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joe817 wrote: That's a very interesting theory you have there,

Not my theory. Simple supply and demand, market economics.

25% is price gouging, no matter how you try to spin it

Actually the phrase "price gouging" has a definition, and it is distinct from offering a product at a price above which the market will bear. So there's no spinning here, just defining terms.

81aggie wrote:maybe his overhead is so much higher that it justified his prices

High overhead does not justify high prices. The only thing that justifies prices is supply and demand. High overhead may necessitate low or negative profits in light of market prices, or high overhead may reduce the business case for selling something in the first place. But even if the gun show guy's wholesale price was the same as Academy's retail price, then he is making $100 on the sale and there will likely be some chump who will come up and buy it at that price, given that most gun stores that are not Academy charge a similar price and maybe some people just don't shop for guns at Academy or have any idea what the low-end of the market looks like. Or maybe some people just don't care about the price that much. But if the gun show guy were to reduce the price, say, to $600, then he'd have to sell 5x as many to make that same $100, but that's 5x as many forms, background checks, paperwork to manage, etc., and he's STILL above Academy's price.

BTW the one and only gun I ever bought at a gun show was in fact $20 below the lowest price I had ever seen on it. But that was a year ago. I paid $370 for a Kahr CW9 and all of the other tables had it for $399, $409, $429 etc. So even a year ago, most of the prices on guns at gun shows were 20% or so above the real-world market prices. I tend to think gun shows are not necessarily for buying guns, but more of a recreational outlet for gun enthusiasts.

joe817 wrote:those people who have been price gouging NEEDS a reality check

It's not "price gouging", it's just mildly overpriced ammo. The reality check the guy needed was to not sell it. That's how the marketplace works. If you price something too high, it's not "gouging", it's just pricing it too high for the market to bear and it will not sell.

There are numerous reasons people will willfully pay above-market prices for things like guns and ammo and lots of other things. If they have it in stock, the standard for commodity-pricing on range ammo is Wal Mart but a lot of people will pay 1.5x the Wal Mart price at a locally-owned gun store because it's a gun store and not Wal Mart. Some people get mad at Academy for some of their gun sales policies so maybe they would rather pay more at a gun show because it's a gun show. Most of us will pay way above-market prices for a soft drink at a movie theater or other event simply for the convenience of having the drink while at the event, so maybe it is perfectly valid to pay above-market for ammo at a gun show simply because you just bought that AR at the other table at the same gun show and it's a lot more convenient to pay 25% above market for the ammo and not have to go shop for it elsewhere. I have been in Wal Mart or Academy probably 20 times looking for ammo and only found it ONCE in the past six months, so you know to pay a little extra to get it when you actually find it may be worth it. I bought the limit of what they would sell me at Academy last time I was there, at 25% above the Wal Mart price, simply because they happened to have it and it was worth the extra $25 for me to actually GET 500 rounds of 9mm rather than burn time and energy looking for a better deal.