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I find that not everyone was raised by a father who showed honor. Only when I hit my 30s did I understand.

Anyone can charge what they like.. what they can get. I completely understand the temptation. Years ago I turned my hobby into my job and it made it harder to do the right Thing.

As a consumer I can just take note.. have a good memory etc... I will never spend a penny at cheaper than dirt.. currently my favorite new kid on the block is really letting me down.... I spout praise on the company... I buy ammo. AR's, AK's..... I've spent over 5K with them in the past 4 years. But when I see them list 5.56 ammo at inflated prices... huh..

I might not spend my stimulus check there. My choice.. we all get a choice.
 
Here's the thing, and I don't mean any disrespect here....

Why does anyone care? If you don't like the price don't buy. No reason to take it personally and complain about it. How does it really affect anyone's life? Sorry but to me it's silly to whine about it and a lot easier to just ignore it and move along.
Couldn't have said it better
Look, when I sell something, I want to get as much as I possibly can for it. If my price is too high, then nobody will buy my item and I have the choice of lowering my price or putting the item back in the safe.
The buyer can sneer at my price and walk away or tell themselves "I really need/want that XYZ" and bite the bullet
Those are always the options. Free markets, baby:D:s0155:!
 
Here's my main issue with the concept of accusing people and companies of "price gouging" on nonessential items :rolleyes::rolleyes:

1. They are under no obligation to keep prices stable nor low.

2. They also are under no obligation to stay permanently "out of stock" on things.

It really does seems like people would prefer that companies continually run out of stock on firearms related items during periods of massive demand and anxienty by keeping the prices the same.

This stuff keeps happening over and over and over and people don't seem to learn that it makes sense to raise prices when demand outstrips the available supply

Granted, companies and people are free to ask "ridiculous" prices, and buyers are free to boycott, to not buy from, or encourage others to.. but on the other hand... these companies and people ensure that there is a supply in stock/available

Anyone remember when you couldn't expect certain ammo to be in stock for almost 6 months to 4 years because of the NDAA and Congress budgeting for supplying massive amount of ammo to Federal Law Enforcement agencies and other Fed agencies??
During the end of the last oil boom we were drilling wells and capping them. Everyone was worried about not having enough oil and we were capping them, and sitting on enough reserves to last a lifetime. The oil never ran out but the greedy people that ensure that there is a supply in stock/available didnt think the price was rite so we capped them and let everyone think we had a shortage. They were doing no service to anyone just taking advantage because they could.
 
False equivalency. The greedy companies get the ammo from the same suppliers as others do. If the ammo manufacturers (such as Wolf, Remington, Federal, Tula, etc) were the ones telling stores to raise prices to the "greedy companies levels"; then perhaps your argument would be impactful.
 
I look at it a couple of ways.

For instance I have a 1# container of Unique up for trade straight across here.

I also have that same 1# container for sale/trade locally for $100 because I was forced to put a price.

I REALLY don't want to actually sell it and would rather trade straight across hence the price, but if someone was willing to pay that then I would.

If I sold it for fair market value in current times then I only have $25 and less bargining power than holding for a trade during a shortage as prices would most likely be driven up. And I sure as heck haven't figured out how to load cash directly into my brass.

Does that make me a price gouger? I'm not sure, but I don't think so personally (of course ;))

Personally I can't really blame folks for hiking the prices up on ammo and other things, especially within reason. Even if it makes it incredibly inconvenient for those of us that were caught unawares.
 
maybe yes, maybe no. let the gouging continue and hopefully some more honest gun stores, and ammunition suppliers will be born and can help with the supply and demand.
 
I hear some of you saying that you've got good memories and you won't do business with others again if you think a person or a business is asking too high of a price...let's just say 2x higher than a price you think an item is worth. Let's call it a used Glock 17, for $700.

What if a person was asking 1/2 of the amount you think an item is worth? Let's say they're asking $175 for that used Glock 17. Would you not buy their Glock because their perceived value and yours is different? Would you not do business with them in the future because of it?

If Cheaper Than Dirt opened their doors in the morning and started selling brass cased 9mm for $0.10/a round and brass cased 5.56 for $0.15/a round, would you buy it?

If your answer to the Cheaper Than Dirt question is no, I would be more than happy to sell you all the 9mm or 5.56 you'd ever want for $0.20 a round and $0.30/a round, the "usual price," and double my money. ;)
 
What some are calling price gouging is really Lazafair economics where the market is fluid ebbing and flowing with the supply and demand. More supply and less demand = lower prices, less supply and more demand = higher prices. Sellers want to sell at the highest price making the most profit while buyers want to to get most for the least. Lazafair tends to be very specltive and not firmly based on actual costs, oil futures is a good example. One thing I know for sure is that Greed is a powerful and all consuming addiction as any other.
 
Here's the thing, and I don't mean any disrespect here....

Why does anyone care? If you don't like the price don't buy. No reason to take it personally and complain about it. How does it really affect anyone's life? Sorry but to me it's silly to whine about it and a lot easier to just ignore it and move along.

It is an interesting occurrence to me. It tells me something about both the buyer and seller. For one thing, that there are still people out there who did not stock up on ammo when it was cheap and plentiful. For another, there are people who think they have so much ammo that they can sell some of what they have and still be prepared. I question their reasoning, but especially that of the seller.

I have original Black Talon .45 ACP. I could probably sell it for considerably more than I paid for it, but I think someday I would regret selling it, so I keep it. I have some very rare ammo that now goes for over $100 per round (before the current situation), and I could make a nice profit on that because I paid about $20 per round for it quite a while ago and you simply can't get it anymore except at those prices - if you can find someone willing to sell it. Someday I might wish I still had it (but I doubt it).

There is a reason I bought my ammo and it wasn't to make a profit - it was to survive in a time when ammo is precious and it might need to be used.

A different look at the issue:

 
People that bought stuff up for whatever reason can sell it for any price they like. If you don't want to pay that price, don't. No one has a right to everything they want at a reasonable price.

Stock up now for the next time. I have a few thousand rounds of 22 from the last panic. That's how it works
 
This is generally the shortest lived type of "panic buy" situation, one that is driven by fear of an apocalypse. This won't be a multi-year ordeal like what happened after Sandy Hook due to fear of legislation.
 
If ya get bored during these times you can always go back in history here on NWFA and read all the threads about this subject........

Just to save you some time they are all similar in content just about different triggering causes.........

Just hope that the new complainants remember this situation and buy stuff when it is widely available and low in price. They too can just sit back and laugh at the prices being asked.
I'm still shooting ammo from the 80's, 90's and even some from WW2, it doesn't go bad if stored properly and you have stocks just for these situations.
 
What some are calling price gouging is really Lazafair economics where the market is fluid ebbing and flowing with the supply and demand. More supply and less demand = lower prices, less supply and more demand = higher prices. Sellers want to sell at the highest price making the most profit while buyers want to to get most for the least. Lazafair tends to be very specltive and not firmly based on actual costs, oil futures is a good example. One thing I know for sure is that Greed is a powerful and all consuming addiction as any other.
Spot on
 
This is generally the shortest lived type of "panic buy" situation, one that is driven by fear of an apocalypse. This won't be a multi-year ordeal like what happened after Sandy Hook due to fear of legislation.

Unless the hate-Trumpers have their way and are able to somehow get their hero Biden elected because of this. Then all bets are off, and these could end up being the good-old-days. :( (Edit- Heretic beat me to the point. :))

As to "gouging", the guys I don't like are the ones who run down and clean off the shelves at Bimart before anyone else can, then flip it all for double. It's legal and you can do whatever you want, but it just seems sleazy to me.

On the other hand, say a guy has an extra case or two of 9mm (I do not, btw) that he needs to sell at this time. What is the right thing for him to do? Should he sell them for pre-panic prices, with the likelihood that the buyer will flip it and make a big profit?

It's academic to me, because I'm neither buying nor selling. I do remember a story from a couple panics ago about a guy who had an extra AK of some sort. He'd bought it cheap a couple years earlier and then things went nuts. He had an acquaintance who kept pestering him to sell it to him, and at the price he'd paid, make him a "buddy" deal.

He finally relented and sold it to the guy. Shortly thereafter he found out that he flipped it for double. The guy didn't even understand why he was upset.

The only "buddy" deals I would make would be for family and trusted friends.
 
At what % increase is it considered "gouging"?
Additionally, is it fair to base your "gouging" accusation against low prices that were the result of the bottom falling out of the demand curve?

I've actually got some .223 ammo I've though about selling because it was all that was available several years ago. Didn't pay rock bottom prices for it at the time. I'm fine now as far as supply goes, but there are certain ones I don't shoot anymore either because I've been able to re-supply when there were smoking deals to be had.

These topics always peak my interest.
 
Unless the hate-Trumpers have their way and are able to somehow get their hero Biden elected because of this. Then all bets are off, and these could end up being the good-old-days. :( (Edit- Heretic beat me to the point. :))

As to "gouging", the guys I don't like are the ones who run down and clean off the shelves at Bimart before anyone else can, then flip it all for double. It's legal and you can do whatever you want, but it just seems sleazy to me.

It is sleazy.

I do remember a story from a couple panics ago about a guy who had an extra AK of some sort. He'd bought it cheap a couple years earlier and then things went nuts. He had an acquaintance who kept pestering him to sell it to him, and at the price he'd paid, make him a "buddy" deal.

He finally relented and sold it to the guy. Shortly thereafter he found out that he flipped it for double. The guy didn't even understand why he was upset.

The only "buddy" deals I would make would be for family and trusted friends.

I have firearms that I could sell for 4X what I paid for them, and it would be a nice profit. But they are relatively rare, while at the same time still very useful - I would never sell them. If I gave one to a relative, it would be my immediate family and with the condition that they cannot sell it, and if they want to dispose of it, they need to give it back to me. "Buddies"? I have firearms for those who are invited to my BOL if SHTF - otherwise they can find their own firearms. I sold a firearm last week - a SIG (yes, one of my SIGs) that I didn't want any longer to a member here, for less than I paid for it because it was an older model and well used and I paid more than I should have. That was the first gun I sold in years.
 
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