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Price "Gouging" Rant

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  • RobsterCraw

    Active Member
    Rating - 85.7%
    6   1   0
    Apr 4, 2012
    441
    11
    Austin
    I understand what's going on in the market doesn't fit into the definition of "gouging" per say, but it kinda feels like it. I've been trading and selling firearms for 30 years. I do it because I love the hobby. I like to shoot different guns and finger f them awhile. Ill keep the ones I really like and pass on the ones I don't. My motto was to never really sell something more than I paid for it. If I get a good deal on it initially I pass those savings on. Having said that...I have taken some real beatings on guns over the years. It's part of the hobby. I have a real job....I don't use this hobby to make 50, 100, 200 hundred bucks on some guy that could easily be me. If this is your primary business than fine...I understand you need to make a living. If you're just a regular dude like me who doesn't need it to make a profit then pump the brakes. Some of these ridiculous asking prices are really laughable. Sorry....let me get down off my box.

    Ill edit this by saying this is one of the more moderate forums without the real extreme prices. Our trader sister website is cray zee
     

    candcallen

    Crotchety, Snarky, Truthful. You'll get over it.
    Emeritus - "Texas Proud"
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Jul 23, 2011
    21,358
    96
    Little Elm
    I understand what's going on in the market doesn't fit into the definition of "gouging" per say, but it kinda feels like it. I've been trading and selling firearms for 30 years. I do it because I love the hobby. I like to shoot different guns and finger f them awhile. Ill keep the ones I really like and pass on the ones I don't. My motto was to never really sell something more than I paid for it. If I get a good deal on it initially I pass those savings on. Having said that...I have taken some real beatings on guns over the years. It's part of the hobby. I have a real job....I don't use this hobby to make 50, 100, 200 hundred bucks on some guy that could easily be me. If this is your primary business than fine...I understand you need to make a living. If you're just a regular dude like me who doesn't need it to make a profit then pump the brakes. Some of these ridiculous asking prices are really laughable. Sorry....let me get down off my box.

    Ill edit this by saying this is one of the more moderate forums without the real extreme prices. Our trader sister website is cray zee
    Texas gun scammer.

    More fake ads than real ones some times.
     

    mitchntx

    Sarcasm Sensei
    Emeritus - "Texas Proud"
    Rating - 100%
    5   0   0
    Jan 15, 2012
    4,117
    66
    Waco-ish
    The flaw in your thought process is you seem to assume firearms related pricing will return to some sort of normalcy.

    Since Sandy Hook we've all experienced several spikes and slow returns in pricing. There is no guarantee that will return, especially under the new leadership that looms.

    Your attitude about paying it forward is a personal choice. But expecting others to adopt it is outside a free, capitalist society, IMHO.
     

    Axxe55

    Retiretgtshit stirrer
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Dec 15, 2019
    47,022
    96
    Lost in East Texas Elhart Texas
    popcorn02.jpeg
     

    Darkpriest667

    Actually Attends
    Lifetime Member
    Rating - 100%
    9   0   0
    Jan 13, 2017
    4,489
    96
    Jarrell TX, United States
    I understand what's going on in the market doesn't fit into the definition of "gouging" per say, but it kinda feels like it. I've been trading and selling firearms for 30 years. I do it because I love the hobby. I like to shoot different guns and finger f them awhile. Ill keep the ones I really like and pass on the ones I don't. My motto was to never really sell something more than I paid for it. If I get a good deal on it initially I pass those savings on. Having said that...I have taken some real beatings on guns over the years. It's part of the hobby. I have a real job....I don't use this hobby to make 50, 100, 200 hundred bucks on some guy that could easily be me. If this is your primary business than fine...I understand you need to make a living. If you're just a regular dude like me who doesn't need it to make a profit then pump the brakes. Some of these ridiculous asking prices are really laughable. Sorry....let me get down off my box.

    Ill edit this by saying this is one of the more moderate forums without the real extreme prices. Our trader sister website is cray zee


    the people buying up the entire supply and then reselling it are absolutely gouging. They're creating false shortages and then increasing the price. I taught economics, it's what my degree is in (among other things I had 4 majors), and people defending it as capitalism are slimeballs. I've started just muting them. After this is all over I don't want to be associated with pieces of shit like that.

    I'm a free market capitalist, just like most economists, creating false scarcity by buying all of the supply of something and then selling above market value from the scarcity you've created is NOT capitalism. It's actually a lot closer to socialism than free market capitalism.

    On the other hand we have stand up members like @Hoji giving away ammo and @deemus selling for below pre covid market value..

    **** scalpers and gougers, there is a special place in hell for them.
     

    mitchntx

    Sarcasm Sensei
    Emeritus - "Texas Proud"
    Rating - 100%
    5   0   0
    Jan 15, 2012
    4,117
    66
    Waco-ish
    It seems to me that any commodity, other than ammo/firearms, buyers mostly understand market price fluctuations due to supply and demand. The source of the product is irrelevant. Vendor has it, buyer needs it and pays the price. Simple.

    I'm not describing those gun show vendors who walk around prior to the show opening and buy up all the 22 and 9mm and then resell it at a profit during the show.

    Some might've realized, post Sandy Hook, that prices of guns and ammo go sky high and inventory goes to zero during extenuating circumstances and stock up when demand (and prices) are low and inventory is plentiful.

    Surely you aren't suggesting that those who look ahead, lose on their investment so others can buy it below market? There can be a lot of money tied up in cases of ammo ... money that could be working in the market. If I bought shares of Apple and Microsoft in the early 90s, should I sell it for what I paid for it?

    See? only in the firearms market is it verboten to sell at FMV.

    If its too expensive, don't buy it. Stock up when prices return to "normal". Don't expect a handout.

    JMHO
     

    Hoji

    Bowling-Pin Commando
    Rating - 100%
    36   0   0
    May 28, 2008
    17,700
    96
    Mustang Ridge
    I agree with @RobsterCraw but I also believe that if you spent the last 3.5 years only buying ammo when you were headed to the range you had your head in your ass and probably will never get it out.

    The only excuse for not having at least a mild stash is you were not old enough to buy.

    All that being said, I will not scalp ammo. I will trade( have several boxes for trade in classifieds) but as I said to one inquiry about buying it, I would rather shoot squirrels silently in the backyard and reload the brass than sell it for the $5 a round that even mediocre 30-30 is currently selling for.
     

    benenglish

    Just Another Boomer
    Staff member
    Lifetime Member
    Admin
    Rating - 100%
    7   0   0
    Nov 22, 2011
    23,933
    96
    Spring
    I will not scalp ammo.
    Neither will I but it's sure tempting. By TGT standards, I don't have a huge stash but I could probably pay all my property taxes, MUD taxes, HOA fees, home insurance, and car insurance for the year (they're all about to come due) if I just sold off part of my ammo and half my gunpowder.

    Looking at it in those terms, it sure is tempting.
     

    Whistler

    TGT Addict
    Lifetime Member
    Rating - 100%
    12   0   0
    Jan 28, 2014
    3,384
    96
    Northeast Texas
    Don't think jacking prices up is pure capitalism but it's not pure evil either. A failure to plan ahead doesn't really justify them 'deserving' to pay 5,6,7 times pre-panic prices.

    Primers for example; average around $30/1000, I'm seeing them online for $150-$300/1000. Selling them at $50 is capitalism, $300 is gouging.

    Lot of folks think there's nothing wrong with that and I agree but there is an element of exploitation after a certain point.

    I think do what you do but don't pull that and still pretend you're a nice guy.
     

    HCS

    Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Oct 8, 2020
    198
    26
    Llano, TX
    I have been a shooter and handloader all of my life ( started handloading when I was 16 years old for .357 magnum revolver)
    in my younger days, I had to work hard and save money to purchase ammo & components, so I always bought them as I could afford them so that when I had an opportunity to go shooting, I had ammo on hand.
    as my career grew and more funds available, but at the cost of less free time for shooting, I continued to purchase supplies on a regular basis.
    that always paid off when we experienced the high demand, short supply periods
     

    wbblazer90

    Active Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Nov 18, 2014
    402
    46
    I’m not buying or selling ammo at this point. Prices are high and I choose not to buy. Price is not set by any one individual, it is set by the law of supply and demand. That is a free market economy. No one cares what degree you had in college and complaining about prices doesn’t change the fact demand is at an all time high driving prices up. Don’t buy if you feel the price is too high.
     

    Darkpriest667

    Actually Attends
    Lifetime Member
    Rating - 100%
    9   0   0
    Jan 13, 2017
    4,489
    96
    Jarrell TX, United States
    I’m not buying or selling ammo at this point. Prices are high and I choose not to buy. Price is not set by any one individual, it is set by the law of supply and demand. That is a free market economy. No one cares what degree you had in college and complaining about prices doesn’t change the fact demand is at an all time high driving prices up. Don’t buy if you feel the price is too high.

    Big talk on the internet kiddo. You must really suck at understanding markets.


    Look, people are sitting in line buying up all of the natural supply of a good and then RESELLING it at a higher price. They're creating false scarcity. I know its really hard for your tiny brain to understand that.

    I don't buy or sell right now myself. I am sitting on more ammunition than most, less than the regulars on this site, but more than the general gun owners. It's not a complaint about prices. I am perfectly ok with natural rise in prices based on supply and demand. I'll add you to the spreadsheet of people with room temperature IQ. Thanks for playing.
     

    Renegade

    SuperOwner
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Mar 5, 2008
    11,749
    96
    Texas
    I understand what's going on in the market doesn't fit into the definition of "gouging" per say, but it kinda feels like it. I've been trading and selling firearms for 30 years. I do it because I love the hobby. I like to shoot different guns and finger f them awhile. Ill keep the ones I really like and pass on the ones I don't. My motto was to never really sell something more than I paid for it.I have a real job....I don't use this hobby to make 50, 100, 200 hundred bucks on some guy that could easily be me. If this is your primary business than fine...I understand you need to make a living. If you're just a regular dude like me who doesn't need it to make a profit then pump the brakes. Some of these ridiculous asking prices are really laughable. Sorry....let me get down off my box.

    The buyer determines the price, not the seller.

    Now are sellers asking a lot more than a year ago? Sure. The question is, are the products moving? Anyone here paying $44.95 for a box of 9mm ammo? Not me. So nobody is gouging me.

    My motto was to never really sell something more than I paid for it. If I get a good deal on it initially I pass those savings on. Having said that...I have taken some real beatings on guns over the years. It's part of the hobby.

    You must buy a lot of crap, as that is the only way to do that. Cause it would be stupid to sell a 60s Colt Python for what you paid for it, or a M16 Registered Sear, or any other collectible gun or part.

    BTW, you got any shares of Apple, Amazon, etc., you want to sell and not get more than you paid for them?
     

    Renegade

    SuperOwner
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Mar 5, 2008
    11,749
    96
    Texas
    I’m not buying or selling ammo at this point. Prices are high and I choose not to buy. Price is not set by any one individual, it is set by the law of supply and demand. That is a free market economy.

    Me neither. Selling when you cant replenish is risky.

    I now store my primers in a SAFE. They are worth more than many of my guns.
     

    deemus

    my mama says I'm special
    Lifetime Member
    Rating - 100%
    30   0   0
    Feb 1, 2010
    15,590
    96
    DFW
    Don't think jacking prices up is pure capitalism but it's not pure evil either. A failure to plan ahead doesn't really justify them 'deserving' to pay 5,6,7 times pre-panic prices.

    Primers for example; average around $30/1000, I'm seeing them online for $150-$300/1000. Selling them at $50 is capitalism, $300 is gouging.

    Lot of folks think there's nothing wrong with that and I agree but there is an element of exploitation after a certain point.

    I think do what you do but don't pull that and still pretend you're a nice guy.

    I haven’t seen $30/1000 primers in a few years. I’ve paid $35-40 per for a few years now. Where / when did you get them at $30?
     

    GeorgeS

    Active Member
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Jul 7, 2018
    964
    76
    San Antonio
    Sellers want to sell. Buyers can choose to buy or not.

    If buyers don't buy at a price they consider too high, the seller usually drops their price.

    Speculators get a bad name, especially when they create scarcity by their actions.

    A question for the OP:
    Do you think a seller is entitled to any profit?
     
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