SW in Wasilla

[FamilyMan]

Big news from SW today:

- Ammo isn't being held in customer service any more, and they'll transfers calls they get about it to the hunting dept.

- The hunting dept did receive 500 bricks of .22lr and they actually stocked their shelves with it. (That's a first, for some time now.)

Before you get excited and run down there, one last bit of news: They're sold out of .22lr. Yep they moved 500 bricks of it today.

 

[AGL4now]

How much per brick........???? See, I feel they should raise the price to $39.99 per brick to slow this "Black Market" in ammo, and at least it would (I hope) be available on the shelf. That is a lot of ammo that got sold........I wonder if the Anchorage store got 500 bricks also.

 

[iyouktug]

Id sure like to get me a brick

 

[FamilyMan]

25/27 bucks

25/27 bucks

How much per brick........????

I asked them that directly when I heard they'd gotten it in, in quantity (a first). 25 and 27 bucks, for American Eagle or Remington thunderbolt.

I have to commend SW for not charging what the market (sadly) will bear right now. Good on them going back to a reasonable price.

My hope is that this is the signal that maybe the .22lr shortage might be lessening.

 

[Brain]

..............I wonder if the Anchorage store got 500 bricks also.

I got a call from a friend today in Eagle River. He hangs out at Boondocks a lot. He said that they got a lot of ammo today, including some 7.62 x 51.

 

[AGL4now]

I have to commend SW for not charging what the market (sadly) will bear right now. Good on them going back to a reasonable price.

Well, lets say they make $4.75 to $6.00 per brick.......The Black Market buyers are making $40.00 to $50.00 a brick. And the shooter can't get it. I would rather see all the retailers mark to market, and squeeze out the "Black Market" then slowly lower the price back down to $19.99 to $26.99

If they had but the 500 bricks out at $39.00 there would still be end users buying, and there would be ammo on the shelf to buy. I only go to town every 6 or 8 weeks.............I would rather ammo was available at a painful price.......than just "Empty Shelves". I would rather have fuel available at $9.00 than have NO fuel available.

 

[dkwarthog]

...thing is that when word gets around that ammo is showing up on shelves more consistently, hopefully people will say dam, I'm not paying some dbag 50 bucks or more for something that will be readily available
at 25 bucks...

 

[mainer_in_ak]

AGL, another way to "squeeze the d-bags out of the equation....is to call them and tell them to lower their price, instead of being pieces of moronic trash asking $80 for a brick of american eagle:

http://alaskaslist.com/1/posts/9_General/63_Guns_Hunting/301709__22_LR_Ammunition.html

http://alaskaslist.com/1/posts/9_General/63_Guns_Hunting/307412__22_Long_Rifle_Ammunition.html

http://alaskaslist.com/1/posts/9_General/63_Guns_Hunting/307971_Vintage_22_Ammunition.html

 

[sweepint]

Instead of the stores raising the price on ammo just limit the amount that one can buy. That is idiotic to think that by raising the price will stop the black market sales and then think that will allow the ammo to go back down in time. When was the last time we saw gas go back down to 2.00 a gal??? sales will always go up to what the market will bare and as long as people will pay 40.00 a brick then the black market will continue to support it. If the stores would limit one brick per customer at a normal rate that would allow more of the public to purchase ammo. There will always be that guy that will get half his family and friends to drop in and buy for him but that seems to be a heck of a lot of effort to get 22lr.

 

[FamilyMan]

why would anyone sell at less than they could? maybe this?

why would anyone sell at less than they could? maybe this?

The recipe that I prefer is that SW continue to stay the course on price, and availability increases due to increased production and (someday it has to happen) decreased store-demand.

Notice I say store-demand instead of customer need. I think customers are buying beyond their needs out of uncertainty.

SW's 500 bricks sold today (in one store) meant over 12 grand of .22lr was rung up on their cash registers today. If they'd have charged half again more ($37/brick), it is clear in my mind that they'd still be sold out, but over 18 grand would have been received by SW. This would have increased their profits (on .22lr) by what? possibly it might double their profit. Why wouldn't the do this? Its simple math, standard business, and econ 101 to maximize profits and they're in businesss to make a profit. I think they might be building customer loyalty and customer traffic. Smart.

 

[FL2AK-Old Town]

I have to commend SW for not charging what the market (sadly) will bear right now. Good on them going back to a reasonable price.

I'm sorry, but how is $27 per brick of 22LR NOT "charging what the market will bear"?

 

[rbuck351]

I happened to stop in SW at Wasilla this afternoon about 5:00 and the guy behind the counter was stacking bricks of Rem Thunderbolt on the counter and I picked up one. He said there was a one brick limit which I think is good as it slows down the scalpers some. The brick I bought was about $27 which is very close to what I can shoot center fire and cast bullets. I refuse to pay what the scalpers are asking.

 

[rbuck351]

Unfortunately, there are a lot of folks that will pay a lot more than $27 per brick. I think the shelves would be empty almost as fast at $35 per brick, maybe even higher. I think we may be not too far from ammo being on the shelves again. Probably at a higher price than a year ago but then the dollar isn't worth what it was a year ago either.

 

[FL2AK-Old Town]

I'm not paying it either, but those bricks were in the 10-12 dollar range before the current "ammo shortage." Given that, I fail to see how $27 is not "gouging."

This has been a good thread, but I'm not sure some of the theories presented here will stand up to basic economic principles.

If stores raise prices on ammo to cut out scalpers, scalpers will still buy all the ammo and then scalp it. The only way to prevent scalping is a.)meet demand or b.)criminalize it, and we all know how well adding regulations works.

Something that I think is missing from this conversation is the the fact that manufacturers can, to a degree, control the price of their products. If demand drops for ammo, and retailers are stuck with ammo on the shelves, they may lower the price. However, on the next production run, producers have only to cut their production in half to drive prices back up. They will do this until they find the production level that supports the profit margin they are seeking, until they find a point of equilibrium, where the price matches what consumers will pay-not much higher or lower-that is to say up to the point that consumers simply stop paying those prices. As that price goes up, demand is SUPPOSED to go down. Consumers are not following the rules in this case.

I don't believe will ever see a return to those $10-12 bricks or centerfire ammo at under $1/rd. (I used to pay $8 for 9mm ball ammo, and $9 for 30-30 ammo) What we are seeing is a permanent upward adjustment of the cost of firearms ownership; it's not going to change when the current administration in Washington changes.

 

[FamilyMan]

can't go back... I guess

can't go back... I guess

I don't believe will ever see a return to those $10-12 bricks or centerfire ammo at under $1/rd. (I used to pay $8 for 9mm ball ammo, and $9 for 30-30 ammo) What we are seeing is a permanent upward adjustment of the cost of firearms ownership; it's not going to change when the current administration in Washington changes.

I hear ya. I remember paying 3.75-4.00 per pound of goex black powder, and buying .223 by the large ammo-can-full. The economic changes raising our prices so far and so quickly is I fear diminishing recreational shooting activity. I'd rather see more people familiar with operating guns and be knowledgeable about what they can do rather than less.

 

[FL2AK-Old Town]

I hear ya. I remember paying 3.75-4.00 per pound of goex black powder, and buying .223 by the large ammo-can-full. The economic changes raising our prices so far and so quickly is I fear diminishing recreational shooting activity. I'd rather see more people familiar with operating guns and be knowledgeable about what they can do rather than less.

Yeah. I mean, prices will rise; it's a fact of inflation, which is unavoidable. But historically, the annual average inflation rate, measured by the Consumer Price Index, in the US has been in the 3% -ish range. I'm seeing something like 300% in 10 years.

 

[FamilyMan]

statistics, and doom n gloom

statistics, and doom n gloom

Yeah. I mean, prices will rise; it's a fact of inflation, which is unavoidable. But historically, the annual average inflation rate, measured by the Consumer Price Index, in the US has been in the 3% -ish range. I'm seeing something like 300% in 10 years.

Funny you should give that number, because my black powder example is on the same track except over more time. Since the time was 1991, I'd be talking 22 years, and something like 500%.

I know that two datum don't a graph make, but still, if just look at that for the future, if it stayed anywhere close to linear it spells the doom of virtually all recreational shooting within the foreseeable future.

 

[FL2AK-Old Town]

Funny you should give that number, because my black powder example is on the same track except over more time. Since the time was 1991, I'd be talking 22 years, and something like 500%.

I know that two datum don't a graph make, but still, if just look at that for the future, if it stayed anywhere close to linear it spells the doom of virtually all recreational shooting within the foreseeable future.

Well, not doom necessarily. Manufacturers don't want "doom" but they do want large profit MARGINS. (which isn't the same as "profit".) They'd rather sell 10 boxes of ammo at $30/box than sell 100 boxes of ammo at $3/box.

But your basic premise is correct. If ammo prices continue to rise, fewer and fewer people will be able to afford to shoot. The only way to stop it is for consumers to refuse to pay the higher prices. As long as we (or enough of us) pay those prices, they will remain high. I believe that it will take some sort of concerted, nationwide effort (possibly led by a group, such as the NRA-hahahahah ain't gonna happen) by consumers to simply boycott ammo until prices return to an acceptable level. Much like gas prices-ain't gonna happen.

 

[FamilyMan]

It might be possible to organize a group that all promise to stop buying any ammo over the counter. The larger that group (and their friends) grow, the stickier wicket the ammo companies would have if they tried to force all ammo beyond most anyone's abilities.... there'll still be that group, and their friends left shooting and virtually very few others.

 

[Brain]

.......Much like gas prices......

Very, very much like gas prices, and in more than one way. First, government regulation and manipulation. Secondly, both fuel and ammo (and likely soon other commodities like food) are worth much more than the fiat currency used to trade for it (as you both noted that the true inflation rate is clearly higher than the laughable 3% that we're being told it is).