Benton Shooters

[Guest Brent1973]

I am kinda upset about this and not sure if i should be.. I got another (Rock River AR) the Monday after the shootings in Connecticut and 4 boxes .223. At that time the AR i got was just over $1000. and the .223 was $23 a box. 4 days later and i was at bass pro shop talking to some people waiting for the store to open. They was there looking to buy an AR or looking for .223. Some drove hours to get there. I was shocked cause last i thought was the ar MIGHT be ban but nothing on the 223 round. BUT they was telling me that it was all but gone. Now after going in and having the man at counter telling me good luck on finding .223 rounds i left and headed to Benton shooters.The ARs was about $200 more across the board and ammo was up about 50%.. 30 round mags was up from $13 to $25.. People was in there waiting hours for back ground checks and ARs was walking out a few at a time. Some was buying 3 even 5 at one time.. (from what i could see,could be wrong)Anyway, i went ahead and got a few more boxes of .223 and was shocked they went up to $40 a box. Now, after looking at other stores and seeing NO ammo at all i started thinking i should see if Benton Shooters had any left.. WOW!! What a sticker shock.. They had a few ARs in stock but some was more than $1000 up!! and the .223 boxes was $60!! 30 round mags was $50!! I can see why there the only one around who still has these..I like the people who work there so i will still be going but i think i won't be buying from there even after all this blows over..
and sorry about the spelling but i very bad at it. I'm not stupid, just can't spell :0) Edited January 12, 2013 by Brent1973

[pitt2magic]

Benton's did this 4 years ago as well. I used to be a pretty loyal customer. I haven't spent a penny there in 4 years. Hopefully people will remember how they treat their customers. I know for a fact that they doubled AR prices over night after the last election.

[Guest Brent1973]

I won't buy there but i would think the people who work there is not the ones who raised the prices.. That would be the owner i would think. It just really pisses me off the more i think about this. I would not mind buying there in the passed cause i was thinking of it as i'm helping the mom and pop stores.. BUT this is too for i think. Even reloading, the primers or up 50% or more!!
I just don't no where to go for my gun needs now.. I HATE WALMART and not a fan of any of the box chains Edited January 12, 2013 by Brent1973

[buck1032]

Benton's did this 4 years ago as well. I used to be a pretty loyal customer. I haven't spent a penny there in 4 years. Hopefully people will remember how they treat their customers. I know for a fact that they doubled AR prices over night after the last election.

 

That pretty much sums it up for me. I have purchased a few things over years from them. But I havent spent a single penny in there since the last election.

[kellyII]

Seems to be an epidemic lately. I just hope I can weather the storm. It sure sucks ball knowing if I want any firearm an most of my ammo that I'm gonna have to pay nearly double.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

It is hard to read the mind of a biz owner. Maybe it is a rip or not. If he expects the price of replacement stock to rise, then if he doesn't hike the price of current stock, he'll have to go beg for a bank loan to buy more (expensive) stock to replace what he sells today. That isn't a good strategy if you want to keep the doors open on a small business. Unless you have a banker in yer pocket and just love giving the bank a percentage of every sale you make.

[strickj]

 

 

It is hard to read the mind of a biz owner. Maybe it is a rip or not. If he expects the price of replacement stock to rise, then if he doesn't hike the price of current stock, he'll have to go beg for a bank loan to buy more (expensive) stock to replace what he sells today. That isn't a good strategy if you want to keep the doors open on a small business. Unless you have a banker in yer pocket and just love giving the bank a percentage of every sale you make.

Is that really a practice these days?

 

Don;t most distributors sell to any business on credit? Heck, even sole proprietorships buy and sell on credit.

In the current market, you'd think the guns and gear purchased by a store on a net-10 is gonna be sold to Joe Public before the bill is due.

Edited January 12, 2013 by strickj

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Is that really a practice these days?

 

Don;t most distributors sell to any business on credit? Heck, even sole proprietorships buy and sell on credit.

In the current market, you'd think the guns and gear purchased by a store on a net-10 is gonna be sold to Joe Public before the bill is due.

 

Thank strick. You may be correct that retail sales small biz is not joined at the hip to the bank anymore. I'm old and out of touch. Long ago shortly after the invention of fire, biz and accounting courses I took sold it as the standard business model, and a lot of the example work and calculations had to do with calculating if you can stay in biz considering the rotating-door bank financing.

 

Another possible biz decision one might have-- If you are gonna sell to the bare walls in the next two weeks but you will be short of stock for months afterwards, then if you want to make payroll in the time you ain't got nothing to sell, maybe you would want to sell higher and build up a pad. Higher prices might also slow demand so maybe you keep enough stock that it even makes sense to go in every morning and unlock the place? :)

 

I'm not defending biz's that hike prices on current stock, merely running off at the mouth trying to think of "non-evil" reasons it might be smart to do that.

Edited January 12, 2013 by Lester Weevils

[Guest Brent1973]

i do understand the biz part of the price hike, but to raise the price buy this much? the same $1095.99 AR i got a few weeks ago is now over $3000. Just don't sound right.. I think you can price your self out of biz..

[Guest Brent1973]

and, i got a Rock River, they sold out of all ARs at one point. Now all they have seems to be Rock River.. It was my thinking that Rock River takes months from order to shipment . I might be wrong but what i thought. If this is the case, then they would have held some ARs to put the price hike on?

[Major Kong]

I remember their behavior after the last election and it's been enough to keep me out of their store. As always I'll vote with my dollars.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

and, i got a Rock River, they sold out of all ARs at one point. Now all they have seems to be Rock River.. It was my thinking that Rock River takes months from order to shipment . I might be wrong but what i thought. If this is the case, then they would have held some ARs to put the price hike on?

 

Dunno. Would be interesting to know. Maybe the new RRA's came from a distributor warehouse rather than manufacturer? Of maybe the manufacturer is running double-shifts trying to make money while demand is up?

 

In the valley between the 2008-2009 crunch and the current crunch, prices had fallen and the pipeline probably filled up somewhat. Wild guessing, if a fella might get stuck with high-priced stock and then the price falls, then if a fella could afford the cost of the money, rather than sell at a loss he might decide to wait until the price comes back so he can make a buck?

[Guest RevScottie]

Some shops are marking up prices in order to control the hoarding. If you run out of stock and can't get anymore that can really dry up traffic to your store.

I don't understand anyone paying $3000 for an AR. Even if there was another AWB you will still be able to buy some sort of semi-auto .223 and it will be far less than $3000!

[TrickyNicky]

[quote name="Brent1973" post="882827" timestamp="1358017910"]I won't buy there but i would think the people who work there is not the ones who raised the prices.. That would be the owner i would think. It just really pisses me off the more i think about this. I would not mind buying there in the passed cause i was thinking of it as i'm helping the mom and pop stores.. BUT this is too for i think. Even reloading, the primers or up 50% or more!! I just don't no where to go for my gun needs now.. I HATE WALMART and not a fan of any of the box chains[/quote] You need to find a quality shop to patronize. Price gouging in one of these panics would turn me away from an LGS fast. Also noticed your not a Walmart fan. Seems funny you'd shop with people who would resort to business practices I would consider shady at best, yet Walmart has not raised any prices at all from what I've seen. While I can certainly understand shopping with a specialty retailer who's invested in their patrons and the 2ndA in general, I can't fathom supporting those who have proven with their own actions that they are interested in nothing more than separating their customers from as much of their money as possible. I'd rather do business with a handful of QUALITY retailers than anything, barring that I'd give my last dollar to Walmart before supporting a store that would take advantage of a political situation in the same fashion the libs take advantage of a tragedy.

[Guest cardcutter]

Bentons has been like that for years. They are always ten percent over the locals and they have always been ready to gouge on the other prices. I used them once or twice when I first moved back to Tn. That was fifteen years ago. Never again.

 

Try posey's or Volunteer gun works in Cleveland. They are both pretty good stores.

[Guest sL1k]

Bentons has been like that for years. They are always ten percent over the locals and they have always been ready to gouge on the other prices. I used them once or twice when I first moved back to Tn. That was fifteen years ago. Never again.

Try posey's or Volunteer gun works in Cleveland. They are both pretty good stores.

+1 for volunteer ordnance works i havent seen their after prices but good people.
Carters is another good one.

[runco]

Bentons is nice display retailer, but not a great value retailer.  I do not buy from Bentons due to:  They are one of those retailers that have a CC price and Cash price, though I understand the CC reason, I made a choice years ago, not to buy from retailers like that.  As a side note, I will not buy Sams Choice or Murphy Gas due to that same reason.  Another reason I will not buy from Bentons is they are like 10%+  on retail pricing for guns, and those safes are like 15-20% more than what I have seen else where.   This was all before Sandyhood!  I do visit for the displays of guns, touch and feel, and they normally have in stock items that I look for, so I go there to see, and buy from else where (the amazon effect).

 

I know they have a cult following, but I am not one of them.   They are many men that praise Bentons as one of the best, not me!  I believe the profile of those cult followers are they are not the brightest person in the world, or they have a whole lot more money than me, or both.

Edited January 13, 2013 by Runco

[Keyless]

 Me and the wife took a trip up there the other day . AK metal mags 50.00 and so on . I think I saw 1 P mag and it looked like it was marked 75.00 .

 

 I looked at primers for reloading and they were 5.00 a 100 . Probably my last trip . We went to Sporsman in Chattanooga and got primers for less than 3.00 a box of 100 or 27.99 for 1000 . I am trying to somewhat stock up on my reloading supplies so I have something to do over the cold months .

 

 

Vote with your money as mentioned before.

[Currently]

I drive by Benton's a couple times a month. Every once in a while I stop in hoping to see they changed. I may buy something I really need like a pistol magazine that is not stocked elsewhere. It is always overpriced but if I look at shipping it is still a bit more expensive but more convenient. I will never buy any large ticket item from them.

[Good_Steward]

I am originally from close to that area (Charleston, TN) and very familiar with Benton Shooter's, that's probably not much of a mark up from their normal prices 10 years ago...... ;)

Edited January 13, 2013 by Good_Steward

[Patton]

I won't buy there but i would think the people who work there is not the ones who raised the prices.. That would be the owner i would think. It just really pisses me off the more i think about this. I would not mind buying there in the passed cause i was thinking of it as i'm helping the mom and pop stores.. BUT this is too for i think. Even reloading, the primers or up 50% or more!!
I just don't no where to go for my gun needs now.. I HATE WALMART and not a fan of any of the box chains

Go to Fugates. I have always had great experiences there and a few days into the New Year I stopped in and prices were right where they should be and were 6 months ago.

[GlockSpock]

Would you have rather they kept "normal pricing" and be sold 100% out of ammo?

 

 

Equilibrium.

 

Equilibrium is where the supply meets the demand. The point in which these two meet is the market price. Anything below the market price and you have a shortage. If, magically speaking, right now 7.62x39mm rounds were going for 25 cents a round, there would be a huge shortage. You wouldn't be able to find it anywhere, at all. That's assuming that 25 cents was as high as they could possibly sale. 

 

Personally, I like knowing that I can buy something (even at a higher rate) due to the market adjusting, vs not being able to buy something because I literally cannot find it. I don't know what people are actually paying for 7.62x39mm ammo, but if they are paying for it at $1 per round, all that would happen if it were currently going for 25 cents a round is people would buy four times as much. It would disappear 400% quicker. If they are paying $1 per round, it is based upon the fact that the supply cannot keep up with the demand. The demand for II Amendment related stuff over the last month has skyrocketed. The only things that can bring price back down are two possible things:

 

Supply catches up with demand.

Demand falls.

 

Both of those are based upon what the speculation of legislation is.

 

If the suppliers feel a ban is coming, do you think they wish to invest capital in expanding production lines? If demand feels a ban is coming, that means they have to purchase everything they want now. 

 

If the suppliers don't feel a ban is coming, do you think they will invest capital in expanding production lines in order to meet the current demand? Perhaps. It depends on how much capital they need to invest vs expected return. If demand feels a ban isn't coming, do you think they will pay inflated prices?

 

Also, I offer this bid of supposed wisdom. People keep complaining about inflated prices. Well, I've also heard the following logic promoted around here, "Don't sale anything that you would regret selling if a ban were to pass". In other words, even if you could sale your AR-15 for $3000 that you only paid $1000 for, is it really worth it if a ban comes within this year? Over the next decade, would you rather have your AR-15 or an extra $3000? 

 

I take that logic and ask the other side of the same coin. If you do not have an AR-15, and you know you want one, is $3000 worth the security in knowing that you have one that you can own today? What if legislative talks this week go haywire and not in our favor? Then AR-15 prices will jump even more. $5000? $10,000? It all depends on demand and supply. If you do not have an AR-15, and want one, and you knew 100% that a ban would pass within a few months, what would you pay? Would you rather have that AR-15 over the next 10 years, or the $3,000, $5,000, or $10,000 that it costs to purchase it. That is called opportunity cost. 

 

There are those that say a ban won't pass. Many people said that in '94. Hell. Remember, supposedly the Hughes Amendment didn't pass. Try paying the taxes on a newly manufactured machine gun as a citizen and see how that goes for you. Look at healthcare. How much of the country was and is against it? Guess what we have now. Tell me the ban won't pass. I hope you are right. But what if you are wrong? One, five, ten years from now, are you going to be spiteful at how much "price gouging" went on in 2013, or are you going to be spiteful that you didn't buy a few more magazines and possibly a gun or two and some ammo? If a ban passes, I doubt it will be the first. 

 

I don't agree with the accepted concept of "price gouging". In order to believe in price gouging, I claim that you must first believe that the seller has an obligation to sell you something. If you own a gas station and a national crisis such as 9/11 happens, who says you have to sale your gas in the first place? What if you wish to keep the tanks full so that you know you have a steady supply for yourself for a while? You might say to yourself, "I am keeping this gas, but if someone wants to pay me $100 a gallon, I'll sell them how ever much they want". A few people might take you up on that, and you might make a huge return on a percentage of your initial investment. But if the price is capped (price ceiling), look what happens. People buy a lot of it and then it is all gone! 

 

Some will disagree with me. I know. Some will agree. I have a very strong belief in the free market system. 

[cardia10]

There is a huge differences from making a slight increase to stay competitive and just plain gouging the customer. Eventually, a customer will get tired of being gouged and will shop elsewhere. 

[runco]

Folks I have said this on many other posts, the BUYER sets the market, not the seller.  Imagine for a moment a recent adjusted equilibirum retailer like Bentons suddently couldn't sell anything, what do you suppose would happen to their pricing business model?  Do you suppose they would keep it unchanged?  Absolutely not, they would change.  As long as buyers are willing to pay, retailers will seek out the equilibirum price.  Its when buyers refuse to buy, is when the seller is brought to its knees.   If gun interest buyers could ever form a consortium, imagine the power they could yield on a retailer or retailers.  Prior to the age of the internet, this could never happen, but now with the internet and especially social media, this is a very possible group in the future.  Bricks and Mortars can and will be jeopardy in the next 50 years.  The Amazon effect, visit a retail, touch, feel, but do not buy, just come home and buy from the internet the same item you just seen, have it deilvered at your home or your local FFL.

 

For you who can not remember what a consortium is (I actually had to look it up a few years ago):  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consortium

Edited January 13, 2013 by Runco

[Shug]

Brad Ramsey the owner of Benton's is always quick to jack up the prices. I've bought quite a few firearms from him when he first opened. But after I went there to buy a Ruger SR1911 and they wouldn't sell it, They wanted people to pay for it in full and wait for some to come in before they could have one. I said I wouldn't buy anymore firearms from them. I still go there and wonder around and window shop. I was there one day and AR magazines were about $13.00 each and this older lady was looking for a shotgun for her son for Christmas. The sells man asked her what he was going to hunt with it and she told him he was just going to keep it at home. Well this jackleg told her she needed this Benelli M4 and nothing else would do. So he rooked her into buying a $2000 shotgun. I went back the next day with my son and the AR magazines were $25. The place was packed and fokes were carring out AR's left and right. Tula .223 ammo was $799 per 1000. Every one that bought an AR bought a case of ammo and at least 3 extra mags. If you don't mind paying double they probley have whatever you want.