Artificial intelligence (AI) has already made itself a home in the firearm industry, although most companies remain silent when asked if they’ve harnessed any of that horsepower. Firms that deal in the used-gun market, however, are not shy about sharing the advantages their AI-driven services.
On Aug. 13, for example, Guns.com announced its new proprietary intelligent technology platform was in alpha testing. It is built specifically for the firearm industry and fueled by comprehensive firearm product data, historical sales data trends and the firm’s ecommerce experience. The press release boldly states, “…the platform represents the most significant technology advancement for Guns.com since the launch of its ecommerce marketplace in 2018.”
The solution enables dealers to create used firearm listings with just a few clicks on a phone or tablet, reducing the time to list a product to seconds. The technology automates firearm identification, product information, search-optimized descriptions, enhanced photo editing and listing integration with the company’s online marketplace. Guns.com says the technology helps dealers bring more used inventory online faster, making listings immediately available to gun owners who already shop the company's website.
“Since day one, our priority has been to help our dealer partners sell more and drive revenue, and that’s exactly what our new technology will do,” said Greg Minkler, co-CEO and CMO at Guns.com. “Our dealer-first approach continues to drive revenue with the vast majority of our sales this year fulfilled by local gun shops across the country. Local dealers are the backbone of our industry, and they deserve the best technology to save time, list more and sell more. Even more exciting is the fact that what we are developing is more than a single new product; it’s the foundation for how we believe the future of firearm ecommerce will operate.”
The intelligent listing technology will be available at no cost to all brick-and-mortar gun shops and pawnbrokers in Guns.com’s dealer network. It is currently being tested by members of the company’s Dealer Advisory Council.
Celerant and Slingit Partnership
That same week, Celerant Technology, a provider of retail software for the firearm industry, announced a new integration with Slingit, an AI-powered platform built to help firearm dealers appraise, price and sell used firearms faster. It is designed to dramatically reduce the time required for an FFL to enter product information, prepare photos and descriptions and list it across online sales channels.
Celerant says its Slingit tool will help dealers quickly identify and appraise a used firearm, capture product details and create professional, web-ready images. Through the integration, that product information can flow directly into the dealer’s Celerant back-office database—eliminating duplicate data entry and creating a faster path from the gun counter to online sales.
From Celerant, FFLs can publish the used firearm to their integrated eCommerce website in just a few clicks. Dealers using Celerant’s GunBroker integration can also quickly list the same firearm on GunBroker, expanding its visibility to buyers.
“Used firearms are an incredibly important part of the business for so many of our dealers, particularly in today’s market,” said Michele Salerno, chief growth officer at Celerant Technology. “The opportunity is significant, but the process has traditionally been very manual. By connecting Slingit directly with Celerant, we can eliminate so many of those steps—helping dealers save time, reach more buyers and get more revenue out of their used inventory.”
Gunbroker
In July, Gunbroker announced its integration with Slingit. The system connects the used gun counter directly to GunBroker.com, giving FFLs a path from evaluating and acquiring a firearm to creating and publishing a GunBroker.com listing.
“I built GunBroker.com to give buyers and sellers across the country an easy to use, trusted place to do business and supporting dealers to power the marketplace has always been central to our philosophy,” Said Steve Urvan, founder of GunBroker.com and CEO of its parent firm, Outdoor Holding Company. “We continually work to streamline and improve the selling process. Slingit takes friction out of selling used inventory. By pairing its AI tools with the reach of GunBroker.com, we are giving dealers of every size a faster and easier way to put quality used firearms in front of millions of prospective buyers nationwide.”
