Is this gouging? Or just plain wrong?

[Angler]

The only thing that surprized me about this thread and replies was that somebody still shops at Tidewater.

 

[Jammer Six]

I commend him.

 

[billdeserthills]

While I respect your forward thinking vision on stocking up, based on this part of your statement, I for one would not shop your establishment. Once the panic has subsided and prices return to normal, folks will remember your "Gouge them while ya can," attitude and you will, in the end, loose business.

Good luck to you.

Thanks for the well wishes Doctnt, but my gun biz is dead & buried. No FFL means No Guns so when the ammo & holsters are all gone, I won't be sorry to lose the biz I already done had taken away from me. BTW the prices I am charging are below other shops, I just don't have it in me to really gouge, not like the guy I saw selling .223 for $2/ round. Mine is .85 cents for us made, less so for import

 

[samuelm16]

28.50 for 9mm and you are cheaper than the other guys holy smokes

Thanks for the well wishes Doctnt, but my gun biz is dead & buried. No FFL means No Guns so when the ammo & holsters are all gone, I won't be sorry to lose the biz I already done had taken away from me. BTW the prices I am charging are below other shops, I just don't have it in me to really gouge, not like the guy I saw selling .223 for $2/ round. Mine is .85 cents for us made, less so for import

 

[mcneal9926]

The start if what is coming. Selling at a loss....
ARMSLIST - For Sale: Ruger SR-556E Semi Automatic Rifle

 

[simpleguy]

I cannot imagine trying to stay in business in this environment as a small guy. Sure on one hand I see it as gouging, but on the the other, it's AWESOME to see someone "stick it to" Wally World for a change.

 

[samuelm16]

I fail to see these actions as sticking it to wallyworld? Looks. Like they got paid a fair price with the intention of the ammo going to an end user not a slickwilly used car salesman

I cannot imagine trying to stay in business in this environment as a small guy. Sure on one hand I see it as gouging, but on the the other, it's AWESOME to see someone "stick it to" Wally World for a change.

 

[simpleguy]

I fail to see these actions as sticking it to wallyworld? Looks. Like they got paid a fair price with the intention of the ammo going to an end user not a slickwilly used car salesman

Look, I am as frugal as the next guy, Wal-Mart's "M.O." has been moving in to smaller markets and running small guys out of business. Their size allows them to get better prices than the little guy and theoretically "pass on the savings". This is great for prices in the short run, but in the end you have less competition, less in the way of choices/diversity......you and I need that little guy.

 

[Heavy6]

I tend to place his actions on the chicken$hit side of the ledger. But, I also have the option of getting in line before him and not being a patron of his business. People remember stuff like this. The smart vendors are not gouging customers and are riding this thing out with their heads up.

 

[MountainBear]

I don't so much mind him buying and then reselling at his shop with a mark-up. I won't pay stupid prices, but I'm also not desperate yet. I do however think it was a little tacky to bring multiple people with him with the intent to clear the shelves. I think I would be a lot more accepting of the behavior if it was just him going in and buying his two boxes and going.

 

[david58]

Local shop was doing the same here - fella had more than two or three buddies in line, as many as a dozen. Buy whatever came on the shelves. Marked it up significantly. Bimart here did a great thing to combat it - took a black marker and wrote "BIMART" on the box. Slowed it down a bit...

I have NO problem with BobbyJoe going to the mart and buying three boxes for his shop. But to walk in with a passel of employees or friends and have them do it to - that is a strawman purchase, to redirect a term a bit - HE was buying the ammo for HIM, even tho it was two or three other guys that used his money at the counter instead of him. Gaming the system - cheating - and those folks don't have to worry about my darkening their door any time soon. Capitalism it might be, but part of capitalism is that I get to take my money where I want to. Now, loss of my biz hasn't closed the local shop I boycott for this reason, but I can say he has several thousand less in sales than if he had not been an a$$ the last time around.

 

[dobeman]

You know the name of the shop. Don't shop there.
Tell others - maybe they will boycott as well. I wouldn't shop there if I knew. But I wouldn't pay that much for .22LR anyway.

 

[sagerat-shooter]

OK now for the best part: One of his friends was defending him on Facebook and said "Steve is a great guy and even has a policy of not selling to people he knows are taking the ammo and reselling it online" I guess we can add hypocrite to his resume.

 

[1stklass]

It sounds like he is selling at his cost plus standard retail markup. Figure he pays $20 a brick times 9, so $180. He then marks that upto $540. Figure he has to go and spend a minimum of $20/hour to get the ammo. Since that means getting people over there and standing in line for an hour or so, now his costs are $180 + ($20x3x1.5 hr) = $270. Most retail is 100% markup to allow for expenses (building, lights, employees) and some profit. So it sounds like a reasonable cost. The service he is supplying is to go stand in line for a product you don't even know is there, and then be only able to buy a limited amount.
When you are buying from him, you are paying for that service. If you are like me, it is probably cheaper to go buy from him than to drive around town, and burn time looking for it myself. There are bunch of folks on the classifieds making a little extra money providing the same service to the rest of us who don't have the time. If you want all this to end, then just stop buying ammo until it reaches a price that is reasonable.

OMG!!! finally someone with a brain! For all the we deserve freedom but we dont want anyone making money off of us people..... there is welfare for you. He has customers he needs to keep coming into his store and they wont if he has nothing to sell them. He is making standard Markup on the ammo. It is either him or someone else buying it and posting it in the forums for double markup.

The early bird gets the worm, guess you should have been there first in line when the truck showed up.... i think you snoozed and lost

 

[xlsbob]

I really doubt that any hired help in a gun shop is taking home $20 an hour. Even less if you are just going to another store to buy ammo.

 

[CLT65]

Not defending or justifying anyone, but I've seen several times here someone posting about finding a great deal somewhere and going home to bring their wife, brother, father-in-law, etc. so they can go back and buy more than the store-imposed two or three box limit. Stores like Bi-Mart or Walmart set these limits so they can continue to provide a limited-supply product to the maximum number of customers, in their own best interest.

Personally I like these limits. They keep people like this from buying up the whole supply. At the same time I don't see any issue with a small business buying and reselling (Tidewater is a very small business- no employees, and he's been selling guns in the area for longer than many of you all have been alive. No I don't know him personally, just bought stuff from him occasionally for the last quarter century plus). It's a little iffy when he gets others to help him get around the store limits, but technically it's within the letter of the policy, the same as you guys getting your wives to buy more for you. Not illegal, not necessarily unethical (added: but questionable, I agree), but definitely gaming the rules. I wouldn't pay it myself, but from what I've seen, 200% seems reasonable compared to the prices I've seen at some stores. Especially considering the "extraordinary measures" he had to go through to get stock for the shelves.

At the same time I would be totally ticked too if I was the next guy in line and they were all out.

 

[MountainBear]

^^^Not illegal, certainly, but definitely questionably ethical.

 

[mcneal9926]

Bi-Mart will not tell delivery dates cause they said "people" were forcefully stopping delivery drivers, and accosting them about whether there was ammo on the truck. I would have said "Yes, in the cab".....

 

[oneharmonic]

The start if what is coming. Selling at a loss....
ARMSLIST - For Sale: Ruger SR-556E Semi Automatic Rifle

It still has a ways to fall. That was a $999 rifle last summer.

 

[K-22]

Bi-Mart will not tell delivery dates cause they said "people" were forcefully stopping delivery drivers, and accosting them about whether there was ammo on the truck. I would have said "Yes, in the cab".....

Hmmmm..............I have made no effort to verify, but I was told that a Local BiMart was posting ammo arrivals on Facebook.

Best,
Gary