Ammo Scalpers

[Gary M]

And possibly, that "scalper" that is waiting for the store to open so they can buy low and sell high is there because they are unemployed or under employed because their government failed them and shut down their employer due to the Chinese Death Flu plandemic and uses the extra couple hundred they make to feed their family, pay their bills, and whatever else it takes to survive this current crisis.

It is always easy to condemn the motivations of others when you feel it affects you personally. I'm not going to do that regardless of my low post count (remember, everyone started at 1).

I have also yet to see in the Forum classifieds anyone selling guns and / or ammo at their purchased price to benefit these people that did not decide until recently that those may be good things to have.

I'm fairly sure that if I listed my 64-3 DAO police turn in for the 150 I paid for it and another 100 for 300 rounds of ammo, that no one on this board that is well stocked in guns and ammo would take advantage of the situation and leave it for the poor person that needs it.

 

[PeteC]

Other than one local pawn shop, Sportsman's, Walmart, Cabelas and LGSs appear to be keeping their prices at pre-Covid margins....

Same thing I am finding at local Dunhams. Prices were about the same as pre-Covid full retail.

Price gouging is starting at the manufacturers now. My gun range was not getting their regular shipments - at contracted prices - but slightly different ammo from the same supplier was very available at 15 cents more per round. By slightly different, I mean like flat v. round nose, same load.

As a result, the plain target ammo they were selling increased 20 cents per round to 60~80 cents just in the last weeks. At the same time, Dunhams is still selling ammo from the same manufacturer for $15~25/box of 50 at retail. ROFL!

 

[geo57]

100%!

Like clockwork...with every so-called 'ammo shortage' we get the sleepy complainers who were caught with their pants down (again) and refuse to admit that they were not smart enough to stock up after the last episode. Instead they blame anyone who didn't get caught with their pants down. They're among the crowd who by habit blame others for the problems that they have put on themselves....Of course that mindset comes from the 40+ years of people being told that if they have any problem it's not their fault.. it's the fault of the people who don't have the same problem.

Obvious to all are the sellers offering ammo at staggering prices to people who have made the choice to not be proactive when it comes to having a good supply of ammo on hand...but what is being ignored by the complainers are the closed ammo auctions on GB that started at a penny and ended at the price level, or higher, of what "the scalpers" are asking for...amazing what desperate buyers are WILLING TO PAY. Of course the 'penny auction' seller is automatically blamed for the high price.
As for private sales...the seller may be in need of money and looking to profit off of their wise investment, who knows? or cares?, at least they have it. It's theirs to decide what they will do with it.
What gets me is the sanctimonious nature of some who sit on their huge stash of ammo and refuse to sell it AT THEIR COST to "their fellow human being who is in need", all the while complaining about those who are kind enough to offer any ammo at all, and set at prices that people are WILLING TO PAY.
(still waiting on the high-ground crowd to take care of the gentleman who had requested a case of affordable 9mm ammo).

Having stated all that, I do have much sympathy for the young people who are just becoming of age to own a firearm. They have a legitimate gripe about current ammo costs. As for the rest (who should know by now) ..being prepared beats ignoring the possibilities of whatever may trigger an ammo shortage...every time. Some people just can't learn that.

You just hit a home run. Perfectly stated.

 

[diyj98]

And possibly, that "scalper" that is waiting for the store to open so they can buy low and sell high is there because they are unemployed or under employed because their government failed them and shut down their employer due to the Chinese Death Flu plandemic and uses the extra couple hundred they make to feed their family, pay their bills, and whatever else it takes to survive this current crisis.

If they're feeding their family off what they're making scalping ammo, they might be better served spending that time looking for a job. Of course most of those scalpers in my area don't work because they don't want to. Most have scammed their way into disability checks so they can hunt and fish full time.

 

[Tiribulus]

I sure would love to know where all these LGS are that are getting and selling ammo at sane prices. I am no sleep in, drunken dope fiend who is too lazy to be at the door at the break of dawn to be able to get some ammo.

I'm just a 57 year old first time handgun owner who wants to be a responsible, safe and proficient shooter who will not wind up a usable statistic for the gun grabbers and who also recognizes that that will not happen without practice, which obviously requires ammo. I also recognize that a BB gun will do next to nothing to make me proficient with a centerfire pistol. Sorry friend, but that's a truly asinine statement.

There is not one LGS within 50 miles of the Detroit area selling any popular ammunition out the door whatsoever. Not that I've found. With a gun purchase only or if you pay for range time. Prices are a dollar a round even then.

It's a long story, but I do not have the money to pay these prices for ammunition. I am very politically aware, for decades, and these scummy overlords we now have at the helm of this once great nation pushed me into now or never mode and it was all I could do to scrape together enough to buy a couple handguns, a 9 and a 45, having no idea what the availability and cost of ammunition would be. I knew there was a shortage, but not like this.

i know I am not the only one in this position.

I would have thought that champions of the 2nd amendment would consider it more important to have millions of new gun owners well equipped to join them than to line their own pockets.

Looks like I was wrong.

The only thing I trust less than free enterprise is big government.

It is absolutely true that socialism is a corrosive and eventually tyrannical and destructive ideology that I could never embrace.

However, the leftists are right too. Capitalists would sell their mother for a buck.

 

[nbedford]

It took me a long time to overcome my bias in favor of factory ammo, and to realize that every revolver is a law unto itself regarding what it shoots most accurately. I have not bought factory revolver ammo in a long, long time. My reloads with my home cast bullets are more accurate in my revolvers. So, other than 22LR which I had a good supply of before the Sandy Hook stampede, I am sure not contributing to the scalpers. Once partly because they were made with good starline brass I actually bought some HSM Cowboy action 44 Specials. This is a target shot at 16 yards with my Henry Big Boy in 44 Special/44 Magnum with the HSM factory ammo and some .430" Speer swc's I had reloaded. Never saw one tumble to that extent at 16 yards before.

 

[Gary M]

I sure would love to know where all these LGS are that are getting and selling ammo at sane prices. I am no sleep in, drunken dope fiend who is too lazy to be at the door at the break of dawn to be able to get some ammo.

I'm just a 57 year old first time handgun owner who wants to be a responsible, safe and proficient shooter who will not wind up a usable statistic for the gun grabbers and who also recognizes that that will not happen without practice, which obviously requires ammo. I also recognize that a BB gun will do next to nothing to make me proficient with a centerfire pistol. Sorry friend, but that's a truly asinine statement.

There is not one LGS within 50 miles of the Detroit area selling any popular ammunition out the door whatsoever. Not that I've found. With a gun purchase only or if you pay for range time. Prices are a dollar a round even then.

It's a long story, but I do not have the money to pay these prices for ammunition. I am very politically aware, for decades, and these scummy overlords we now have at the helm of this once great nation pushed me into now or never mode and it was all I could do to scrape together enough to buy a couple handguns, a 9 and a 45, having no idea what the availability and cost of ammunition would be. I knew there was a shortage, but not like this.

i know I am not the only one in this position.

I would have thought that champions of the 2nd amendment would consider it more important to have millions of new gun owners well equipped to join them than to line their own pockets.

Looks like I was wrong.

The only thing I trust less than free enterprise is big government.

It is absolutely true that socialism is a corrosive and eventually tyrannical and destructive ideology that I could never embrace.

However, the leftists are right too. Capitalists would sell their mother for a buck.

Put up a post in the Want To Buy section for the quantity, caliber, and price you are willing to spend.
I'm sure that many of the anti-gouging posters on this thread will gladly sell you what you seek at their original cost.

 

[geo57]

I sure would love to know where all these LGS are that are getting and selling ammo at sane prices. I am no sleep in, drunken dope fiend who is too lazy to be at the door at the break of dawn to be able to get some ammo.

I'm just a 57 year old first time handgun owner who wants to be a responsible, safe and proficient shooter who will not wind up a usable statistic for the gun grabbers and who also recognizes that that will not happen without practice, which obviously requires ammo. I also recognize that a BB gun will do next to nothing to make me proficient with a centerfire pistol. Sorry friend, but that's a truly asinine statement.

There is not one LGS within 50 miles of the Detroit area selling any popular ammunition out the door whatsoever. Not that I've found. With a gun purchase only or if you pay for range time. Prices are a dollar a round even then.

It's a long story, but I do not have the money to pay these prices for ammunition. I am very politically aware, for decades, and these scummy overlords we now have at the helm of this once great nation pushed me into now or never mode and it was all I could do to scrape together enough to buy a couple handguns, a 9 and a 45, having no idea what the availability and cost of ammunition would be. I knew there was a shortage, but not like this.

i know I am not the only one in this position.

I would have thought that champions of the 2nd amendment would consider it more important to have millions of new gun owners well equipped to join them than to line their own pockets.

Looks like I was wrong.

The only thing I trust less than free enterprise is big government.

It is absolutely true that socialism is a corrosive and eventually tyrannical and destructive ideology that I could never embrace.

However, the leftists are right too. Capitalists would sell their mother for a buck.

So you admit to being anti free enterprise and anti capitalism and are here begging for understanding and compassion ?

 

[Gary M]

There is not one LGS within 50 miles of the Detroit area selling any popular ammunition out the door whatsoever. Not that I've found. With a gun purchase only or if you pay for range time. Prices are a dollar a round even then.

I live within 50 miles of Detroit and have seen Dunhams and Rural King sell at 15-20 per 50 for 9mm. (I passed).
Doesn't last long, and is not the 10 or less that was the previous weekly sale price that was still regularly available 6 months ago,
but it is there at times.

 

[Tiribulus]

So you admit to being anti free enterprise and anti capitalism and are here begging for understanding and compassion ?

If that's the way you read me sir, I doubt if any further response will do any good.

 

[geo57]

If that's the way you read me sir, I doubt if any further response will do any good.

From post # 105

Did you not say that you don't trust free enterprise ?

Did you not take a swipe at capitalists ?

 

[Tiribulus]

Put up a post in the Want To Buy section for the quantity, caliber, and price you are willing to spend.
I'm sure that many of the anti-gouging posters on this thread will gladly sell you what you seek at their original cost.

Thank you. I didn't even know you could do that.

I'm pretty good for the moment for 45acp actually. I stumbled over this small outfit in Memphis that had Winchester white box for 66 a round. I bought a bunch of that and have I think 700 rounds through the M&P 45 2.0. I'm doing pretty good. I could probably prevail in a home defense situation, but I'm still not where I want to be. I have a single box of Federal HST (75 bucks) that I haven't touched.

It's the M&P 9c (3.6 in.) that's on the way that I have no ammunition for whatsoever.

The only thing I can find for under 70 cents a round is some chintzomatic off brand stuff that some YouTube videos showed as being pretty unreliable.

I'll take a look.

 

[Tiribulus]

From post # 105

Did you not say that you don't trust free enterprise ?

Did you not take a swipe at capitalists ?

To paraphrase Winston Churchill.

Capitalism is the worst system of economics there is. Except for all the rest.

I am a committed capitalist, but I'm not kidding myself.

 

[Tiribulus]

I live within 50 miles of Detroit and have seen Dunhams and Rural King sell at 15-20 per 50 for 9mm. (I passed).
Doesn't last long, and is not the 10 or less that was the previous weekly sale price that was still regularly available 6 months ago,
but it is there at times.

Last time I called Dunham's they said they had none. Which location is this?

I'd love to know when they were getting a shipment.

 

[AManWearingAHat]

Same thing I am finding at local Dunhams. Prices were about the same as pre-Covid full retail.

Price gouging is starting at the manufacturers now. My gun range was not getting their regular shipments - at contracted prices - but slightly different ammo from the same supplier was very available at 15 cents more per round. By slightly different, I mean like flat v. round nose, same load.

As a result, the plain target ammo they were selling increased 20 cents per round to 60~80 cents just in the last weeks. At the same time, Dunhams is still selling ammo from the same manufacturer for $15~25/box of 50 at retail. ROFL!

You are experiencing something called "The Economy of Scale". Your LGS's regular shipments are peanuts compared to Dunhams who likely has a fixed price the manufacturer is required to honor per a contractual agreement contingent on them buying a very large volume of the ammunition. You generally need to be buying a massive volume of ammunition to have this sort of pricing available to you as a retailer. Such agreements help to add predictability and stability to revenue streams and production quotas.

 

[Gary M]

And many of those contract prices may be forcing manufacturers at a net loss as prices of raw materials have jumped, costs increased with more OT, Chinese Death Flu PTO, social distancing and mask mandates reducing production output, and hiring employees to fill orders and provide to distributors.

Yes, they may be taking more profit right now, but when Remington was facing bankruptcy and practically giving away ammo with rebates added on, did we complain then? Not me. I bought the Federal 223/5.56 at 5.99 / 20 or Remington 9mm at 7.99 / 50 before rebates just like everyone else did or should have been doing.

Is everyone blaming "gas gouging" fuel retailers because the price of gas is up by a buck a gallon since the election? Or $2.25 propane is now over 4 in some places?

When paper products were wiped out last spring and prices soared and quantities limited, did you buy your normal 4 pack when they returned or buy extra? Same for bottled water, meats, and dairy.

People laugh and sneer at those of us that are derisively called preppers or survivalists. We are not pessimistic about the future, but optimistic that we have planned well in advance and have actually taken a load off the supply chain when things go south. My rounds of ammo and cases of food, water, staples, and supplies made it more available for those that need it now, not less.
You may pay more than I did, but if you need, actually really need ammo or other basic living necessities, would you rather have it on the shelves at a higher price or not available for less?

 

[ElectroMotive]

You know where its at. Some even state 3 rounds exchanged over 3 yards.

No, I actually dont. I always see people tell the world about these supposed statistics, but they never present them. Then when they get called on the lack of data its always obfuscated with a comment on par with "find them yourself".

 

[germansheperd]

I sure would love to know where all these LGS are that are getting and selling ammo at sane prices. I am no sleep in, drunken dope fiend who is too lazy to be at the door at the break of dawn to be able to get some ammo.

I'm just a 57 year old first time handgun owner who wants to be a responsible, safe and proficient shooter who will not wind up a usable statistic for the gun grabbers and who also recognizes that that will not happen without practice, which obviously requires ammo. I also recognize that a BB gun will do next to nothing to make me proficient with a centerfire pistol. Sorry friend, but that's a truly asinine statement.

There is not one LGS within 50 miles of the Detroit area selling any popular ammunition out the door whatsoever. Not that I've found. With a gun purchase only or if you pay for range time. Prices are a dollar a round even then.

It's a long story, but I do not have the money to pay these prices for ammunition. I am very politically aware, for decades, and these scummy overlords we now have at the helm of this once great nation pushed me into now or never mode and it was all I could do to scrape together enough to buy a couple handguns, a 9 and a 45, having no idea what the availability and cost of ammunition would be. I knew there was a shortage, but not like this.

i know I am not the only one in this position.

I would have thought that champions of the 2nd amendment would consider it more important to have millions of new gun owners well equipped to join them than to line their own pockets.

Looks like I was wrong.

The only thing I trust less than free enterprise is big government.

It is absolutely true that socialism is a corrosive and eventually tyrannical and destructive ideology that I could never embrace.

However, the leftists are right too. Capitalists would sell their mother for a buck.

I have no sympathy for you. You are 57 grow up. Ammo was dirt cheap from 2016-2019. Where adjusted for inflation it was the cheapest is was in history and it was absolutely EVERYWHERE.
You got caught with your pants down, lazy, and or cheap. So now you expect people who bought low because they lived through Obama, Clinton (you are old enough to remember that and there is a pattern) to just give you a free pass and sell you their stash at below the current market rate.
Every Friday or Sunday my wife and I go grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. If there was a good deal on a brick or box of something I threw it in the cart. Sometimes 2 boxes. I didn't see that $4-$25 a week in my grocery bill but over a couple years i added to my stash cheaply. Some weeks I didn't buy any.
If you want ammo this weekend go to a gun show its there. You want a deal on ammo get up EVERY morning at be at the Wal-mart, Dunhams, Rural King and I mean EVERY morning do not miss a day and you will find some at rock bottom price.
When you put that effort into I promise you wont just give away you work, effort, foresight to some whining slacker.
FYI- your state is partly responsible for this look in the mirror buddy.

 

[ElectroMotive]

I also recognize that a BB gun will do next to nothing to make me proficient with a centerfire pistol. Sorry friend, but that's a truly asinine statement.

It's actually not. You're ignorant on the matter, and so was the previous long time, blithering on poster who condemned it.

A BB or airsoft gun can absolutely be of benefit to a shooter, especially in these times. It can give you a cheap live fire ability to draw from concealment and fire X-number of rounds. Note they often cycle because they use a compressed gas, so while there wont be much recoil, there will action may cycle. It is also useful in the winter and bad weather, as it allows you to do it inside. No, it probably wont give you the same trigger pull, but it still gives you trigger time. Trigger time is better than no trigger time. A BB or airsoft gun probably wont give you the same manipulations, but you can do manipulations with your real gun that has been cleared, checked, checked again, and checked yet again. Quality snap-caps, like those from ST Action can be a huge help.

 

[jughed440]

I have no sympathy for you. You are 57 grow up. Ammo was dirt cheap from 2016-2019. Where adjusted for inflation it was the cheapest is was in history and it was absolutely EVERYWHERE.
You got caught with your pants down, lazy, and or cheap. So now you expect people who bought low because they lived through Obama, Clinton (you are old enough to remember that and there is a pattern) to just give you a free pass and sell you their stash at below the current market rate.
Every Friday or Sunday my wife and I go grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. If there was a good deal on a brick or box of something I threw it in the cart. Sometimes 2 boxes. I didn't see that $4-$25 a week in my grocery bill but over a couple years i added to my stash cheaply. Some weeks I didn't buy any.
If you want ammo this weekend go to a gun show its there. You want a deal on ammo get up EVERY morning at be at the Wal-mart, Dunhams, Rural King and I mean EVERY morning do not miss a day and you will find some at rock bottom price...

Yeah...ammo was dirt cheap years ago. While looking through the box of different 12 Ga. shells to see what was available for an afternoon of destroying bowling pins and other items, I saw the box of Winchester 12 Ga. "Ranger" 00 Buck with a price tag $12 for 25 shells (they're going for $4 a shell these days)...even older was the basic winchester rabbit loads..tag read $3.58, box of 25.
I began "hoarding" (as the sleepers like to call it) .22LR when a state senator proposed 5 cents a round on every type and caliber of ammunition. Luckily that never passed, but the threats of such tax laws a will never go away, and I will not allow myself to be caught short...I guess that makes me a selfish ammo pig in the eyes of some, but I sleep good at night.