Primer Story

[MrG5122]

When I first saw a brick of primers on GB with a $900 price tag this spring I sent the link to my good friend who runs the LGS. He said "If that's how it's going to be you better get down here!" I showed up as he was loading his inventory into his suv.

He asked me how many I wanted and I fessed up that I was good but I bought 1000 anyway. He took them home to his safe and has been slowly trickling them out during the shortage. He has them reasonably priced for the times in my opinion at $12.95/100.

From what I understand he has been keeping several of us reloaders going through the shortage. As I was leaving today he slipped a sleeve in my back pocket and said, "Thanks for the heads up!"

They don't make many like him anymore.

 

[iouri]

Wow $130 / 1k is "reasonable" nowdays ?

 

[SMSgt]

At $12.95/100, your good friend certainly ain't my good friend.

 

[MrG5122]

A lot more reasonable than $30, $50, $75, or $90 that I've seen folks charging, and paying.

 

[Euclid]

With friends like that…

Seriously, I have found primers, with some effort, at $35-$60/1000. It’s more expensive than before, but nothing like what your friend charges.

 

[cracker57]

I picked up 2000 this week @ $53.00/1000 and thought I was a fool to pay that..

 

[Sevens]

$12.95 per hundred is ludicrous. So if he’s dealing them out SINCE you saw these prices than he got them for the same $20 per thousand that every other dealer was paying for them before they went scarce.

You think he’s “keeping us reloaders” going with sleeves of one hundred? That’s six dollars and fifty cents per box of ammo, before tax, not counting your bullets and your powder.

With his reputation, bullets are only 75 cents apiece and he’ll fill each of your 9mm brass for fifty cents each.

Maybe Cheaper than Dirt is hiring!

 

[fordson]

I’m missing the back story here. There must be a back story to think almost $13.00/100, from a friend yet, is a good deal.
There’s got to be more to this that I’m just missing.

 

[diyj98]

I'm sure he's telling his customers that he's not even marking them up :0

 

[gregintenn]

Wow $130 / 1k is "reasonable" nowdays ?

Better than unavailable.

 

[Moe Mentum]

No thanks, at that price I'll go play golf.

 

[diyj98]

"good friend" I sure don't need any of those.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Maybe I am old fashioned but........

at 400% markup from my last trip getting cci500 primers, just
turns me off.

I will still pass.

 

[Golphin]

Have not seen many local here but what I have seen has been 120. to 140. a thousand. While the guy didn't pay that much for them he will pay much higher cost to replace the inventory. I would not buy them and don't need them but he can ask what he wants for them and no one has to buy them. They can go somewhere else and get them if every where else is cheaper.

 

[joeraf]

I went to my fly shop to transfer some primers to my reloading shop. I accidentally spilled 10 primers on the floor. I immediately started searching for them, and fortunately found them all. Consequently one can’t be too careful. It did get my fly shop cleaned though.

 

[Hair Trigger]

When I first saw a brick of primers on GB with a $900 price tag this spring I sent the link to my good friend who runs the LGS. He said "If that's how it's going to be you better get down here!" I showed up as he was loading his inventory into his suv.

He asked me how many I wanted and I fessed up that I was good but I bought 1000 anyway. He took them home to his safe and has been slowly trickling them out during the shortage. He has them reasonably priced for the times in my opinion at $12.95/100.

From what I understand he has been keeping several of us reloaders going through the shortage. As I was leaving today he slipped a sleeve in my back pocket and said, "Thanks for the heads up!"

They don't make many like him anymore.

Guys like him are all over the place, usually at gun shows selling stuff for 3X value. What Sevens says below is how I feel, too. 13 cents apiece for primers is highway robbery, a year ago they were 3-4 cents apiece. I paid an outrageous price a couple of weeks ago for a brick each of large magnum pistol and large regular pistol primers, $120/1000. I managed to bargain the guy down $15 per brick because I was buying both bricks. I know he had those primers before the shortage hit because one of them still had a price sticker on the bottom, which I supposed he missed, that priced them at $25/1000. he had newer stickers on top with his current price.

$12.95 per hundred is ludicrous. So if he’s dealing them out SINCE you saw these prices than he got them for the same $20 per thousand that every other dealer was paying for them before they went scarce.

You think he’s “keeping us reloaders” going with sleeves of one hundred? That’s six dollars and fifty cents per box of ammo, before tax, not counting your bullets and your powder.

With his reputation, bullets are only 75 cents apiece and he’ll fill each of your 9mm brass for fifty cents each.

Maybe Cheaper than Dirt is hiring!

 

[teletech]

I've seen folks ask, AND GET $300/1000 at the height of the shortage.
Seldom for that, mostly anything under $200/1000 went pretty fast around here for about three months. Now it's *down* to about $125/1000 and slipping.
I did sell some extras over the months, at first well below market rates but after seeing them re-listed I made sure to set my prices below anything I could find listed, but not so much below as to have the stuff flipped. I figure anything that softens the supply crunch will help get prices back to sanity more quickly.
That said, if the LGS owner wanted to be classy, he should have gifted at least a brick as thanks for the heads-up and offered to sell the OP as many as he wanted to buy at the pre-panic prices.
It sounds like the latter may have happened, so points to the OP for not taking advantage when he had no need. A sleeve of 100 sort of cheapens it for me. Of course, whatever two consenting adults get up to is none of my business.

 

[cracker57]

I saw CCI SPP and federal primers SPP and LPP for 56.00/1000 today,I passed to rich for my blood.

 

[Sevens]

Have not seen many local here but what I have seen has been 120. to 140. a thousand. While the guy didn't pay that much for them he will pay much higher cost to replace the inventory. I would not buy them and don't need them but he can ask what he wants for them and no one has to buy them. They can go somewhere else and get them if every where else is cheaper.

I certainly agree with what you’ve said here, no doubt. If he paid a dollar per thousand and now selling for $20 per hundred, I fully back his desire and ability to do so.

However I draw the line when someone opens a new discussion and tries to tell me that his friend is a wonderful soul who is doing God’s work and allowing unfortunate handloaders to pay half their social security check for a rectal exam sans glove.

He thinks his friend is a great guy, I believe the guy is a shyster, I doubt that we’ll agree but it makes for an interesting discussion I suppose.

 

[Hasbeen1945]

I believe it’s called supply and demand.
Most of us have bought diamonds for our wife’s or girlfriends.
I’ve read that if all were released they would be cheaper than glass.
I know I would have rather spent my money on good handguns. But life being what it is I bought diamonds.