Gun shops buying up ammo & guns from Walmart

[ditchdoctor81]

I'm not sure if this is the right section to post this, but just thought I'd see what everyone else thought about this. I have been to 2 different Walmart stores & saw gun shop owners buying AR15's & ammo & taking them back & marking up the price several hundred dollars. I also know of one that went to a gun shop in Marianna & bought 15 AR15's (7 off the shelf & 8 still in boxes before UPS could even leave the parking lot) & go back & do the same. How am I (regular person) supposed to compete with some of these gun shop owners (I don't want to lump ALL shop owners into this group) that buy up everything from big box stores & mark them up hundreds of dollars!

I'm not even in the market for a black rifle, although if I found one at a precraziness price I'd probably buy another one. I guess I'm just venting. One bought every box of Remington Mega Pack they had, I called his shop later & they were asking quite a bit more. I asked the guy behind the counter at Walmart about it & he said it happens all the time. He said they get in 223 weekly & most of it doesn't even make it to their shelves, it gets bought up by a couple guys that are there waiting on the trucks.

 

[bkitzel250]

Yeah man its rediculous. I was in the market for my first AR a few months back when all the drama hit, I gave up after a week or two of searching. The thing that pisses me off the most is the people who don't want or need them buy all of them just for the hell of it. Luckily I have my AK's and my glocks with plenty of mags so I could care less about an AR now, but it does suck. Doesn't suprise me a bit shop owners are doing that, and I'm sure they are making a pretty penny too.

 

[Welldoya]

This happened during the last panic also.
A man that has to go to work and can't wait around in a parking lot for delivery doesn't have a chance.
All I can say, is just make note of what shops are doing this and remember it in the future when it all calms down.
WalMart could help by putting a limit on ammo and guns.

 

[The Pitt]

which gun shops are doing this?

 

[Viking1204]

which gun shops are doing this?

+1 Why hold the gun shops name. This I hope this situation causes certain local gun shop owners to lose business. Not all of them are doing it but the ones that are should be known and people should boycott them. Destin Guns is already on my boycott list. Patriot Arms on the other hand has kept their prices the same.

 

[Floorguy]

Dont think its local op says holmes county post the facts and the shops name

 

[HughJoergan]

Shop owners gotta eat too. If that's the only place to get stock, what else are they gonna do?

 

[tinman]

Shop owners gotta eat too. If that's the only place to get stock, what else are they gonna do?

But they are getting their own stocks in, selling that at a premium, as well as getting other retailers stock in to sell at a premium.

I really don't think gunshops are worried about their rent at the moment.

 

[Little Jack]

This was addressed in another thread as well but,

If the shops have nothing to sell, they can't pay their rent or their employees. I know that prices are a bitch and you have some places (walmart, academy) that aren't marking items up.

That gun shop owner/employee is on the clock as he's waiting for those rifles to come into walmart. Unless he's got the driver in his pocket, it's a gamble on whether or not waiting around in the parking lot is going to be worth his time. He also runs the risk of buying 15 colts at retail plus tax (several hundred over what he would normally pay in a 'normal' market) then having Biden suggest an AWB isn't necessary. Demand tanks and now he has to sell those Colts for a loss.

Is it better if someone else does the same thing but sells them privately at the same price?

This sucks as both a retailer and a consumer. The larger chains can get away with not marking up the rifles. They have plenty of other items to make money on. Not to mention the volume they deal in. A local gun shop is hosed if they don't have stock to sell. It's feast or famine and there's no way to know what demand or supply will be 4 months from now. Make your money while you can.

If you don't like the prices. Don't pay. You're gambling that whatever it is you want now will be available in a few months at the same or better price. There is a very real possibility that even if these rifles are available in 3 months that the prices now will be a bargain.

FWIW, YMMV, SSDD

 

[merkinman]

All Wal Marts Inventory come form Sport South.

 

[shootnstarz]

Would Wally World let you put a deposit on one? Refundable of course.

Rick

 

[billythegoat]

This was addressed in another thread as well but,

If the shops have nothing to sell, they can't pay their rent or their employees. I know that prices are a bitch and you have some places (walmart, academy) that aren't marking items up.

That gun shop owner/employee is on the clock as he's waiting for those rifles to come into walmart. Unless he's got the driver in his pocket, it's a gamble on whether or not waiting around in the parking lot is going to be worth his time. He also runs the risk of buying 15 colts at retail plus tax (several hundred over what he would normally pay in a 'normal' market) then having Biden suggest an AWB isn't necessary. Demand tanks and now he has to sell those Colts for a loss.

Is it better if someone else does the same thing but sells them privately at the same price?

This sucks as both a retailer and a consumer. The larger chains can get away with not marking up the rifles. They have plenty of other items to make money on. Not to mention the volume they deal in. A local gun shop is hosed if they don't have stock to sell. It's feast or famine and there's no way to know what demand or supply will be 4 months from now. Make your money while you can.

If you don't like the prices. Don't pay. You're gambling that whatever it is you want now will be available in a few months at the same or better price. There is a very real possibility that even if these rifles are available in 3 months that the prices now will be a bargain.

FWIW, YMMV, SSDD

most of this is BS. with everything being marked up 100%, even with no new inventory coming in, the sales have been through the roof and even if the next few months are slower, the past few months have made up for it. if the ban passes, they still have sales of other firearms and ammo. if it doesnt, they restock. all this scare does is drastically increase their profits for a period of time.

and second... gunshop owners wouldnt be buying Colts from walmart if they thought they would take a loss. gun shops sell Colts higher than walmart prices anyway, so even without an AWB scare, gun shops arent taking a loss on walmart bought Colts no matter what.

its all about greed. plain and simple. things are worth more so people charge more. i find it hard to feel sorry for any gun shop owners at the moment.

 

[Little Jack]

You've got it all figured out.

 

[Drauka99]

Don't you love it when people not even in your business tell you all about how it works....

Back to the OP .. I don't doubt its happening but I doubt its widespread

 

[JohnAL]

You've got it all figured out.

yes he does.

It's funny that a couple that are long time friends of mine that run a truly small mom and pop gun shop can't buy any guns to sell. What little they made selling the walls bare at normal price cannot even be used to buy guns, ammo, or accessories to sell because of the panic. The distributors fill orders for their big customers first, then if there are any left they sell to the little guys. You will be seeing a lot of the small shops disappear because they can't buy stock.

 

[2ndAmendmentShooting]

its all about greed. plain and simple. things are worth more so people charge more

so if your house is worth more you cant charge more when you sell it?

If my babe ruth rookie card is rises in value i cant sell it for more than the old value?


your statement makes no sense

 

[Stagman]

so if your house is worth more you cant charge more when you sell it?

If my babe ruth rookie card is rises in value i cant sell it for more than the old value?


your statement makes no sense

Greed didn't cause the rise in value of the Babe Ruth rookie card. This panic buying is very frustrating I am having a hard time finding 9mm ammo and I never thought I would see the day that Glocks are hard to find. I went to Campbell's Hardware today and they had only one glock left and it's a 21

 

[Little Jack]

Backorders for some items are a year or more. Just sayin.

 

[Little Jack]

Greed didn't cause the rise in value of the Babe Ruth rookie card. This panic buying is very frustrating I am having a hard time finding 9mm ammo and I never thought I would see the day that Glocks are hard to find. I went to Campbell's Hardware today and they had only one glock left and it's a 21

Demand and lack of supply increased the value. Similar to the current situation with the firearms industry.

 

[2ndAmendmentShooting]

yes he does.

It's funny that a couple that are long time friends of mine that run a truly small mom and pop gun shop can't buy any guns to sell. What little they made selling the walls bare at normal price cannot even be used to buy guns, ammo, or accessories to sell because of the panic. The distributors fill orders for their big customers first, then if there are any left they sell to the little guys. You will be seeing a lot of the small shops disappear because they can't buy stock.

This. I have accounts with 30+ distributors and let me tell you its a 24/7 job searching all of them 24/7 trying to see the most current uploads and trying to beat out 5000 other dealers trying to order the same thing. Distributors are getting inventory in drips and drabs and we all are getting barely anything. For example, New Arrivals at Davidsons used to be 7-8 pages every day. Now it is one page if we are lucky and most of the stuff is gone within minutes. We gotta be up at 3 am in the morning to hit the early trucks and beat someone else to grab the good inventory. On top of that, there are various dealer programs being introduced at the beginning of the year, they are "stocking dealer" programs. All the distributors have told us people who sign up for these programs get bumped ahead of everyone else for the inventory. In these times, this is critical. Some of us smaller dealers dont have the cash to participate. Most require a 15-20k commitment for one manufacturer. I can name 6 programs that are a must participate. If we cant sign up right now, we are most likely not getting the prime guns for sales. Im not saying everyone needs to pity the gun store owners, but our companies have to turn a profit so everyone gets paid to be able to pay the bills. - end rant