insanity at local gun shop!

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My local gun shop has a stack of dpms lower parts kits for 199.95 doesnt event come with a grip. I was pleased to see that they have not sold a single one after 2 weeks. Made me sick to see that price on them. They are known for being expensive but thats just crazy. Im glad others also see it that way and are not buying them. I understand raising prices somewhat in this market but 200 bucks for a little package of plastic and springs is just bending over your fellow man. I will not be upset if they sit there for years and give them a constant reminder of how bad they were hoping to screw people.

On the flip side of things there are still some decent dealers out there. Code red firearms has held firm on their lowers at 149.00 shipped. They found out that people were buying them and then listing them on gunbroker for 350+ so they limited purchases to 3. They announced on their website and facebook that they did not condone the gouging and that was why they would be limting the purchase ammounts unless they know its a group buy or a dealer is buying them.
 
This is not insanity. This is normal. Welcome to market fluctuation.
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Yep.

Funny thing, since the panic I have auctually SAVED money. I haven't bought anything.;) Now when stuff comes back down......the old wallet may be hurting while restocking.
 
SaxonPig said:
Cashing in. May not be able to sell them next month.

I recall the panic of 1994. All guns and ammo flew off the shelves. Then the gun companies, ammo companies, and retailers had almost no business for the next two years as nobody wanted anything more at that point.
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Good. That'll teach em.
 
tarosean said:
Hmmm... kind of odd that every single thing Ive purchased over the last few weeks. Guns, Mags, Ammo and AR parts were at the same prices pre- Dec 15th.
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Same here. Sounds like some are indeed gouging.

Went on Thursday: 556 $9.99 for box of 20

Complete lower for $399

9mm for $12.99 for box of 50.

So, why are some stores exponentially higher? Cuz they're greedy. At least my LGS cares about the customer more than JUST the profit.
 
Thanks Obama! Now that's hope and change we can all believe in! You're great!
 
The LGS here told me that their distributors cancelled existing orders and re-did them with higher prices. Something that they bought for $20 and sold for $30 was now costing them $35. They put a price tag of $45 on it (a lower percentage markup) and get accused of gouging by uninformed people who post it on the Internet.
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My LGS got his order canceled and was not resupplied- reason was he did not do enough volume.
 
There was a time in history when the retail stores were all local and looked out for their customers, that period is past. The attitude now is all how much can I get, and this holds true not only for retail but for the masses, it's why we have the welfare problem we have.

With that said, it makes no never mind to ME as I stocked up years ago. Plinking .22 RF ammo, $8.00 a brick. Primers, less than $10.00 a thousand. Powder, approx $7/$8 bucks a lb. Have way more than enough to satisfy my hobby.
 
PoPo22 said:
I constantly hear BS justifications from dealers....
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Yet some, perhaps even most, of the justifications have merit.

Does that mean every shop is looking out for the customer? Of course not, but if a store has $40 on a Pmag or $12.99 for a 20 rd box of .223, it doesn't mean they've jacked up all the prices.

The store I referenced is long out of PMags, as they can't find any to replace their stock. They are one of the few places to have 9mm in stock but they are still selling it at their pre-panic prices.

They found some 5.56 (as opposed to .223) coming in from Israel and bought it up. Their price was $11.99 per box because they were able to send a truck to the dock to pick it up. It seems some people think that unless they sell it for the pre-panic $8.99 price, they are gouging. :rolleyes:
 
meanmrmustard said:
Same here. Sounds like some are indeed gouging.

Went on Thursday: Complete lower for $399

So, why are some stores exponentially higher? Cuz they're greedy. At least my LGS cares about the customer more than JUST the profit.
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Sounds like YOUR store, judging by the price on that lower. (unless, of course, it cost THEM more money than before....which is my point)
 
I walked in my LGS this morning to see if they had any ammo available and was second in line when I walked in. The guy in front of me was being charged $30 for 50 rounds of American Eagle .38 special solids, so I decided to walk out. I'll just wait till Walmart or Cabelas start to get the stuff back in stock :) .
 
tarosean said:
Champion Firearms
Hunter Guns & Ammo
Academy
Gander mountain
MidwayUSA
DSG Arms
Botach Tactical
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Midway is out. Academy has a 3 box limit, but you can only buy ONE box per caliber. They had 10 boxes of American Eagle for $12.99 per 20 rd box. Not pre-panic prices or policies.
 
David E said:
Sounds like YOUR store, judging by the price on that lower. (unless, of course, it cost THEM more money than before....which is my point)
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No doubt. But it's a Smith Sport lower, in like new condition (might be new) and lacks a removable trigger guard.

I'd spend that for the Smith Sport lower waaaayyyy before I'd go $600 for a New Frontier lower on Armslist.

Wish it WAS my store...not that lucky.
 
armedaccountant said:
Actually the problem is that it isn't a free market. When outside pressure or controls are put on the market it is no longer "free" and therefore is is out of balance. I am not faulting the dealer or the buyers in this market. Just pointing out this is not a free market.
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An example of "outside pressure or control" would be gov't regulations. This is simply supply and demand economics. Doesn't mean you have to like it if you find yourself a consumer on a pricing incline. On the other hand, if you have ever been aware of how tenuous 2A rights actually are in this country and bought dozens of mags, ammo, etc., anticipating this day- then you're probably relieved.
 
This is not price gouging. Raising prices on staples like milk, bread and gasoline during a natural disaster is price gouging IF the cost to replenish those goods at the store level remain the same. For the vast majority of us our gun and ammo purchases are not really necessities but are luxuries we buy when the fancy strikes us or we have extra cash on hand.
This is simply supply and demand. I can give you a current example.
Right now the cost of leafy vegetables out of California, Arizona and Florida is extrememly high due to weather which has limited availability. Large distributors like Sysco or US Foods normally have contract prices on, say iceberg lettuce, for about $10 per case. Due to lower availability just about all major contracts have had "escalotor clauses" kick in. Walmart and Kroger are included in this higher price. In nearly all instances they are also being pro-rated so instead of 1,000 cases they may get 500 from their supplier. They are all calling every other supplier and being real friendly about how they want to start doing business with them and really just need this new supplier to "step up" and help them out.

Virtually every supplier is in the same situation. They have limited supplies due to low yileds and they need to do all they can to cover existing volumes so they tell walmart to take a hike. Walmart now has 500 cases of lettuce at double the normal price at a time when every other grocery store is limited on supply as well. Walmart doubles the price of their lettuce for two reasons. They want their normal lettuce to be available to their normal customers and they want to cover their additional costs.

Companies like Sysco will actually refuse to sell lettuce to a customer that does not normally buy lettuce from them. They only got 5k of the 10k they needed to cover their existing customer base that buys lettuce every week so they won't sell a customer that is trying to pick them off. I imagine LGS are trying to do something similar.

The growers appear to be making lots of money with prices being double what they were 3 months ago but that is not true. They have lost much product and left it in the field because of poor quality so their yield per acre is often less than half what is normal. Instead of getting 2,000 cases of lettuce per acre they are getting 900 cartons so the doubled price really isn't making them any more money. We can talk percentages and mark-up all day long but at the end of the day it only matters how many dollars you put in the bank.

PS I firmly believe there are plenty of businesses out there that are price gouging.
 
Been into several gun stores in West Tennessee and here is what I have found, some encouraging, some disgusting:
  • L&A Firearms in Union City- they wanted $2499 for a Colt 6920 and $750 for an M&P Shield. All of their tacticool rifles were wearing jacked up price tags. DPMS's for $2000+ and even Norinco SKS's for $500+:banghead:
  • Gunslinglers in Dresden, TN- Had used gen 3 Glocks for $688, Winchester bulk packs of .22LR for $51.99. When I asked the lady behind the counter about the high price on the .22LR ammo, she responded breathlessly "oh sir, those are hollow points". I laughed and walked out of the store. :cuss:
  • Final Flight Outfitters in Union City- They were all out of .22LR, and most range ammo, but all prices looked to be the same as they would have been 2 months ago, including prices on remaining standard capacity mags and ammo.:)

Fortunately I am not desperately looking for anything right now, but when all of this is over, I will make it a point to remember who did what.
 
I just shot a .22 rifle match today. Noticed a box of federal .22 lr value box on the shelf for $55.
Glad I had ammo
 
gold dots were $70
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You think that is bad...

Extreme Shock Ammunition jumped to $1,000.00 a box!!

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Don't forget the good people at Brownell's.
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They are on my timeout list right now.. They irked me a while ago with a return/exchange that just sat there for about a month with out any communication from them.
 
Most price bubbles deflate. It's just a matter of when and what rate.
If retailers sell at market prices, they why wait until panic cools and less profit can be made?

If my approx. $250 Yugo Mauser 48A is ever valued at $300-400 in Today's dollars, then here we go (FTF only).
It will be cherished in a warm, loving home, as many recent AR acquisitions are.
 
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Midway is out. Academy has a 3 box limit, but you can only buy ONE box per caliber. They had 10 boxes of American Eagle for $12.99 per 20 rd box. Not pre-panic prices or policies.
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Just be diligent about checking places online. Midway is restocking quite often but it doesnt last more than an 1hr or so.
 
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