The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: jimbob_texas on April 26, 2009, 06:31:24 PM
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A friend and I stood in line almost 25 minutes to get inside the Market Hall Gun Show in Dallas this Saturday, in a winding line that traversed the parking lot.
My first treat was that the cost of the show had increased. It's now $8/person.
We made our way back to the left side of the hall, to a table that appeared to have a fair amount of ammo. The dealer's name is Gerry C. Haight, and I think he's out of Arlington, TX.
When I asked the pretty blonde girl the price on the box of .40 American Eagle, she looked on her sheet, then told me, "47.50." I just blinked. I asked her to check again, because that couldn't possibly be right for 50 rounds (a single box). She looked again, then consulted the guy who (presumably) was the dealer - Gerry C. Haight. He looked me straight in the eye, and said that was correct. I asked if he realized that was almost ONE DOLLAR PER ROUND. He affirmed that he did.
I'm pretty sure my face got red at that point, and I stuck my finger in his face. I told him that was gouging, and that it was "f*cking wrong." I told him that I'd personally make sure that every shooter on every forum knew his name, and that they all remember him as the so-called "shooter" who was taking advantage of other shooters.
I don't mind someone turning an honest buck, and I certainly don't begrudge the occasional price hike to help offset costs. But when I could literally turn around and buy the exact same ammo for $20/box (still too high, btw) at another table, it's just a little too much for me to take. He had CASES of this stuff, and he was out to squeeze as much out of you and me as he possibly could.
Remember this guy's name, and the others who are taking advantage of you and me.
And the first one of you that tries to chastise me for dogging on other "shooters," let's be perfectly clear: I DIDN'T START IT. I'm not trying to steal money from you and keep you from enjoying your sport.
I'm pissed off, and I'm not going to stand around idly while predators try to take advantage of me. If you're buying ammo or components at prices that you know are ridiculous, you're just enabling these peole. Don't do it.
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Hey jimbob, welcome to the forum. I frequent gunshows and too have been "surprised/shocked" by what some dealers will try to get by with in pricing ammo. Especially since last October, or last summer.
Were other ammo dealers pricing "close" cheaper, same? Or was this flagrant gouging?
I know ammo is tight, I was just curious as to the other prices at the show,. Did you find something somewhere else?
My area has another big show next month, and I keep up with dealer pricing,.. I was just curious.
Thank you for the post.
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You could literally walk to the next aisle and see the same ammo for $20/box. What was distressing was that the dealers with the MOST ammo were charging the most. There were also several individuals with a single case of .223, asking ridiculous prices. A guy in the parking lot was hawking .223 at $50/100, which I thought was outrageous, until I saw the .40 gouger. Others wanted on the order of $750 for a case of .223 or 7.62x39.
It's shameful, and people were still buying. As long as that happens, it'll just continue. Shades of the old AWB...
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in capitolism you can't gouge...
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in capitolism you can't gouge...
Well, if you screw me during the rough times, I'll remember that during the good times.
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in capitolism you can't gouge...
It's capitalism, to be exact, and I'm certainly not opposed to free enterprise and the fundamentals of supply/demand economics. Of course, there might be a lesson to be learned from our current economic situation, which is the result of speculation and greed. You can drive prices up artificially, but someone's going to be left holding the bag. Ponzi.
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Well, if you screw me during the rough times, I'll remember that during the good times.
exactly.
same with gun shops that used "obama" to make a sale. end of the year, I was in there to buy some 22 shells. I heard one of the clerks say ",,,, obama is going to ban all guns, buy it now" Put the shells down. walk right out. I've been shoping at that store for 6-7 years, spent something like 15k there. They will never see another dime of my money.
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Thanks TAB, but entrepreneurial endeavors can also lead to flat out greedy bastards taking advantage of a situation.
I remember after Hurricane Hugo, the Circle K's were (some) selling ice at $5.00 a bag. This led to anti gouging laws in times of state emergencies, passed by the NC Legislature.
This will never happen with ammo sales, but we as consumers can draw the line somewhere. I'm not that desperate for ammo, granted some will be and pay, but they should at least know as jimbob pointed out that they frankly SUCK as an ammo dealer if I can get the same ammo two tables over for a better price, I will.
If their mindset is: the little guy will sell out and then they have to come to me,... that may be a double edged blade that cuts both ways. You TAB, should know that word of mouth can kill a business.
That is what is great about capitalism, if you charge too much, someone else will get my money.
Being flippant about ammo prices to play to the masses may lead to a short bubble.
Cheaperthan dirt has 5.56 Federal for $14.97 per 20 rds, better than some, and I am a true fan of capitalism, If you price your goods like a schmuck, word will get around, and your bubble is over.
I love profit and adhere to the principles of supply and demand, but there is still l
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The funny part is I'm sure people are still purchasing ammo from guys like this. The only people that are currently purchasing ammo at that price are the ones that just purchased their weapons or people that were caught with their pants down and didn't stock up. Thanks for the heads up on this "Joker". I've being seen more and more ammo showing up at stores like Cabela's, Academy and Wal-mart so hope thing are calming down.
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Okay, since we are on the topic of ammo, where do you get 1000 .223 rounds of soemthing that isn't Wolf? I want to buy 1000 round of Remington but don't want to buy 50 boxes individually. I want a bulk discount. And maybe 1000 rounds of .45 ACP.
Not right now, I am not in the "GOT TO BUY IT NOW!" mode, but I will want it, becaue I will use it.
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your not going to get a bluck discount anytime soon. shop around, you will find it, might not like the price, but there is still tons of ammo out there.
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Oh, I know that now is not the time to buy. A very wealthy hedge fund guru told me, when everyone say's buy, you sell. When everyone say's sell, buy.
But when you are looking, where do you go? Which websites or stores?
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I don't like the high prices, but this dealer wasn't taking advantage of anyone. (Unlike the dealer who lied and used fear to make a sale.) You said ithe same ammo was available much cheaper at the same show, so those that bought at the inflated price have nobody to blame but themselves. I do worry about your blood pressure though. I see overpriced stuff at gun shows all the time. Don't take it so personally. (or did I read too much emotion into your post.)
For some comparison shopping, check out
http://www.ammoengine.com (http://www.ammoengine.com)
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i'd start buy opening up the phone book and start making phone calls to your local gun shops/ sporting good stores. I've not had a prob finding any of the more common stuff, now the more odd ball, has been rather hard.
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I went to a gun show this weekend too, in Detroit Lakes, MN, a resort area about an hour east of Fargo. Admission was $3, and was held in a NG Armory with really cool vehicles in the chained and barbed wired lot outside. Show was very well attended.
Mostly no ammo, other than collector items. One seller had limited ammo - $50/100 round Federal FMJ boxes (and yes, I bought 2), no .308, no .45ACP, and only Wolf 9mm. One dealer had 1 - count 'em 1 - .50 cal ammo can, which I got. One dealer (getting the point - these were all different dealers, but onesies, not a bunch) - had 5 boxes of small rifle primers, refused to sell them to me as he "had not priced them yet" - and when I went back about 15 minutes later he had already sold all 5 to one buyer for $5 a box.
Smattering of pistols, maybe 20 all told, evenly split between semi-autos and revolvers. Mostly shotguns and bolt-action rifles, only 4 AR uppers, no full rifles. The uppers were priced at $475 each, mix of M4 and A1. If you wanted the bolt carrier and charging handle, that brought the price to $600.
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I bought the same type of ammo .40 S&W American Eagle for $27.50 a box at the Gun Show here in Indiana Saturday. Bought two boxes and the guy only had 10 boxes. There were people with booths set up who were reloaders. They were rather busy selling their ammo. Weren't very many booths at the show which surprised me.
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Here's some simple math. I reload my own ammo. I get brass for next to nothing, and bullets are not as scarce as they used to be. I've been shooting lead bullets for practice, and I can get 2000 bullets shipped to my house for $154. I use VV N320 powder, about $100 for 4lbs. Primers (Winchester small rifle) are the rare component, and they're the subject of current scarcity and speculation. The going street price is between 34 and 39 bucks per thousand (I used to get them last fall for $120/5000). Given all that, it only costs me around 9 cents per round to make .40 ammo. At 20,000 rounds/year, that adds up.
One dollar per round for American Eagle ammo is nothing more than greed and exploitation.
You can take emotion and store it someplace safe. This is all about one of your seven deadlies here. I'm not supporting anyone who preys on shooters, and I'm admonishing others to do likewise. Nobody's holding a gun to anyone's head, but if you think for one nanosecond that it's okay to screw other shooters, well - I just feel sorry for you.
Anyone who defends these people is no better than they are.
And like it's already been said, we'll remember.
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Obama is reading this thread and laughing his ass off......
*Get your feet off the desk, dip shit....... you are only gonna be there for one term!
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Jimbob has it right. After Hurricane Andrew hit Florida, Scotty's, a big box hardware chain that had been around for years, was selling plywood at about twice the going rate (before anti-gauging laws were passed). Home Depot was selling at cost. Scotty's is no more, and you can throw a rock from one Home Depot to another. There was more going on than just this one well publicized event. Still, after the dust had settled the memories remained. There isn't enough advertising money in the world to make people forget it. The problem with capitalism is that it provides a great temptation to put short term gain over long term calculations (cf the bad mortgages). The problem is, that foks tend to have long memories and these guys etter hope they make enough short term to make the ill-will worth it.
FQ!3.
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The great thing about this was that there was OTHER ammo to buy for less than half the price. So give that guy your business.
The first guy may have been gouging, OR he might have bought the ammo that he had at a rediculously high rate and was just trying to turn a profit.
Either way, the ability to just walk away is very liberating.
And I'd NEVER stick my finger in the face of a guy at a GUN show.
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Went to a GS here in NE Ohio over the weekend. Prices are very high on ammo $40/50 for 9mm AE. Primers were no where to be seen! I saw a guy walking around with (what I thought was) a sleeve of WW primers. Asked him about them and he said they weren't primers so I don't know. AR mags aplenty at normal prices. A few AR's but prices up. Some dealers have a good stock of handguns, others don't. See very few popular Glock and MP's. Lots of Sigs. Few CZ's.
Didn't find a thing to buy...very disappointing.
Richard
PS: Very little powder.
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I've been busy and doing a lot of quick hit and run on the forum lately. I have only skimmed this, so forgive me if I repeat someone:
It is only gouging if you get sucked in! Our free market system still works in places like gun shows. One guy can mark his stuff way up, because he wants to or needs to, but there will always be someone charging less. Be a wise shopper and don't have a stroke over it.