Selling a holster can help increase the profit on the sale of an entry-level gun where the profit margin just isn’t that great.

While a number of holster brands were mentioned by sellers interviewed for this article, the Galco brand kept popping up, so I talked with Mike Barham, who is the media and public relations manager at Galco, to get his thoughts on less expensive holsters.

Galco offers the Carry Lite and Matrix lines that have price points of about $25 to $50. According to Barham, a good holster will cover the gun’s trigger, allow for a solid combat grip on the draw, retain the gun in the holster until the user purposely draws it, will attach to the belt or clothing so that the holster stays in place, and stays open so that the gun can be put back in the holster easily.

These design features are all present with Galco’s Carry Lite and Matrix lines.

Stitching is the same on these budget-priced holsters, but there is less handwork performed on them, and the materials are a little less expensive than the materials used in Galco’s premium leather holsters. Nevertheless, service life of the Carry Lite and Matrix holsters is still estimated to be about five or six years.

Barham’s last bit of advice is to avoid makers that do not have a well-established reputation for quality.