Ammo 'bottom feeders'

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kaaskop49

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Several posters have commented on the appearance on Gunbroker of apparent newbies, people who have never posted previously, who are offering ammo for sale at ruinous prices.
They are appearing now at local shows. There were 3 new guys today at the LV show, never displaying before, one with 2cases of 12 gauge buckshot selling for $10 a 5 rd. pack. The other 2 men had cases of Armscor .38 at $30 a box of 50. I didn't check their price on Armscor .357...
This is cheap 'burn-up' ammo! When they said that 'tax was included' in their pricing, I intentionally angered them by saying I had paid $10 a box for this brand of .38 ammo last year, with 'tax included.'
Happily, no one else seemed to be buying their merchandise.
 
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That's the beauty of capitalism. If a seller has his wares priced too high, they don't sell. Call it a "ruinous" price.

When his goods sell, either by decreased demand causing him to lower his offering price or by scarcity making his current offering price attractive, it becomes the "market" price.

I think that was taught in the 8th grade. Maybe 9th.
 
I think a lot of the shortages in common caliber ammo is due to spec buying. If somebody had the wherewithal to scoop up available stock & turn it at a profit, good for them. Likewise if someone gets stuck with a bunch of ammo that they'll have to unload at a loss, good for them. Yes, I've been frustrated by the extra effort that I have to go through in order to get to the range on a regular basis. But I haven't gotten to the point where $1/rnd or more for 9mm seems reasonable. The good news is that things seem to be looking a little brighter lately. What was once a pre-opening line at the front door followed by a mad dash is slowly turning into delivery stock lasting into lunch hour. In a few months, boxes may sit on the shelf overnight.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
TexasCajun said:
I think a lot of the shortages in common caliber ammo is due to spec buying.
Click to expand...

The price cannot go up if the shortage is due only to spec buying by flippers, because the supply would not be changed. In order to corner a market, you have to take significant supply off the table. A few individuals taking advantage of price action at the fringes are incapable of this. Otherwise, why don't you buy 20K of .22LR and flip it for triple? Because you cannot GET 20K of .22LR (for one reason). Chances are, if the small-timers and no-names are pushing significant volumes, they had the stock "before". They did not out-leverage MidwayUSA and the other biggies to get product to sell. The few turning today's 3-box Wal*Mart buy into profit on Gunbroker are insignificant in regard to the quantity of goods they are moving and therefore insignificant in controlling price. They are riding the wave. They neither created it, not do they affect it. However, people buying to store in greater quantities and new buyers entering the market have taken significant supply off the market which is what gives the flippers a rare commodity to sell. The panic that led to the decision of people to store deeper and new individuals to become gun-owners was government caused by the opportunistic reach for new legislation following the well known tragedy.

This stuff is going into to people's newly created or enlarged hidey places. When those new buffers are full, supply and prices will return to normal. It may be a year, but it will happen. I believe that it is good for the cause of liberty that more guns and ammunition are past the last control gate of retail sale and in the hands of American citizens. I embrace the shortage not because it is an opportunity to sell a bit of excess stock, but because it is good for the cause of freedom in the original spirit and founders' intent of the 2nd Amendment.
 
Maybe I'm looked upon as a 'bleeding heart' (never thought I'd call myself this), but I see matters differently. EVERYONE who has children buys milk. EVERYONE who has a vehicle buys gas. But NOT everyone buys ammunition. Just those who have adopted the shooting sports as a passion or major interest.
The anti-gun people do not buy ammunition. They are not being squeezed by the bottom feeders. We are. I'm 'thrilled' that fellow shooters can justify this practice by using the terms 'market' and 'capitalism.' I call it 'profiteering.' There's no other word for it.
A side note, I remember on 9-11, in NYC, the 1000s of people staggering over the Brooklyn Bridge, covered in dust and probably asbestos, stunned, coughing, some shoeless. We gave whatever aid we could. Seeing this, one of the local coffee cart vendors doubled the price of a bottle of water on his cart to $2... Market. Capitalism.
We are in a great deal of difficulty on the legislative level at the present time. Let's not deny this. Some of us are fighting desperately, writing letters, making calls, giving money. Even more than we normally do. Justification of, or winking at, profiteering does not help our cause.
My last thoughts on this matter.

Kaaskop49
 
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This is why I'm very happy I reload. Now if I could figure out a safe and economical way to reload rimfire ammo....
 
I saw a show on how they make 22 ammo...............
the primer powder is mixed with glass and the case is spun to
try and fill the outside area of the case, where it is struck by the firing pin. Not all cases get a even coating and can cause
a misfire if struck in that area. This is the most critical part
of the loading of the 22 bullet...........the other thing was the
crimping of the soft lead bullets with out deforming them.

I think I will let the company make the 22 ammo, from what I saw...........but go for it , I'll not stand in your way. :D
 
A completed sales contract is when two willing parties agree on the worth of an item and monies or other remunerations are exchanged. It is called Capitalism!

I am guessing they are bottom feeders because they have something you want for a price you are unwilling to pay. I have lots of ammo and if I were to sell it, it would be for a price where I could replace it on the open market. If you are a relative, friend, or neighbor with a strong need for ammo, I would give it to you.
 
blujax01 said:
How much am I allowed to sell my ammo for?
Click to expand...

It's your ammo sell it for whatever you can get. If some idiot is willing to pay say $100 for a box of 50 why would you want to begrudge them of spending their money.It's their money if they want to spend it on overpriced items more power to them. If they want to wait till prices come down and buy at normal prices that's up to them also. For me I will wait for non inflated prices.This has gone on for all types of items from toy to cars and I have never bought into the overpriced deals. To each their own. Sooner or later hopefully ammo will get back to normal and hopefully those charging inflated prices will get caught with more ammo then they can use.
 
Before I share my opinion, I just want to throw it out there that I built my stores of ammo gradually over the years rather than purchasing it en masse. I was also wise enough to circumvent the "panic buying" stages that followed the last two elections by paying attention to politics and the news.

That being said, scarfing up all the ammo you can find only to resell it at inflated prices ain't "capitalism" by any stretch of the imagination. What I can call it is something that's liable to get me dinged by the moderators or result in this thread being locked.

Yes, it sucks. I don't like having to curtail my visits to the range because I have to conserve my ammo stores due to this artificial "shortage." I know we all need to vent sometimes, however repeatedly complaining about this isn't going to change anything. All it's going to accomplish is annoy people and invite commentary from armchair economists. Sometimes, you just gotta sacrifice principle for practicality. Suck it up, and don't buy from people you know are price gouging. Only deal with people you can trust; there's a LGS I always buy my ammo from who has always treated me fair and square, even in the middle of this mess.

Weather the storm. This too shall pass.
 
I didn't say that spec buying was the only cause of the shortage. But it is a major factor. In the weeks before the run on ammo was seen as such, people were taking advantage of the open purchase policies of retailers. I realized this was something out of the ordinary when I saw several guys pushing carts full of ammo out of the stores. Ever since, I've seen plenty of ammo available at gun shows - albeit marked up beyond my threshold of "reasonable". I had a modest quantity of 9mm when all of this started since I prefer to go straight to the range & don't want to have to stop for ammo on my way. Now, I make sure that I can replenish (+1 or 2) what I plan to shoot before I go. So I'm not panicked, but I'm not pissed either.

And likening this situation to bottled water profiteers after 9/11 is off the mark. Water is a vital necessity, bullets are not.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
TexasCajun said:
And likening this situation to bottled water profiteers after 9/11 is off the mark. Water is a vital necessity, bullets are not.
Click to expand...

I'd have to respectfully disagree with you on that. While the comparison was arguably a bit of a stretch, ammo is a vital necessity when you consider that a firearm is nothing more than a bludgeon without it.
 
CoMF said:
I'd have to respectfully disagree with you on that. While the comparison was arguably a bit of a stretch, ammo is a vital necessity when you consider that a firearm is nothing more than a bludgeon without it.
Click to expand...

How many days can you live without water? 3-5 if I recall correctly. Without water or a viable substitute, your body begins to shut down to a point where eventually death would occur. I don't believe the same phenomenon occurs regarding bullets. But I'm not a doctor, and I didn't stay at a holiday inn last night....

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
kaaskop49 said:
Several posters have commented on the appearance on Gunbroker of apparent newbies, people who have never posted previously, who are offering ammo for sale at ruinous prices.
They are appearing now at local shows. There were 3 new guys today at the LV show, never displaying before, one with 2cases of 12 gauge buckshot selling for $10 a 5 rd. pack. The other 2 men had cases of Armscor .38 at $30 a box of 50. I didn't check their price on Armscor .357...
This is cheap 'burn-up' ammo! When they said that 'tax was included' in their pricing, I intentionally angered them by saying I had paid $10 a box for this brand of .38 ammo last year, with 'tax included.'
Happily, no one else seemed to be buying their merchandise.
Click to expand...


Based upon the icon of the OP.


And people wonder why LEO's get bashed in forums. Well here is a prime example. Name calling because of their own failures and this little gem " I intentionally angered them". Such actions make all of the good LEO's look bad. It sets a bad example and colors peoples preceptions of law enforcement.
 
ladyT said:
Based upon the icon of the OP.


And people wonder why LEO's get bashed in forums. Well here is a prime example. Name calling because of their own failures and this little gem " I intentionally angered them". Such actions make all of the good LEO's look bad. It sets a bad example and colors peoples preceptions of law enforcement.
Click to expand...

you must know it all
 
I wanted to pass along something that happened to me on Friday the 29th and figured this "Bottom Feeders" thread was the best place for it. I'm just now getting the time to post it.

I was doing my usual search and refreshing dozens of sites I have opened to their 22lr page. I was seeing the normal "out of stock" on all of them until I came to Glen's Army Navy and saw they had about eight different Federal items "in stock" including this... Glen's Army Navy Store - Federal Champion 22 LR 40 Grain 325 Round Pack AM22 Of course it shows "out of stock" now, but that comes later in this story. So, all at once I'm hit with panic and urgency...."AM22 for $18.95 each with free shipping...I have to get me some!" I added five to my cart, proceeded to checkout and placed my order. I went back to the link and it still showed "in stock". I could have gotten more, but that's all I could afford at the time.

But deals like this don't usually fall into my lap, and I felt I needed to verify what just happened. So I gave them a call and a woman answers. I told her that I just placed an order but wanted to verify that it was actually in stock and gave her the item number. She then asks me..."Did you see it on Glen's site or Gunbroker?" I said on Glen's. She hesitated for a few seconds and then said she would transfer me to one of the guys. So, one of the guys answers and I proceed to tell him the same story. He quickly answers that they don't have any 22lr and that he will talk to IT to get the website straight...which was changed to show no 22lr at all in stock within minutes of my phone call. Here is the link to their 22lr page... 22 LR He also said he would cancel the order...which they did.

It took me a while before it dawned on me what the woman initially asked me..."Did you see it on Glen's site or Gunbroker?" So my point to this little story is, ammo is getting to the dealers. But it seems Glen's, who have been in business since 1946, would rather sell it on Gunbroker at highly inflated prices instead of selling it on their website at normal prices. I looked on Gunbroker at a number of auctions for 22lr but didn't see any of the sellers listed as Glen's, but I would expect them to not use their real name. There may be more sites doing the same thing, but this is the only one that I have direct dealings with.

It looks like Glen's Army Navy is now on my list of sites I won't do business with again.
 
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sunarf said:
I wanted to pass along something that happened to me on Friday the 29th and figured this "Bottom Feeders" thread was the best place for it. I'm just now getting the time to post it.

I was doing my usual search and refreshing dozens of sites I have opened to their 22lr page. I was seeing the normal "out of stock" on all of them until I came to Glen's Army Navy and saw they had about eight different Federal items "in stock" including this... Glen's Army Navy Store - Federal Champion 22 LR 40 Grain 325 Round Pack AM22 Of course it shows "out of stock" now, but that comes later in this story. So, all at once I'm hit with panic and urgency...."AM22 for $18.95 each with free shipping...I have to get me some!" I added five to my cart, proceeded to checkout and placed my order. I went back to the link and it still showed "in stock". I could have gotten more, but that's all I could afford at the time.

But deals like this don't usually fall into my lap, and I felt I needed to verify what just happened. So I gave them a call and a woman answers. I told her that I just placed an order but wanted to verify that it was actually in stock and gave her the item number. She then asks me..."Did you see it on Glen's site or Gunbroker?" I said on Glen's. She hesitated for a few seconds and then said she would transfer me to one of the guys. So, one of the guys answers and I proceed to tell him the same story. He quickly answers that they don't have any 22lr and that he will talk to IT to get the website straight...which was changed to show no 22lr at all in stock within minutes of my phone call. Here is the link to their 22lr page... 22 LR He also said he would cancel the order...which they did.

It took me a while before it dawned on me what the woman initially asked me..."Did you see it on Glen's site or Gunbroker?" So my point to this little story is, ammo is getting to the dealers. But it seems Glen's, who have been in business since 1946, would rather sell it on Gunbroker at highly inflated prices instead of selling it on their website at normal prices. I looked on Gunbroker at a number of auctions for 22lr but didn't see any of the sellers listed as Glen's, but I would expect them to not use their real name. There may be more sites doing the same thing, but this is the only one that I have direct dealings with.

It looks like Glen's Army Navy is now on my list of sites I won't do business with again.
Click to expand...


I've run across several shops that sell their ammo on gunbroker instead of in their shops. Frankly in my opinion this is bad business by telling your customers that they have to bid for ammo on gunbroker is a sure way to run them off. Thankfully the shops I do business with don't do this.
 
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