Raise Prices in a Panic Situation

[DDDWho]

It seems Smokey Mountain Guns has joined Cheaper than Dirt in raising prices in an emergency situation. Today prices on a couple of handguns I’ve been watching have went up $25 - $30 since yesterday

 

[badkarmamib]

went up $25 - $30

Nowhere NEAR the same level...

 

[Zaydok Allen]

It seems Smokey Mountain Guns has joined Cheaper than Dirt in raising prices in an emergency situation. Today prices on a couple of handguns I’ve been watching have went up $25 - $30 since yesterday

Supply and demand. So long as it's not 25 to 30 percent, I don't see a big problem.

 

[WrongHanded]

Supply and demand. So long as it's not 25 to 30 percent, I don't see a big problem.

Supply and Demand is right. I see the outrage about price gouging, but it does have a useful function: It stops people buying more than they really need. Which in turn means there's likely some left for other people who really need it.

I realize this has a negative effect on people who are financially struggling. And I also realize that it's purely profit motivated on the part of the seller. But it can curb hording to some degree.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Supply and Demand is right. I see the outrage about price gouging, but it does have a useful function: It stops people buying more than they really need. Which in turn means there's likely some left for other people who really need it.

I realize this has a negative effect of people who are financially struggling. And I also realize that it's purely profit motivated on the part of the seller. But it can curb hording to some degree.

Vendors are also going to have to deal with extremely slow sales AFTER the panic ends. They know that and I don’t blame them for trying to bump up their profit margins now to compensate.

I more or less just completed my gun sales for the year, and I’m grateful.

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

I believe this slow time and sales rush business is the new normal. Just wait it out and buy what you need when the craziness is over.

 

[danez71]

It stops people buying more than they really need. Which in turn means there's likely some left for other people who really need it.

Waaaay toooo simplistic view point.

I think there is some truth to that but I don't believe that's a true statement.

What's left over at a higher price means the less fortunate can afford it less... or not at all.

But that doesn't mean that they don't need it.

And it in no way means those that could afford it only bought what they needed in the 1st place.


Rationing, on the other hand..... is indiscriminate.

ETA, I'm not advocating rationing at this stage.

 

[WrongHanded]

Waaaay toooo simplistic view point.

I think there is some truth to that but I don't believe that's a true statement.

What's left over at a higher price means the less fortunate can afford it less... or not at all.

But that doesn't mean that they don't need it.

And it in no way means those that could afford it only bought what they needed in the 1st place.


Rationing, on the other hand..... is indiscriminate.

ETA, I'm not advocating rationing at this stage.

I agree with what you're saying. I touched on some of it in my post. As far as rationing goes, some companies are doing exactly that. Which is neither hassle free nor necessarily the easiest way to make their margin.

 

[Speedo66]

Most retailers buy through a distributor, so they may be suffering raised prices and just passing it on. Bud's raises and lowers prices daily on the same item.

As mentioned, they are not even in the same galaxy as "Dirt".

 

[Phaedrus/69]

I think that those who engage in price gouging during a crisis are lower than whale poop. But the time to build your ark is before the rain starts to fall. At age 50 I've seen this movie a couple of times so I have a decent supply of the stuff I anticipate needing; guns, ammo, basic medicine, food, and a full tank of gas in my car. I will admit I didn't anticipate the hoarders buying 500 rolls of TP each but I should be stocked for a couple months.

 

[MoscowMike]

One of the real problems a store has in situations like this is walking the path between keeping customers happy and staying in business.
If you are selling 100 boxes of ammunition a month, each costing you $8 and selling for $10, you take in $1000. Of that you have $200 to pay for lights, heat, insurance, wages, etc. and $800 to buy more ammo to sell.
When sales spike and you call your supplier who says they are getting low and next month you can only get 50 boxes, you still need to average $200 markup to pay your bills. If your supplier marks those 50 boxes up to $10 instead of $8, you would need to sell each new box for $14, grossing $700 to make your $200, only leaving $500 to buy more from your supplier. So maybe you immediately mark up the ammo you have left in stock to $12 to give yourself some cushion. If there is nothing more to sell in a couple of months, your cushion lets you stay open, for a while.

The factory may be doing the same thing to the distributor, so the markups flow down hill, like other things.

That's a simplistic way to look at it, but you need to average enough in sales each month to pay for replacement stock and cover your expenses. And of course some retailers and distributors will mark things up huge amounts, knowing they can get it.

How much is a bottle of water worth, a) to a thirsty man in the desert, b) to a man standing next to a water fountain? I'll pay more if I'm in the desert, but I will remember.

 

[bdickens]

Local Academy stores have ammo. Somewhat. They are getting it in & selling out. Limiting quantities. But not only have they not raised prices, they even have some on sale.

I went ahead and got some I was gonna get anyway.

 

[Walkalong]

We have learned hard lessons over the years, but have been going through a very long window of great prices on all things gun related. Folks should have been ready for a downturn and not need to buy anything.

If prices go up, and you just have to have it, pony up and buy it. If you are just afraid you won't be able to get it, quit worrying and wait.

 

[.38 Special]

This doesn't appear to be the sort of disaster which is likely to require gunfire. I still don't quite understand human psychology.

 

[George P]

 

[Elkins45]

Some of this stuff is algorithm based. About a year ago I was messing around on Buds website and saw they had the Kahr K40 listed for just barely over $300. This is normally a $600 gun and the 9mm version was still priced at that level. I immediately ordered one and posted the deal to the Kahr forum. Another person on that forum said he ordered one at that price, but then a second guy said he checked the website a few hours later and it had jumped by a significant amount. It’s almost certain their retail software had noticed they weren’t moving many $600 40 caliber pistols and had kept lowering the price until they hooked (me) a buyer. As soon as they sold two of them the algorithm noticed the uptick in demand and started raising the price accordingly.

Most internet sales sites seem to have dynamic pricing in my experience. Leave something in your Amazon cart for a few weeks and see how many times you get a “items in your cart have changed price” notification.

 

[IronsightJM]

Yeah, here in upstate NY I was out shopping the other day just looking for a box of buckshot. First I hit field and streams where this was always a kel-tec shotgun priced at $700, when I went in the other day it just so happened to be increased to $750? Also many of the handguns seem to be pretty pricey from what I remember. Thankfully their shotgun shells weren’t priced up, good luck finding them though. I had to go to around 4 different stores just to find around 50 of them. And each store had crazy prices of their labeled “home defense” firearms. It’s ridiculous

 

[IronsightJM]

All I know the amount of gun owners in the US just skyrocketed because of this and people are paying crazy prices for something that’s usually $100 cheaper.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I wouldn't be a CTD hater if they had simply raised their prices.
But they cancelled orders that folks made, saying they were sold out, and then hours later had the products for a 600%-700% markup (at least on AR mags).

It's the dishonesty that got them, not just raising prices.

 

[mjsdwash]

try to keep the comparison in context. I know that this is not about CTD, but you did compare. CTD raised their prices several hundred percent, and when people didn't buy, they bought bulk email addresses, presumably from credit processors from legitimate companies. They then took those email addresses and spammed the users for weeks. When that ran out of steam they spammed constant fear mongering of the federal government bans/confiscations. When that finally ended, and the panic subsided, they spent several weeks inventing fake congressional resolutions/proposed law that never existed. When you spam blocked it they sent from a new address. At least that was my experience with them. FWIW, I ordered from CTD once, in 2000, over the mail, and they ripped me off. I never gave them my email, in fact the only like minded online retailers that had my email address was Midway, and Brownells. I'm %100 certain neither voluntarily sold it to CTD.

 

[giggitygiggity]

This doesn't appear to be the sort of disaster which is likely to require gunfire. I still don't quite understand human psychology.

I wonder if some people believe that they can stop the virus by shooting it.

 

[peeplwtchr]

Cheaper than dirt had 1k crappy 5.56 rounds for $900+ dollars yesterday when everyone else was out. My chat to them today is below. My local store AmmoAZ is driving to thier supplier in vegas every 2 days and selling 300k rounds per day for $300 per 1k. And it's Federal, which is better than winchester as far as I am concerned. Cheaper than dirt is dirt. They have crossed a line I will never forget.


11:17 AM
Todd
Heads up. I will never buy anything from you again, after seeing this: https://www.cheaperthandirt.com/win...000-rounds-fmj-55-grains/FC-020892225084.html

11:17 AM
Todd
EVER

11:18 AM
Todd
And in it's circulating like wildfire through the 2A community

11:19 AM
Todd
Yesterday it was $900+

11:22 AM
Todd
Now it's on sale for $727? At least you have that going for you.

11:24 AM
Lori
Welcome to Cheaper Than Dirt! Customer Service. My name is Lori.

11:24 AM
Lori
Thank you for your comments Todd...

11:25 AM
Lori
Have a great day!

11:25 AM
Todd
Uh huh

11:25 AM
Lori
Thanks for using Cheaper Than Dirt! Online Chat.

 

[jmorris]

I think if you thought Hillary was going to win, like everyone told you and you didn’t get everything you might need in the last 3 years of cheap stuff, when even AR lowers were going as cheap as $29, mags under $10, you should just pay the asking price now vs admitting how short sighted you are at this point.

 

[Trey Veston]

CTD are bottom feeding scum. Haven't done business with them for years and never will again.

 

[peeplwtchr]

I think if you thought Hillary was going to win, like everyone told you and you didn’t get everything you might need in the last 3 years of cheap stuff, when even AR lowers were going as cheap as $29, mags under $10, you should just pay the asking price now vs admitting how short sighted you are at this point.

You make alot of assumptions morris. I need nothing. Thier business practices are scummy. I'll stop there.