Larry Gougerfield

[three5x5s]

Guess I should have bought that 5MM a few years ago when ammo for it was almost imposable to get. Now its all they have.

 

[Gsquared]

Really think the cost of making .22 Long Rifle ammo went up 300% in 6 months?

Have you looked at commodity pricing and the labor market over that duration. Of course prices in general have gone up regardless of what we are discussing at both macro and micro levels.

The Fed can’t print $4.?? TTTTrillion in one year and flood the economy with cheap money and then provide the expectations that every $1 you had previously isn’t worth less. So your buying power for every single thing that you purchase has dramatically been diminished. Clearly Ammo and firearms are a different category all together with the administration change, etc. The good thing is we ALL have choices. We are guaranteed many rights by our Creator and The Constitution but I’ve yet to find the one that states we have the right NOT to be offended! Whether that be speech, prices, etc.
Shoot straight and be well!

 

[jacknifejc]

That‘s what happens when everyone is given a stimulus check—prices go up.

 

[dieselchessy]

My local stores that haven’t price gouged on products in the past events aren’t doing it in this one either.
When they get ammo and bullets they are sold at just over pre-COVID prices. This tells me that Midway most likely isn’t paying much extra for their products and are very likely indeed price gouging.
My local store sold the 500 round Remington 22lr ammo last week for $22 I believe. Hornady American whitetail short action stuff is $24. It was $22 pre-COVID. Magnum stuff is $35 now, was $32 pre-COVID.

I also agree with the premise that having some online retailers price their stock about halfway between MSRP and Gunbroker scalper prices may be enough to undercut the scalpers and bring the market back into a more even keel. People will settle down once there is availability, even if it is at inflated prices.

 

[PathFinder]

Ugh, this is what we get for not teaching real economics in school.
There's no such thing as price gouging. Just the unbreakable law of supply and demand; every level of the market is subject to it. Even big retailers like Midway.
Just as important is the value of money. The price of goods is pretty stable. The value of your fake money is not. The US dollar is fiat currency. Its value is entirely imaginary. All that money they've printed this year has driven its perceived value down even farther, so goods appear to be more expensive.

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[def90]

Was not really expecting Midway USA to hop on the gouging wagon so readily. I invested in a nice .22 trainer a few years ago. Incredibly accurate .22. My “cheap” ammo that was 80%+ as good as the premium stuff was Norma TAC-22. Would normally be stock at Sportsman’s and almost always on sale for $3.98. Normally $4.98 for 50 catouches.

yes I realize we are in a ammo/primer/powder pandemic. Sportsman’s stopped carrying that ammo. I’ve been on a notification list or two for half a year. Really didn’t expect Larry to run the prices thru the roof. I’ll do everything I can to never buy from that CS ever again View attachment 256092

Should have stocked up on the ammo back when you bought the rifle and it was widely available and cheap.

We’ve been through a number of these shortages now so it should be no surprise to anyone when it happens again. Always stock up when it’s cheap and have enough on hand to get you through the next drought. Heck, buy extra when it’s cheap and then sell off the extra to guys like you at inflated prices when the next ammopocolypse comes along, do it enough times and all of your ammo will pay for itself.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Call it what you want. The reality is lots of sources aren’t increasing prices because people are in need. When all this blows over I’ll remember that.

 

[Extrapale]

I did see some bullets I was interested in for reloading on there. Then, I saw the asking price and decided I can wait.

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[dieselchessy]

Ugh, this is what we get for not teaching real economics in school.
There's no such thing as price gouging. Just the unbreakable law of supply and demand; every level of the market is subject to it. Even big retailers like Midway.
Just as important is the value of money. The price of goods is pretty stable. The value of your fake money is not. The US dollar is fiat currency. Its value is entirely imaginary. All that money they've printed this year has driven its perceived value down even farther, so goods appear to be more expensive.

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Many states have laws against the very thing you say doesn’t exist. But I guess that’s not a good metric given that some of those same states have laws concerning Bigfoot.

 

[PathFinder]

Many states have laws against the very thing you say doesn’t exist. But I guess that’s not a good metric given that some of those same states have laws concerning Bigfoot.

State and national governments don't believe in real economics either, that's why they're dumb enough to try to violate economic laws with their futile controls(price fixing/gouging laws, fake money, etc). The Keynesian morons still believe that throwing cash at people creates economic growth.

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[dieselchessy]

Everyone knows giving handouts creates dependents. They do it to the Natives, the poor, the elderly, and now the middle class.
Much easier to controll subjects that are dependent on the government than independent subjects.

 

[Pro953]

Mere speculation but a thought.

By upping the price they have made it less attractive to re-sellers. They have also encouraged folks to buy less so someone buying four boxes only buys two. This allows them to keep inventory longer and the spread the inventory over more customers.


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[Rob5589]

Many states have laws against the very thing you say doesn’t exist. But I guess that’s not a good metric given that some of those same states have laws concerning Bigfoot.

There is a difference between gunpowder and say, water. The laws were created to keep stores from selling a gallon of water for 100.00 after a hurricane. They weren't intended to keep prices "normal" for someone's hobby.

 

[Glory]

I hope that all retailers continue to raise prices. We need to bridge the gap between the price retailers are charging and the price that the market really is. Otherwise, folks will continue to just buy up everything at retail so they can sell it on Gunbroker and gun shows. It's an arbitrage market at this point.

you are exactly right. I would rather have ammo on shelves at market prices than no ammo and a bunch of scalpers buying it all up for a profit.

 

[LookinforDirt]

Is it really “Hoarding” when you bought it cheap/stocked it deep and are now shooting it up?

Exactly. I bought 4000 rounds of .22LR a couple years ago. 03 cents a round. I know I’ll shoot it and it was a good price so I took advantage of good ammo at a good price. Buds Gun Shop had some recently for what came out to .045 cents around, I picked up 1000 more. I’m sitting on about 3500 rounds of .22LR right now and happy I did what I did. I should be good for a couple years. Did the same thing a while back when I saw a good price on a bulk 1000 round sale on Blazer 9mm. Probably have 600 rounds of that left and I have reloading supplies for 9mm too. Bought all of this (except the last 1000 rounds of .22) pre COVID. If you see a good deal on ammo, if you are not stocked up to shoot for a couple years, you should stock up if you have the means. To people that shoot a lot, the amount of ammo I have is not much. I like to have 2-3 years of supply on hand of ammo or reloading components if I shoot a lot of it. I never shoot down to the last bit and then start shopping.

I definitely feel for anyone who is getting into shooting or reloading now and high volume shooters. My interest picked up between shortages so I feel fortunate supplies were around when it did.

 

[Huntinaz]

Mere speculation but a thought.

By upping the price they have made it less attractive to re-sellers. They have also encouraged folks to buy less so someone buying four boxes only buys two. This allows them to keep inventory longer and the spread the inventory over more customers.


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This is exactly right, adjusting price to demand is a way to stabilize availability and is correct in my opinion especially since we know manufacturers are trying to catch up on the other end

As long as retailers keep their pricing way below demand the secondary scalping market will continue to thrive. Midways pricing increases are undercutting the scalping market and helping you as a consumer. Call it what you want

Demand is UP and given the climate and understandably so. We are now at a year of continued political, economic and social uncertainty. Of course demand is up and my bet is that it’s going to continue for at least 2 years. Maybe much longer

Honestly it’s a little frustrating to me that so many people complain, especially people over thirty. This is not a surprise. I could not be less surprised about where we are. This is the third firearms/ammo panic I’ve seen since I’ve been a voter and it’s the least surprising and will be the worst. It has been a buyers market for years, literal years, the economy was ripping, prices were very reasonable and deals were abundant. I don’t know how many times I told people “now is the time to buy.” I posted it online and others did too. And, it’s taken a year to hit this pitch but there was stuff available in March, April, May, and it was easy to see this coming. The pricing is almost surprising but as others mentioned not really given the acute and substantial inflation

 

[CorbLand]

Mere speculation but a thought.

By upping the price they have made it less attractive to re-sellers. They have also encouraged folks to buy less so someone buying four boxes only buys two. This allows them to keep inventory longer and the spread the inventory over more customers.


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Not speculation. What you mentioned is literally the law of supply and demand. When demand rises above supply, you raise pricing to slow demand. By stores not raising their pricing it has allowed for a secondary market. I can go to the store, buy a box of primers and sell them for a 1000% profit. If stores would raise their pricing it would slow this but if stores did everyone would claim their price gouging.

I work at a gun store part time. Back in April when a lot of this started a guy came in and asked if we had 556. I pointed to a 1000 box that we had had since 2016. The box was marked "Original Price 400 marked down to 350." He looked at me and was like "Wow, you guys are really ripping people off at those prices and walked out." Apparently 556 at 35 cents a round was just a rip off. I dont know, you cant win them all.

The only way to slow demand at this point is to raise pricing. Period. Limiting the amount you can buy isnt working.

 

[Hootsma]

A little food for thought:

If more retailers “price gouged” there would be no ammo shortage and no hoarders profiteering off of the market imbalance.

In addition, who/what determines the price line between fair and gouging? And, once that price is determined, should the price of the same item in New York City be the same as the price in McMullin, Alabama.

I just don’t understand the price gouging complaint. Maybe it’s because I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn last night or maybe it’s because I took Economics as part of my college business administration minor.

If you think Midways prices are too high, then just go to one of their competitors and buy it for cheaper. If you can’t find said competitors with products in stock, maybe you should reevaluate your premise/complaint.

 

[jodorouse]

Not speculation. What you mentioned is literally the law of supply and demand. When demand rises above supply, you raise pricing to slow demand. By stores not raising their pricing it has allowed for a secondary market. I can go to the store, buy a box of primers and sell them for a 1000% profit. If stores would raise their pricing it would slow this but if stores did everyone would claim their price gouging.

I work at a gun store part time. Back in April when a lot of this started a guy came in and asked if we had 556. I pointed to a 1000 box that we had had since 2016. The box was marked "Original Price 400 marked down to 350." He looked at me and was like "Wow, you guys are really ripping people off at those prices and walked out." Apparently 556 at 35 cents a round was just a rip off. I dont know, you cant win them all.

The only way to slow demand at this point is to raise pricing. Period. Limiting the amount you can buy isnt working.

Honestly, raising prices is the only thing that will stop the hoarders. Hopefully, they will run out of money so a guy who works for a living (me) can buy a box whenever I want so I can go to range once in a while... then prices will crash because of oversupply and good times will be had by all. Someday...


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[260madman]

I haven’t bought any ammo In a couple of years. I was waiting to get my CCs paid off completely. I did that and then the .gov went full retard and put people into a frenzy. I’ve got enough factory ammo and reloading supplies for a while though. I’ll ride this one out like the last one only when this rush is done (hopefully) I’ll be the guy with the ridiculous ammo fort and primers when the prices come down.

I have a friend that works for an ammo manufacturer and it’s pretty bad when he asks me to let him know when I find primers so they can buy them.