(see updated comment)ROUND #4 - 4/8/20 - GUYS NEEDING ZIRCON - GET SIGNED UP - LETS GO!

[Kyle Schultz]

Need details. Cost and amount. Thanks!

 

[LoanHarvey]

Hey Boys, I submitted a request to the local foundry, and I sure hope they agree to help us. Take a look and let me know if you would approve my request if you owned the foundry.

Hi Kate,

Thank you for returning my call a couple of days ago. I have been a member of the shooting community for quite some time and a good standing forum member of accurateshooter.com. Several years ago it came to my attention that the sand bags they guys use to steady their rifles needed improved to be more stable. Most of the guys did not have Zircon sand due to the quantity they had to buy in and cost. I have known Scott Resiwig since junior high. One day I realized he was employed by our local foundry and I eventually asked him about possibly helping me acquire some Zircon so that I could get it out to the guys on this forum that shoot benchrest competitively. One day in early 2020, he helped make a bag available to me. I filled my bags and had plenty left, so I offered the balance of the bag to the guys below what I paid for it and it was an instant success. As you will see by reviewing the attachment. We did a round 2, round 3 and round 4. That was the time when COVID was going on around April 2020. The next time I asked Scott if I could get a few more bags for the guys, he said that the foundry closed part of the operation and it was not available any longer. The guys continued to ask me if I could help them get some, and I have continued to put them off. After a year and a half of contemplating whether or not to call you and ask if you would not mind helping me to help these guys get the very best sand available for these shooting bags. With the continued messages to me about helping the entire community of this form that shoots this style, I finally gave in and called you. I went through abut 7 bags and I never pocketed a penny. I bought a lot of packing tape and sent out a lot of boxes all over the USA. I feel good about doing things for others where there is no gain to me other than the great feeling it leaves me with. I am hoping you can do the same and help me to help these guys. If it were possible to get a few bags of sand once a year maybe twice, that would make a whole lot of guys happy.

Will you help me to help them? Please review the entire document I put together to present this to you. If the answer is yes, regarding payment to you I would bring in cash at time of pickup.

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

 

[akajiggs]

Yes, I would.

 

[LoanHarvey]

Hey Guys, here was their response:
Hi Lorne,
I appreciate your passion for and commitment to assisting the competitive benchrest shooting community. I communicated your request to our Finance Director. I'm afraid we're going to keep our policy as is, which is offering the courtesy of purchasing materials only to employees. I hope you can find a solution that works!
Best Regards, Kate

I can buy it online and the bag price is fine, it's the shipping that doubles the cost. When we did this last year, the cost was about $30 shipped for a full small flat rate USPS box. It will not cost $50-$55 per box shipped right now. You guys please let me know if you would pay this and I am happy to get the sand to my house and then ship it out to you. May I hear your hear thoughts please?

 

[jimmymac]

That’s too bad. Thanks for trying. I’m out at $50 a box.

 

[BlueWater]

A bit of back-of-napkin math.

There are generally three sands people speak of: silica sand; chromite sand (~94% heavier than silica sand); and zircon sand (~98% heavier than silica sand, and a bit over 2% heavier than chromite sand).

Chemours' zircon sand is about 165# for 12in ^3.
That's 165# for 1728 in^3, or ~ 0.096# per in^3.
Three 50# sacks (150#) of the zircon sand would take up 1573 in^3 space.

Stuffed full in the various sizes of Priority Mail flat-rate boxes, the weights that they can carry are:

• USPS PM small flat-rate box @ 8.675 x 5.375 x 1.675" = 75 in^3, and 7.2#, or roughly 15% of a 50# sack, for a $10 shipping fee.
• USPS PM med flat-rate box @ 11 x 8.5 x 5.5" = 515 in^3, and 49.5#, or roughly one 50# sack, for a $17 shipping fee.
• USPS PM large flat-rate box @ 12 x 12 x 5.5" = 792 in^3, and 76.1#, or roughly 1.5 50# sacks (assuming such a box could even withstand being shipped with 76# of heavy sand, for a $23 shipping fee.

Using the earlier estimate of $55 for 7.5# shipped of this "bulk" sand, and referencing the Brownell's website for their heavy chromite sand bags ... For comparison:

• Brownell's chromite sand -- half the price, but ~2% lighter chromite sand:
  • 15# for $30 shipped
  • 30# for $53 shipped
  • 45# for $76 shipped
  • 60# for $99 shipped
• This "bulk" zircon sand -- twice the price but ~2% heavier zircon sand:
  • 7.5# for $55 shipped ($45 + $10 freight via USPS PM small flat-rate)
  • 15# for $110 shipped ($90 + $20 freight via USPS PM small flat-rate)
  • 22.5# for $165 shipped ($135 + $30 freight via USPS PM small flat-rate)
  • 30# for $220 shipped ($180 + $40 freight via USPS PM small flat-rate)

 

[Nick Caprinolo]

Hey Boys, I submitted a request to the local foundry, and I sure hope they agree to help us. Take a look and let me know if you would approve my request if you owned the foundry.

Hi Kate,

Thank you for returning my call a couple of days ago. I have been a member of the shooting community for quite some time and a good standing forum member of accurateshooter.com. Several years ago it came to my attention that the sand bags they guys use to steady their rifles needed improved to be more stable. Most of the guys did not have Zircon sand due to the quantity they had to buy in and cost. I have known Scott Resiwig since junior high. One day I realized he was employed by our local foundry and I eventually asked him about possibly helping me acquire some Zircon so that I could get it out to the guys on this forum that shoot benchrest competitively. One day in early 2020, he helped make a bag available to me. I filled my bags and had plenty left, so I offered the balance of the bag to the guys below what I paid for it and it was an instant success. As you will see by reviewing the attachment. We did a round 2, round 3 and round 4. That was the time when COVID was going on around April 2020. The next time I asked Scott if I could get a few more bags for the guys, he said that the foundry closed part of the operation and it was not available any longer. The guys continued to ask me if I could help them get some, and I have continued to put them off. After a year and a half of contemplating whether or not to call you and ask if you would not mind helping me to help these guys get the very best sand available for these shooting bags. With the continued messages to me about helping the entire community of this form that shoots this style, I finally gave in and called you. I went through abut 7 bags and I never pocketed a penny. I bought a lot of packing tape and sent out a lot of boxes all over the USA. I feel good about doing things for others where there is no gain to me other than the great feeling it leaves me with. I am hoping you can do the same and help me to help these guys. If it were possible to get a few bags of sand once a year maybe twice, that would make a whole lot of guys happy.

Will you help me to help them? Please review the entire document I put together to present this to you. If the answer is yes, regarding payment to you I would bring in cash at time of pickup.

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

I sure hope Scott has retired. Sounds like he purchased his bag as an employee and sold it to you against company policy. Goodby Scott.

 

[LoanHarvey]

OK, so I concur, buying 50lb bags and having it UPS to my house does not make sense for you guys. In Kate's response, she said that she shared my request with the Finance Director. Well, I make some calls last night, and have a friend who knows the owner. He is going to speak to the owner and see if he can get a few bags at the pricing I was able to get back in early 2020. If I can get that, I will report back here.
Thanks guys!!!