Shortages, Gougers, and Trolls

Gougers.  People who overcharge simply because they can when supplies are low.  Someone who takes advantage of a bad situation. There’s a lot of that going on in the ammo and reloading components business today.  What’s driving it is extreme demand induced by the pandemic, the breakdown in law and order in some urban areas, a change of administrations, and the resulting ammunition and components shortages.  People are buying guns and ammo in unprecedented numbers because they are afraid.  It’s being fueled by uninformed and malicious folks on the Internet.

Me?  I’m not worried.  We’ve been through this before.  The pendulum swings both ways, and it always returns to center.  It may take a while, but common sense always prevails.

Before all this shortage business began, primers sold for about $34 or $35 per thousand.  Gougers have kicked that up to around $100 per thousand, and even at that price, they are difficult to find.  Thanks, but I’ll take a pass.  I’ll wait it out.  It’s that pendulum thing I mentioned above.

I imagine it’s tough being in the ammo business these days.  For the most part, the folks who make ammo are the same folks who make reloading components, and with the unprecedented demand for ammo, their components are necessarily being consumed by their own factories.  I get that, too.

This video from the CEO of an ammo and components company popped up in my feed yesterday, and I think it’s a good one.  You might want to watch it.

I get it, Mr. Vanderbrink. The trolls who start rumors, spread rumors, and post stupid stuff on the Internet are as despicable as the gougers, and I give Vanderbrink a lot of credit for calling it like it is.  I’d call the trolls morons, but that would be an insult to morons everywhere.  You folks in the ammo business keep doing what you’re doing.  We’ll be here as loyal customers when the shortages end, as they always do.

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