Trustee
DISCLAIMER: Disclaimer. The opinions expressed in this post are those of the author, DrScaryGuy. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of MGO, its board of directors, or its members.
About 20 yrs ago this came up big time.
I was buying Blazer 45 ammo at WM for just under $10. So I stopped at the LGS on the way to the range next time. Same Blazer $24.95.
Sinc I had 2 kids in college I stuck w/ WM.
I didnt even mention it to LGS since I was not a very often customer of theirs. Probably should have told him the whole story and see what he said. Im sure hed said "I pay more than that for it." Id said "buy more than 2 boxes at a time and see the price go down."
Around here the LGS aren't even competitive with online.
There is a guy in Rose City that has as been around forever, still need to stop in and check his inventory.
One or two boxes wont make a difference in your local dealers prices, he needs to buy multiple pallets of ammo just to get the distributor to talk to him about cutting prices. The small guy is never going to be able to come near big box store pricing, close maybe during a sale, but never with everyday pricing.
"Saepe errans, numquam dubitans --Frequently in error, never in doubt".
The trouble with the Internet is that it's replacing masturbation as a leisure activity. ~Patrick Murray
The problem with that is that the LGS doesn't get the foot traffic to carry the kind of inventory they would need to buy in order to be able to match Walmart's prices. Beyond that, it would take a hell of a lot of capital to have that much ammo in inventory to get those kinds of prices.
You want the LGS to buy/carry more inventory so they can sell it to you for less, yet you readily admit that you don't shop there very often. That pretty much puts the LGS in a lose-lose situation.I didnt even mention it to LGS since I was not a very often customer of theirs.
You got that right. And that doesn't just apply to ammo. I often see firearms listed for sale well below what my wholesale prices are. That's because larger outfits with much more foot traffic can take advantage of the "but 5 get 1 free" promotions from the wholesalers. Or better yet, strike deals with the manufacturers to buy hundreds or more of something and get it at a huge discount.
WM doesnt sell ammo anymore
.."Amazon set the standard. Easy to use. Stuff is easy to find. They have reviews. Returns are easy. Customer service is amazing. Shipping is fast. prices are usually better..."
I have noticed that most things I buy are selling for exactly the same on Amazon as @ other retail outlets..often priced @ the MSRP for the item.
Amazon USED to have great prices..not so much anymore, in my experience. As an Amazon Prime member, I get free shipping for many items..that's about the only
savings , over other online sellers.For firearms related items (scopes, mounts, triggers, grips, springs, etc..) my usual online retailers often have lower prices than Amazon.
Tracing my past orders, I'm able to see just home much prices have risen on Amazon.
Example..a 30 # bag of the dog food we use jumped from $30.07 to $42.43, by the time the 1st bag was finished.
Walmart has something like 200,000-250,000 unique items in the store.
They aren't doing it to be nice, they care etc.
You go to buy anything, they know their avg check out total is 70-80 bucks whatever it is.
People do not compare everything.
If you go to Walmart it's a half mile walk. 20 minute wait to get someone to unlock the ammo.
People are fine with that. If local shop owner is on them like a concierge people get upset.