I sold 400 rounds the day before yesterday of remanufactured .380 90 grain JHP to an elderly couple, for a price of $27.99/50 round bag. At that price, we made a small profit. The problem for a "mom and pop" store like where I work isn’t one of making money on the ammo we sell; the problem is availability to US of the components we buy, out which we have the ammo assembled for us.flechero wrote: ↑Sat Sep 05, 2020 8:33 amA long history... sadly many people and gun owners just dismiss it after the crisis and return to them.
Much more sadly are the smaller businesses that don't change their prices during these times and then lose out in good times because they may be 0.50/box higher due to their overhead.
Try to remember those who treat you well now and treat them with your business later.
Two weeks ago, we got in 5000 rounds of 9mm we had made for us. It was gone in a couple of days. Last week, we got in another 2500 rounds. It was gone in a day. I THINK I heard one of the owners mention that we’re getting another 4000 rounds in some time next week, but I haven’t verified it for sure. But if we do, I guarantee it’ll be gone in 2-3 days.
We haven’t had any .223 available for at least a couple of weeks now. We’re nearly sold out of .300 Blk. I personally bought the last 160 rounds of 7.62x39 ammo we had left. We have a small amount of 12 gauge birdshot left....like maybe just a few boxes. I have no idea when we’ll be able to restock any of this. It’s getting incredibly difficult for small retailers to maintain an inventory to sell. And to repeat in brief what I’ve covered in greater detail in other posts, there are no lead-smelting plants left in the US. Bullet manufacturers are WAY behind in their production demand. (Two weeks ago, Berry's Bullets told us they weren’t taking any more orders until they got caught up. They were 47 MILLION bullets backordered, with a daily production capacity of ONE million bullets/day. Ergo, they are between a month and a month and a half out from beginning to take new orders again.) The same is true for the manufacture of primers, powder, and cases.
What we have is a severe supply-chain problem, exacerbated by panic-buying by people who are desperate not to be left out in the cold by what they (possibly correctly) perceive to be a looming civil war and/or breakdown of civil order. As it is, the big box stores (Academy, Basspro, etc.) are selling out their stock as quickly as they can get it in. If the current situation continues, at some point even they won’t be able to get ammo, if the large scale manufacturers (Federal, Remington, et al) are no longer able to procure brass, copper, and lead stocks, not to mention powder and primers.
The misnomered Cheaper than Dirt is likely not selling at a high price from new inventory. There’s no way they can get what the big box stores are having trouble getting. However big CTD is, they’re NOT as big as Cabelas, Basspro, Sportsman's Guide, Academy, and other chains like them. If I had to bet money on it, I’d bet that they are selling at rapacious prices from old inventory they accumulated when prices were cheap and availability was easier. They’re selling at rapacious prices because they believe that they won’t ever be able to replace their inventory. The big box stores are still balancing current price against future customer loyalty, in the hope that they can operate profitably today and that the supply chain problem will eventually resolve itself in their favor tomorrow. CTD isn’t taking that bet, which for better or for worse, tells me that they’re not in this for the long haul.
CTD has been ruined by whoever took it over some years ago. The last thing I bought from CTD was some Korean mil-surp M1 carbine magazines about 6 or 7 years ago. The very name "Cheaper than Dirt" has become a bad joke, and has been for years now, long before the current supply problems. I can get dirt for free, all day long from my own back yard.