Primer Pricing at Bobcat Armament in Shelbyville, IN

[Ingomike]

I'd like to know who is getting rich off the lack of supply.

No one! Think this through, you say there is a lack of supply, that means there is little to sell, therefore selling the limited supply, even at high prices is not making money like selling at volume at lower prices.

 

[Thegeek]

I get that volatile wholesale pricing makes it risky to do backorder. Just sucks that it leaves guys like me only one option of buying from the gougers on gunbroker or something. Hell, I had a guy from here try to sell me a jug of powder at 35% over CURRENT retail. I want to reload and shoot, but damn.

 

[BiscuitsandGravy]

My favorite is when you are selling reloading items or ammo for modern prices, same as you paid and you are called a price gouger and offered $30/1000 primers. Someone recently tried to dock me on 9mm ammo. “I’ve paid $10 a box for years, I’ll give you the same.”

Right- 'same as you paid'. That is funny. I currently picked up some SRM's from Brownells (look in the other thread) for $100+. Am I a gouger if someone needs some SRM's and only want to pay me $35 and I paid over $100 at current online-retail. Soak your head in the toilet. We are almost two years into this nonsense now and people are STILL bitching about primers. SMH... Sorry guys, this is getting old. I'm just thankful that I CAN get some. "Primer cost averaging".

 

[billybob44]

All because, as evidenced by this thread, gun folks get all butt hurt when market prices are higher than they think they should be.

Buy from who has the prices you like.

Don't buy from those with prices you don’t like.

STFU about those with prices you don’t like, the market will punish them if they are wrong.

We need all the retailers of 2A we can get. It is ridiculous for us to slam those that supply our hobby…

+1000 for this post Mike..
This new (OP) came to the wrong forum to slam the owners of BobCat...Bill.

I guess he is not NEW==Just 15 post from him at this time??

 

[Ingomike]

Just sucks that it leaves guys like me only one option of buying from the gougers on gunbroker or something.

I’m sorry for your plight, but CM and others were frequently advising the faithful to stock up, you only have one option because you missed the window for your other options.

 

[Brian's Surplus]

I don't know if it applies to CCI and Hodgdon or not, but I've heard the manufacturer's say they're prices went up a little due to raw materials costs. I've heard shops say "we've not increased our margins at all". So that leaves the distributors for insane markup. Everyone is pointing at someone else for the gouging. I'd like to know who is getting rich off the lack of supply.

My only complaint about Bobcat is the no-backorder policy. I just want to give him some money up front for what I need (1 brick of primers and 1 jug of powder) and know I'm going to get it eventually. This craziness of who can get there first and buy it when it hits the shelf makes it impossible for some of us.

I frequently have people ask to backorder things. I don't do this for many reasons.
First of all, we are still getting backorders from from our distributors from 2018 and 2019, most people don't want to wait that long. I also sometimes have a distributor send me an email that a back order is canceled because the product is no longer manufactured.
Second, when I place items on back order, the price is not guaranteed. I have the option of canceling the back order if the price goes up, but most of the items we are getting have gone up considerably in price.
Another reason is that we are already overwhelmed just trying to keep products priced and on the shelf. We took everything off the website and we aren't shipping anything now because we simply don't have the time. Having a backorder list would be one more thing to keep track of.
The sheer volume of customers that would want to do that also makes it prohibitive. If we had been taking back orders for the last 2 years, anyone trying to backward or something now would probably have to wait 8 or 10 years to get what they want, with no guarantee of how much it would cost. Even most of our distributors have quit taking back orders. One of my main distributors quit taking back orders about a year ago. I still have over half a million dollars worth of backorders from that distributor alone if that gives you any idea of how slowly orders are being filled. Manufacturers have also quit taking back orders for items like primers.
I understand it's frustrating for customers. Most retailers are trying very hard to get products in the hands of customers. This has been a difficult time for everyone. I know there are some retailers that are price gouging, but there are also many retailers that are something paying a lot more for products and using the same markup that they normally would. A few months ago, I had Cheddite 209 primers available for $33.65 plus tax. The ones I had a couple weeks ago were $74.77 plus tax. The percentage of markup I had on them was the same. They both sold out quickly and I'm quite sure I would have been able to get more out of the ones I was selling for $33.65, but I base my prices on what I have to pay for them.

 

[BiscuitsandGravy]

I’m sorry for your plight, but CM and others were frequently advising the faithful to stock up, you only have one option because you missed the window for your other options.

As our esteemed Uncle Kirk continually beats into our heads... "Buy 'em cheap, stack 'em deep".

 

[Dinny]

What's up with the manufacturers selling for $50/1000? Someone is making a huge profit somewhere between them and us. Seems like gouging to me. Convince me otherwise!

 

[Ingomike]

What's up with the manufacturers selling for $50/1000? Someone is making a huge profit somewhere between them and us. Seems like gouging to me. Convince me otherwise!

What is a “huge” profit?

 

[Dinny]

$125 is a huge profit. That seems to be the difference between what the manufacturers are selling them for and what Bobcat is selling them for. That's not saying Bobcat bought them for but someone did.

I understand the "any port in a storm concept" and that's certainly at play these days. It just seems prudent that if you're gonna sell primers for $150+ you may want to keep them in the back and when someone asks about them explain that they're available at the same mark up as 2 years ago but their supplier's price went way up recently.

That might make someone like me stick around the shop longer. Anytime I walk up to a table at a gunshow with primers and see a price over $150 I ignore all the other items and keep walking. I'm not hurting for primers and see no need to pay those prices anytime in the next 10 years. It may be unfair of me but without asking I have to assume they're taking advantange of the current situation.

 

[Cameramonkey]

$125 is a huge profit. That seems to be the difference between what the manufacturers are selling them for and what Bobcat is selling them for. That's not saying Bobcat bought them for but someone did.

I understand the "any port in a storm concept" and that's certainly at play these days. It just seems prudent that if you're gonna sell primers for $150+ you may want to keep them in the back and when someone asks about them explain that they're available at the same mark up as 2 years ago but their supplier's price went way up recently.

That might make someone like me stick around the shop longer. Anytime I walk up to a table at a gunshow with primers and see a price over $150 I ignore all the other items and keep walking. I'm not hurting for primers and see no need to pay those prices anytime in the next 10 years. It may be unfair of me but without asking I have to assume they're taking advantange of the current situation.

So buy them somewhere else that is selling them for what you think is fair.

Oh, and let us know when you find them in stock.

 

[Trapper Jim]

I commend the local retailers who have primers available. They provide a good service to shooters who really need some. Early on, I supplied a few retailers when I closed out one of my warehouses. I know what they had to pay. Those are not gouges, they are providing a supply based on cost. The gougers may be Midway, Brownells etc who we will never know what they have to pay and what percentages of profit they are making, but two things that I do know are, WalMart of all places never gouged on ammo and it will take a complete buying freeze by everyone to bring the prices down. Having said that, the gun business is a mafia just like liquor and cigarettes. Games are played by so many wholesalers, distributors, vendors and manufacturers and the small retailers and consumers gets crapped on. I have bought common brand new guns that just came in that were 6 years old already. Just recently RK just got in a few pallets of brand new white box with lot numbers indicating 2016. How can that be.

To make matters even worse, the modern way of investor groups buying up everything ammo related into a 21st century monopoly hasn’t helped our cause.

I learned my lesson in 1971 when President Nixon ordered a wage and price freeze. And they think it’s just the Dems and vaccinations. Funny how we forget.

Good luck to those that didn’t see it coming


Trapper

 

[tude]

Sadly, there was plenty of people who could see it coming, but couldn't afford to do anything about. Now their gas,groceries ,and everything else is too hard on the paycheck for them to be able to enjoy shooting. We and the gun industry is going to miss their numbers.

 

[indyjohn]

I went and looked at two wholesalers I used in the HTP days, Their listed prices before shipping & hasmat were in the $70s. But- they were both out of stock on every variety of primer in their respective catalogs.

 

[Michigan Slim]

I passed on an assortment of CCI to today at 100/1000. I'll keep passing too.

 

[tude]

I commend the local retailers who have primers available. They provide a good service to shooters who really need some. Early on, I supplied a few retailers when I closed out one of my warehouses. I know what they had to pay. Those are not gouges, they are providing a supply based on cost. The gougers may be Midway, Brownells etc who we will never know what they have to pay and what percentages of profit they are making, but two things that I do know are, WalMart of all places never gouged on ammo and it will take a complete buying freeze by everyone to bring the prices down. Having said that, the gun business is a mafia just like liquor and cigarettes. Games are played by so many wholesalers, distributors, vendors and manufacturers and the small retailers and consumers gets crapped on. I have bought common brand new guns that just came in that were 6 years old already. Just recently RK just got in a few pallets of brand new white box with lot numbers indicating 2016. How can that be.

To make matters even worse, the modern way of investor groups buying up everything ammo related into a 21st century monopoly hasn’t helped our cause.

I learned my lesson in 1971 when President Nixon ordered a wage and price freeze. And they think it’s just the Dems and vaccinations. Funny how we forget.

Good luck to those that didn’t see it coming


Trapper

That's interesting about the 2016 manufacturing time frame. I have 4 RK's within 1 hr or less from me and they all have stacks of that white box 9mm.

 

[armalitesheepdog]

What's up with the manufacturers selling for $50/1000? Someone is making a huge profit somewhere between them and us. Seems like gouging to me. Convince me otherwise!

Where can I buy $50 a brick primers?
I would be all over that.....Considering

 

[Dinny]

So buy them somewhere else that is selling them for what you think is fair.

Oh, and let us know when you find them in stock.

Thanks for the expert advise even though I didn't ask for any. You seem bitter and angry. Did you forget to take your happy pills today?

 

[Ingomike]

Thanks for the expert advise even though I didn't ask for any. You seem bitter and angry. Did you forget to take your happy pills today?

If your going to discuss passionate issues online thicken that skin.

Oh and I’m also in on the $50 primers…

 

[Dinny]

If your going to discuss passionate issues online thicken that skin.

Oh and I’m also in on the $50 primers…

After 27 years in the Army my skin is thick and calloused but I don't take crap from anyone either. The $70/1000 price listed above is current supplier pricing. My licensed loading friend received his last 100K order a couple months ago.