Tiny Montana trading post competes online with the big boys

With a satellite Internet connection and a solidly stocked inventory, one northcentral Montana farmer is carving out a nice piece of the gun supply market for his family’s business.

"We’re competing with the big boys, we have some of the big mail order companies referring customers to us," said Mark Wicks from his 2,000-acre farm and ranch 36 miles north of Joplin.

By JO DEE BLACK
Tribune Staff Writer

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040304/localnews/9384.html

Wicks Trading Post specializes in gun supplies, such as scopes, mounts, rifle stocks and barrels. The business also offers supplies for specialized gun models and lines designed for left-handed shooters.

Wicks got into the world of cyber commerce by accident. Five years ago he and his wife, Beth, started attending gun shows to whittle down an extensive gun supply collection he gathered during college.

"We also sold on eBay and quickly found out that was a better way to sell," he said.

His user name, crankyfarmer, resulted from his mood at the time.

"Prices on the farm were so poor, I just felt cranky about stuff," Wicks said. Today his main Web page address is http://www.crankyfarmer.com.

"It’s easy for people to remember, and it just kind of fits," Wicks said.

Today Wicks Trading Post ships 150 to 300 orders a week through the post office.

"We only get mail delivered three times a week," he said. "We meet the postman at our mail box and send him back to town with a pickup full of packages."

Even with a limited mail schedule, Wicks said orders are typically filled within three days.

"We stock everything we sell," he said.

Inventory is kept in a converted 60-foot mobile home, lined with shelves.

Wicks still sells on eBay and recently racked up his 10,000th positive feedback rating. He’s also designed his own Web site, which garners about half his business.

In addition to gun supplies, Wicks sells antique tractors he collects from the area and Canada.

Income from the Web business is an important part of his family’s support today, Wicks said.

"We couldn’t stay on the farm without it," he said.

Most of the farm’s cropland is now enrolled in the federal Conservation Reserve Program, which pays farmers a fee to take marginal land out of production.

"I probably spend four hours a day or more on trading post business," Wicks said. "It’s hard to get the time to farm, and you kind of begrudge it because you’re not making money."

Wicks said he’s still surprised by his career development.

"When you are in high school, you expect someday to maybe end back on the farm, but not to be running a gun supply and antique tractor business that ships all over the United States," he said.

Craig Erickson is the director of community development at Bear Paw Development in Havre, an organization that assists with economic development on the Hi-Line.

"By every conventional estimate he (Wicks) shouldn’t be able to do what he does," Erickson said. "But thanks to the telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas, folks have the ability to do these things. We’re isolated, but we are blessed with this fabulous, huge asset. Mark Wicks is a great example of what can be done with that asset."

Black can be reached by e-mail at [email protected], or by phone at (406) 791-6502.