Selling Reloads

[rvenneman]

Is there a market for selling reloaded ammo at gun shows and flea markets?


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[kayala]

Can't do that unless you have an FFL license. I see 1 (one) commercial reloader at the shows I attend. They do have some traffic.

[wv109323]

Yes but you have to have volume sales to overcome the cost of liability insurance.

[RogerDat]

And to get that volume of sales you have to invest in a lot of stock up front. I have seen one local company / small business at gun shows selling reloaded ammo. Many thousands of dollars in inventory. In order to have a decent supply of each caliber so that one can sell multiple thousands of 9mm or 45acp one has to have them sitting on the table.

Think there was a guy selling who only had smaller quantities on his table but his model was buy a few boxes, try them, then order from him in quantity online. Not sure he is still in business. Or if he is now selling strictly online or is the guy with big piles on table. Is one guy I see sometimes with maybe a dozen or twenty 50 cal. ammo cans of bullets, don't think he does a lot of business at the show. But he may have regular customers I know nothing about.

Think about how many cartridges it takes to pack 20 ammo cans 50 cal. size with pistol ammo. Inventory costs. Only worth it if you can't make more with the money someplace else.

[runfiverun]

the guy selling at the show is more than likely the 2nd. partner,
the other half of the business will be running the shop.
but yeah there is money in it you just have to do it in volume and prepare the proper paper work to get the correct federal/local licensing, and tax monies paid to the proper places.

[TexasGrunt]

You'll need a Class 6 FFL, business license, sales tax number.....You'll likely have 10K invested before you start loading ammo. Liability insurance is not going to be cheap.

Don't forget the excise tax 10 or 11% can't remember which right now.

Still have fuzzy brain from procedure today.

[dverna]

I believe in addition to an FFL you need ITAR.

The inventory issue is not a concern. Ammunition at a good price will move quickly. The issue is getting cases cheap and in quantity. If I was doing it, I would start with 9mm, 40, .45 and .223. I would have a sign stating other calibers are available.

Don Verna

[rvenneman]

According to some research I did, Although one does not need FFL license, it was advised, as I was advised here, it is not a good idea.

People. ... it is a liability issue with reloaded ammo. If you made a mistake reloading that one round that happend to blowup in someones face because it had a double charge it's going to be your *** hung out to dry. I am sure most if not all of us had made some kind of mistake reloading and found out about it on the range the hard way. Most if not all of us do not have the kind of insurance and liability to pay compensation to the injured and or widow.

Thanks for all the response..


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[Walkingwolf]

My understanding is that private stock can be sold without a license, but manufacturing for sale must have a FFL. Most of my ammo is reloads, but I would not sell them, and I won't buy reloads. Hell I don't even trust factory loads.

I imagine one could sell their stock as loaded components with a disclaimer to break down the components. I did this with 32-20 old factory ammo, took them apart and loaded them with fresh powder and plated bullets. Old bullets were thrown in pot for casting.

[KYCaster]

According to some research I did, Although one does not need FFL license, it was advised, as I was advised here, it is not a good idea.

People. ... it is a liability issue with reloaded ammo. If you made a mistake reloading that one round that happend to blowup in someones face because it had a double charge it's going to be your *** hung out to dry. I am sure most if not all of us had made some kind of mistake reloading and found out about it on the range the hard way. Most if not all of us do not have the kind of insurance and liability to pay compensation to the injured and or widow.

Thanks for all the response..


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You don't need any kind of federal license to sell ammo.

You do need a federal manufacturer's license to manufacture ammo for sale. License info is on the BATFE website.

Check out Federal Excise Tax.

Check out State Fire Marshall's powder storage requirements.

Check out your local zoning regulations.

Gook luck...
Jerry

[nvbirdman]

You don't even have to make a reloading mistake for his gun to be damaged. He may get some reloads from a careless friend and knowingly or unknowingly blame an accident on you. That's why liability insurance is expensive.

[garym1a2]

I would not pick calibers like 9mm/223 to load as price is too low. A 9mm jacket bullet will cost 7 or 8 cents, powder 2 cents, case 2 cents, primer 3 cents. Or about 15 cents each. You can buy new for 22 cents each in bulk. Hence your sell price will be sub 20 cents each. Thats' min wage range.
.223 is even worse as its 22 cents of material and you can find steel case for 25 cents and brass case 5.56mm in the low 32 cent range.

To make money you need to make the high end and hard to find rounds.

[Walkingwolf]

I would not pick calibers like 9mm/223 to load as price is too low. A 9mm jacket bullet will cost 7 or 8 cents, powder 2 cents, case 2 cents, primer 3 cents. Or about 15 cents each. You can buy new for 22 cents each in bulk. Hence your sell price will be sub 20 cents each. Thats' min wage range.
.223 is even worse as its 22 cents of material and you can find steel case for 25 cents and brass case 5.56mm in the low 32 cent range.

To make money you need to make the high end and hard to find rounds.

I don't have .223 or 5.56, but I prefer to load all my own ammo when possible. Just do not trust others including the factory, rim fire is the exception.

[mdi]

A lot of truth in the preceding posts. Personally, I do not/will not purchase ammo at a gun show. It goes hand in hand with not shooting anyone's reloads too. I don't think there is any money to be made in a small ammo manufacturing venture as the competition is fierce. Big ammo manufacturers can operate on a small percentage of profit, but a small guy will have to charge much more than what the big guys charge, just to cover the costs of not buying in bulk (tons of powder and lead/bullets at each purchase). Don't forget about the foreign ammo manufacturers either...

[Kestrel4k]

[...] To make money you need to make the high end and hard to find rounds.
This ^^^
.350Rem Mag, .35Rem, .356Win, .307Win, etc. Good money to be made there - far less competition.

The problem with mass-market calibers (9mm, .223, etc) is that some of your customers won't exactly be the brightest.
So when they make a dumb mistake - with the ammo /you/ made - you will be the first to get the blame. No thanks on that. :(


Edit: The big growth market right now is in /accurate/ subsonic rifle ammo.
Not much is out there right now, and often-challenging load development for the handloaders out there who want it.

[paul h]

It may have made sense in the last 8 years when ammo was scarce and many people were buying every round they could find. Then again sourcing brass, powder, primers and bullets was also neigh impossible. But I have a feeling in the not so distant future gun shows are going to be flush with ammo from people who hoarded and need to move some of their inventory.

[Plate plinker]

Is there a market for selling reloaded ammo at gun shows and flea markets?


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Google Stan Chen and ASYM ammo. That would be the place to be HIGH END. I met Stan once he is top notch. Personally I think there are better way to make money. Primarily due to the liability issues.

[Walkingwolf]

Selling brass, and bullets would probably be better. I noticed that there are sellers on Etsy selling brass as jewelry. I believe they have a rule against selling it for loading. Plus if it is sold as for jewelry kinda limits the liability issue.

I used to sell holsters on ebay, and etsy, but my eyesight, and swelling from sitting to long made me stop making holsters. Holsters would probably be a better investment than ammo. No FFL needed, very little liability insurance needed, good profit on high end holsters. High production equipment is a little costly.

[ole 5 hole group]

I've been to a few small town gun shows and have seen reloads for sale. In a couple instances I asked what powder they used etc. They were all friendly men and gave freely whatever information a person asked.

I don't think any of them had liability insurance or any type of license. The table fee's were $25.00 per 8' table for 2 days. They needed to sell $25.00 worth of profit to break even - most were selling 38 Special, 9mm and 45 ACP reloads - some would have 30-06 and 308 reloads as well. I don't remember the exact prices, but they were very reasonable compared to regular plinker grade ammo and one could save a few bucks if they didn't reload themselves.

I wouldn't think they made a profit of $50.00 a day for the 2-day event. Probably went home with an extra $20.00 in their pocket when you consider the table fees, food, gas and lodging, if they stayed overnight and didn't have a camper/van.

When I purchased my 357 Max many years ago I got a couple hundred rounds of reloads. The guy said he purchased the reloads at a gun show and had no particulars on them. No problem as far as I'm concerned, as I just picked a couple at random when I got home and broke them down - the bullets looked like Hornady XTP's and weighed 180 grains - powder looked exactly like IMR4227 - weighed right on the nose at 20.0 grains. Excellent loads in my opinion and I shot them all with confidence.

[RogerDat]

Had a conversation with a reloader missing some fingers and with a heavily bandaged hand. His reloads could not possibly have been the cause, the gun should have been able to withstand at least a double charge and more than 2x load wouldn't have fit in the case. He had a lawyer and was going to go after the manufacturer. If this guy had been shooting your ammo in a poorly maintained or unknown firearm he would have been just as likely to sue you.

Who needs the aggravation? I will say if you have something such as a magna caster and production quality lube/sizer or ES gun for powder coat you might be able to crank out enough quality shooting boolits to make a profit from reloaders. Boxes of zombie green or fire engine red PC'd bullets might sell, and I have bought bags of 500 cast and lubed bullets before. Wanted to have a few in that weight and profile to try without having to buy a mold.

There is one fellow that sells 5 - 10 rounds per bag, almost all cast lead. Mostly in odd ball calibers but also a few regular calibers too. I think he may get customers from the people that buy a firearm at the show in an odd ball caliber that probably won't be in stock at local Wal-Mart. So a bag or two lets you go home and shoot it. Price per round is a little high but cost of each bag is low enough to make buying a couple of bags no big deal. He does supplement that with a bit of what looks like estate sale reloading or casting equipment and supplies. Bought some 32 pistol cast lead from him once and even a few other things from time to time.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I recall back in the 1990`s when Winchester was dropping the 270 gr. sp .375 H&H loading. I bought 5 boxes for $100 from a LGS really more for the brass and primer that the powder and bullet. I noticed some bullets were so loose in the cases you could pull them by hand! I broke all the 5 boxes down, I weighed the powder charges and found a variance of up to 10 Gr. from 1 round to the next! This backed up my opinion about even factory ammo being consistent in their loading.Robert

[Lloyd Smale]

theres a guy that used to be on here that lived sort of local to me. He got a licience and insurance and started a company. Hes not doing it anymore if that says anything.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Not sure why, but I've noticed that NO ONE sells reloading components or equipment at our local gun shows with the exception of a random piece here or there. And the only shops that carry these items are out in the sticks from a city of 50,000. I image someone could might be able to make a dollar selling these items, but maybe not.

[toallmy]

Possibly ' custom loading ' instead of reloading for a few select customers would be more profitable . Work up a few loads for their particular weapon and charge accordingly for your time and specialty . Some fellow with a fancy super duper whatever will want to brag to his friends about having custom loaded ammo at $50. For 20 rounds .

[Plate plinker]

Possibly ' custom loading ' instead of reloading for a few select customers would be more profitable . Work up a few loads for their particular weapon and charge accordingly for your time and specialty . Some fellow with a fancy super duper whatever will want to brag to his friends about having custom loaded ammo at $50. For 20 rounds .
You touched on one thing there custom and that can be loading for a few law enforcement agencies. Agencies are consistent customer I would think.

[TexasGrunt]

You touched on one thing there custom and that can be loading for a few law enforcement agencies. Agencies are consistent customer I would think.

I don't know of many agencies that buy reloaded ammo. Everyone I've ever had contact with uses the same ammo in qualification/training as they carry. Very few agencies provide free ammo for "practice".

[Plate plinker]

Might depend on the budget. Some of the small PDs around here have bought reloads. So I have been told by my LEO friends.