I don't know about you, but I've just about had my fill of complaints about the price of components - primers in particular.
1.) The cost of almost every single component in the manufacturing of a primer has doubled or more in the last one and a half years. The manufacturer HAS to pass this price on or go bust.
2.) The cost of labor, and retaining good employees, has gone up over 50% in the last year and a half. Be truly honest with yourself, would you work one of the absolutely most dangerous jobs in manufacturing when McDonald's pays the same? Not to mention it is significantly less stressful and most likely closer to home. I wouldn't live in a primer shack for $14.50 an hour, and neither would you.
3.) Copper and zinc have doubled in spot price in the last 9 months. Lead is up significantly. These are the 3 basic minerals that make the brass and bullets you are complaining about.
4.) Making all of these components in the manufacturing industry requires power, and a lot of it. Everyone's power bills have gone up.
5.) Don't even get me started on inflation.
6.) Moving components from manufacturers to LGS shelves has gone up. There is a shortage of HAZMAT qualified drivers on the road, and getting a HAZMAT certification just got a LOT more expensive and harder to achieve. The cost of fuel, the cost and lack of repair parts has not helped at all.
So am I sticking up for the evil manufacturers that don't sell their product at a loss? No, but I am a realist and I wouldn't produce something for less than I can make it for.
It's time to face the music. Until the cost of materials, labor, logistics, and inflation normalize there will be a drought. Of course there are other factors, and of course there is profiteering going on. The vast majority of us on this board know when a product is vastly overpriced - just look at anything on GunBroker. But to expect prices to fall to the same level as 2 years ago given all that has happened is just unrealistic and quite honestly, childlike. Just be glad we are starting to see things turning up on shelves instead of retailers and profiteers immediately putting them on GB.
I believe that the cost of primers - as of this rant - will stabilize at around $0.07 each. That is all I can expect, and when I see $70.00 per 1K I am going to buy them without grumbling. When I buy powder I expect to pay $35 - $40 per pound. Bullets have almost exactly doubled in price from two years ago. I am fine with that.
Why, you may ask? It is STILL cheaper than buying loaded ammunition - even "Match" ammunition. I have the ability to make accurate and high quality ammunition, (dare I say "Match Ammo"?), for any rifle that is cheaper, more consistent, and more accurate than any manufacturer's offering.
It's time to remove your tinfoil hat, put away the conspiracy theories, and buy what you can, when you can, considering all of this. The halcyon days of cheap components are behind us, and I don't think they are ever coming back. Don't like the price? Vote differently, and convince everyone you know to vote differently.
Or take up golf.
1.) The cost of almost every single component in the manufacturing of a primer has doubled or more in the last one and a half years. The manufacturer HAS to pass this price on or go bust.
2.) The cost of labor, and retaining good employees, has gone up over 50% in the last year and a half. Be truly honest with yourself, would you work one of the absolutely most dangerous jobs in manufacturing when McDonald's pays the same? Not to mention it is significantly less stressful and most likely closer to home. I wouldn't live in a primer shack for $14.50 an hour, and neither would you.
3.) Copper and zinc have doubled in spot price in the last 9 months. Lead is up significantly. These are the 3 basic minerals that make the brass and bullets you are complaining about.
4.) Making all of these components in the manufacturing industry requires power, and a lot of it. Everyone's power bills have gone up.
5.) Don't even get me started on inflation.
6.) Moving components from manufacturers to LGS shelves has gone up. There is a shortage of HAZMAT qualified drivers on the road, and getting a HAZMAT certification just got a LOT more expensive and harder to achieve. The cost of fuel, the cost and lack of repair parts has not helped at all.
So am I sticking up for the evil manufacturers that don't sell their product at a loss? No, but I am a realist and I wouldn't produce something for less than I can make it for.
It's time to face the music. Until the cost of materials, labor, logistics, and inflation normalize there will be a drought. Of course there are other factors, and of course there is profiteering going on. The vast majority of us on this board know when a product is vastly overpriced - just look at anything on GunBroker. But to expect prices to fall to the same level as 2 years ago given all that has happened is just unrealistic and quite honestly, childlike. Just be glad we are starting to see things turning up on shelves instead of retailers and profiteers immediately putting them on GB.
I believe that the cost of primers - as of this rant - will stabilize at around $0.07 each. That is all I can expect, and when I see $70.00 per 1K I am going to buy them without grumbling. When I buy powder I expect to pay $35 - $40 per pound. Bullets have almost exactly doubled in price from two years ago. I am fine with that.
Why, you may ask? It is STILL cheaper than buying loaded ammunition - even "Match" ammunition. I have the ability to make accurate and high quality ammunition, (dare I say "Match Ammo"?), for any rifle that is cheaper, more consistent, and more accurate than any manufacturer's offering.
It's time to remove your tinfoil hat, put away the conspiracy theories, and buy what you can, when you can, considering all of this. The halcyon days of cheap components are behind us, and I don't think they are ever coming back. Don't like the price? Vote differently, and convince everyone you know to vote differently.
Or take up golf.