Sticker Shock!

[IWAC]

I accompanied my wife to a Dr. appointment, and when we found the wait was 45 minutes, I visited a gunshop I hadn't been in for years. Nice people, the gun prices were about what everybody else is charging, and they actually had Small Pistol Primers! I looked at the price tag...$159.99 for a brick! That was nearly 3 X the $63 I paid for my last brick about 6 weeks ago. No, thank you very much!

 

[Mark_Mark]

I accompanied my wife to a Dr. appointment, and when we found the wait was 45 minutes, I visited a gunshop I hadn't been in for years. Nice people, the gun prices were about what everybody else is charging, and they actually had Small Pistol Primers! I looked at the price tag...$159.99 for a brick! That was nearly 3 X the $63 I paid for my last brick about 6 weeks ago. No, thank you very much!

that insane

 

[tightgroup tiger]

Yes it is. The last time I looked at primers in a store I told them to keep them. I just won't pay that for them.

 

[armoredman]

Yikes!

 

[Big Wes]

I went to a gun show last Sunday one guy had a brick of small pistol primers Winchester for $119.00 he asked me if I wanted primers I told him "not @ that price"

 

[IWAC]

I went to a gun show last Sunday one guy had a brick of small pistol primers Winchester for $119.00 he asked me if I wanted primers I told him "not @ that price"

Seems like the on-line commandos and others are asking, and selling bricks for about that...if they have them.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I understand that price. Retailers buy to replace stock at current wholesale, apply their markup to pay the bills and put it on the shelf. That’s money already spent. If the price goes down then they have to drop the shelf price to move inventory - but that’s money already spent that they aren’t getting back. They have a few options: lose money to move inventory, break even eventually, or let it sit until the price goes back up and make less after inflation but still don’t lose money.

It’s not as black and white as it sounds and it’s one of the many reasons most small businesses go broke.

 

[IWAC]

Here's the attitude prevalent among classified site sellers locally, but most are polite enough not to put it in writing! Primers from$79-$175/1,000.
"Don't bother telling me you can get them cheaper at the store or online, because I know different and I know what they cost at the stores (if they have them), not to mention hazmat shipping costs from online sources on primers and powder being an extra $25-$50." Sheesh! He has now lowered his price to $79/1,000, but you'd have to buy the gas for about a 120 mile round trip!

Matter of fact, I did get my latest brick at a local store for $63, and was glad to drive the 15 miles to get them! Maybe I was lucky that day!

Another fellow has two listings and two prices...$80/brick and $110/brick.(?)

I think a lot of the sellers bought large stocks of powder, ammo and primers, hoping to make some money at the higher prices, but, a lot of us are unwilling to pay the outlandish $$$. Things seem to be slowly inching back down, so they may find themselves needing to sell at cost or below. I think some are hurting, not that I have much sympathy for them!

 

[ballman6711]

$160/1K isn't cheap, and IMO not even reasonable at this time. No way would I pay that for loading something cheap like 9mm, I would just buy factory unless I wanted something like HP's.

But that price still allows someone to reload .357 mag for much less than factory ammo, so it could make sense to that shooter.

If you need them you need them, and like @GeoDudeFlorida has said more than once, available but expensive is still better than unavailable and cheap. At least there is an option, but I would have to be desperate to spend that much on primers in this market. Next year or a few years down the road we may all consider that to be a good price, who knows?

chris

 

[Charlie98]

Much of it depends on where the retailer gets their stock from. If they are buying them from a wholesaler, they can usually get a better price... but not always. I deal with that every day in the field I'm in... very often it's cheaper to go to HomeDumbo, et al, to buy material than it is to buy it from my wholesaler. If the retailer is buying their stock online, or from another retailer or psudo-retailer, they may be paying nearly retail for product. Further... even wholesaler's prices jump around based on stock and availability. Since 2020, and the WuhanFlu nonsense, any sort of regularity in supply and pricing has gone completely out the window, in almost any category you wish to look. It's a fact.

Thankfully, this is still America, and as a consumer you have the ultimate say in whether someone's prices are good or not. $170 bricks of primers don't bother me at all... I just don't buy them.

 

[jmorris]

Yes it is. The last time I looked at primers in a store I told them to keep them. I just won't pay that for them.

If everyone was like you the prices would fall.

That said, if would be a poor business decision to sell $25 worth of primers for $65 when you know people will still buy all you have at $150.

 

[Mark_Mark]

Much of it depends on where the retailer gets their stock from. If they are buying them from a wholesaler, they can usually get a better price... but not always. I deal with that every day in the field I'm in... very often it's cheaper to go to HomeDumbo, et al, to buy material than it is to buy it from my wholesaler. If the retailer is buying their stock online, or from another retailer or psudo-retailer, they may be paying nearly retail for product. Further... even wholesaler's prices jump around based on stock and availability. Since 2020, and the WuhanFlu nonsense, any sort of regularity in supply and pricing has gone completely out the window, in almost any category you wish to look. It's a fact.

Thankfully, this is still America, and as a consumer you have the ultimate say in whether someone's prices are good or not. $170 bricks of primers don't bother me at all... I just don't buy them.

well that makes a ton of sense!

I like to have a few $$$ saved up for deals, then buy it all! like a member has 230 FMJ $50/500 no shipping + no tax! I bought 2.

 

[Mark_Mark]

If everyone was like you the prices would fall.

That said, if would be a poor business decision to sell $25 worth of primers for $65 when you know people will still buy all you have at $150.

nobody’s buying $150 primers anymore. $80 is the new standard. and at that price, I’m only buying if I need a few sleeves.

 

[jmorris]

nobody’s buying $150 primers anymore. $80 is the new standard. and at that price, I’m only buying if I need a few sleeves.

How much would you like to bet on that?

We are not even close to November yet...

 

[Mark_Mark]

How much would you like to bet on that?

We are not even close to November yet...

$50!

Primer price will stay at $80, and we can use Bass pro or Powder Valley as a metric.

November is already scripted, just like the SB

 

[Cliff6]

If you need small rifle primers and you are okay with Ginex primers, KR Armory has them for $375 for 5,000 delivered. I've purchased from them before and got very quick service. Usually they also have small pistol primers, but they are out of them right now.

PRIMERS

I don't know why that url only says primers, but it IS a link to KA Armory small pistol primers.

Cliff

 

[TEXASJD]

My local BP/ Cabelas jumped from 68$sh per k for normal primers, 89$ for match stuff. New prices 89-109$. I don’t need any but I like to watch what’s going on, I’m seeing everything locally just not LRP-LRMP

 

[Nature Boy]

These small retail shops are probably buying primers on the open market for the same price we can then marking them up to cover their shipping cost plus a margin. It’s probably the only choice they have at the moment.

I assume they’re hoping for someone to come along who is very desperate or very uniformed.

That’s the only way I can make business sense out of this is.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Thankfully, this is still America, and as a consumer you have the ultimate say in whether someone's prices are good or not. $170 bricks of primers don't bother me at all... I just don't buy them.

If everyone was like you the prices would fall.

That said, if would be a poor business decision to sell $25 worth of primers for $65 when you know people will still buy all you have at $150.

I agree with both of these posts.
Things are worth what people are willing to pay for them.

However, I don't think the market is bearing $159.99/1k for primers anymore. During the height of the panic that was nothing. Now, it's different.
They may sell to a few people new to reloading that doesn't know better, but seasoned people aren't doing it.

 

[Savage30L]

Speaking of things like "Doctors" and "insane", I just got a call from the pharmacy telling me my prescription for eye drops was ready, and that the cost would be over $1000! I called to see if my insurance covered any of it, and that was after the insurance had covered $1500 of the cost!!

 

[Mark_Mark]

EVERYONE IS BROKE!

Look at the $90,000000 conversion truck market! CRASH!

So Unless WW3 happens openly, nobody buying $180 primers when factory loaded 9mm is $299 shipped

 

[GooseGestapo]

Speaking of things like "Doctors" and "insane", I just got a call from the pharmacy telling me my prescription for eye drops was ready, and that the cost would be over $1000! I called to see if my insurance covered any of it, and that was after the insurance had covered $1500 of the cost!!

Shall we call you SQUINT, or POPEYE? .

I was fortunate to have a substantial stock of primers when the crunch hit.
However, with gasoline prices exploding It put a real damper on my shooting competitions. My health has declined too, so I’m shooting much less. So, I probably have close to a lifetime worth of primers.
Slow burning rifle powder is something else though…
I recoiled at the price of Alliants recent releases of Reloader16, and 15.5.
$79/lb !!!
$59.00 a pound for H4350!

 

[nettlle]

I have become an expert on reloading component scrounger-foo. Not by my choice.