Fair distribution of shooting supplies

[DonHowe]

The current situation offers a perfect opportunity to play right into the enemy's hands. The Anti crowd has tried for decades to divide and conquer. They have tried to turn bunny and bird hunters against handgunners, AR owners, you name it. I have posted about the shortages and common sense before (I probably could have made my point better) and got blasted by people boasting how much smarter they are and how much more money they have. Even called me a socialist. That was a first for me!
Make no mistake my friends, the enemy is organized against us. We HAVE to learn to police ourselves, learn to think as a group. We need every gun owner, shooter, reloader to be united, more than ever before. When things are in short supply limit yourself, regardless how much you can afford. Leave some for the next guy. Refuse to pay scalper prices and isolate scalpers. They need to feel heat. If your local dealer needs to raise prices some to help control flow of products be a little understanding and loyal.
And PLEASE stop the panic buying!

I find ebay to be a useful means of observing things. For example, I monitor bullet molds listed on ebay and have long been amazed at how many bidders there are for nearly any mold. It is telling to me that there seems to be as many bidders for 2 cavity Lee molds at 3-4 times what they cost a year ago. If that is YOU and you can't live without it go for it, it's you money but in general I say STOP DOING IT! There are not massive numbers of new casters! This is people like us acting like we are nuts! IT IS NUTS!
We HAVE to police our ranks and look out for each other while there is still a chance.

[charlie b]

I don't see anything wrong with scalping non-essential goods and services. Game tickets, guns, ammo, etc are all non-essential in these days. Yes, I think it is fair as well. Fair market value is a common means of determining the price of something. If there is very high demand and low supply then the price goes up.

Diamonds are a good example of this. They have been a controlled item for more than a century with just a few people metering out the supply in order to demand higher prices. Their marketing makes it even more unethical. Seen the 'new' chocolate diamonds? Those were considered trash until the controllers came up with a marketing strategy.

So, if you have something and the price is higher due to an increase in demand, take advantage of it if you want.

But, there is a downside. If you are s business and you decide to inflate your prices in times like this your customers will remember. When the supply/demand reverses those customers will buy elsewhere.

And, no, I have never "sclaped' anything. I have what I want/need. Frequently if I do not need anything anymore it is given away, donated to a charity or trashed.

Sent from my SM-P580 using Tapatalk

[hoodat]

I like to throw a twist into things. How about, "If you want higher quantities, I get a HIGHER margin." jd

[dverna]

If I owned a store, I would limit quantities and also charge a higher markup. Say 1k primers cost me $20 and I usually sell them for $30. I would put the price at $50. That my be considered "scalping" by some...but market prices are at least double that at the moment.

One thing to bear in mind. With supplies way down, a store is not getting the volume they would typically get so their returns are way down. For example using numbers above....

Say they normally sell 100k primers a month for $30...Their profit is $1000
But now, they only have 35k primers to sell....With a $30 margin, their profit is $1050. They are not making a ton of money like most people think.

Their costs for rent, utilities, employees, insurance, taxes etc stay the same. If they do not make money, there will be no LGS. Think about that when you blast stores for "scalping".

[onelight]

I don't know that I consider ammunition to be nonessential .
I find it hard to see the value of the 2nd amendment with out it. And if I lived in one of the multiple locations where riots have taken place in the last year , I would see it as essential in addition to a whole list of other situations that would cause me to see it as essential . And many consider training to be essential .
I guess it's non essential if you are surrounded by a well armed security force paid for with tax dollars .

[lightman]

If I owned a store I probably would ration the stuff involved in the shortage. I might raise the price a little or might not. I would probably keep those items out of sight so that I could control who I sold them to. My goal would be to get these items to those that needed them and to keep them out of the hands of scalpers.

But not being a store owner I am really talking about something that I might be wrong about.

But this should end and return to normal sooner or later. At least it always has. I we could quit paying scalpers prices I think it would return to normal sooner.

[Goofy]

Not clear to me what “fair distribution “ means. It is clear what “essential” means. Because of Obammy’s antics some years ago I need nothing from the marketplace, so you fellas are welcome to whatever you find regardless of price. I have enough lead/primers/brass/flint to outlast my remaining years, be it one or twenty. My collection of lead slingers is much smaller today than last year, but if someone thinks they are entitled to take it they best come prepared.

[bedbugbilly]

My first response would be "to set limits" - but we also need to realize that every pancake has two sides to it. A store is in business to sell their products they carry - keep cash flow going in order to pay their overhead, wages etc. Yes . . . it may seem "fair" to "limit" what a customer buys . . . .

ask yourself this question though . . . let's take bullet molds - what they are selling for is crazy. So let's say "you" . . . Joe Blow . . . have a dozen molds that you have and no longer use . . . you see the opportunity to sell a $20 Lee mold for five times what it normally sells for . . and some have been going for more than that . . . you list them here in the WTS/WTS section at $100 each. ARE YOU going to "limit" the sale of them to "one per member"? After all . . . that wold be the "fair" way to do it . . . or if somebody comes along and wants all 12 that you have to sell . . . are you going to sell them all to that one individual?

Shortages are shortages . . . . they have happened before and will happen again . . . . doesn't make any difference if it is reloading supplies, lumber, hardware, ketchup or toilet paper . . . when toilet paper was short . . . when it was in stock, did you just buy one pack so there could have the opportunity to purchase toilet paper as well?

Like I said . . every pancake has two sides and unfortunately, people are human and greed sometimes sets in.

[mdi]

I guess I'm a capitalist purist type. mark it up at whatever my standard markup may be and sell it to whomever chooses to buy it. This is 'equal' opportunity. Everyone has an equal chance to buy, but some may not get to capitalize on that chance as someone may beat them to it. Not to be confused with 'equitable' opportunity.....where capitalism is metered in some fashion or another.

The only problem here is when the moron camps out in front of the store and rushes in to buy everything on the shelf, whether he will use it or not (I saw a "man" rush in the local box store and buy all the handgun ammo they would sell him even though he admitted he only shot 38 Special, 9mm, 22 lr and 12 gauge, maybe 300 rounds per year total)...

[todd2]

just had my first try with ebay i took a beating but i think i learned something

[rbuck351]

I believe in free enterprise. Keep in mind you are allowed to sell your product for what ever you can get but I'm am allowed to buy where ever I want. So if you sell at scalper prices, I won't buy from you. I have bought very little gun related stuff in the last year. A few months ago I found some cci 22 shorts at SW for $10 per 100 pack and a 2 pack limit so I got two. They had some cci 22lrs and he said I could get two boxes of those but I left them as I have plenty. I also got a lb of powder for around $28.

They could have put higher prices on these and still would have sold them shortly. Or they could have not have put limits and would have been gone before I got there. I like stores that limit their self and will spend my at places I like. free enterprise works both ways.

[JSnover]

If I owned a store I probably would ration the stuff involved in the shortage. I might raise the price a little or might not. I would probably keep those items out of sight so that I could control who I sold them to. My goal would be to get these items to my those that needed them and to keep them out of the hands of scalpers.

That's the only workable method. If the customers controlled the price it would be wholesale or below no limits on quantity and every shop would be out of business. If the government controlled the price it would be three times what it is now and there would be bare shelves everywhere.
Let the market work; let the manufacturers control their price based on production capacity and manufacturing cost vs demand for the product. Let the retailers control their price based on available supply and demand. Let the customers demonstrate their willingness to pay or not, and let the manufacturers and retailers respond.

[dtknowles]

The Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control enforces compliance with tobacco minimum pricing

[Petrol & Powder]

First come, first served.

Entrepreneurs are not in business to provide for community fairness. They are in business to earn money for themselves and provide for their family.

If I'm selling pencils and you pay me for one pencil, you get one pencil. If you pay me for the whole box of pencils, you get the whole box.

A merchant wants to sell his products. If he can sell them all at once, so be it.

If you harvested a 100 acres of wheat would you dole it out to ten different grain buyers or would you rather just sell it all for a good price to one buyer?

It's called capitalism.

[Elmer Fudd]

I operate first come, first served. I have built a small business over 13 years by being honest, and working hard to get my customers what they want. Sometimes they get it right away, some times they wait until I can find it. When someone comes asking for 20k rounds of 223 for the year, I get it for him. It is expensive now, but he wants it. I will do the same for the next guy, too. I don't operate or believe in equity or any other outcome based bullbusiness. If you shop with me, you will get what you want. Not every business can operate that way. Some, like the big box stores, beat me on price; they do not have service. That's my niche; you like, I have.

[Jim22]

Well, for me, I hate the use of the word 'Fair'. It has no definition and is used by those who intend to control others.

[Petrol & Powder]

If you think a central planned economy is a good idea, watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLW7r4o2_Ow

[onelight]

If you think a central planned economy is a good idea, watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLW7r4o2_Ow

That was good

[wyowillys46]

First, I have to assume that I would be operating a gun shop. Therefore reloading equipment would only be part of what I offer for sale. To make money selling reloading supplies in a normal market requires a national reach, and the ability to sell in bulk. Now on to the hypothetical.

Research what the competition is charging for the same product (or market price). Increase my markups to a high enough level that accounts for my limited ability to restock, but low enough that I can advertise that I can still beat the competition. Also institute limits. Both strategies serve to discourage reselling, keep stock on the shelf, and thereby increase traffic through my store (increasing the possibility of selling other goods). This allows me to still sell to those who need ammo, while appealing to the customer base that thinks some sort of rationing is needed. It does me no good to have bare shelves. Who's going to go to the gun shop with nothing to sell?

As a bonus, start selling Adam Smith's books and post a copy of Winchester's recent markup memo.

I guess I'm a capitalist purist type. mark it up at whatever my standard markup may be and sell it to whomever chooses to buy it. This is 'equal' opportunity. Everyone has an equal chance to buy, but some may not get to capitalize on that chance as someone may beat them to it. Not to be confused with 'equitable' opportunity.....where capitalism is metered in some fashion or another.

Pay attention in the media. 'Equal' is not-so-subtly being replaced with 'Equitable' in many contexts, and they are not the same. Equitable outcomes are a dangerous game for all of us long term, as they inevitably deteriorate to the lowest common denominator. Slightly off-topic, I know....but the principles are the same.

I've noticed that same thing about the "equity" being slipped in here and there.

[44magLeo]

I'm not saying any seller should limit sales or scalp. My issue is with people that have the money togo into a store and buy all they can just to have it.
I don't have the money to go to thesrtore every day to see what came in today and buy it all.
I can afford a 1000 primers a lb or two of powder at a time. Because of these gluttons buying it all up I can't get any.
The few stores around here won't put you on a list to get stuff. It would be nice.
Leo