I was just perusing a popular auction site to get an idea of how desperate people may be during the current drought on reloading components. I am quite happy that I was sitting down, but I hope that this particular auction is a fraud. Eight pound keg of Varget is up to $4600 after 3 bids. Starting bid was $3500!

__________________
Judge control not gun control!

So much for Guy Fawkes Day.

__________________
The best I can with what I got

The obvious solution to such prices is for everyone to stop paying them. But, as your auction research indicates, there will always be someone willing to spend more to get what they want.

Sounds like a shill auction to me. I recently saw a 2000 BMW 740iL for sale on eBay for ~$72,000, which is more than it cost new. It was low mileage to be sure, but on a good day at a live auction, it might have fetched $30,000 tops.

We live in strange times to be certain.

__________________
Hue 68 noli me tangere

How many times have you read on this Forum and others that people are bragging about having 10,000 plus primers or 25 pounds of this or that reloading powder, but are still buying all they can get their hands on. One guy had 20,000 primers and was mad because his local store restocked and only let him buy one brick at a time so he had to go back several times to buy more until they ran out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

STOP THE BUYING INSANITY! This is a BIG part of the shortage.

__________________
Gary
SWCA 2515

Am re-thinking my position on this and might sell off a bunch of stuff for that kind of money.....

Randy

PS. The old saying about a fool and his money comes to mind.

I have had my Insanity checked several times....turns out I'm half a quart low!

Ivan

This ammo pricing insanity reminds of Harley-Davidson in the mid-90s. Now THAT was insane!

I purchased a 1995 Softail Custom from Daytona Harley, but here were the conditions:
1. $500 non-refundable deposit;
2. 18-month waiting list (shortest wait was for a Sportster at 12-months, longest for a Dynaglide at 24-months);
3. You can only pick your model but not the color. Whatever color the bike was on arrival was what you got; and...
4. You had to already own a Harley for a trade-in!

Harleys were so popular back then a used bike went for more than a new one. As I waited on the list and got closer and closer to delivery, I kept getting offers for my place in line. By the time I got within a week of delivery the offers were up to $2000. When I took delivery, the salesman met me in the parking lot and offered me $3000 over what I just paid for it.

I kept and rode that bike for 14 years through one major accident, three paint jobs, two drive train rebuilds, and an ungodly number of custom and performance parts.

The take-home lesson (for me, at least) is to Have Patience, and don't succumb to anyone else's desire to keep up with a fad. With that in mind I've decided to remain patient during this current round of retail madness.

"A fool and his money makes a great date!"

Someone is trying to get $100/lb locally for Varget and I thought that was insane, but nearly $600/lb?....Dang! I’m thinking shill bidder too, but who knows? I’m not familiar with Varget; is it some sort of pixie dust for the magic bullet?


Now my wife is thinking I was really on to something when I started “investing” in all those reloading components a few years ago

__________________
USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

This is the way the free enterprise system works. When guys start
pulling stuff out of their stash, prices will start to fall.

I went to G. Broker site and on the front page of site, I saw a pound of 4064 that is currently bid up to 96$. Son, that is just ---- up. My small stash of powder is probably now insurable for over 1000$. How can I bear to reload when powder is gold dust? As for my stash of primers, I will trade primers one for one for silver dollars, any takers?

I had to go on the G/B auction site just to check things out, and about fell out of of my chair !!
Primers selling for $250-$350 per 1000, certain powders going for $125. and more a pound. Not to mention the high amounts some of these sellers are charging for shipping as well !!
The craziest thing is that there are multiple bids on almost all of this stuff....and people are nuts enough to pay it !! More money than brains, I guess !!

Also shows the dark side of human nature. As for the really greedy *******s, I hope they all choke on it.

I went to a LGS Sunday to check on the reload stuff, no powder that I wanted, no bullets I wanted, but they did have some primers. They were limiting sales of primers to 2 sleeves, they are doing this so that some schmuck wouldn't buy up bricks then resell them. They decided not to play that game, since they didn't have a lot left I decided to leave them for the next guy. I have enough to load what I can and the limiting factor for this weekend will be my 50 cal bullets, I am 8 shy of making the 250 cases I have primed.

That’s exactly why I would not consider selling my components. I’d feel really guilty for selling them for way more than I paid and on the other hand, I’m not going to be a sucker and sell them cheaper than everyone else just to have some greedy so and so flip them for a hefty profit.

__________________
USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

I don't understand why they sold a 2nd box to him, in the 1st place.
There should be a 30 day waiting list before you can buy a "Case" of anything, at these times..........
and that includes 1,000 primers !!

Well, I for one won't be buying, your right , that's total insanity !

If I had way more than I needed, I'd sell to personal friends and local friends on this forum (no shipping) who really needed them. That way, no one is re-selling at gouge prices and they get what they need. I wouldn't sell for a penny over my cost to a friend. Problem is, I don't hoard and typically only buy enough to last a year or so.

Out in the shop may have to make an appearance on G/B!

Bought a pound of HP-38 (Win 231) at a LGS yesterday for $30 including tax. They had quite a selection, but no Unique, but 231 does pretty good, and that will last me a long time.

I am speaking from an undisclosed location. I am beginning to fear for my life, I have an 8 pound canister of Varget unopened and another half of one.

I thought I was just being prudent in stocking up, I didn't know mobs of people would throw money at you for your stash of powder!

If they get a whiff of how many primers I have, I am sure I'll trampeled to death!

Ivan

Maybe I should publish a full inventory and say it is at Rusty's house!

It's simple. If you don't have the supplies. But you have the money and belief it wont get better anytime soon.

I'm not in that situation, but if I was..as they say "Do what 'ya gotta do"

Edit: I could stop at my LGS and find rifle powder about $30 a pound. Was just there the other day. Didn't do inventory but the shelves were not bare..

Just an observation-I have a suspicion most of these insane auction prices are seldom paid. I follow a lot of reloading equipment on ebay as a benchmark. Over 50% of the time, I get alerts asking if I am still interested because the high bidder defaulted.

__________________
The American dream is alive

I wandered through a Bass Pro Shop store last weekend. It must be the epicenter of foolishness. None a single cartridge or shell of any caliber or gauge available for sale, but dozens of firearms. They had roped off queues for people to line up and wait their turn to fondle a firearm. Are they the ones paying outrageous prices when they discover their is no ammunition for their new weapon?? Madness.

We are not having any reloading component shortages here in Australia. As an example, I just done some quick internet checks on my go to primers; Federal Small Pistol. Prices are around $79-89 per 1000 round box and $10-11 per 100 round box. That's about $61 to $69 USD for the 1000 round box.

It's usually us in Australia that pays much higher prices for gun supplies that are much cheaper in the USA.

I wonder what kind of 20 gauge shotgun I could get for a brick of SSP's? (Just a rhetorical question.)

...OR to find yourself without if this situation goes on for years.
I don't expect it to last that long, but that isn't a gamble I'm ready to take.
Its like trying to "time" the market. Most people who try, fail...

__________________
Send lawyers, guns & money...

Will trade small pistol primers and powder for registered magnum

Looks like the shortages will be around for a long time, or too expensive to keep anything in stock. Thank goodness I loaded up well in advance of the crazy times. Just to avoid temptation, all my reloading equipment and supplies are in DEEP storage.

AAAAHHHH, the good ole days!!!!

Back in 1933, the middle of the "great depression" primers cost:
$3.60 for pistol primers
$3.80 for rifle primers


Unique was $4 a pound ($2 for an 8oz canister)


$$$$ then VS today's $$$$

Those $3.60 per 1000 primers would cost $72.xx today.
The $4 a # unique would cost $80.xx today

$0.36 in 1909 → 2021 | Inflation Calculator

When the government gives away money it doesn’t have what difference does the price of components make ? Find something important to gripe about .

We will soon be talking about the prices of food. The next step will be availability of food . That’s when the fun begins.

Perhaps they do have more money than brains, but they certainly more money than us. Those people are out there also, and a 5 grand bid don't mean beans to some.

I located primers at a reasonable price at "Bullseye". I was thrilled until They advised me that They did not ship to the USA. This company is located in the USA ?

Bought 8# of Red Dot on the way home from my cas shoot last week for 230.00 out the door. Picked up a lb of American Select at the same place after last month’s shoot to try in my 12 ga shells. I bought the RD after some club members said that they couldn’t get Winchester AA or even field loads so they were going to start building their own 12 ga. The RD was only 35.00 or so more than midwayusa if you figure in the shipping and hazmat fees.

Stopped in at local Cabela's yesterday to exchange a shirt, noticed absolutely no one in the three (3) ammo aisles so wandered over.

Amazing....Unbelievable....Stupendous...ALL three shelves totally stocked, chock full of??????

Ammo storage cans!!!!! Your choice...plastic, metal.

Actual gun counter had some (as usual) overpriced plastic guns, but no lookers, buyers, suckers standing around...just one clerk sleepily looking at his phone.

Gun Library? Not even manned....nothing in the cases except some old worn holsters for $25 to $45 each....not one a quality maker or real vintage.....even a Walmart Uncle Mikes that retailed probably for $10 or less....and they wanted $15.00!

Yep.............crazy times indeed!

__________________
Charlie B
SWCA#3083, SWHF#570

I've got a coffee can full of spent primers from several months of replacement reloading on my bench. I would venture to bet that I could advertise these "used once" primers for $$$ and they would sell within days. Times and people ate totally nuts.

There is a video up on YT about how to recharge used primers with match heads. I seem to recall a little black book of fun stuff back in the day, that had the same idea, which I scoffed at as absurdly desperate. I wonder how ML percussion caps are these days. You can have a last ditch 44 cal ML revolver that would be effective for SD, throwing a big lead ball or a conical. Guess I need to inventory my boxes of primers and my cans of powder, some with old price tags of 18$ on them.

Within a year or two, the cost and availability of 22 shells will be on par as regular ammo is today. A wise person should consider what the dismal future holds.

Wow. i paid $37 and some change for a pound of Benchmark and felt like I had overpaid. Not so sure now....

Back during the '13 22 LR shortage, I read where a guy figured out that he could buy 22 powder loads ( for Ramshot nail setters). Then put a 22 caliber pellet in the chamber of a 22 single shot, followed by the powder shot, and kill a squirrel for dinner.

Made sense I guess, if one was desperate. I never was, nor did I build up enough nerve to try it. I figure it would foul a barrel pretty quickly. Desperate people do desperate things in desperate times.

Shelia Jackson Lee's proposed Bill in Congress is really getting talked about now. Things are fixing to get even crazier!

I just struck a deal for 4 more pounds of Varget for $150 and two pounds of IMR4031 for $60. As hard as powder is getting to find, I figure I better get while the getting is good.

__________________
Send lawyers, guns & money...

Two days ago I went to Green Mountain Guns in Lakewood, Colorado. They had a few pounds of powders I’m not familiar with.
More importantly, they had 10 pounds of Green Dot at $22.95 a pound.
When I left they had 8 pounds left.
Never used it before, but I understand I can use it in .38 Special and .45 acp.
Somebody wants repeat customers.

__________________
and what his trumpet saith