Posted on 04/20/2016 6:54:22 AM PDT by marktwain
The presence of .22 rimfire at Wal-Mart has been uncommon for three years now. When President Obama pushed for more infringements on the Second Amendment, starting in 2013, the demand for .22 rimfire skyrocketed. Instead of raising prices on the ammunition sufficiently to bring demand down to reasonable levels, manufacturers tried to keep prices stable to earn customer good will. It failed as a strategy. With the demand so high, less public entrepreneurs purchased all the .22 they could obtain, then offered it over the Internet, at gun shows, and other venues, at three to four times the price purchased. The producers stayed with their artificially low price policy, and the middlemen made money.
If the producers had raised prices, the money would have gone to them, and there would have been no reason not to increase production, which would have satisfied demand, and lead to lower prices again.
Gradually, producers did raise prices, though far below what the market would bear. In 2016, producers have purchased and put into production the expensive machinery needed to increase the output of .22 rimfire.
At the Shot Show, I was told by a reliable source, that CCI and Federal production would be increased by 20% in 2016. That would be close to 900 million rounds a year. Aquila said that they would be increasing their production by 30%. They were a little vague about the total numbers, but the increase should be about 250 million rounds a year.
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
I think that FEDERAL may be producing for CCI.
They have different packaging equipment, hence the chipboard cartons.
I don’t care about the packaging, just that they fire off!
I bought .22 Short back in 1962. Cost less than 1 cent each. I was fifteen years old. Now I have to be much older to buy.
i like the stingers too but i can never find them
And to add insult to injury, at Walmart the employees play games alerting their buddies, so no matter what day or time, they are always "out" for the regular customer.
You'd think that after years of scarcity, they would have a sign up sheet so ALL customers can know that eventually they would be able to buy the stuff.
No such luck yet...
Except that “scarcity” makes sure they always sell what they have. Artificial scarcity is a powerful tool to increase demand and improve sales.
There is no “artificial scarcity” in this case.
Production is running 24/7 all over the world, and cannot keep up with demand.
The scarcity is real.
But it’s only at WalMart. Every gun store I’ve been in during this “crisis” has plenty of ammo of all types. So either WalMart’s had a supply chain problem on one item for years and years, or they’re faking it. The scarcity is artificial, just go to stores not names WalMart.
No, it is not just at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has simply refuse to raise prices to limit demand.
When I find .22 available other places, it is at higher prices.
As the article notes, supply has started to catch up with demand, and prices have started to come down, for several months.
So, yes more ammo is now available, and a few Wal-Marts have some, but there is still more demand than there is supply at least at Wal-Marts. It could also be that the shoppers who routinely buy at Wal-Mart are not looking elsewhere.
However, I have not seen anywhere yet, where .22 ammunition is available in unlimited quantities at prices that show competition. Real competition would likely bring prices down to the 4-5 cent per round level, may be much lower considering the price of petroleum and metals, and how much they have fallen.
In gun shops, I seldom see .22 less than 9 cents a round.
Of course, all this is fluid and changing rapidly.
A year a go, there was almost no .22 in a lot of gun stores!
If we are going to discuss, we should probably agree on terms.
What do you mean by “artificial scarcity”? Opec has been one of the few cartels to actually accomplish that feat. Oil has been held to artificially scarce levels for the last 40 years. It has been one for the record books.
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