[ditto1958]

When I shop for ammo, I never stop wondering why it is that ammo does not seem to follow any normal rules that apply to the marketing and sales of other retail products.

For example, you go to the store and they have lots of 50 round boxes of a certain caliber in different brands at different prices. Let's say one brand is $12.50 for a box of 50, or $.25 per round. Obviously, if I buy 2 boxes I am getting 100 for $.25 per round. Why is there no box of 100 for, say, $.23 per round? Or 250 or 500 for even less per round? Some times the store might have a few yellow 250 round boxes of Remington UMC, but those are a different round altogether from the 50 round boxes.

Now, I do note that online sources tend to sell ammo in larger quantities, but the main savings there tends to be with shipping. It usually makes more sense when buying online to buy multiple boxes for the same shipping price as one box.

 

[Rivers2k]

It is more marketing than economics (its funny but I have a concentration in both) They are using an incentive to get you to buy more. It is more cost effective to sell 100 rounds to 1 person already looking then to attract 2 people to buy 50 rounds. They are hoping person looking will see a cost savings and go for the 100 rounds instead of just 50 rounds. They cut the margin just a bit to increase sales and make a greater profit.

It is actually the same in most bulk buying. The greater quantity you buy the lower the cost per item. That is the whole premise behind Sams club and BJ's

A little stat i always remembered from business school - It is actually 3 times more expensive to attract a new buyer than to keep an existing. So you are there to buy 50 if they can entice you to buy the 100 rounds its cheaper for them in the long run.

 

[Nick0410]

Walmart had a 100 box of 9mm Feds for a little while, but hasnt been seen in months! I reload anyway. When it comes to online, I have never seen a good bulk price deal that compares to getting s good 50round box price. Its strange, I have only ordered from Palmettostatearmory.com but I have looked up 1000round pricing for a few friends and Palmettos 50round box price always beat it! I get from them whenever I need some new cases (just using factory ammo casings) and they have free shipping

 

[brimic]

What I really hate are boxes of Defensive ammunition usually come in boxes of 20.
If you are using 7,15, or 17 rd magazines, you need to buy multiple boxes just to fill 3 magazines- at prices that are usually over $1/rd.

The markups are huge on personal defense ammo as well.
If you can buy a 100 rd box of 9mm WWB where each FMJ bullet costs $0.10 for a total of $35, why does a 100 rds of defense ammo cost $100-150 when the bullet used costs $.025 each? Seems like the priice should be more like $50 give or take.

 

[North country gal]

The ups and down of ammo pricing from one week to the next and the way ammo is boxed and sold is one of the great mysteries of the shooting universe. For darn sure, the ammo folks aren't about to explain it.

I do typically buy bulk rimfire for most of my rimfire shooting, unless I have a very specific need for the match or high performance stuff or if I have a gun that is very fussy about what it eats. Then I moan and groan about the price and buy only as much as I need. On my center fires, I reload whenever possible, but now and then I do find a factory load that shoots better than anything I have yet reloaded.

 

[ditto1958]

To expand a little more on my original point, with most products, even the firearms we buy to fire the ammunition, manufacturers and retailers do all sorts of stuff to beat the competition and sell more, more, more.

They try to reduce the cost of making products, they introduce cheaper brands, they do volume packaging and pricing, they do sales, coupons, all sorts of stuff.

Now, I'm certainly not saying they are not doing any of this, but they don't do nearly as much of it as you would expect. The majority of the "deals" and interesting packaging is done with .22LR, not centerfire.

Also, it is very strange to me that after 4 years of increased demand during the Obama administration, manufacturers still do not seem to have production and distribution ramped up enough to meet demand. I'm not aware of any shortages of the materials involved. I'm not aware of any labor shortages anywhere. It's very strange, if you ask me.