The de-platforming, shadow-banning and outright censorship of gun-related manufacturers, retailers and content creators picked up steam after Parkland and continues to this day. The latest service provider to kick gun customers to the curb is Shopify, a Canadian eCommerce platform that dumped names you know like Spike’s Tactical, Franklin Armory and many more. Because free speech is just too hard, or something.
Many commenters here have opined that what we need are our own gun-friendly platforms, businesses that won’t kowtow to David Hogg’s latest whim or a coordinated tweetstorm of criticism from Shannon Watts and the rest of the Civilian Disarmament Industrial Complex.
Enter 2A Design. The Texas-based web design firm has just announced the creation of its very own privately hosted eCommerce platform that is of, by and for the People of the Gun. Here’s their press release:
Austin, TX, August 16, 2018 – 2A Design, a newly-created division of a well established Austin web design firm, is now offering a turnkey eCommerce solution specifically for the firearm industry. We have been active members of the firearm community for years now and have been disappointed by the moves of firms such as Shopify that have dropped long-standing firearms industry customers. Your business needs reliable partners that will not abandon you at the first hint of public or political pressure.
2A Design’s turnkey eCommerce solution is built around a robust, well-established and powerful platform that has no ability to restrict what products are sold. Our payment gateway options have a long history of being friendly to the gun industry.
The eCommerce system we work with handles every aspect of successfully running an online store. Online sales, shipping, tax, inventory management, social media integration and customer interaction are just a few of the features included with our platform. Our team will setup a complete eCommerce solution, train your staff and provide ongoing support and security.
Our team consists of firearm industry insiders with an intimate knowledge of what’s needed to run a successful eCommerce firearm business. We have the experienced people and capacity to ensure a smooth your transition away from Shopify is quick, efficient and painless. The cost of a new, firearms-friendly eCommerce website is probably much less than you think. Our team is standing by ready to help. For more information please visit our website 2ndfight.com or give us a call at 512-694-3643 or email [email protected]
Hopefully the design of 2ndfight.com isn’t indicative of their overall level of professionalism. Not the pretties website.
I agree. I made the site quickly because of the market situation. I will be working more on it tonight.
Well, my old eyes are liking the extra-large print. And they seem to do a better job of proof reading than you (“…pretties…”).
“…a better job of proof reading than you (“…pretties…”).”
That’s perfectly acceptable when writing “…my pretties…”
And yet, I was able to get information from it more quickly than the pretty Instagram-inspired sites that require wearing out your scroll wheel, lol
Yeah single page sites are a fad. I make them if a client insists but prefer traditional websites.
Can I use them for things that aren’t 2A-centric?
I mean I want to support them and the idea even though I don’t sell firearm related stuff.
Probably related to their available capital. If the platform gets used enough they can update it with vendor help.
Yes sir. Just give me a call or send me an email.
It is a start.
And what happens when the big banks discover that 2A Design is serving the firearm industry and refuses to work with them?
An e-commerce platform is worthless if Mastercard, Visa, Discover, PayPal, etc. refuse to cooperate with the entity which operates that platform.
Look at it this way. Suppose I operate a firearm business in SmallTown U.S.A. and use SmallTown Bank — a bank which embraces the 2nd Amendment — for my banking services. Then New York City bank learns that SmallTown Bank is serving a firearms business and refuses to conduct transactions with SmallTown bank. At that point having a great business relationship with SmallTown bank doesn’t matter. What stops the same thing from happening with 2A Design?
Our payment gateways are specifically gun friendly.
“Our payment gateways are specifically gun friendly.” That doesn’t address uncommon_sense’s point that credit card companies can refuse to work with the payment gateway.
Chris Heuss,
Don’t get me wrong — I hope and pray that your operation is wildly successful!
I am simply playing devil’s advocate specifically because I DON’T want to see 2A Design fail.
Take payment in Ethereum and or Bitcoin. I have a customer who is shitlisted by paypal, so when it comes to artwork, I get paid in spot price ETH. Assuming you take ETH and turn it back into dollars, the price deviates by a few pennies at worst.
I like to fuck the banks and the credit card companies any chance I get. Except my local back, they are nice people.
“Take payment in Ethereum and or Bitcoin.”
Who wants to take a wildly variable ‘commodity’ like blockchain-based payments recently?
Have you seen the bear market in those? Prices are going down faster than Paris Hilton in the back of Limp Bizkit’s tour bus… 😉
I understand your concern. I appreciate the support. Has any major credit card company ever stopped servicing an entire industry?
Eh, they could try. There are other options, look up the beginning of the banking system, specifically the Knights Templar and letters of credit. Dollar-denominated assets that allow you to pay a local gun store (cash or check) for “credits” used to buy stuff from other gun stores is one option, an e-currency that works similarly (or using one of the current volitile options) is another. You’d have to stop all electronic bank transfers from gun store to gun store to truly cut this out, and that’s fricking hard. There are LOTS of banks based in red states that would tell the anti-gun nuts to piss off, and there’s not much the Libs could do about legal transactions. Ultimately it would probably require the Federal Reserve to end gun based transactions – and I don’t see that happening soon. It could become a pain, at least more of one, but it’s hard to stamp out legitimate transactions.
Chris Heuss,
I am not aware of any major credit card company that has stopped servicing an entire industry.
Having said that, it is coming: it is just a question of when.
Perhaps the most practical solution going forward is simple obfuscation. You guys run your transactions through Bank D who transacts with Bank E who transacts with Bank F … and so on until you get to anti-firearm Bank Z. At that point your operation is so far removed that Bank Z cannot (in realistic terms) discover that they are inadvertently assisting transactions for firearms. Of course all of this would only apply to non-credit card transactions.
In case that previous explanation did not make sense, it is the banking equivalent of a top tier entity that creates multiple layers of shell corporations to hide the relationship of the lowest tier corporation back to the top. However, unlike corporations that must register with the state and are thus ultimately traceable if anyone wants to do the legwork, banks do NOT have to publish lists of all of their customers which makes their customer relationships untraceable.
“Who wants to take a wildly variable ‘commodity’ like blockchain-based payments recently?”
That’s why you immediately sell it when you receive it.
Other industries that aren’t bank friendly have been taking concurrency payments for years.
Baby steps; the credit card industry wasn’t built in a day, either. Member when eBay cut off gun sales? Yeah, so does GunBroker.
You know, ‘someone’ with the clout and connections and size of the NRA could have spearheaded this whole deplatforming effort years ago because of its obvious strategic necessity & daunting logistical difficulty…and made an absolute killing in profits by now. Now, we aren’t being squeezed by ALL of these yet, and most of the big players in these areas aren’t playing politics over profit in pursuit of gubmint cheese, yet.
Yet.
There’s still quite a bit of money to be made by catering to our market;
Small-time sales/auctions: GunBroker
Large-Commercial sales: GrabaGun, I guess? (there’s a number of shop-compilers)
Server Hosting: ????? (both commercial and entertainment media)
Domain Hosting: ????? (same)
Mass-Marketing: Tap Rack Bang is a well known one, but tiny potatoes objectively
Financial Services: ????? (banking, money transfer, home/auto loans, credit cards)
Home & Auto Insurance: Those “Collectibles” guys who bought ad space here today?
Legal Representation: Adam Kraut, Sean Cody, Carry Guard; there’s a few names here
Health Insurance: ????? This is a big-big-big vulnerability for us going forward. Not much longer before the New York City types hate us so much they’ll feel good shutting us out of medical care (that they made too expensive to use US dollars to pay for, vs. their co-pay fun-money)
Business & liability Insurance: ????? see Cuomo’s shenanigans, and he isn’t the only one
I think that when this takes off and becomes noticed by the gun owning public your going to have more business than you know what to do with. I sense that our there are many law abiding gun owners have “just about had it” with banks, credit card companies and the like imposing their fascism, yea I said fascism, on them and they would like to “cut the cord” as completely as they can. If you guys want take this public I’ll buy some stock in your company.
It’s only fascism if the economy is being manipulated by government influence in order to prioritize the government’s needs over those of the citizens –wait a minute…
Are you saying it’s only fascism if NY State government is the one interfering with interstate commerce?
Please everybody contact 2A Design and thank them for their services. They are proving what being an American is about. We do not need to be part of the non-2A banks or financial services Matrix. We can be our own people.
Already done!
Thanks for your support. I have already received several emails thanking me. The 2A community is an amazing group. I am proud to be a memeber.
American entrepreneurial spirit.
Bunch of bigots want to tell you “your money is no good here”?
Fine, FOAD.
We’ll take care of it ourselves.
Just think of it this way when you lament the loss of convenience provided by the liberal players; the more you detach your commerce actions from them, the easier it will be for the two Americas to part ways for good when they inevitably push us into shoving.
As an individual, I’d also be interested if you can offer credit cards or banking services.
That is way above my abilities. I am
Happy just working on web store platforms that will service our industry.
Chris, I just MIGHT know someone that may be able to assist you in credit cards. He owns his own bank. If your interested then I can contact him and he can get in touch with you. I only know him slightly so it might take some time for him to get back with me going through his subordinates.
For sure. Have gone contact me. Thanks.
Rocketman is not the only one interested in investment should it come to that. Including in a bank, should it become necessary. Keep us posted.
Chris, I just composed an e-mail and sent it to my banking friend. His subordinates should be reading it on Monday morning. Might take awhile to get a reply. Good luck to you.
Chris, I’m sorry to say that my banking acquaintance has not responded to my e-mail to your credit card opportunity so I’m guessing that the answer is no. Sorry.
I am delighted to see this. While I am unlikely ever to use your services as a vendor, I am certain to benefit as an online buyer from companies using your platform. I am grateful that you are doing this, and I wish you a very profitable future.
(I sent you an email with a few proofreading items you may want to look at. It seemed somehow impolite to put them in a comment here!)
Thanks Alan. I got your email and made the changes.
Good luck Chris!
Thanks!
Some see censorship. others see opportunity. Bravo opportunity.
Not a perfect analogy, but remember when Rush Limbaugh redefined talk radio and created a whole new industry?
The potential is there for something of that sort of happen in the 2A community as it relates to finance and E-commerce. Companies willing to serve the firearms community will find a lot of customers.
This is an opportunity. However I would much rather not have the opportunity. I would prefer to see existing companies do the rigth thing even if it means I loose an opportunity. I have spoken with a top-shelf hosting company about our problems. I am meeting with them Monday. They are providing a lot of support. Our E-Commerce platforms will load quickly and be secure.
Chris,
That was my other concern for you and related businesses: Internet services (especially hosting) that are non-discriminatory. The best e-commerce concept in the world is worthless if no one will host your platform — or provide Internet connectivity if you decided to run your own servers.
I know, it is easy to dismiss my concerns right now as being a paranoid something or other. Unfortunately, I have this uncanny knack for predicting major future trends about 10 to 20 years ahead of schedule. It really is this simple: Progressives dominate Academia, Tech, Venture Capital, Banking, and Government. Every year they strengthen their command of those sectors, move ever farther Left in doctrine, and grow ever more emboldened. That is a never-before-seen juggernaut that will be coming for all of us “undesirables”. They quite literally cannot help themselves. But don’t take my word for it. Just look at our nation’s governmental attitude, policies, and laws. What is the slow and steady trajectory for the last 100 years? Is it ever more conservative to the right? Or is it ever more Progressive to the left? The answer should be obvious.
I see exactly the same thing and for exactly the same reason. I’m an old man right now taking full time care of my invalid mother and after she’s passed on see no reason to have to put up with this crap any longer than I have to so I will be moving to Paraguay in South America shortly afterwards. One of the main reasons is that Paraguay is one of the most pro-gun countries in SA and is better than nearly all of the “blue” states as far as gun rights.
I also think you’re right. The progressives are on the way to full fascism and this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. I just hope we don’t have to see a lot of people die in the meantime…and that there’s enough of America left to rebuild once it’s done.
The efforts of a lot of people like Chris are going to be needed — and the leftist establishment will do everything it can to make sure no one escapes the progressive plantation.
I have already spoke with many 2A business about this. If you are in the industry and already have a developer that’s great. I will happily point your developer towards gun friendly hosting and credit card processors. I will give free advice to anyone that needs it and never try and sell my service. I just want to help our community.
Good luck to you!
I have a developer and hosting company for my new online store I am about to launch. The problem I am having is finding a reputable card processing company. How can I contact you for more information. Thanks
“The network percieves censorship as damage and routes around it.”
An e-commerce “platform” built on WordPress?
The thing is, firearms sellers are not hampered by a lack of content management systems for e-commerce sites, nor a lack of Web designers. Firearms e-commere dealers are in need of financial services companies that do not discriminate.
Selling Web design to the 2A community might be a great way to find clients who share the developer’s ideals, but Web design is not the center of the fight when it comes to firearms and e-commerce.
And all due respect to Mr. Heuss, but the design on the design-firm’s main site leaves a lot to be desired. Scrolling blocks of text with screened background over fixed-position main background and no margin? Guess what, we don’t have to endorse socialist laws like the Americans With Disabilities Act to respect basic design principles in marketing. Contrast between text and backgrounds makes sites accessible to old geezers who wear 3X reading glasses. It’s just simple courtesy.
And what about this: “Our E-commerce solutions are not hosted by the developers…”
So do they host on the client’s server? That’s not exactly turn-key. Or does 2ndfight host the sites? But 2ndF is not a network of “developers?”
Apparently not. 2ndF are “designers” – Barbie-doll dress-makers of the Web industry. Apparently “designers” without skill to “develop?”
And about that SEO… this article ranks higher (page 2) for the terms in the main H1 tag on site’s main page. If a site can’t get their main keywords in their main page H1 tag, and get their main page on google page 1 for those terms, do I really want them doing my SEO?
No offense to the guys behind this. It’s just not original, nor is it anywhere near comprehensive. It’s just a bunch of run-of-the-mill, apparently b-grade WordPress hacks marketing to the firearms industry because, hey, we’re all friends, right?
It appears the owner of this WordPress design company is also a writer at TheTruthAboutGuns.com.
Could that be the reason for such an uncritical report that fails to examine the first thing about the online market for firearms?
The author seems blythe to the range of services ecommerce businesses need, and fails to recognize that hosting and financial services are the bottleneck, not a shortage of lackluster WordPress designs tailored to firearms sellers.
aaaand it’s gone. 🙁
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