I'm narrowing down the plces I'll shop...

[npgunner]

that's a little bit distressing to learn about The Bench.  i never spent much money there personally ... but now think i understand the elevated prices.  it also confirms my suspicion that something a little bit skeezy was going on there.  one time i saw a box of ammo in there looked like it was from 80's, with no less than 4 price tags on it ... all scratched out, and i doubt the prices were getting smaller over the years. 

 

on another note ... throughout all this craziness, i've had a fair amount of luck with picking up ammo and ammo cans from b pro.  i pretty much stopped going to the LGS lately (except for actual gun purchases), just checking b-pro and academy. 

[rugerla1]

Now that is downright low class.  On a side note, the Memphis Bass Pro had probably 100 Promag polymer 30 round AR mags and metal 20 round mags for $19 each yesterday.  Anybody know if these are any good?

I agree about the low class!!
As far as Pro Mag, don't have the best rep and definitely not Pmags, but I would buy a couple to play at the range I guess. Love my Pmags though!

[bikertrash2001]

I've personally witnessed Reloader's Bench amongst others sending teams of people into Bass Pro (some were obviously somewhat out of place, not the type that you see roll into Bass Pro to prepare for Turkey season or pick up a holster) and buying up whatever was available after a  

*snip*

Are you absolutely sure it was people from Reloader's Bench? That's a strong accusation. 

[MarkInNashville]

Wondering why you bought them if you don't use them.....but they had them.
 

I was told (by the Reloader's Bench staff and then by several folks here) that magnum primers can be used in the place of non-magnum primers, as far as pistols go.

[itchytriggerfinger]

Are you absolutely sure it was people from Reloader's Bench? That's a strong accusation. 

Yeah I agree. I've spent quite a bit of time in that shop and they've always been a stand-up group.

[jaysouth]

that's a little bit distressing to learn about The Bench.  i never spent much money there personally ... but now think i understand the elevated prices.  it also confirms my suspicion that something a little bit skeezy was going on there.  one time i saw a box of ammo in there looked like it was from 80's, with no less than 4 price tags on it ... all scratched out, and i doubt the prices were getting smaller over the years. 

 

on another note ... throughout all this craziness, i've had a fair amount of luck with picking up ammo and ammo cans from b pro.  i pretty much stopped going to the LGS lately (except for actual gun purchases), just checking b-pro and academy. 

To stay in business, you must price your merchandise so you can afford to replace it.  If you bought a box of cartridges for $10 and the cost to replace it is now $40, you must charge replacement cost plus overhead and profit markup.  Failure to do so will put you out of business. 

 

Market spikes are driven by the uncertainty of the future market.  Watch gasoline prices.  Everytime the wardrums beat in the Persian gulf, the price of gasoline goes up because of the uncertainty of future availability and price flucuation.  The future market of the shooting industry is destabalized by left wing politicians who promise to take ALL of our guns and cease production of ammunition, for the children, of course, causing spikes in everything associated with it.  And abetted by our media and fueled by speculators like the guy you know who buys ammo at walmart every day and trys to sell it at triple his cost.

 

Reloader's bench is not cheap, but in normal times, they will have the best selection of reloading gear and components for many, many miles around.  In normal times, they are the only store that carries used reloading gear and have cannabalised spare parts in the back room that are unobtainable anywhere else inclusing manuacturers.  Go to basspro and ask them to go in the back room and find spare parts for your 1965 Herter's dies.

[Grunt67]

 Personally, I'll have to have more than one persons post for me to kick Reloaders Bench under the bus.

 I don't buy a ton of stuff there, but do on occasion. Haven't seen prices elevated any more than elsewhere,

 usually less.

 I'll need more proof than one forum post.

[JAB]

Some folks believe that jacking prices to ridiculous levels is 'just capitalism'.  Well, maybe in one sense but I don't believe it is very 'good' capitalism.  To me, a 'good' business owner practicing 'good' capitalism - regardless of what they sell - is going to take into account customer relationships, customer loyalty, return business, word of mouth advertising and the like - especially a small, 'mom and pop' type business.  Raising prices a reasonable amount in the current market is one thing but after a certain point it gets ridiculous.

 

Sure, jacking prices into the stratosphere might make them a healthy profit in the short term - largely from panic buyers, new gun owners (who don't know any better) or people who are so desperate to find a box of ammo somewhere, anywhere that they will pay whatever price these profiteers are asking.  Thing is, eventually supplies return to normal, the hoarders will have all they will ever shoot, the new shooters will have either gone into a routine of rarely shooting, will have sold their gun or will have the experience to know better.  In other words, their 'crisis' sales will have dried up and those of us who remember such things will remember their actions and avoid their shops.  At that time, these same profiteers will be whining about how people should shop local and how the mean ol' Internet is putting them out of business.

[urdubob]

I like the reloaders bench they have what you need most of the time and have always been up front on the deals we've made.

 

What will we do when we don't have a local shop? ...... I will still buy from them,  the only thing that would make me stop .........is a vote for Obama poster.

 

urdubob

[jphillips63]

Once upon a time Larry had a crew working there that would open powder and get small amounts out and put in baggies for themselves. Either they got caught red handed or enough complained that they no longer work there. Larry is a good man all in all yes he is a little high on some things but like most said if you can't find it he normally has it in stock up until the madness began. His pricing structure is lacking as you can dig around and find same boxes of bullets anywhere from 2.00-5.00 different per 100 count. They be same lot number but priced differently.

[gregintenn]

Don't get me wrong; everyone there has always been polite, professional, and helpful.

 

I understand they can charge more than mail order competition because of convenience, the fact of having something right now instead of waiting for it to be shipped, and shipping charges.

 

I have a limit on how much that is worth, and they've always teetered on that edge. That is a mark of a good businessman. I just feel that for me, they've recently crossed that line. I don't expect all of you to feel the same way.

 

LOL! If I get hacked off at Gamaliel Shooting Supply, I don't know where else I'll get powder and primers. Maybe the occasional trip to the gun show to see David.

[221 Fireball]

Deep breaths everybody,,,deep breaths. :pleased:

 

I like Reloaders Bench, they've always been priced at what I call normal suggested retail (or market price), no bargains, but they usually had anything you needed. Things are wacky right now, so they have their troubles as well. As a small business, I can bet they aren't getting the wholesale prices they once had either, so you can't expect them to sell at 'normal' prices.

 

I've posted it before...until everybody quits buying ammo at ridiculous prices, ridiculous prices will stay. I will not pay $30 or $40 for a .22 brick, much less $50 or $60! I've been doing some fishing lately, minnows have not gone up at all. :pleased:

[JAB]

minnows have not gone up at all. :pleased:

 

Naw but, around here at least, they don't live very long anymore.  Used to be I could keep 'em alive in a minnow bucket for several days - maybe even a week - if I changed the water out and added ice.  Now half of them will be dead before you even get to the bank and any that are left over will be dead by the next day.

 

Sorry, couldn't resist.  It is true, though.

 

I am with you on not paying ridiculous prices.  As you say, I am not shooting as much as I was.  Luckily, due to lessons learned from the last 'shortage' and precautions taken in the last, few years as a direct result of that 'shortage', I don't have to stop shooting entirely nor am I hurting enough to even consider paying ridiculously inflated prices.  I'm not exactly 'rolling' in ammo and if the shortage doesn't quieten down by this summer I may start getting a little nervous but I am okay, for now.  That doesn't mean that, once things return to normal, I will forget which retailers kept prices reasonable (considering that some price inflation is likely unavoidable) and which ones did not.

 

Also, I do wish that I had stocked up on more .22LR before all this hit.  I mean, I have some but would feel more comfortable if I had more.  I even predicted last Summer that we were going to see an ammo shortage that would include .22LR toward the end of the year (2012) but didn't foresee .22LR disappearing entirely or demanding such ridiculous prices.  I thought I'd still be able to get some at more or less regular prices, just with not as much regularity.  Oh, well, I will just have to consider that a lesson learned once this 'shortage' ends and before the next one starts.

Edited April 10, 2013 by JAB

[221 Fireball]

Naw but, around here at least, they don't live very long anymore.  Used to be I could keep 'em alive in a minnow bucket for several days - maybe even a week - if I changed the water out and added ice.  Now half of them will be dead before you even get to the bank and any that are left over will be dead by the next day.

JAB, read the side of the bait tank at the minner shop ... ya got to quit buying those dang Chinese minnows! :rofl:

[BigK]

It's been a few months since I've been in there, but I've always found RB to be a little over priced on ammo and most of their guns; way way over priced on their gear; but very fair on all their reloading equipment and supplies.

That being said, I like the guys in there and hope to keep doing business with them.

However, if I went in there tomorrow and saw the same items I've always bought from them marked way up, I'd never go back. I'm sticking to my list as well. Gougers will NEVER get a penny of my hard earned money, even after all this crap blows over.

[BigK]

To stay in business, you must price your merchandise so you can afford to replace it. If you bought a box of cartridges for $10 and the cost to replace it is now $40, you must charge replacement cost plus overhead and profit markup. Failure to do so will put you out of business.

I don't entirely agree with you here. I'm of the opinion that you sell your goods at a markup based on the cost of the items. If you're selling a $10 box of ammo for $15, you're damn lucky to be in a business with a 50% markup. If your next box of ammo costs $40, then you sell it for $60 and keep the same markup.

The fact of the matter with this ammo situation is that mfg are NOT jacking up their prices much. So, when you see a $6 box of Wolf ammo on a LGS shelf for $12, they are f'ing crooks. Most of the small LGS I ever been to never even carried cheap Russian ammo until now. I suspect they are buying it retail and gouging us too. Edited April 12, 2013 by BigK

[221 Fireball]

Thought I'd post back as it seemed Reloaders Bench got thrown under the bus on this thread. Maybe warranted, maybe not, to each his own on that.

 

However, I went to Reloaders Bench today to see if they had a replacement primer decapper pin for my Dillon, since I had no luck actually contacting anyone at Dillon. Larry, the older guy, dug around on his Dillon shelf and found a package of pins. He matched it up, screw it back together and handed it back to me.

 

I asked him what I owed...he said "Have a good day."

 

I don't think I'd get that across the street at Academy Sports, even if they carried Dillon. Nuff said.