[Opperioav]

For the kind of stuff you want to sell, you couldn't compete with the internet shops unless you became one yourself. Outside of Japan, there's not enough local market to support a solely retail sword-related shop. Any martial arts shop I've seen has had to stock the whole range of stuff for all martial arts, including the cheesy ninjer stuff because that's where the cash is.

To make a go of it you'd have to make wholesale contacts. And of course, no matter how cool the stuff you're selling, you're still working retail and dealing with all the daily crap that implies.