Why so few retail outlets for supplies?

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Uncle Alvah

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Feb 7, 2004
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Duncan, NC
I live in roughly the center of North Carolina.
Within 10 miles of my house are two of the best gun stores you could ask for as far as selection and prices go for both new and used guns. If I'm willing to drive a few more miles, there are several more.
However, when it comes to reloading supplies, it's a completely different story. Area shops might have "a little of this and a little of that" but a store with a fairly complete stock of goods is simply not to be found.
Brass and bullets I get on-line, although I dislike the shipping charges, especially on bullets, and powder/primers I buy when I'm traveling to avoid shipping/HazMat charges.
I'd be interested in opinions on why an area with such excellent stores and wide selection of firearms has such a dearth of reloading supplies available/
Low mark-up maybe?
Too expensive to maintain a wide stock because so many different components?
Hassles with insurance coverage or local regulations?
 
I'd say mostly the cost of maintaining the inventory in these times.
We have 5 pretty good sized gun stores here in the county I live in and I do as much business with them as possible to keep them going.
I will do mail orders though when it saves me a bunch.
 
I think it is just too costly for them to stock powder & primers.

If they order in large enough quantity to be economical, they would have to store the excess inventory in a separate powder bunker off-site.

Insurance regs or city fire codes may also play a role.

rc
 
My guess would be just pure supply/demand... or the lack of the latter.

Real firearm enthusiasts reload. The rank and file gun owners, the 99.99%, do not. My actual shooting buddies reload, but I can't think of a single gun owner I met outside of a competitive shooting context that does. That would encompass relatives, co-workers, casual friends, etc... not a one of them.
 
Just checked one of my retail mail order catalogs and find the following

If said dealer only carried 1 bottle of each powder in each size available it amounts to 254 different types and sizes and there is no backup after the first sale.

Primers--69 different sizes and packaging, again 1 of each with no backup.

Bullets and brass? I'm not even go there. But I bet there's more than 100 different ones, or maybe more than 1,000.

This is for centerfire only, no rimfire or muzzleloaders.
 
I suspect it is all supply and demand. If enough folks ask the store to stock reloading items I can't believe a shop would turn down regular business for which they knew there was a market.

Have you asked any of them to special order for you? Perhaps that would be a start?
 
If you make it down to Charlotte check out Little Hardware. They have a well stocked "room in the back" you'll have to ask to see.
 
I too think it's a supply/demand issue. Most people just don't bother. Much like ny32182, I know a lot of other shooters. Virtually all the guys I have met at USPSA matches reload, but outside of that its almost unheard of. Outside of competition, I know around 30 people who shoot (most hunters - a few recreationally). Of that ~30 only 1 reloads. 3 of them used to 20+ years ago but have long quit.

Truthfully too, I think that a lot of these people probably SHOULDN'T reload. It's not rocket science, but you do have to be diligent and work within set data. For a lot of people setting the clock on a VCR is too advanced - reloading probably is too.

As a result, I only buy powder and primers from brick and mortar stores. Even those are very overpriced in my immediate vicinity. I do a monthly match in Columbia though (about 2 hours away) and have taken to stopping into Palmetto State Armory over there which has an okay selection and better prices that the nearby shops.
 
We are very lucky here in Mpls to have a very well stocked shop called Gunstop. They take mail orders too. It's a great place, almost like shopping at Brownell's or Midway. The fellow who runs it is quite knowledgeable and has been a great help to me weeding out good info from bad, giving me advice on my loads, etc. I try to get all my stuff from or thru him via special order.
 
I am lucky enough to live within driving distance to HSM, HS munitions, or the Hunting Shack, however you wanna call it.(you know, the Blaze orange boxes) Major ammo manufacturer, who will also sell components out the door. And for less than retail prices. That tends to work out pretty well. Also, if you have a Wholesale Sports (sporting goods store out of canada) they tend to have quite a bit of reloading supplies. (And also carry HSM ;))

http://us.wholesalesports.com/storefront/index.ep

(looks like a good sale going on now, might have to stop by...)
 
Well my guess would be there isn't a lot of money to be made in selling reloading supplies. Think about it-- everyone on the forums complains that their store is overpriced. Overpriced compared to what? Powder Valley? Yeah, of course they are. But local purchases also don't entail a hazmat charge and they are generally small quantities.

And consider that most serious reloaders buy in bulk. I'm talking about guys like me who do a lot of shooting, and think an 8 pound cannister of powder is just a good start. Hell, last year I made several purchases of over 50 pounds of powder at a time. Primers I buy 50,000 or more at a time. Of course my local store is overpriced, compared to what I buy. I probably buy more at a time than my local guy. Still, I patronize his shop from time to time to get things I need right away or in small quantities that I don't want to order.

So keep in mind the number of items your local shop has to stock and his profit margins. Considering the volume most stores sell, I'm surprised they stock components at all.
 
Many years ago, I used to work in a small shop. We stocked some of the most popular reloading supplies our regular customers wanted, and could get pretty much anything else they wanted within a few days. It is quite expensive to carry a lot of inventory, especially if you're gonna try to have some of everything that anyone might want. Where we were located, there were also restrictions on how much we could keep in inventory (fire codes), and before additional insurance was required. But we got to know our regular customers, and would stock what they wanted and used. I currently do a fair amount of business with a different VERY small local shop, that stocks hardly any reloading supplies, but once again, all you have to do is ask, and they'll get it for you in a timely manner (usually less then a week on primers and powder).
There also isn't much of a markup on it either, since they didn't really tie up any money in it. In fact, they get paid for it before they have to pay their supplier. (they like that) It's having to stock the stuff and tying up money in inventory that increases the price so much. Ask at your regular local gun shop. Most I've run into are more than happy to help. That's easy money for them.
 
When I lived out in California, I was spoiled. We had a place called Bullet, Bullets, Bullets. the owner started selling just his own cast bullets. He later moved into a shop and sold powders, primers and the works. You could allways find some sort of deal in the place. I moved and he went out of buissiness from what I hear. I miss that place!

WB
 
all you have to do is ask, and they'll get it for you in a timely manner (usually less then a week on primers and powder).
Click to expand...

Maybe this is a holdover mindset from the days of yore, but if you're waiting on it to ship anyways, why bother involving a middle-man?

I've run into this in several shops (not just gun shops - some other small specialized shops too). Walk in, ask for something, and the response is "Don't have any, but I can get it for you!". No thanks - I have the internet too. The only reason most people would go to a local store these days is if they need something immediately (though admittedly, there's very little I need these days that I can't wait on).
 
As jcwit said in post # 5.

Remembering the "good old days" I can remember that it was very difficult to put together components for a particular rifle, or shotgun load because a shop would only carry maybe Remington primers and Hercules powder. And we had a fairly large distributer in my town.
We probably have it the absolute best it has ever been, right now, because of the internet, credit cards, Midway, Powder Valley, etc. I used to order a lot of stuff from Badger Shooters Supply in Owen, Wisconsin. You filled out an order blank, attached a check, put it in the mail and it arrived there in a few days. They pulled the order, packed it, shipped it, and a few days later you got it. Probably a two week round trip if you were lucky.
 
i pick up powder and primers at the gun shows in raleigh. most of the rest i order online. just keep an eye out for free shipping codes and other coupons.

kinda sucks to not be able to just run into town to the local gun shop and pick up what you want for that instant gratification, but that's part of being in this dying breed of reloaders.
 
Back in the early 90's big mail order companies came on strong and had a direct impact on the ability of the small single store brick and mortar shops to compete. With the proliferation of the internet sales segment, it has made it very hard for them to compete. As a manufacturer we are approached by big box stores that demand distributor pricing and then sell at a tighter margin that creates a pricing issue where consumers can buy products from stores like Cabela's for nearly the same price the dealer pays from the manufacturer. In this competitive market the margins are shrinking and leaves the brick and mortar shops in a vulnerable position. We have been discussing this issue and are trying to come up with a way to create margin for those localized dealers. One of the solutions is to raise the MSRP giving margin to the dealers. This is not a popular choice for customers that buy from us directly, but then again we hate to be a competitor with our dealers. The other choice is to delineate the product line so what we sell to the big box stores is different than what the dealers buy and sell, then you don't have a direct compare with pricing. We have a big box store in our town and they are one of our customers, but I buy from the small shop at a bit higher price to support him. I like having him here and do my best to support him.
 
Reloaders are mostly to blame for the lack of local stock. Those who shoot large volumes of a given powder and use lots of primers will order online looking to save every penny they can.

For those that shoot only a pound or two, when the Dealer stocks powders "A, B, C, and D", the customer wants "W, X, Y, or Z". So many powders are available it's either impossible for a Dealer to stock enough to cover all the demand or there is no way they can "guess" what their customers might want.

What I can't understand why so few individual Dealers won't even Special Order for those that want large volumes. I've offered to place orders through my local Dealer and even pay him a reasonable profit on my order, and he can even wait to place the order with his other stock order for powder and primers. All I get in return from him is a "quote" of Suggested List price PLUS shipping costs.

So much for my local Dealer. Soon I'll be able to literally ride a bicycle to a new Cabela's store and get that pound of powder or box of primers I need in a hurry. The new store will probably put an end to the local Dealer's gun sales as well.
 
Small stores or stores that aren't going to store bulk quantities are going to pay the same shipping and hazmat fees that you are. Then they have to include their markup for profit. And they don't want a huge inventory tying up their funds, so they end up with paying just as much fees as we will to buy the same amount. So at best, you will find a shop that stocks a bulk of the major primers, and best selling powders. If you get better than that, they make stock the best selling fresh brass from one or two brands and a selection of bullets to go with them. But the more they stock then the more money they have to tie up in inventory and that can turn into lost money if the only way they can move it is to put it on sale. They still have a business to run and most of them cannot come close to stocking in high enough volume since they don't have a high enough customer turn around. It would be easy to blame Wal-Mart and the various web based stores for this, but the truth is that people prefer selection and better pricing... So this is another ugly side to the fact that as we modernize our society the smaller business stores are being phased out. And when you really micro size that down to a nitch group like gun owners, then you have an even smaller customer base. And there aren't nearly as many reloaders that are gun owners as you might think. So that makes this an even more nitch sales group. I have no doubt that regulations imposed on FFL, hazmat, and whatever else don't help business any either, but that is a whole different conversation. So LGS's have to be careful in what reloading supplies they sell since they already tie up massive amounts of funds in the guns and ammo they stock. And those prices are already volatile enough. I know one shop that stocked up on AR mags and a terrible price and they had to just eat them to get rid of them. They can't afford to do that too much when we already want to haggle with them on the price of everything we buy!!!
 
I agree with the above that part of the problem is too many different items to stock. Some of the stores I've seens with limited supplies do it smartly with a couple comon go-to poweder primers and thats about it. And if there is a newby Cabellas etc it really make it hard to justify stocking.
 
New member here and this is my first post. I've been reloading for 20 plus years on a Dillon RL550B. The local gun range that I belong to stocks a limited supply of popular pistol and rifle reloading supplies. FMJ, JHP, lead, powder and primers. Popular is the operative word. Their prices are usually tolerable and I try to support them by buying my lead from them. Sometimes powder and primers. Most of my powder and primers I will buy in bulk at a gun show. I look forward to being a member of this forum and learning from you.

R/Bud
 
Uncle Alvah, do you belong to a gun club? Somewhere in your area there is a supplier/distributor of ammo and componets.

Gun clubs I know will allow you to order supplies with them. SASS clubs are alllowed, at some distributors, to "register" principals in the club and they group order.
 
Rodentman said:
We are very lucky here in Mpls to have a very well stocked shop called Gunstop. They take mail orders too. It's a great place, almost like shopping at Brownell's or Midway. The fellow who runs it is quite knowledgeable and has been a great help to me weeding out good info from bad, giving me advice on my loads, etc. I try to get all my stuff from or thru him via special order.
Click to expand...
John usually has everything a guy could need, but the last time I was there he had sold out of the size of bullet puller collet I was looking for, and one other thing I needed as well. But you are right, he has nearly everything a reloader is looking for.

Wolf's Den on the opposite side of town is nice too.

And then there's Cabelas up in Rodgers and another in Owatonna. 4 good choices within an hour of me.
 
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