible for security and maintenance. App fatigue is real as many Shopify websites have significant numbers of paid apps installed.

Security and scalability

Shopify manages website security. We are not aware of any security incidents.

However, Shopify has had some extreme circumstances that took a website offline. These have been rare and far between.

Firearm feature alignment

We have no comment on this because Shopify is not a good fit for merchants selling firearms.

Marketplace and distributor integrations

Because of Shopify’s proliferation, plenty of integrations will aggregate this data up to marketplace platforms.

Ideal Platforms for Smaller Firearm Sellers

The recommendations in this space are tuned to be highly efficient with minimal manpower to keep the lights on.

4. BigCommerce Pro

This entry differs from BigCommerce Enterprise as the price point is significantly lower. This doesn’t negate BigCommerce’s capabilities and the value it brings.

This is best for

Firearms and parts manufacturers that are looking to expand into eCommerce. BigCommerce grows with you, so as sales increase, you can increase your BigCommerce level.

Philosophical alignment

We see no evidence that BigCommerce is “against” the firearm industry. Their presence at tradeshows like SHOT Show could demonstrate that they are doubling down on this market segment. It would be unwise to double down and then leave it.

Total cost of ownership

You can host your website on BigCommerce for as little as $29/mo. There are monthly limits on each tier, so the cost ends up around 0.06% of revenue.

Security and scalability

Firearm feature alignment

(repeated from above)

BigCommerce has apps in its marketplace for common firearm-related functionality, such as FFL locators. The majority of these features are set and ready to go.

Marketplace and distributor integrations

(repeated from above)

Many firearm retailers leverage distributors like Davidsons, Lipseys, or many others. These catalogs can be integrated into BigCommerce to explode the number of items available on a website.

On the other hand, BigCommerce can be a source of catalog data for platforms like Guns.com, GunBroker, or Everest. If you don’t sell firearm-related products, you could even push out to Amazon or eBay.

5. AmmoReady

AmmoReady is a retail firearm point-of-sale and inventory management system that adds an eCommerce component. This is a perfect solution for most gun shops in under $1MM category. For an extra monthly cost, you can list products from the AmmoReady distributor network on your website.

While AmmoReady does have an eCommerce solution, it lacks the depth of features that most other platforms offer. You cannot select which payment processor you would like to use, leading to higher credit card processing costs. Unfortunately, they do not provide an API, preventing a connection to a best-in-class eCommerce system, like BigCommerce. There is significant vendor lock-in with AmmoReady.

This is best for

Retail gun shops that are already using the GearFire platform and would like to open an eCommerce channel.

Philosophical alignment

AmmoReady is exclusively built for the retail firearm industry—thus there is no concern about alignment.

Total cost of ownership

Pricing starts at $750 to build and then $29 a month (for 100 orders). You can’t beat this price—period.

Security and scalability

We have no comment on either of these points.

Firearm feature alignment

This platform has everything you need to sell firearms online.

Marketplace and distributor integrations

AmmoReady allows you to list on popular firearm marketplaces like GunBroker and Guns.com. They also have a distribution network that is readily available for an additional fee.

6. GearFire

GearFire is a competitor to AmmoReady and provides a separate platform. Their pricing points are slightly more expensive. Their onboarding process is more hands-off.

This is best for

Retail gun shops that are already using the GearFire platform and would like to open an eCommerce channel.

Philosophical alignment

GearFire is an exhibitor at SHOT Show and are present within the firearms space—there are no concerns here.

Total cost of ownership

For all-in-one-solutions, GearFire is more expensive than AmmoReady.

Security and scalability

We have no comment on either of these points.

Firearm feature alignment

This platform has everything you need to sell firearms online.

Marketplace and distributor integrations

GearFire allows you to list on popular firearm marketplaces like GunBroker and Guns.com. They also have a distribution network readily available for an additional fee.

7. Wix

Wix is a popular website-building platform. They have added eCommerce capabilities within the past few years and are trying to make a splash with their Shopify competitor. It’s inexpensive and incredibly easy to start with.

This is best for

Entrepreneurs who sell sporting goods that are not firearms or firearm parts. Examples would be apparel, targets and hunting supplies.

Philosophical alignment

Wix explicitly prohibits selling weapons, ammunition, military arms, explosive devices and firearm parts.

Total cost of ownership

Wix is incredibly cheap to run. However, this comes at the cost of a lack of flexibility. This is an excellent platform for getting started.

Security and scalability

This is a software-as-a-service platform and, thus, all responsibility for security and scalability falls on Wix.

Firearm feature alignment

There is none.

Marketplace and distributor integrations

No integrations are available.

8. WooCommerce

WooCommerce is heavily used in the firearms industry. Why? It’s free and it’s open-source. Open-source has a wide appeal because “you can’t turn it off”. There is a degree of well-warranted paranoia in this industry because of the significant efforts to cancel the firearms industry.

We strongly recommend against WooCommerce for reasons that you will see below.

This is best for

Proof of concepts for firearm websites. However, due to the terms of service, this is a risky move.

Philosophical alignment

WooCommerce’s terms of service explicitly ban firearms. There is not only a philosophical misalignment but also a legal ban. It would theoretically be possible that they could legally chase firearms-related merchants.

Total cost of ownership

The free cost is highly attractive. However, in our experience, WooCommerce done right is anything but free.

Security and scalability

WooCommerce is a set of modules for WordPress. Unfortunately, while the WordPress core is secure, many of the associated modules are not secure. WordPress is notorious for getting hacked.

WooCommerce is difficult to scale. Sending an email blast to your list could be enough to topple your website—immediately eliminating your campaign’s sales benefits.

Firearm feature alignment

There are modules available in the WordPress plugin directory that provide these features. However, they are not vetted for quality and it may take significant development time to get these ready for production.

Marketplace and distributor integrations

There are no pre-built plugins to provide these integrations.

Next Steps: Choosing Your Firearms eCommerce Platform

In this post, we looked at eight different eCommerce platforms for selling firearms and firearm accessories, such as hunting apparel and targets. While the best platform will depend on your specific catalog, your ideal customer, and how much revenue you plan to generate presently (and want to generate in the future), we do believe, based on past clients, that BigCommerce offers the most flexibility and features to help you maintain your eCommerce store while growing it.

With BigCommerce, you will get:

Multichannel integration: You can integrate with the popular marketplaces (like Amazon and Facebook) to sell you move non-firearm SKUs. You can also integrate with firearm-specific retailers.
Abandoned cart savers: When a customer abandons their shopping cart on your site, you can have your customers receive a targeted email sequence aimed at getting them back to your site to make their purchase.
Advanced product filtering: Most firearms retailers have a lot of SKUs, due to the variety of make and models available. The easier you make it for your companies to find what they’re looking for, the more likely they’re to buy.
Support: This includes post-migration support, so you can feel confident that your site data was mapped and migrated correctly into your new eCommerce platform.

Now, here's the deal – there's no one-size-fits-all playbook in the e-commerce game. Choosing the right platform is like handicapping a horse race, and a wrong decision can cost you more than a bad bet. It's a real headache, and the losses can pile up faster than a bad losing streak.

That's where SwiftOtter steps in as your e-commerce coach. We've got the playbook for each platform, and we'll help you pick the one that's a sure bet for your brand. And the best part? Our expert advice won't break the bank – it's a cost you'll gladly wager on.

Let's chat!

If you're interested in learning more, shoot us a message and we will "swiftly" be in contact.