Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles I think we are getting over the hump on the shortages.

IMHO the only way you can have gouging is if someone is willing to pay the price. At that point who's fault is it really?

If I were ever to sell a gun, and I think I"ve done that twice in my life... and I had one to sell, value 500 bucks, but you came up and offered me 1500 bucks.... what do you do?

If you already had the gun then sell it.

My problem is the guys who are buying up everything they can get at Walmart and other stores, then reselling them at gun shows at marked up prices. If it weren't for these types who are breaking the law by selling without a license and lying on the 4473 we wouldn't have the shortages we have now.

I mean really, $100 for a brick of 22 shells?

Maybe I'm wrong but either way I don't care, I read sign and stocked up. Besides I found an M&P Shield today in 9mm. See it is a nice day.

Except in the case of food or water, why would anyone pay the highly-inflated gouging price anyway?

I would assume that it is because it is something that they want, and are willing to pay for it at that level of "want."

As an aside, if anyone is illegally buying ammo/guns, then sure they should stop doing it and report to the authorities.

1. No one I know of is condoning lawbreakers, but that is a completely separate issue from so-called 'gouging'.

2. You don't have to fill out a 4473 to sell a brick of .22's.

3. Buying low and selling high is good business. That said, and while I've seen bricks priced at $100, I haven't seen anyone buying at that price. The local Gander Mountain has been offering 525-packs of Rem Golden .22s at normal prices while supplies last, with limits on what one person can buy.

TRW -

Maybe you're not aware of it, but many non-firearms-related businesses buy product they intend to resell at Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Costco and other retail vendors every day. It is a very common practice. Why should ammo be any different?

Oh,I get it. You want the government to intervene in the free market...

You know I'm trying to be nice about all of this but it's getting difficult.

No kidding a 4473 is not needed for ammo, just guns like the stack of brand new AR's sitting on traders tables. Traders are what I call non licensed dealers in case you don't know. These people are breaking the law and are gougers. And show me someone who buys anything from Walmart (that's not a close out) to sell in their store and I'll show you a fool who doesn't know what wholesale is.

Now if anyone thinks this practice is okay then it says a lot about how far this country has fallen.

first chance I get I'm buying 5,000 rounds of 22lr!

TWR
The problem is it says EXACTALLY how far this country has fallen, as is proven by simply looking at the phony refinery shut downs, and SPECULATORS (gougers) on wall street manipulating gas and oil prices. It's hard to beleive that this government put Madoff in jail but lets wall street go on.

1. I'll repeat myself - "No one I know of is condoning lawbreakers, but that is a completely separate issue from so-called 'gouging'."

2. By definition, 'gouging' does not occur in a free market. It's simply a term used by people who feel entitled to other people's property at a price lower than the owner wants to sell. If you want my XOM stock you're welcome to it - at about 50% over current market to cover my capital gains and other taxes, replacement costs and the hassle factor. 'Gouge' pricing? No, I don't really want to sell it but could reluctantly be enticed to do so.

3. Nothing I said was meant to suggest Wal-Mart was a primary source of product and nothing I said precluded close-out or other special pricing, either. Most small business people I've known are pretty savvy with their money and go where the bargains are - and Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Costco and other outlets can often provide a competitive price with immediately available product where their wholesale suppliers may not have any of the product or may be days away from delivery. Cripes, I've seen restaurants send someone to the local grocer when they run low on an important item.

Do I think it's OK for people to buy at Wal-Mart or other places and try to sell the product at higher prices? Absolutely. I don't care where they get it, what they pay for it or how they price it. None of that affects how I value the product one iota. Moreover, unless someone puts a gun to my head, I'm free to buy or not.

'Gouging' is a term invented by whiners.

Thats funny.

Have a nice day.

Right on! I hope the maggots buy up so much they cannot make their car or mortgage. My sarcastic remarks regarding trading my AR,s for a 2010 Porche Boxter were just that Sarcasm. I think things are a little better I saw a Troy rifle yesterday with a fluted chrome lined barrel pretty nice set up for $2000. I recon it was a $1600 rifle in November but am not sure.

Gouging is a term invented by hurricane or earth quake victims paying $20.00 a bottle for water so their 9 month old baby does not die of dehydration. Making an honest profit is far removed from greed and larceny.

In reference to what the OP was about, here is a post I put in a link about which rifle someone should buy, and he had listed a few choices. This was my suggestion:



I just followed that url and it showed the auction ended at $1550. I'd call that an improvement!

Enjoy the day!

Then maybe soon places like Cabelas, Widners, Surplus Arms and others will stop humping the consumer.

You make the assumption that a profit was made at $20. That may or may not be the case. Maybe that bottle has changed hands 10 times since the erstwhile emergency started and the seller is taking pity and selling at a significant loss?

Moreover, what parent would value the life of their baby less than the $20 it would take to get what is apparently the only water available?

It's not hard to imagine scenarios in which temporarily saving the baby's life eventually costs the baby's life and that of one or more others (maybe the mother and her twin 4 year olds, all of whom could have made it to safety if they shared the water instead of giving it to the baby but the mother died from heat exhaustion from carrying the baby without the needed water and the children died of thirst and hunger after getting lost without their now dead mother). Who is to say that giving the last water to the baby is its best use? I mean, if we're pulling on heartstrings...

Moreover, a market price of $20 helps ensure people will be working hard to bring in more water, which in turn can save many more lives. Prices will drop as supply meets demand. Selling water at the normal price does nothing to encourage increased supply.

I think we are getting there. Just came back from my LGS and they had about 20 or so new AR's in stock average price 1299.00. Handguns supply is on the low side for them. They got a shipment of xds in today. They have ammo. I really think people are slowing down buying.

Humping the consumer? Bear in mind that they are having difficulty getting product to sell and have to raise prices to keep cash flow up (think meet payroll, pay operating expenses, pay taxes and still make a profit). That's hard or impossible to do when volume goes down if prices stay the same.

On the other hand, the higher prices ensure they have product for those the value it most.

Nobody is putting a gun to anyone's head and forcing them to buy. Any transactions that take place are free-will exchanges between the vendors and willing volunteers.

[Edited to add...]

Willing volunteers, by the way, who have probably shopped around, who are free to spend their money elsewhere should they so chose and, for reasons of their own, decided not to do so.

I see no gouging, I see business at work, that is all. Does it suck, yes, but it is the way the market seems to roll.....

Brent

Brent, I could not agree more.

Went to the gun show in Colorado Springs yesterday. Saw bricks of .22 for $150, lots of ARs at twice gunbroker prices of a couple weeks ago (don't know what gunbroker's current selling prices are).

Was looking for a Springfield XD 9mm subcompact, didn't see any. Also looking for a handgun for my wife, who has lots of trouble with slides due to two shoulder replacements. Wanted to show her a Ruger LCR in .38 or .357 Mag (which I would load with .38s for her) but didn't see any of those, either. Ended up going down the road to Sportsman's Warehouse and buying a .38 LCR with the laser.

Wen online this morning and bout 300 Starline .38 Special cases for $14/100, and 200 Speer 110g Gold Dot bullets (don't recall the price but pretty normal). With primers, powder and dies on hand, at least now I'll be able to load for the .38 Special.