Just a note to show that the .22LR craze is still here.

[grimbeaver]

If only the online sites would put a temporary ban on 22LR resale this could be over real quick.

[grimbeaver]

I have direct, certain knowledge that at least one individual has established a mutually beneficial relationship with walmart employees regarding .22lr ammo. Lakeville WM (by the theatre). He gets a call when the ammo comes in.

I believe Walmart corporate has expressed a zero tolerance for this and if reported has no problem firing the individuals involved.

[Rip Van Winkle]

If only the online sites would put a temporary ban on 22LR resale this could be over real quick.

As long as demand continues to outstrip supply, it won't make any difference.

[JJ]

If only the online sites would put a temporary ban on 22LR resale this could be over real quick.

Price controls and rationing are the only ways to solve this issue! It worked for Carter

[Deputyhiro]

Friday after noon around 3 pm I stopped at my local WalMart to check on .22LR because it was said there were three 100 pack boxes there. Well of coarse there were none so I asked the young lady behind the counter if any was do in soon.
She said there was suppose to be 10 boxes of some kind on the truck in back but they wouldn't get unloaded till after 6 pm and not put on the shelf till 7 or 7:30 PM.

I took my daughter with and went up at 7 PM, nothing. I asked the guy who was now back there if any was ever put out. Yep, 15 boxes were on his cart but it never made it to the shelf. He said there was a guy there waiting from 5 PM till 6:30 when it came out on the floor .This guy quickly called his wife, son and daughter over and they bought 12 boxes and the guy who was there just before me at 3 PM was there at 6:30 and got the other three boxes of Winchester 333 packs. This walmart has a three box limit so two families got the whole shipment.

It is no wonder no one can ever find it unless your willing to sit there for hours on end to get it.

Benny

Im sure you can find it on Gunbroker now for 3x the money.

I was told by a sales person at Fleet Farm that they had a guy that would stop in everyday before work and buy all the .22 rimfire he could. The sales guy said he asked him what was he doing with all the ammo and he supposedly said, not even shy about it, he said he is selling it all on the internet.

I don't doubt it a bit. I live close to Owatonna Cabela's. Back when primers were the hot thing, I knew there was a couple guys that would regularily buy them out. I would stop by in the mornings when they would open, only to find the cupboards bare. Worker there told me there were regulars that timed shipments just right. Bought them out every time.
Who do you blame... The sites that allow it, or the idiots that pay scalper prices?

[grimbeaver]

I don't doubt it a bit. I live close to Owatonna Cabela's. Back when primers were the hot thing, I knew there was a couple guys that would regularily buy them out. I would stop by in the mornings when they would open, only to find the cupboards bare. Worker there told me there were regulars that timed shipments just right. Bought them out every time.
Who do you blame... The sites that allow it, or the idiots that pay scalper prices?

Neither. I blame the guys who stock the shelves at the same time every week and enable the scalpers.

Rip Van Winkle the demand for the product is artificial and the supply is enough to meet real consumer demand. The issue is that the scalpers are creating an artificial lack of supply which is causing people to think it is scarce and buy more then they normally would thus inflating demand well beyond need. If you disable the scalpers and thus restore the supply then the demand will decrease to need levels as people will see it on the shelf more frequently and will not buy it simply because it is there.

[xd ED]

Regardless of who is to 'blame', if retailers would genuinely limit sales, and thus had something on the shelves, it would be the greatest traffic booster since the 2/1 coupon.
ETA:
As an aside, out of desperation, I stopped at the local GM. They said their 22lr stocks were such that they held most back for customers buying firearms. I was looking for some 22 shorts for some discreet pest control. He did have some in back and as no one seemed to want it, I was offered all(400 rds). I bought 1/2 of it at $0.10/ rd…. tree rats beware

[J No]

I agree with all that has been said.

[Rip Van Winkle]

Rip Van Winkle the demand for the product is artificial and the supply is enough to meet real consumer demand. The issue is that the scalpers are creating an artificial lack of supply which is causing people to think it is scarce and buy more then they normally would thus inflating demand well beyond need. If you disable the scalpers and thus restore the supply then the demand will decrease to need levels as people will see it on the shelf more frequently and will not buy it simply because it is there.

Sorry, thats not how markets work. Unless the "scalpers" as you call them, are consuming the product, how can they be creating the shortage? The reason they can sell the product for more than they paid for it means demand is greater than supply. If supply was anywhere near meeting demand they wouldn't be able to command 3-4x retail prices.

[infidel]

It will reach a point where the "speculators" will get burnt. The market will correct itself. I personally will not sell .22 ammo at retail prices, simply because I cannot replace it without taking a loss. That's not including time involved to meet someone that may not show up. It is all about supply and demand, econ 101.

[dronning]

Rip Van Winkle the demand for the product is artificial and the supply is enough to meet real consumer demand. The issue is that the scalpers are creating an artificial lack of supply which is causing people to think it is scarce and buy more then they normally would thus inflating demand well beyond need. If you disable the scalpers and thus restore the supply then the demand will decrease to need levels as people will see it on the shelf more frequently and will not buy it simply because it is there.

Sorry, thats not how markets work. Unless the "scalpers" as you call them, are consuming the product, how can they be creating the shortage? The reason they can sell the product for more than they paid for it means demand is greater than supply. If supply was anywhere near meeting demand they wouldn't be able to command 3-4x retail prices.

RVW is spot on here.
Demand and use/consumption are 2 different things.
Anything that increases demand impacts supply however temporary
The industry was at capacity and selling all of their 22lr ammo production (4.2 billion rounds) BEFORE the increase in demand that's what created the shortage AND therefore additional demand and bigger shortage - vicious cycle.
People participating in shooting sports and gun ownership has been on a steady increase which is impacting consumption beyond the industries ability to supply.
A tiny spike in demand from 75 million (USA estimate) gun owners can put the industry a year behind. Lets say 10% or 7.5 million gun owners buy an additional 500 rounds of 22 ammo more than they normally would (can't consider 500 rounds hoarding). This would create an additional demand of 3.7 billion rounds, or almost one years production.

The scary part of this is we don't know if use/consumption has exceeded supply and we won't until the demand and consumption are back in balance. If use/consumption has exceeded supply this shortage could be longer than most of us first thought.

[Erud]

I don't doubt it a bit. I live close to Owatonna Cabela's. Back when primers were the hot thing, I knew there was a couple guys that would regularily buy them out. I would stop by in the mornings when they would open, only to find the cupboards bare. Worker there told me there were regulars that timed shipments just right. Bought them out every time.
Who do you blame... The sites that allow it, or the idiots that pay scalper prices?

Neither. I blame the guys who stock the shelves at the same time every week and enable the scalpers.

Rip Van Winkle the demand for the product is artificial and the supply is enough to meet real consumer demand. The issue is that the scalpers are creating an artificial lack of supply which is causing people to think it is scarce and buy more then they normally would thus inflating demand well beyond need. If you disable the scalpers and thus restore the supply then the demand will decrease to need levels as people will see it on the shelf more frequently and will not buy it simply because it is there.

The demand is not artificial if people are actually purchasing it. What they do with it after they buy it is irrelevant. There is no required correlation between "demand" and "need".

Demand is demand, and supply is supply. People want to buy more than what is available.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rip Van Winkle]

Another thought on the secondary market. The manufactures are producing over 11 million rounds a day. CCI and Federal account for almost half that number. How many rounds are sold on sites like Gunbroker every day? 1,000, 10,000? Even if you could wave your magic wand and eliminate the "scalpers" it wouldn't even put a dent in the shortage of supply.

[Synergy]

I totally agree with the comments on demand, it doesn't matter what their doing with it, the fact is right now there is a high demand. Fortunately for us things go in cycles, people will get tired of this nonsense and the demand will eventually drop.

Retailers could do their part to slow this demand down by why would they? They want get people in their stores and move product. At first I thought it was crazy that Cabela's actually advertised .22 ammo ON SALE non the less LOL. Why, it creates hype and gets people in their doors, some of those people end up picking up other items.

This frenzy won't end until those buying at inflated prices get tired of doing so and they will at some point, we will also have to wait out the guys who are going to stock pile .22 to avoid this on the next go around but it will eventually come back around. Fortunately for me I don't really care as I prefer to shoot other calibers so big woop.

[grimbeaver]

The demand is not artificial if people are actually purchasing it. What they do with it after they buy it is irrelevant. There is no required correlation between "demand" and "need".

Demand is demand, and supply is supply. People want to buy more than what is available.

"Demand" isn't just demand, it is derived from other factors. I'll agree there is no required correlation between "demand" and "need" but that doesn't mean there never is. Per what you said people want to buy it and that creates demand. Demand comes from either want or need, it does not materialize out of nothing. If you do not want or need something then you are hopefully not going to buy it, thus you don't create any demand for it.