SAA Price Gouging

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Hmmm. They have some in stock. Cool. If someone really needs one right now, they can get one.

If they were cheaper, they'd probably be long gone, thus not available for anyone to purchase.

A smart company sets price at whatever point lets them sell almost, but not quite, all they can get. If you're selling every single one you've got immediately, you aren't charging enough.

Available but expensive beats cheap but completely sold out if you really need one right now.

Can't "gouge" someone who is willing to spend their money.
 
I I saw they changed their price on 22lr 525 bulk from $59 TO $69 to $79 and then to $84 all in one day. Sorry... That's gouging.
 
They must have been afraid they were selling out too quickly. Good idea to use price to throttle back demand. They maximize profits and their customers can still get some if they really, really need it.
 
I'm with Sam, I'd much rather see prices increase than have to obsessively watch gunbot/ammoseek or something similar to find something in stock and have only seconds to decide.

In economist terms, low prices running out of stock quickly favor those with low opportunity costs (basically lots of spare time but less willingness to pay) high prices in stock favor those with high opportunity costs (little time to devote to searching but more willingness to pay). So in some sense it's probably good that the huge increase in demand is met by sellers of both types.
 
That's gouging.
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Sorry, no it isn't.

What you people don't seem to understand is that retailers are in the business to make money. They don't make money, they don't survive. I know for a fact at least one newly opened, smallish gun shop has already gone under because they can't get merchandise at any price.

These stores can't get merchandise yet they still have to meet expenses. Rent, utilities, etc. To come up with that money they have to raise prices on existing inventory, otherwise they can't generate cash flow to pay their bills.

Here is a thread by one of our better gun stores on this exact subject. I suggest you read it very carefully.

http://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/320601935/m/8370091513
 
nelsonal said:
I'm with Sam, I'd much rather see prices increase than have to obsessively watch gunbot/ammoseek or something similar to find something in stock and have only seconds to decide.

In economist terms, low prices running out of stock quickly favor those with low opportunity costs (basically lots of spare time but less willingness to pay) high prices in stock favor those with high opportunity costs (little time to devote to searching but more willingness to pay). So in some sense it's probably good that the huge increase in demand is met by sellers of both types.
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Torn on this one; feels like people charging $10/gallon of gas or $5/bottle of water after a hurricane (yes, we can have the need vs. want debate). The other side of me says the market dictates the price and things are worth what people are willing to pay.

Perhaps there is middle ground. My favorite LGS is selling Pmags $20/each out the door. That's not the $12.99 they originally were way back when, but it's not $60 either. They always seem to have both 20 and 30-round in stock and limit people to 2 or 3 per event. Their business is thriving because they openly practice a no-gouging policy. Most of the other LGS around here are gouging and no one frequents them anymore.

Many of us have long memories and when/if things settle down, we'll see how these practices play out in the long run. A short term business plan is not a plan at all.
 
SunnySlopes said:
Sorry, no it isn't.

What you people don't seem to understand is that retailers are in the business to make money. They don't make money, they don't survive. I know for a fact at least one newly opened, smallish gun shop has already gone under because they can't get merchandise at any price.

These stores can't get merchandise yet they still have to meet expenses. Rent, utilities, etc. To come up with that money they have to raise prices on existing inventory, otherwise they can't generate cash flow to pay their bills.

Here is a thread by one of our better gun stores on this exact subject. I suggest you read it very carefully.

http://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/320601935/m/8370091513
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Good post. That sucks for TGS - will go buy some stuff from them as I am a huge SIG fan.

Wonder why some LGS seem to have inventory and others do not? It is likely either (a) supplier relationships (term and size - the longer and larger the higher the priority) or (b) inventory on hand when the chaos started.
 
feels like people charging $10/gallon of gas or $5/bottle of water after a hurricane
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IIRC, that is gouging. But raising the price of mags and ammo in the current environment is not the same thing, legally or ethically. These panic shoppers obviously don't need what they're buying since they've waited so long to buy it. And in six months to a year, they'll probably be trying to sell it.

That's what I'm waiting for. I'll probably start going to the shows again to look for the guy walking around about to collapse under his load of guns and ammo.
 
There are several different models that can work. If you can get supply and you want to play the "anti-gouging" angle, you can be the big mean jerks (;)) who don't let folks buy more than 2-3 of something. And that might work well, depending on various factors.

Most of the other LGS around here are gouging and no one frequents them anymore.
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:) If they're still in business, SOMEONE is frequenting them. And that's the flip side to the argument. A business will not sit on stock that isn't selling, demanding a high price that no one will pay. They may be a higher priced retailer than the place you're going to now, but enough folks are still paying those prices that it still pays them to hold that price line. When they get to the point where their sales really are dropping enough that their products are just sitting on the shelf unsold, the prices will fall.
 
Sam1911 and nelsonal make good points.

I certainly understand someone's frustration from watching prices spiral upward. It simply seems 'wrong' for already overpriced .22LR ammo to jump another 40% in a single day. Short of government intervention with imposed price controls, I do not see a viable alternative to letting market forces such as supply and demand do their thing. We can choose, as individuals or collectively, whether or not to do business with a particular vendor at a particular time, but having that freedom of 'choice' is very important.

When people talk about 'price gouging' two things come to mind for me.
First, would they consider it gouging if they bought 100 shares of stock at $10 each then sold them six months later at $25 each?
Second, I think of a local Gas Mart owner who ran a successful business for years in our small midwestern town. The afternoon of the September 11th terrorist attacks he got scared and doubled the selling price of the gasoline already stored in his tanks. Now that is an example of price gouging. Reason and calm prevailed, and the next day things were back to normal, but the people in our small town never forgot. They went out of their way to do business elsewhere, and before long he was forced to close.
 
SunnySlopes said:
IIRC, that is gouging. But raising the price of mags and ammo in the current environment is not the same thing, legally or ethically. These panic shoppers obviously don't need what they're buying since they've waited so long to buy it. And in six months to a year, they'll probably be trying to sell it.

That's what I'm waiting for. I'll probably start going to the shows again to look for the guy walking around about to collapse under his load of guns and ammo.
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Yep - need vs. want! Candidly, I "need" the ammo because I shoot a bunch - not willing to give up my favorite hobby because of market swings and make a decent enough living to take the economic punch in the gut…for a while anyway.

Agreed on your show comment - it's akin to the end of hunting season around here when there is suddenly a glut of Remington 700s on consignment at the LGS because people really couldn't afford them at the beginning of the season when they purchased!

We have seen a lot of people buying bulk everything at the LGS and listing on gun broker, essentially flipping inventory much like our lovely recent housing bubble. Duck…duck…duck…GOOSE!
 
Always remember who sets the price, the customer!
Also, if you don't like the high prices of AR's then get after those that are hanging on to theirs to sell them. More on the market means lower prices. I did my part. ;-)
 
Raising prices, based on fear mongering of the ultra-leftists, is gouging.

Order your P-Mags from Brownells, backorder, whatever the wait will be for $13 a mag..

However, the reasoning of the supposed "capitalism" protectionists gets more and more entertaining to read. Same folks who believe it is acceptable for our military to be buying truck fuel from Halliburton for $400 a gallon in the Middle East regions.
 
Demand for a given supply of a good will drive price and availability.

Got a large supply and not enough demand? Prices go down.

Got a large amount of demand and a constrained supply? Prices go up.

This is first year economics, people.



Price is the most efficient and effective way to ration a limited supply of something. The only other way to do it is for some authority to ration that supply.
 
Justin said:
Demand for a given supply of a good will drive price and availability.

Got a large supply and not enough demand? Prices go down.

Got a large amount of demand and a constrained supply? Prices go up.

This is first year economics, people.



Price is the most efficient and effective way to ration a limited supply of something. The only other way to do it is for some authority to ration that supply.
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Thanks for the freshman year of high school economics lesson Justin!
 
Justin said:
Demand for a given supply of a good will drive price and availability.

Got a large supply and not enough demand? Prices go down.

Got a large amount of demand and a constrained supply? Prices go up.

This is first year economics, people.
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I think everyone gets the supply/demand thing. But consider this: the OP has purchased from this company, but now is upset by their pricing and is considering taking his money elsewhere in the future. People are complex, and will often pay a price premium to purchase from a company they respect over one they don't. We gun owners know a thing or two about punishing companies for real or perceived wrongs.
 
Right. But if enough people are "rewarding" them by paying $50 each for a pile of mags right now, that's better than hoping all your close personal friends and customers remember what a nice guy you were to still be selling for $15, whenever you get another magazine in stock to put out for sale.

Customer loyalty is indeed a good thing, and complex. But money in hand is worth 100x money you hope folks come give you some other day if things work out well down the road.
 
It doesn't do any good to have a cheap price and no product (AND no backorder capability).

Ruger has these for under $30, but you have to put in a backorder and there's no way to know when they'll ship.

For some businesses it is important to have product actually available to ship to customers that reallllllllly want it. For others it is more important to show a price that they can't deliver.
 
My LGS has only raised prices slightly to offset increased prices from their distributors. Instead of gouging they limit the amount of certain items that each customer can purchase per month so there is still some available for all and customers aren't over charged. They've done this during each panic and have consistently grown in popularity over time.
 
I've seen those same mags locally for $59.99 recently. I'd expect that it is in their best interest to not have them fly off their shelves and keep some in-stock for folks ordering parts to build a new AR. $20-30 extra for a mag isn't much when you're building a new AR and want to make sure you have everything you need to finish the build versus waiting on backordered mags.
 
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