I run an online ammo store, and see great sales. However, one thing that I'd really like to understand better is why some people don't finalize their orders? What's your experience with why you don't make the purchase?

Example:
People will put ammo in their 'Shopping Cart', some will not go to 'checkout'. Why?

Others will go to 'checkout', but not purchase. Why?

Thanks y'all
Bbb

I do buy ammo online frequently but have not done what you describe - BUT, I do this occasionally on Amazon. My reasoning is that I want to remember what I have an interest in for later that same day or later on while I compare similar items. Hope this helps.

Thank you. Much appreciated.

Also sometimes to check shipping rates

I can't recall ever doing that with ammunition but I have done it with clothing items a time or three for the very reason mentioned - not sure if I wanted it but I wanted to remember when I decided!

When I first started to purchase ammo via the internet my reason for not submitting the final sale button was the cost of S&H. Now, most stores allow you to check S&H costs well before the final submit. Normally, I compare the internet S&H costs to my local in-store tax price for the same ammo. So far, I've been lucky finding a lower total cost via internet sales.

I stopped buying at the end because I had to use a credit card, I wanted to send a money order.

Mind if I ask why Money Order?

I have done what you described in the past because of shipping costs.
Maybe set some type of flat rate shipping??

Add to cart, check total with shipping. Open another browser window, repeat the same at your competitions' website. Buy from the cheapest one.
Also, I do what others have mentioned - add to cart so I remember what I am thinking of buying (saved for later).

I have flat rate shipping at $9

Free shipping is tough, as I might actually loose money on each sale under a set amount. I am looking into it, though. This and other options.

Apparently I have a high purchase-rate according to other people I have spoken with who run online businesses. Might be that it's early days for me and I am trying to optimize something that isn't actually broken.

I think a more likely scenario go's something like this. Guy looks for ammo, finds ammo, starts to order ammo, wife comes into room and looks over his shoulder at computer screen. Ammo order terminated!

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Stay safe people!

Hahaha. Sounds about right, sir!

A lot of companies factor shipping into the price and then offer free shipping.

I add stuff to carts all the time and don't purchase it. Mainly it is because I want to check shipping. I one time paid less for an item listed at $13+shipping on one site because totals with shipping was less than on another site where it was $4+shipping

+1 on the below.
Hope your research is fruitful....

My ammo purchases are almost entirely done online and are almost always completely impulse driven late at night when I'm tired and susceptible to the need for "retail therapy". Sometimes I realize I just can't spend that kind of money for an order (and it's easy to order too much as I always want another 1000 rounds of everything) and I bail at the last moment. Apologies.

I have done this because it was the only way to get shipping costs.

The most common reason I don't complete a purchase online is ridiculously high shipping. Most places you have to add the ammo to your cart before you can see shipping cost. If you really have flat rate shipping at $9 I can see no reason not to buy assuming I liked the price to begin with (otherwise I wouldn't have bothered with the add to cart button).

Often times it's to see shipping price

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To be honest, your shipping prices are good but your ammo price is (more) expensive. I understand you have to make a profit and I'm not faulting you for it, but when I shop bottom list bottom line

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I've canceled potential orders due to excessive shipping cost. Some sites charge two-three times more than shipping should cost. I don't expect free shipping, besides, it's non existent. They just inflate the cost of the ammo. But fair prices, and actual shipping cost, is what gets my order, every time!

I have to agree that some of the prices I looked at do seem a little high compared to where I normally shop.The brand selection is also very limited in some of the calibers I checked out.

P.S. I went to look up .380 ACP from the left column and shotgun shells displayed.The column on the right side displayed properly.

I have done it because I'm wishy washy as all get out...

Typically to find shipping cost.
Also, if a site requires an account or asks for personal info like name and address before it will provide a total then I'll usually abandon the cart.

Unless we're looking for a certain particular ammo, I think most of us treat the ammos that we shoot a lot of, like .22lr, .223/5.56, 9mm, as commodities. Many sites and stores sell the same stuff, so obviously we usually shop around for the lowest cost per round.

Several things factor in to that: the price of the ammo, the shipping, is tax collected, is there a "handling" fee, etc. So we use the different online sites for all the reasons poster have listed above. Some shoppers might be loyal to only one or two sites, but everybody I know looks for the lowest total price to get that stuff to their front door.

I don't know if that's what you want to hear, since you're in the business, but I think it's reality. Obviously, you're competing against some very high volume sellers that can take advantage of the economy of scale and possibly get their wholesale product for less than you and have the luxury of passing that savings on to us and still remain profitable.

Good luck in your venture.

I'VE DONE it also. mostly because i come from a state , (well the commonwealth of Massachusetts ) that scares off many seller from shipping ammo to us... I should really check before hand....but i usual like what i see....

I won't provide my personal information with out knowing the actual shipping cost and bail out, and don't buy from vendors that don't provide a mailing address.

I've done this a number of times, for several different reasons (all price-related).

Sometimes, I'm trying to find out total cost, including shipping, which a lot of places don't reveal until you go to check out.

Another reason I've done this, is when I'm trying to cobble together an order with multiple calibers. For example, my son is in love with shooting his surplus rifles, and I have a number of guns in 9mm Makarov, as well as 9x19. So I might check a site out, see if I can get the ammo I want (first issue), then add things as needed to make it as cost-effective as I can.

In my case, one of the rifles is an Argentine Mauser (7.65x53), another shoots 8mm Mauser, another shoots 7.62x54R, and then 7.62x39, and of course we may as well check out 30-30. It's tough to find either of the Mauser rds, so whenever I do grab some (usu PPU, it's reasonably priced), I grab a goodly amount, then see if there is anything else I can get to make the shipment worthwhile. There are several sites that have these, and I will mix and match to find the best overall deal.

I don't like paper trails on ammo or guns...

Instead you get a digital trail and a paper trail from the vendor. They did write an invoice and shipped.

Today the only no trail is if you make it yourself out of the raw materials you dug up yourself
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I have often found when the shipping is added in it exceeds the cost of the ammo. Unless you buy in bulk in the $300 range. I won't pay for shipping or taxes. I look for sales and buy what I can afford. It may be one box or twenty. Just trying to make the dollar go as far as I can.

only to find out that the site won't ship to Mass

I don't know what your specific site is , but I come across great deals online all the time just to find out I am once again excluded.

Same here. Shipping can be a deal killer. If I feel that the charges are unreasonable for the shipment, I simply close the web page and go back to my search page. I feel little or no obligation to delete the items from "my cart". And I run a little program at the end of each day that deletes unnecessary cookies and temporary files so I don't have to worry about "shadows".

It's not just with ammo. I do that with any online order. There's enough sellers that provide Free Shipping for most orders with little or no minimum. The last special rounds (9mm/147gr) I got from Academy Sports at a decent price, no minimum order AND free shipping. Most brick and mortar places around here don't stock that round and I was willing to wait a few days to get it. I even target most of my Ebay purchases toward "buy it now" and free shipping items.

I'm not ignorant to the fact that shipping costs somebody and prices include overhead and profit but some places gouge on shipping charges or are not very smart about it. Things that would fit in a padded envelope get shipped in a huge box with expensive packing filler. The last two orders I placed with Amazon were all free shipping but they split every item into a separate shipment spread over a week even though all the items were "Fulfilled by Amazon". I don't see how they made any money on those orders.

You have to be a smart online shopper too and watch for scams. If it's TO GOOD TO BE TRUE, it usually is. You have to know your prices and know what it cost to ship something.

Thanks for the note. We are definitely selling ammo; significantly more this time of the year, this year, than this time last year. So that's a good thing.

Profit - yes. Need to be competitive too. And am doing all I can to be more competitive.

Thanks for the feedback!

That's no good. I will take a look, and make sure it displays correctly. Thanks!

Thanks for laying out this process. I really appreciate it.

Do you usually take minutes, hours, days or weeks to checkout?

Thanks again!

Would you ever consider buying with bitcoin?

Unfortunately MA has really strict gun laws. If you go to my site (hint my username here + .com), we have a section on gun laws throughout the USA.

Regardless, we as well as other online dealers cannot ship to MA.

Thanks!

No problem for me and TTSH! Won't send to us poor souls in Ma!!!!

There are so many comprehensive replies to your request for info I only mention one additional point:

Loyalty: after several small purchases I found a quick, reliable online ammo company that offers free shipping on bulk purchases -- defined as one thousand center-fire, five thousand rimfire -- and sale prices on quality brands.

I receive a periodic sales email. My preferred site offers a temporary low price based (presumably) on availability. For example, I shoot 9mm Luger, 115 & 124 grain, in pistol & PCC. I purchase 1000 rounds at ~$0.20/round of the best quality ammo currently on sale: CCI/Speer, Aguila, Fiocchi, Gecco, etc. This gives me a variety of excellent ammo at a consistent price point.

Good luck w/ your business.

Ditto for me! Also if you add it to your cart and fail to execute the buy order, some sellers will email back and ask why? Then some will offer free shipping, or a discounted price! I go for the least expensive online seller! Your prices will not allow me to purchase my ammo from you!

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It's The Carbonaro Effect!

I haven't ever considered using bitcoin so I probably won't be using it to buy ammo. I'm willing to bet 95% of people are of the same mindset.

You're joking right?

There has to be at least 3-4 paper trails or digital trails when you buy something with money order

Shhh, don't disturb his paranoia.

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So many S&W's, so few funds!!

I have done this numerous times and it is always for the same reason....shipping rates. Some venders charge Conciderably higher rates for shipping and so I will cancel the order.

Off hand I can think of one such company that ships from three different warehouses and each of these charge different prices to ship the same product.

Nothing to do with you.-The last time I bought from Academy I had 53 junk emails the next day using my credit card. I had to get a new card to get rid of that. I wont to talk to someone when I make an order-not a damn robot. If you are a regular person you can get on first base with them & things go smoother if a problem.

You got junk emails or someone used your card? Cause junk emails have nothing to do with the card. A live person can, and will just as easily sell your info to other stores. Which is why stores often ask for zip codes and email addresses.

43 junk emails take 2 seconds to erase

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Yes you're right. My wife informed me I started getting the junk emails because I gave them my email address. Nothing I can do about them selling their email list other than get a new email address. Heck, I've had this one for 25 years. Bummer. My wife also told me that if one wants to order online they should use a second email address other than their main one. That way they can keep their inbox clean.

I concur with the shipping hurdle most are suggesting, plus there is, on occasion, the addition of taxes...when shopping one does not always know if the distributor also has a storefront in state which triggers taxes...now and then also there is confusion or realization shoppers are comparing different bullet weights and just stop if realizing they are comparing 115 grain vs 124 grain...I have stopped buying 115 grain even though they are marginally less expensive I have found 124 better for short barrels so I opt to pay a tad more for ammo that groups better even when just plinking at the range


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I like seeing a physical address for the business.

Maybe irrational, but no info on location makes me
hesitant.

I concur!
I've researched instantammo.com and find, INSTANT AMMO LLC is an entity registered at NEW YORK county with company number 4954179. INSTANT AMMO LLC located at the address 1209 Orange Street Wilmington, Delaware, 19801. Company is incorporated on March 6, 2016.

There is no mention on the website as to location, or ownership.
This makes me hesitant to do business with them.

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It's The Carbonaro Effect!

I run an online store in the golf industry. Although I can't mention the site due to forum rules, if you Google Dr. Mulligan's Golf Balls you'll save a ton on "golf ammo" and support a fellow S&W carrier

We make is very clear on our site and email blasts that orders of $99 or more ship for free. The analytics on the site show that the average order over the last year is $92. It's also tells me that over 95% of orders take advantage of the free shipping yet I'd say the average price of an item is in the $15 range. Offering free shipping at a certain dollar threshold is a big deal for those that compare total prices and has bumped up the average amount of an order by almost $15 JUST by making it clear to the buyer that we offer free shipping at $99.

So you need to ask yourself a question. Would you rather get 10 orders at $30 + shipping or 5 orders at $99 or more and YOU pay the shipping. The cost to the shipper is expensive initially but as you probably know, adding more weight to the shipment is just a few nickels more to ship double the weight, much like mailing a letter that's more than an ounce.

I am always browsing for the perfect ammo at the perfect price. Sort of a hobby. So I will sometimes add a potential winner to my cart while I keep looking.


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She's right. Create a new email address and give that out for spam or other useless stuff. I have one that I haven't checked in probably a decade. I don't even remember the password anymore. Wonder if it ran out of space

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