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ammo price's???
ridewot
Member Posts: 92 ✭✭
what happen nobody seems to be bidding? looks like prices getting to high[:)]
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But right NOW, .380 is almost entirely unavailable. Virtually no new product is hitting the shelves, and if/when any does, it disappears almost immediately.
One "big box" retailer told me a few weeks ago that he hadn't seen ANY .380 in three months, and when he finally got in a few boxes, they sold out that day.
Two months ago, I saw boxes going to $30 each ($0.60 per round) at a gun show, and I think things are even worse now.
On the auction site, .380 rounds are selling for $0.60 - $1.00 each (depending on brand). I can maybe see those kind of prices for specialty .380+P hollowpoint type ammo, but for ball ammo, its kind of nuts. (EG .380 ammo selling for more per round than .44 magnum or .308 winchester rifle ammo?).
So in today's marketplace, absolutely, if you can find ANY .380 at that price, its a steal. . .grab it.
Supposedly, the reason there is no .380 is because .380 is produced on the same machines as 9mm luger, and given the massive post-Obama run on ammo, all the big manufacturers are running their 9mm machines at full capacity, and don't want to switch the dies over to .380.
With the advent of the polymer pocket pistols (ie kel-Tec 3AT and Ruger LCP) the demand for .380 has increased over the last few years.
So limited supply and increasing demand means shortages and high prices.
$40-$50 per box for .380 seems to be very common. Put it up on auction and double your money!
Don't forget shipping costs, which can be pretty high in proportion to the cost of a single box of ammo.
People do seem to be paying $40-50 a box on the auction site, but they certainly don't have to for ball ammo.
There's a seller from SC who has tons of the Privi .380 in stock and on auction on the website for $30 a box.
Apart from him, on the auction site there seems to be plenty of the .380 available at $30-35 per box for brass cased ball ammo.
At this rate, I think Kel-Tec or Ruger would clean up if they simply built 9x18 (Makarov) versions of the 3AT/LCP.
If you think about it, the difference in price between a $20 box of Makarov ammo and a $40 box of .380 means that for the same cost as a case of .380, you could have a case of Makarov ammo *AND* a new gun to put it in!
All I see is people cleaning up. They find it cheap at wally and turn around and resell it on the aution block.
None of the three Walmarts in my area have had ANY .380 ammo available in three months, and I've spoken to two managers about this.
If its so easy, why don't you try buying some at Walmart and turning around and selling it to turn a quick buck?
quote:
Let's drive up the price even more by these people. If no one buys ammo at these prices the price will fall and stores will again be in stock. If you buy at these prices you adding fuel to the fire. But only buy what you need nothing extra. Or better yet reload it yourself or find someone that does.
I see this a little differently. Free market forces are at work here, that is to say supply and demand.
Nobody is forcing anyone to buy ammo at $45 a box, and further, there are plenty of sellers competing against one another on the auction site. So if any one seller tries to charge too much for a box, the buyers will go elsewhere to get it. The market naturally corrects itself in that way.
Ultimately, the price is determined by what the market can currently bear. . .as is true of pretty much every other good or service in a free market.
In terms of supply and demand, demand is probably historically high right now (for a number of reasons including bad economy, fear of ammo banning/taxes, and increasing popularity of .380 CCW guns). But I think the biggest problem right now is mostly a lack of supply. The ammo manufacturers simply aren't putting out much if any .380.
You can try to boycott .380 ammo to drive down prices. . .good luck with that.
In my opinion, prices aren't going to start falling significantly until and unless the supply picks up again. That's probably not going to happen for at least a few more months.
As to reloading, primers in particular are ALSO in short supply too. . .so that's not trivial either! Most people who carry. 380 guns can't (and won't) reload, nor do they shoot enough rounds to justify the startup expenses. So that's not going to happen either.
quote:Originally posted by 44shotdoctor