How are they doing it?

[ACC]

With all the out of stocks how are gun suppliers staying in business? I have been on some sites where they have virtually nothing to sell. What is keeping them afloat?

ACC

[Winger Ed.]

Be it seasonal like resort hotels, Air conditioner repairmen, concession stands at the football stadium, etc.
Most businesses go through a dry spell one way or another from time to time.
Recessions are are a good example for places that aren't seasonal.

You plan accordingly- work less people shorter hours, or just hunker down and wait.
Our local gun store guy has issues with getting new guns in, but he's doing OK with what stuff trickles in.

[jim147]

With all the out of stocks how are gun suppliers staying in business? I have been on some sites where they have virtually nothing to sell. What is keeping them afloat?

ACC

Well it's gotten better. I was going to sites with almost nothing in stock and them saying what little we have in stock will take two months to ship.

[JRLesan]

They are not (staying in business). Received a notice last week from Sunset Distributors they are closing up after 42 years due to no supply. Mostly pointed the finger at manufacturers selling direct to consumers via the internet. Williams Shooter Supply went out a couple of years back but they offered no explanation. I've been doing business with both outfits since the early '80's but no more...

[Mal Paso]

Hodgdon is selling powder direct from their website now. List Price, they don't undercut but.....

[M-Tecs]

Midway USA laid a bunch of people off due to nothing to sell or ship. Others are doing the same or they are closing permanently

[FLINTNFIRE]

I am seeing more firearms at the local gun shop and some ammo , and stuff , but it is hit or miss on finding what one wants .

Primers with a low limit and of course add in shipping and hazmat its not good , I buy bullets for some things when I find them decent priced but I shoot mostly cast , but it does not hurt to have a stash ( hoarder that I try to be ) .

Let two of the kids fire the 410 yesterday at a can and box , waste of ammo I know but it does them good to shoot something they have not shot before .

Saw a Remington 721 in 270 at the shop , nice looking rifle , already have one , decent price at 349 I thought .

[Murphy]

The local shops here are flush with firearms, and little ammunition to use in them if you buy one. My thinking is, everyone who ran out and bought a firearm the past 18 months (millions of them), also bought up that ammunition to go along with it. Every thing that has trickled in since, seems to be being bought on sight.

Some reloading tools and supplies are coming back about as fast as molasses running uphill on a December morning. Sadly, it seems to be a wait and see situation. If things don't change soon ammunition wise, I have a feeling a lot of guns will be up for sale for pennies on the dollar. Let's hope not.

Murphy

[Handloader109]

For roughly a year, all guns from the three distributors were allocated. Which meant if you weren't an established, high volume dealer, yuh I were out of luck getting anything but a random pistol and a few long guns. Fast forward to about 3 months ago and there have been more and more guns of a limited quantity show up Smith and Wesson are ahead of everyone else by a month, but still a lot of guns are just not available. And unless you want practice 9mm or 308 rifle ammo, you can't get it either. If I was trying to operate a small gun store, I'd have closed well over a year ago.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[wv109323]

Locally ammo in 9MM,40S&W, 45ACP and .223 Rem are starting to become available. Prices are still inflated but available. Firearms in the same calibers are easing up. Manufacturers have focused on the most popular, highest demand calibers first.
Hunting ammo is rare and still no 22 LR.

[FLINTNFIRE]

Natchezz had 22 thunderduds for 39 for 500 I passed the other day , I checked it is still in stock .

[fatelk]

Some places have raised the profit margin on what little they can get. Lower volume but higher profit margin means they might make it, but the catch-22 there is all the customers who will be angry at them for "gouging".

[bbogue1]

I once worked for a custom black and white photo lab. The owners philosophy was to keep enough supplies and cash in the bank to run the busines for at least 6 months at all times. His practice meant there was enough available to make our normal number of photos and pay wages even if no one came in to buy anything for at least 6 months.

It is like those who still have a stash of primers, powder, lead and cases after nearly 2 years of this drought, yet, shoot the same as they always have.

[Handloader109]

I once worked for a custom black and white photo lab. The owners philosophy was to keep enough supplies and cash in the bank to run the busines for at least 6 months at all times. His practice meant there was enough available to make our normal number of photos and pay wages even if no one came in to buy anything for at least 6 months.

It is like those who still have a stash of primers, powder, lead and cases after nearly 2 years of this drought, yet, shoot the same as they always have.

But there are very few business owners that have that philosophy. I have only been buying equipment and supplies when I have cash. I have zero credit owed to anyone.
I work from home, so zero overhead going out to anyone. I looked at renting a storefront several times over the past 4 years, but never pulled the trigger as I didn't believe that a storefront would increase business enough to cover expenses and it would take me out of the house again for 40 or more hours a week. CASH

[MUSTANG]

During the WuHoo virus period (Jan 2020 to Present) we have repetitively seen shortages, total outages, and diversion of supplies to other areas (i.e. China diverting masks, pharmaceuticals, etc.. from USA to internal and other markets). In the USA we have seen "Off Shore Production" that was advertised as "Just In Time" turned out to be NOT. We have seen governmental actions and Policies that FAVOR Mega Corporations and cripple the middle class Small Businesses and Mom & Pop Stores. We have seen China and to a lesser extent other countries "Reduce Production" for many reasons such as needing items internally, determining to reduce production to "Slow the Spread", and even rationing power (such as in China currently where factories are being shut down because they have used up their STATE ALLOCATION of energy for the year. ).

The Yarvard trained (Harvard, Yale, and all those East Coast - West Coast Ivy encrusted Ivory Towers) MBA's seek to implement "Profit Maximization" & share holder value; and most have achieved that with the companies they take over, and the Mega Corporations they belong to - but, the downside of "Statistics" says can have "Great Returns" on paper with little revenue - profits but no money. The small business person who plans for "The Rough Patches" has a personal relationship with their customers, employees, and vendors. Those personal relationships remain strong despite rough patches with a 3 month to a year cushion in savings; but they disappear off the "Rough Times" are of long duration. The Mega Corporation on the other hand has no affinity for their customer but see's them as a "Sheep to be Fleeced - or even Butchered". One might argue that some Mega Corporations establish "Customer Loyalty" (as an example Apple in it's up - then down - then Metoric Rise), but those loyalties will die rapidly if the FIX the customer gets from the product dies (as an Example; Palm OWNED THE MARKET for hand held devices, now they are a greatly diminished entity).

All this gets back to the small Businesses we as Shooters/Reloaders/Casters engage with. Most have tremendous loyalty from those who use their products. We will go back to these same manufacturers/vendors repeatedly as long as they remain viable businesses with products. Unfortunately; those same Manufacturers/Vendors we have strong affinity/customer loyalty for are highly dependent upon a handful of Mega Corporations lead by a cult of MBA's who have different cultural/social/philosophical values. Until these conflicts are resolved; we remain at risk for buying those products we want, when we want/afford to buy them. Me thinks in the coming "Great Reset" that many of the Yarvard types and Mega Corporation types will expire - their bones be picked and then it will all slowly build back over decades to where we are now once again.