The state of primer availability - 2023

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delta6
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Re: The state of primer availability - 2023

#16

Post by delta6 »

Boriqua wrote: February 17th, 2023, 12:05 pm
Cmoor wrote: February 16th, 2023, 6:33 pm
delta6 wrote: February 16th, 2023, 8:43 am
Based on the current wholesale, normal is going to be in the $70-80 range.
I had a wholesaler quote me $57 today but, he said his shipping was going to be $30 bucks plus haz mat per 1k... So if the new normal will be $70-80. I certainly wont bother stocking or selling them in the future.
Wow. I don't know for certain but it sounds like your Wholesaler is trying to pad the order. I just bought 1000 primers from Midsouth shooting and The shipping was 11.50 and hazmat was 19.99. Still costly but it wouldn't have gone up exponentially with every additional 1000. If he is charging you 30.00 + additional hazmat Per 1000 he is just trying to pad his numbers because its not costing him that much extra in hazmat and shipping per unit.
So, his wholesaler is not actually selling the primers for $57/1000. Like I said above, $70-80 is going to be the new retail.


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Re: The state of primer availability - 2023

#17

Post by Cmoor »

Boriqua wrote: February 17th, 2023, 12:05 pm
Cmoor wrote: February 16th, 2023, 6:33 pm
delta6 wrote: February 16th, 2023, 8:43 am
Based on the current wholesale, normal is going to be in the $70-80 range.
I had a wholesaler quote me $57 today but, he said his shipping was going to be $30 bucks plus haz mat per 1k... So if the new normal will be $70-80. I certainly wont bother stocking or selling them in the future.
Wow. I don't know for certain but it sounds like your Wholesaler is trying to pad the order. I just bought 1000 primers from Midsouth shooting and The shipping was 11.50 and hazmat was 19.99. Still costly but it wouldn't have gone up exponentially with every additional 1000. If he is charging you 30.00 + additional hazmat Per 1000 he is just trying to pad his numbers because its not costing him that much extra in hazmat and shipping per unit.
Well that's good to know. For our shop I don't think it is worth being in the reloading supply business since every time I post up something I am told my prices are too high.

The online sellers have an unfair advantage over a small shop so it is better to not sell those products at all. Most people have no idea of how small the margin is for the little guys in the gun business. Our local people will just have to buy on line or drive 80 miles to get the supplies they want.

A lot of online sellers are buying at distributor pricing and selling at dealer pricing to the public so a dealer can not compete unless they come up with the tens of thousands it would take to become a distributor.
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Re: The state of primer availability - 2023

#18

Post by Doc »

Cmoor wrote: February 18th, 2023, 12:20 am
Boriqua wrote: February 17th, 2023, 12:05 pm
Cmoor wrote: February 16th, 2023, 6:33 pm
I had a wholesaler quote me $57 today but, he said his shipping was going to be $30 bucks plus haz mat per 1k... So if the new normal will be $70-80. I certainly wont bother stocking or selling them in the future.
Wow. I don't know for certain but it sounds like your Wholesaler is trying to pad the order. I just bought 1000 primers from Midsouth shooting and The shipping was 11.50 and hazmat was 19.99. Still costly but it wouldn't have gone up exponentially with every additional 1000. If he is charging you 30.00 + additional hazmat Per 1000 he is just trying to pad his numbers because its not costing him that much extra in hazmat and shipping per unit.
Well that's good to know. For our shop I don't think it is worth being in the reloading supply business since every time I post up something I am told my prices are too high.

The online sellers have an unfair advantage over a small shop so it is better to not sell those products at all. Most people have no idea of how small the margin is for the little guys in the gun business. Our local people will just have to buy on line or drive 80 miles to get the supplies they want.

A lot of online sellers are buying at distributor pricing and selling at dealer pricing to the public so a dealer can not compete unless they come up with the tens of thousands it would take to become a distributor.
What do you have at “better prices” I’m always a sucker for a local deal. Or across the board you have to charge more than everyone else due to the deals they get vs yours?
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Re: The state of primer availability - 2023

#19

Post by Boriqua »

delta6 wrote: February 17th, 2023, 5:00 pm
Boriqua wrote: February 17th, 2023, 12:05 pm
Cmoor wrote: February 16th, 2023, 6:33 pm
I had a wholesaler quote me $57 today but, he said his shipping was going to be $30 bucks plus haz mat per 1k... So if the new normal will be $70-80. I certainly wont bother stocking or selling them in the future.
Wow. I don't know for certain but it sounds like your Wholesaler is trying to pad the order. I just bought 1000 primers from Midsouth shooting and The shipping was 11.50 and hazmat was 19.99. Still costly but it wouldn't have gone up exponentially with every additional 1000. If he is charging you 30.00 + additional hazmat Per 1000 he is just trying to pad his numbers because its not costing him that much extra in hazmat and shipping per unit.
So, his wholesaler is not actually selling the primers for $57/1000. Like I said above, $70-80 is going to be the new retail.
I was seeing 70-80 last time I went shopping about 8-9 months ago and bought some but this time I waited on the "notify me" list at a few places for quite a while and it was $90. I think sellers are just taking advantage of the lack of supply and slowly jacking up the price. Not sure they are paying more .. just supply and demand.

If you happen to see a private sale say on Gunsarizona they are going $100-120.

While its a bit shocking I try not to pine over it to much. I like to shoot so as long as I can still afford it I will buy reloading material. Reloading still works out cheaper for me than buying factory ammo in case lots for most of what I reload.

Next time though I will spring for a few thousand and make the most out of the shipping and hazmat.
Last edited by Boriqua on February 18th, 2023, 12:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The state of primer availability - 2023

#20

Post by Cmoor »

I have about 18k at home that I got several years ago but, I was trying to get some for our customers at the shop. Last 10k I got we paid $75. for and like I said earlier if that is the new norm it's not worth being in the game. It would be hard to stay in business if the pricing goes way down before you get a chance to sell off the old inventory.

Truthfully small gun shops in small towns have a very difficult time making any real profit because of the online sales. Online gun sellers are able to make big purchases and sell in volume to make their money while taking advantage of local shops who receive those guns for a local buyer. Some buyers like to justify this by saying they buy other stuff at those shops if this is you then great. The reality is 90% of those online gun buyers never buy anything else when they pick up the gun or at any other time either.

Ok sorry off topic rant off... lol
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Re: The state of primer availability - 2023

#21

Post by Boriqua »

Cmoor wrote: February 18th, 2023, 11:32 am
truthfully small gun shops in small towns have a very difficult time making any real profit because of the online sales. Online gun sellers are able to make big purchases and sell in volume to make their money while taking advantage of local shops who receive those guns for a local buyer. Some buyers like to justify this by saying they buy other stuff at those shops if this is you then great. The reality is 90% of those online gun buyers never buy anything else when they pick up the gun or at any other time either.

Ok sorry off topic rant off... lol
I don't know you and I don't know your shop so its not directed at you specifically but .. I am a LOYAL sucker for good/great customer service. I come from a place where the norm were mom and pop shops. No faceless malls with transient teen employees.

You went to the same small shops all the time because they were a friendly face, they knew what you ordered, you shared some pleasantries and so on. They were neighborhood shops.

Here in AZ I went to the same FFL for years for gun pickups even after they raised their prices twice just because they were a pleasure to work with and you walked in to a smile, a hello and some chit chat.

My personal experience with gun shops so far in AZ is .. customer service and a friendly face is rare. Seems to be the industry. So ... long way of saying .. if a shop had pleasant great customer service and the buying experience was overwhelmingly positive I would gladly pay more for it.

I will say .. my last 2 guns were purchased at Teds shooting range and it was great. Hence.. if I can I will use them again for in store gun purchases and do check their inventory first when thinking about a new gun. They cant carry everything but if they do have something I am looking at I intend to use them first .. even if its a little more expensive to do so.
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Re: The state of primer availability - 2023

#22

Post by Cmoor »

@Boriqua I agree I have always been the same. Customer service and a knowledgeable staff is very important. I am a one man shop and I make it a point to speak to everyone who comes into our shop. I hope my criticism of online buyers does not make you think I treat them in a bad way. Every single person who comes into the store deserves the best possible treatment including online buyers. I am humbled by the two comments @BigNate and @brandonsmash gave me.

I not sure how good my gun knowledge is, because we can always learn more. In my past life (younger years) I did custom pistol smith work in the 80's I also worked for Knights Armament Corp and did CAD design and programing for a couple SOT's on AR's and other NFA items. I enjoy hunting, reloading, target shooting long range shooting NFA stuff and just hanging out and talking with other people interested in the sport.

If you are ever in Wickenburg stop into Buffalo guns and ammo and say hello.
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Re: The state of primer availability - 2023

#23

Post by BigNate »

I'll echo what @Boriqua says above - with a bit of qualification - and that qualification aligns with some of what @Cmoor is experiencing as a small gun shop. I used to buy bulk ammo at UN Ammo in phoenix - because I could get bulk / surplus stuff at about the same price that I could get it on line. Since they've gone away I've been resorting to buying on-line.

What Cmoor represents is a reality - particularly on stuff like ammo or primers. The small business guy is really at a disadvantage - because retail costs a lot. Floor space is limited and they have to figure out how to make money on the stuff on the floor. Most probably can't afford to buy in $1,000,000 chunks necessary to make money on the rounds at the seriously discounted price that the internet can offer - and the ones who can seem to be able to sell at the higher price anyway. I recently bought a brick (1000 rounds) of factory 5.56 on line. It cost me about $0.45/round - to my door (after tax etc.). A week or two later I saw the exact same ammo "on sale" at a LGS for about $0.80/round (for a 20 round box) which would have been about $0.87/round after tax. They had a pallet of it - so they had bought a pretty good sized lot (and I'd like to think paid less per round for it than I did for my 1000 rounds). I asked if they'd offer a price break if I wanted to buy by the 1000. They said no. I'd be happy to pay a few cents more to have bulk ammo available locally - but I'm not willing to pay almost twice as much to buy local - it does not make sense. I was back in there a couple of weeks later and the pallet was gone - so it looks like there were buyers.

On the other hand - knowledge, "shooting the breeze," relationship is valuable. From my house Cmoor's shop on the south side of Wickenburg is closer to my house than things in Mesa - and based on my first trip up there to have him look at a gun that I bought - I'll be driving back up there in the future - and when I drive through Wickenburg I'll be stopping in to say hi - and impulse purchases may happen. Small shops are at a disadvantage to the big on-line shops - but they have the advantage of local knowledge and relationship. That stuff is certainly worth a few bucks.

At the end of the day - I'm willing to pay "a bit more" to buy local (and it's absolutely worth it - to have access to local knowledge) - but for more commodity type stuff (ammo / primers) where the on-line stores can move so much more volume that they can make money selling much closer to wholesale prices - the difference is to great to overcome (for me anyway).
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Re: The state of primer availability - 2023

#24

Post by xerts1191 »

Appears $99 per thousand is the going rate unfortunately
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Re: The state of primer availability - 2023

#25

Post by Suck My Glock »

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Re: The state of primer availability - 2023

#26

Post by Doc »

Just shot up another 100 from my stash.

I wonder if I can sell “once fired primers” 🫠
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Re: The state of primer availability - 2023

#27

Post by Boriqua »

Just got an "in stock" notice for small and large primers from Midway. $93 before shipping and Hazmat. I paid about the same from Midsouth Shooting recently so the new online price is about $90-$95. Its the most expensive I have seen them for yet and I have been buying sporadically all through the drought.
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Re: The state of primer availability - 2023

#28

Post by jrleen »

I was lucky two years ago ran across a old guy at a yard sale who was willing to part with his stash. Just finished using up the primers sold by FedMart and Western Auto at .45 to .65 a tray! He was was thinking they were too old to use. I believe I have gone through around 5-6k rounds loaded with these and not a failure yet. Hate to imagine what the prices will be like when I do run out.
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Re: The state of primer availability - 2023

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Post by Suck My Glock »

jrleen wrote: March 10th, 2023, 11:09 am I was lucky two years ago ran across a old guy at a yard sale who was willing to part with his stash. Just finished using up the primers sold by FedMart and Western Auto at .45 to .65 a tray! He was was thinking they were too old to use. I believe I have gone through around 5-6k rounds loaded with these and not a failure yet. Hate to imagine what the prices will be like when I do run out.
I lucked out about 15 years ago during the first Obama primer panic. Some dude was selling off his uncle's former stock from a pawn shop they had closed 30 years ago. (45 years ago, now.) All this powder and primers and cast bullets and other stuff had been sitting out in a metal shed all that time.

I had bought old powder and primers before and knew they were likely still perfectly fine as long they never got wet. But being the negotiator I am, I hemmed and hawed and wondered out loud how good they still were after all that time,...then made a ridiculous offer of about 20% of what current prices were then. He went for it, and I was using up all that product for years. I think I didn't finally run out of those primers until 2016. I still have a little bit of the magnum pistol powder. It all went bang.
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Re: The state of primer availability - 2023

#30

Post by Jack Dupp »

jrleen wrote: March 10th, 2023, 11:09 am I was lucky two years ago ran across a old guy at a yard sale who was willing to part with his stash. Just finished using up the primers sold by FedMart and Western Auto at .45 to .65 a tray! He was was thinking they were too old to use. I believe I have gone through around 5-6k rounds loaded with these and not a failure yet. Hate to imagine what the prices will be like when I do run out.
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