I have been watching like you some really interesting reactions to the panic buying going on.I really apreciate a few of the local shops that had stock and didnt stop selling to raise prices Insite in Midland Williams Gun site Flint and Dick Williams in Saginaw. I am sure there are plenty more but these I know
but those of us who bought items when there were blue skys and no storms brewing because we like the stuff or thought maybe it would be wise to have why show we invest tie up our money, space etc than sell it to someone without a bump?
OK i see some super crazy prices but again if some one wants to pay it well....

For those who think I am wrong please sell me some of the good stock you bought at par please.....

Whats the difference?
I really am not selling anything its just some thoughts
Hank

Maybe the had better investment value than those special edition NASCAR plates

Between me & one of my best friends, we'll be covered for quite a while. Even if we keep shooting at our current rate, we'll easily outlast this current administration...prolly the next.
Hell I have one can of powder that's going on twenty years old.
Damn... I just looked & only have about 8K primers...might be touch & go there...

i bet if you dig deeper you will find out the wholesalers had a big part of raising prices also. Which in turn higher retail.

So long as no one is forcing you to pay any price you don't like, there's absolutely nothing wrong with taking advantage of sudden increased demand to make a much larger profit than usual. You wouldn't complain if there was a sudden glut on some product you wanted, causing the price to plummet, would you? That's the other side of the same coin, only working to your advantage in that case. Remember factory-new Russian SKS rifles for $100.00 a pop? They were only that inexpensive because of a sudden glut. Prior to that, lots of folks paid a good bit more for the rare Russian SKS that appeared on the US market.

I will trade 1 20 round PMAG for a nice Kimber Montana in 223.

For those who couldn't read sign and didn't prepare, so sad too bad. For those that have jacked up prices, if you find a sucker willing to pay those prices, good on you.

i do not think it will last ,i'm seeing some stuff coming down already

It ain't price gouging , it's just a price spike.


Mike

I don't have much that I would sell, but I would like a nice profit if I could get it. I usually buy high and sell low. My thoughts are, the people that bought earlier at a good price are entitled to a profit regardless of what it is.

Spot on.

Personally, any store or online retailer that jacked up prices lost all of my business. I was good to go and this sudden buy up of everything is just annoying.

I'm more annoyed that all bulk ammo is MIA. I can't replace what I have shot up for training. Its going to affect my training this year if it keeps up.

No kidding! I may have to shoot revolver so I don't lose brass. Full moon clips are handy as hell.

I know a local shop that jacked up the price of pmc case ammo over $100 in a few hours. A friend was in the store when they had it listed for $400 a case, and within 1 hour they had sold 33 cases of it and jacked the price up to $500.

I got a case of the same ammo from another local store for $349.99. Guess who has my business?

Price gouging is attached to more than a fixation on a market gone wild.

Take the Pharmaceutical industry for example. When there are drugs that are necessary to keep people alive and there is less than 1 cent in materials in the make-up of a prescription drug that costs an individual several dollars and the need for that drug is on a continual basis or a life may be lost... that is price gouging.

When AR-15 demand went sky high due to a perceived need to get one before they are all gone, is simply supply and demand. There is no real urgency for each individual that wants an AR to have them compared to the life saving aspects of some prescription drugs.

All the people that worry about how much an AR-15 costs now compared to a month ago may be upset about it, but if you want to complain about price gouging, look somewhere else...

You forgot the need of the phamaceutical industry to pay off lawsuits because one person out of 100,000 has a reaction that they have been previously warned about.

And to pay the R&D costs, and the costs of being approved by the government. The actual cost of materials is almost inconsequential with many drugs when looking to price at an amount that allows you to make a profit withing the small window of time allowed by the patent, after which everyone else who doesn't have any of the true "costs" of the med can just mix it up with the cheap ingredients and sell it too.

8K primers wouldn't last half a season of shooting for us.

Thats where it sucks some. Glad I don't shoot anymore much or I'd have to hold probably close to 50K primers in reserve to feel safe.

Haven't reloaded for 357 in 20 years, now the wife bought her one and all of a sudden I have to start... sucks to have everyone mostly out of stock and I didn't see the 357 coming until a few weeks ago when she got the itch...

So what you are saying is that the pharmaceutical industry isn't making tons of money for drugs they produce and sell after they pay all their overhead. Every industry has liability costs that are built into their business model, but this is one business that is doing very well at the hands of people that have no other option.

Price gouging does not exist. Period. Stuff costs what the market will bear, no more, no less. There is always a choice to buy something or not, even with medication. yes, the choices suck sometimes, but they are still there.

+1

Very good point You dont have to buy this Mag or box of ammo

If you were dying of thurst and someone had a the only gallon of water to keep you alive and demanded 1000.00 that would be price gouging
Not something you choose to buy

Hank

No, it would not be. There is still a choice on the part of the consumer. Like I said earlier, the choice may suck, but its always there.

Ethics and economics are in no way connected. The ethical person would give the dying man water, the economist would charge him every dime he could, or find a dying guy with more money. Neither is wrong, but they are in no way comparable.

Sportsman's Warehouse online store has 30rd PMAG magazines listed on their site at normal prices and in STOCK. Only 2 per customer, though. There is still places to get them minus the ass rape.

I missed it!!!! Out of stock now it appears...

Brent

In my opinion this is the worst panic to date. Its not just AR-15's its components, ammunition, shotguns, high cap pistols, everything. Perhaps someone will write a children's book "how dad squandered the Christmas money on a $1,200 dollar rifle that cost him $3000 with no magazines and no ammunition". Hell I am selling mine off and buying single shot rifles and maybe a new pistol. I am tired of the drama.

It is called capitalism and is the result of supply and demand. This is just the market at work and is supposed to be how all things are priced. What do you want? Big Brother to jump in and set the prices for everything? We have too much government intervention now. How is that working out for you?

Gun Salesman of the year goes to Barack Obama. Just glad I got my AR stuff before the CT shooting. Im waiting on this surge to slow and there be a abundance of overstock and selling for less.

For those who believe that there is no such thing as price gouging and that it's just the free market at work:

Fine.

Then may we assume that you agree that there is no such thing as customer loyalty either, or that it is of no value?

That door swings both ways. Don't whine when your customer goes elsewhere.

Paul

Agreed. CDNN has has lost me as a customer forever over this issue. They have every right to gouge those that will allow it and I have the right to take my business elsewhere. Thankfully they don't sell a thing I can't buy somewhere else.

Terry

I for one will never do ANY business again with companys or shops that price gouge or pull weapons off their shelves.

Cheaper than dirt, Dicks sporting goods, ect.

So if you bought some silver coins tomorrow for $38 an ounce and by next week it was up to $80, but the prognosis for it continuing upwards or even holding at that level was not good, one can assume y'all wouldn't sell on moral principles, but instead would wait til the prices went back down?

Big differance is I buys gold, silver or other precious metals as an investment...I buy guns for using and enjoying not tripping them to make $
Actually it's not legal for me to purchase guns today strictly for resale the next day or week as many are doing right now
Need an FFL to do such

I think you're reading more into my post than I intended.

I was thinking of a normal retail type of relationship, maybe one sporting goods store among others. Could be a hardware store or bank or whatever.

I wasn't considering "morality", but more in terms of the expectations of repeat business, which is why I mentioned customer loyalty.

I always think of the TV commercial for loan shopping service in which the banker complains "But you've been with us for ten years", after his customer goes elsewhere for a better deal.

To answer your question directly, I have no problem with anybody playing the market, especially with a commodity. Just saying the "rules" and expectations should work both ways.

I don't "owe" anybody my business, they have to earn it, and keep earning it.

And I agree with George, Ethan's coin example is more an investment or commodity.

Paul

Change your scenario from silver to generators or gasoline after a major storm. Still feel the same way? Nobody said they can't do what they are doing. Just that he plans on spending his money with the ones that didn't do it after this is over with. Brownells and Midway are good examples of the good guy's. Sometimes you vote with your wallet.

Terry

my first take at it was this was a bunch of opportunistic jerks playing off peoples emotions to make some money. after i calmed down and thought about it rationally, i figured that people don't really need an AR or a 30 round mag. if they are willing to pay twice the price this week as last week, then let 'em have at it. its not like gas price gouging that occurred after 9/11. i still won't buy BP gas because they raised their prices the afternoon of 9/11 and were the last to lower them. and i used to get all my gas at BP because it was very convenient.

however, AR's are luxuries for the most part for most of us. i am just mad about what this has done to the supply of even non-AR ammo like 22's and the crowds at gunshows. the tacticool yuppies with more money than brains are going to ruin the market for the average shooter for a while. i will wait out the madness and purchase stuff i need when the price is right for me. i have plenty for now and i ain't selling my excess.

Yep your scenario of generators or gasoline after a disaster is gouging and call gouging ...they even have laws prohibiting such behavior

I bet BP did not think it was gouging either. The ones doing it never does, but the ones being gouged always notice. miles

Yes, but if you can compare the precious metals trade to AR-15's I figure it's all fair.

Yes, you can get by without an AR-15 but you know what, you can get by without a generator too. Thankfully, I planned ahead and have both.

Terry

Frankly, I'm against such laws. All they do is transfer wealth from the haves to the have nots.

If I have two generators and decide to sell one, I'll take market price. What these laws tend to ignore is property rights and the time/place value of a product.

Yep. I must have touched a nerve. Then again, I keep fuel around my place in case of such things. I feel for those who simply can't afford a generator, fuel or guns. Those that can but expend their resources on other things, not so much.

When the other guy is doing it, it's always "gouging". If you're doing it, you're just participating in the "free market".

It's gouging no matter who does it

So what do YOU have for sale that has gone up substantially in price? Any gold for sale? How about a Rem 700 Ti? Anything??

I sold a Rem 700 Ti to a friend here on this board for $700. I wanted the $$ and he wanted the gun. He turned around and sold it for $1100. He wanted the $$ and someone else wanted the gun. Now I see them going for $1600-$2000. Somebody wants that $$ and somebody OBVIOUSLY wants those rifles - even at those crazy-azzed (to me) prices. What's the problem?? I think you're just upset about not having anything decent to sell.....

I'm not a money grubber...make money the old fashion way I work for it I don't need to sell guns at outrageous prices. But feel free to do so if it gives you the warm fuzzies. And yep I just shlep junk nobody else would want

BTW - We've never lost power for more than 24 hours and I have two NIB Honda EU2000i generators with the 5-gal external tank option and four 5-gal containers full of gas in my garage at all times. IMO, my welfare is MY responsibility and I'd much rather look ahead and, to the best of my ability, plan for and prepare for bad times that hopefully will never happen than whine about others who took the time and expense to do so.

As a result of my choices, I haven't had money for other fun things (like a bass boat) but that's the price I PAY for not getting "gouged".....

Y'all ever notice that the classified cowboys seem to get their panties knotted up more than most other folks here. miles

Maybe when the next disaster hits you could sell one and get your bass boat

I work for a living too but if I had a Rem 700 Ti today, you can bet your azz that I wouldn't price it at $700 and if YOU would (which I know you wouldn't) you'd be a total idiot.

I think the diffence between your Ti reference and what people are doing selling AR's right now is that the Ti's are no longer made over a long period of time they have appreciated(to some)
AR's doubled and tripled over night as a knee jerk reaction and will not sustain such a high price

The AWB ended a LONG time ago and mags were selling at $8-$9 for years. Anyone could've waded in and bought a truckload of 30rd mags but they chose not to do so. If I knew Rem 700 Ti rifles would be selling for $1600-$2000, I would've bought 50 of 'em when the were $700/ea and you would've too. Hindsite isn't free and stupidity can get pretty spendy.....

Stupidity is paying $1600-$2000 for a Ti when you could build a far better rifle for far less

There's nothing free in a "free market" and ultimately, the value of most all products are determined by the market. If you don't like the price, don't buy.

Or the prices that clean Rem 788s fetch.

Agreed from where I stand but I wouldn't begrudge someone for wanting one or selling one.....

Nope if thats how they wanna spend their $. Remington isn't smart enough to offer them again so after market is the only way to get one. I looked at the Ti's back when they introdued the Ti II's and for the cost and not being able to get exactly what I wanted had a custom made up for around the same or less and it's built to my spec's with better barrel and stock

Told ya I shlep crap nobody would want...

I like that!

That's a beauty and the 257Wby is top of the heap when it comes to deer rifles. If you're going to put together a custom, I couldn't think of a better choice. I'd much rather have that than a Rem Ti but, that being said, I seriously doubt anyone will offer you 1.5-2x what you paid for it. As a hunter/shooter/member I'm right there with ya dvdegeorge - we just disagree about the reality and value of a free market.

Agreed brother. I get by with a used bassboat instead of a new one and that way I can have guns for play and security.

We went through about a week long outage around ten years ago. Weren't fun. I've got two generators, I think they're like 3000 and 3500 watts. Wish I had a 7 or 8kw. Of course, probably like you, I've got insurance on my house, barn, tractors, etc. Costs me a lot per year but I have piece of mind at the cost of a new vehicle every four years and all sort of electronics for us and the kids.

Funny thing, people did not think that way when Standard Oil was doing it or again when Ma Bell thought that way. miles

Great pic! That steely-eyed grin says it all.....