Saw a few primers at Bass Pro today

[1sailor]

Sadly, I have a feeling that what we're seeing is just the new price of primers. Everyone seems to be setting their prices in the $80 to $95 range. It's not just the scalpers. It's all the big box stores too. Even the ones that usually have good prices on everything else.

 

[kbm6893]

Sadly, I have a feeling that what we're seeing is just the new price of primers. Everyone seems to be setting their prices in the $80 to $95 range. It's not just the scalpers. It's all the big box stores too. Even the ones that usually have good prices on everything else.

I'm fully aware the new normal is going to be double the old price, in the $80-$90 range. When I see them routinely available at that price, I'll change my tune. It's not like stores are getting them in and they're being bought immediately. I'm not seeing them anywhere.

I'm normally not a conspiracy theorist. The 4 brands of primers are being made by only 2 companies. One company makes 3 of the 4. Covid, Ukraine, , new gun buyers, and BLM protests have created the perfect excuses to far raise the bar on prices. Guns are available. Ammo is available. Primers are not. This country was in a war for 20 years and it didn't effect primers this much. We certainly made more ammo for our own troops then we are shipping to Ukraine. And I would bet by the 3 year anniversary of this shortage, that much won't have changed. Getting people to accept the new normal of $90 primers and feel good about it.

 

[John Patrick]

I'm fully aware the new normal is going to be double the old price, in the $80-$90 range. When I see them routinely available at that price, I'll change my tune. It's not like stores are getting them in and they're being bought immediately. I'm not seeing them anywhere.

I'm normally not a conspiracy theorist. The 4 brands of primers are being made by only 2 companies. One company makes 3 of the 4. Covid, Ukraine, , new gun buyers, and BLM protests have created the perfect excuses to far raise the bar on prices. Guns are available. Ammo is available. Primers are not. And I would bet by the 3 year anniversary of this shortage, that much won't have changed. Getting people to accept the new normal of $90 primers and feel good about it.

You are so wrong… There just aren't that many excess (as in not used in ammunition production) primers available.

I work part time at a big box gun store. Primers only hit the shelves after EVERY employee has had a pass at them. If I'm there I text my coworkers who aren't and vice versa. I'm sure some of my fellow employees have buds who reload too.

It was that way with powders until not long ago too. And ammo when it was scarce.

It is one of the benefits of working there.

No manufacturers are holding back. Sunday I saw the first Remington primers since their bankruptcy. Bought them. They never hit the shelf.

 

[kbm6893]

You are so wrong… There just aren't that many excess (as in not used in ammunition production) primers available.

I work part time at a big box gun store. Primers only hit the shelves after EVERY employee has had a pass at them. If I'm there I text my coworkers who aren't and vice versa. I'm sure some of my fellow employees have buds who reload too.

It was that way with powders until not long ago too. And ammo when it was scarce.

It is one of the benefits of working there.

No manufacturers are holding back. Sunday I saw the first Remington primers since their bankruptcy. Bought them. They never hit the shelf.

Sounds like some managers need to kick some asses.

 

[John Patrick]

Sounds like some managers need to kick some asses.

Why? Because you don't get primers at the price you passed on?

Hahahahaha…

You had your opportunity and you passed.

 

[kbm6893]

Why? Because you don't get primers at the price you passed on?

Hahahahaha…

You had your opportunity and you passed.

No. Because it's a scumbag move to take product off a shelf and deny consumers the opportunity to buy them. It's incompetence that your managers either don't know what is going on, or do and don't do anything about it. What's even worse is that I'm sure you get them at a cheaper price, forcing others to pay the much higher prices and even shipping and hazmat fees. Worst of all, you're proud of it.

I have enough primers to keep me going for a few years at my pace. What does bother me is the shortage on primers and other components has driven people away from reloading, and prevented others from considering getting into it.

There's nothing about your situation that makes me jealous, by the way.

 

[Dfish1247]

How many brag about the "yard sale find" and others congratulate them for "stealing it" at the price they paid? There's billions of examples of taking advantage of an opportunity.

Point is, the guy has an opportunity and is taking advantage of it, use the benefits any time you can, that's why they exist.

 

[kbm6893]

How many brag about the "yard sale find" and others congratulate them for "stealing it" at the price they paid? There's billions of examples of taking advantage of an opportunity.

Point is, the guy has an opportunity and is taking advantage of it, use the benefits any time you can, that's why they exist.

A yard sale find is far different than employees grabbing all they can before they hit the shelves. Not even a close comparison. He can brag about it all he wants. I suspect most on this forum agree it's a scumbag move.

As for me, I have many tens of thousands of .22 ammo. It's time to start shooting that more.

 

[John Patrick]

A yard sale find is far different than employees grabbing all they can before they hit the shelves. Not even a close comparison. He can brag about it all he wants. I suspect most on this forum agree it's a scumbag move.

As for me, I have many tens of thousands of .22 ammo. It's time to start shooting that more.

I think of it as part of the compensation package, so do our local managers.

We get a 7% discount on any guns, ammo, primers, etc. I think that speaks to the relatively low mark up on those items.

We get a larger discount on other non store branded items and a 45% discount on store branded items. Also part of the compensation package.

During the year and a half or so that ammo was really scarce customers were limited in the amount of ammo they could purchase. Limits varied over time. The same limits applied to us, we just got first crack. Re-selling was a firing offense, and the one offender we knew of was fired.

Customers are limited to one brick of primers. So are we. The difference is it's not so often that enough primers come in to meet the demand of the reloaders in the store.

Even with my probably better than average access to locally sourced primers I've bought 5,000 on line. There just aren't that many coming in.

And, BTW, if you don't think that the personnel at every other gun shop in the country are getting first dibs, you're nuts.

 

[kbm6893]

I think of it as part of the compensation package, so do our local managers.

We get a 7% discount on any guns, ammo, primers, etc. I think that speaks to the relatively low mark up on those items.

We get a larger discount on other non store branded items and a 45% discount on store branded items. Also part of the compensation package.

During the year and a half or so that ammo was really scarce customers were limited in the amount of ammo they could purchase. Limits varied over time. The same limits applied to us, we just got first crack. Re-selling was a firing offense, and the one offender we knew of was fired.

Customers are limited to one brick of primers. So are we. The difference is it's not so often that enough primers come in to meet the demand of the reloaders in the store.

Even with my probably better than average access to locally sourced primers I've bought 5,000 on line. There just aren't that many coming in.

And, BTW, if you don't think that the personnel at every other gun shop in the country are getting first dibs, you're nuts.

I'm sure employees of all sorts of businesses are doing the same thing. I'm also sure it's not in the employee handbook like your discount is. I used to put stuff aside for myself and friends when I worked retail many years ago. Didn't make it right or company policy, and even as a college kid, I knew it was me getting over and not company policy.

And I'm sure your local managers wouldn't tell the corporate office they condoned the practice, and I'm also sure they'd deny any knowledge of it if it was brought to corporate's attention. There is. no way Bass Pro or any other business allows employees to purchase items at a discount before they even reached the shelves, especially items that are in very short supply.

As a young cop, I used to get all sorts of perks. Free or heavily discounted food or services, no parking tickets or moving violations, access to movies and concerts "on the arm". I considered all of it part of my employment package. But none of it was in the Patrol Guide.

 

[John Patrick]

I'm sure employees of all sorts of businesses are doing the same thing. I'm also sure it's not in the employee handbook like your discount is. I used to put stuff aside for myself and friends when I worked retail many years ago. Didn't make it right or company policy, and even as a college kid, I knew it was me getting over and not company policy.

And I'm sure your local managers wouldn't tell the corporate office they condoned the practice, and I'm also sure they'd deny any knowledge of it if it was brought to corporate's attention. There is. no way Bass Pro or any other business allows employees to purchase items at a discount before they even reached the shelves, especially items that are in very short supply.

As a young cop, I used to get all sorts of perks. Free or heavily discounted food or services, no parking tickets or moving violations, access to movies and concerts "on the arm". I considered all of it part of my employment package. But none of it was in the Patrol Guide.

The policy allowing us first crack at ammo was from corporate headquarters. Don't know, don't care about our first crack at primers or guns, or everything else for that matter, but would doubt like hell that our managers are rogues with local policies in contradiction of national policies. Jeez, I just had the shoes and boots guy set aside a pair of waders for me! The horror!

Me sticking around after my shift ends because of high customer backlog during the riots or since the Bruen decision isn't in the handbook. Neither is volunteering to take shifts of young guys with young families on holidays in the handbook, or returning to help close, which sucks at best and is a hateful job when short staffed. For that matter, the managers providing meals, sometimes breaking out a grill or smoker, sometimes catered, on holidays or letting me knock off a half hour early so I can get in my tree stand for an evening hunt aren't in the handbook either.

 

[gwpercle]

I'm not buying at $90 - $100 per K .
And if enough of us don't buy ... the price will come down .
The dealers can't eat them ... over priced stock that just sits on a shelf will soon start costing the dealer's BIG money ... when they start loosing money on the deal ... it's better to reduce the price ( Big Sale ) and make a smaller profit than have the goods sit there and start costing you money .

If everyone would refuse to buy at $90- $100 per K ... you will see a Sale at $45 - $50 ...Trust Me !!!
I ran my own business for 45 years .
Gary

 

[shil]

I saw CCI large pistol primers at a LGS this morning. $100 per thousand. I passed, even though I could use some.

Ow! My supply of LP is very low and I would have passed at that price as well. A month or two ago, I clenched my teeth and paid almost $90 for a brick of CCI small pistol, the last on the shelf, since I was almost out. I haven't seen any more since.

 

[Dfish1247]

A yard sale find is far different than employees grabbing all they can before they hit the shelves. Not even a close comparison. He can brag about it all he wants. I suspect most on this forum agree it's a scumbag move.

As for me, I have many tens of thousands of .22 ammo. It's time to start shooting that more.

So, if you got wind of five pristine anacondas for $1000 for all five at an upcoming show and you were given the owners phone number ahead of time, you wouldn't jump to get them before they hit the table? You, me, and everyone else couldn't dial the number fast enough. And guess what would happen to at least four of them.

I get where you're coming from, what's going on is a survival type deal, there's also money and morals thrown in.

I've looked at the primer and varget thing like the longest running Black Friday add in history. There's a sprinkling of primers to get you in, then while you're there, a few or a lot of other things are bought.

 

[John Patrick]

I'm not buying at $90 - $100 per K .
And if enough of us don't buy ... the price will come down .
The dealers can't eat them ... over priced stock that just sits on a shelf will soon start costing the dealer's BIG money ... when they start loosing money on the deal ... it's better to reduce the price ( Big Sale ) and make a smaller profit than have the goods sit there and start costing you money .

If everyone would refuse to buy at $90- $100 per K ... you will see a Sale at $45 - $50 ...Trust Me !!!
I ran my own business for 45 years .
Gary

I prefer to have something to actually shoot.

I don't reload for cartridges readily available, even at today's higher ammo prices. 9mm $35.99/100rnd box today, iirc. Not worth the time to reload, imo. Plenty of 380, 45ACP, 40 S&W on the shelves.

No 38spl or 357 on the shelves. Or 32 S&W or Long, 41 magnum, 44spl or magnum, 45 Colt…

But, importantly, I think your assumption on manufacturers' and retailers' margins are way off.

 

[tmd17]

...As a young cop, I used to get all sorts of perks... no parking tickets or moving violations...access to movies and concerts "on the arm". I considered all of it part of my employment package...

And you're busting this guys chops over buying a few primers as a gun shop employee?

 

[kbm6893]

So, if you got wind of five pristine anacondas for $1000 for all five at an upcoming show and you were given the owners phone number ahead of time, you wouldn't jump to get them before they hit the table? You, me, and everyone else couldn't dial the number fast enough. And guess what would happen to at least four of them.

I get where you're coming from, what's going on is a survival type deal, there's also money and morals thrown in.

I've looked at the primer and varget thing like the longest running Black Friday add in history. There's a sprinkling of primers to get you in, then while you're there, a few or a lot of other things are bought.

Not the same and you know it. Somebody selling their privately owned property for Pennie's on the dollar is their business and the buyer's good fortune. Preventing merchandise from hitting the shelves so employees can buy them is wrong. I know people do it. I also know they shouldn't.

 

[kbm6893]

And you're busting this guys chops over buying a few primers as a gun shop employee?

I'm busting his chops because his buying them before they hit the shelves prevents consumers from getting them. The same customers whose purchases allow that store to exist. Me getting a free slice of pizza didn't prevent the next customer from getting theirs. Me standing in the back of a movie theater didn't prevent somebody else from watching it. Me getting free admission to the Bronx Zoo didn't mean somebody else couldn't get in.

And as I said, I knew I was getting over. But I wasnt screwing anybody else by getting over.

 

[mmb617]

To all those who say they will never pay $80, $90, $100 for a brick of primers I say thank you. If enough people take that attitude maybe I'll be able to buy some since I will pay that price.

By the time you added in shipping and hazmat the last brick of LRP I bought was $165, but I needed them so I bought them. I was glad to find them at all.

You can stand on your principles all day long but I'll be out shooting while you don't have any ammo.

I don't like paying $4 a gallon of gas either but when I need it I buy it.

 

[kbm6893]

To all those who say they will never pay $80, $90, $100 for a brick of primers I say thank you. If enough people take that attitude maybe I'll be able to buy some since I will pay that price.

By the time you added in shipping and hazmat the last brick of LRP I bought was $165, but I needed them so I bought them. I was glad to find them at all.

You can stand on your principles all day long but I'll be out shooting while you don't have any ammo.

I don't like paying $4 a gallon of gas either but when I need it I buy it.

I'm aware the new price is going to be double what the old one was. I still think those prices are being manipulated by the manufacturers (all two of them) who are happy to hear that you will happily pay that $100 a brick. My issue is that they are not on the shelves with any regularity or any rhyme or reason. At my reloading pace, I only buy a brick or two a year anyway. The extra $100 a year I spend on primers isn't going to even be noticed by me. If I saw a brick for $80, I'd grumble and pay it, too. Only problem is I haven't seen ONE box on a shelf in 2.5 years. The two bricks I bought were from Brownells or Midway about a year ago. Thirty seconds after my order was in, they were out of stock. One of the largest online retailers for primers was out of stock within minutes of them being IN stock. And to this day, even when they are IN stock, they are in limited supply. It's not like Brownells has truckloads to sell and they are immediately gone. Even their supply is limited.

Yeah, yeah. It's Ukraine and Covid's fault. And yeah, groceries and gas are more expensive , too. But I haven't had an ounce of trouble getting ANYTHING else other than hand sanitizer at the start of the pandemic, and even THAT calmed down in a few months.