Cheaper Than Dirt-Are you kidding me?

[DoubleActionCHL]

How is it raping a customer if the customer voluntarily buys from them?

We're back to the whole free market discussion thing, and it's a 2 way street.

Raping, gouging... semantics. When a business is charging three or four times the going rate, it's a problem. Yeah, customers "voluntarily" buy from them because they have very few options. I choose to not buy from them. That's the free market. I choose to call what they're doing "raping" their customers. Call that what you wish.

 

[blazer]

I'm so tired of these mini lectures on capitalism regarding ammo prices. How would you feel if it were milk or baby formula and Gerber was buying up all the formula at Walmart before it could hit the shelf so that they could mark it up to twice as much and sell it at Baby's R Us? All they are doing is fueling the ammo hysteria and GOUGING people because they can. How do you like it if someone selling fruit out of their truck as "fresh native fruit" is really buying it at Walmart and selling it for twice as much? Also, these gun shops and dealers are bribing some Walmart employees to call them when it comes in before it hits the shelf. Thanks OBAMA!

 

[DCortez]

Also, these gun shops and dealers are bribing some Walmart employees to call them when it comes in before it hits the shelf. Thanks OBAMA!

A guy at the 290/1960 Walmart, here in Houston, told me the ammo comes in around 9pm. The ammo is stocked at 7am and is gone by 8am. All the time, every time.

What does that sound like to you guys?

 

[smschulz]

I'm so tired of these mini lectures on capitalism regarding ammo prices. How would you feel if it were milk or baby formula and Gerber was buying up all the formula at Walmart before it could hit the shelf so that they could mark it up to twice as much and sell it at Baby's R Us? All they are doing is fueling the ammo hysteria and GOUGING people because they can. How do you like it if someone selling fruit out of their truck as "fresh native fruit" is really buying it at Walmart and selling it for twice as much? Also, these gun shops and dealers are bribing some Walmart employees to call them when it comes in before it hits the shelf. Thanks OBAMA!

Apparently the lectures aren't taking....it doesn't what the product is or who is selling it ~ you have a choice to buy or not. IF you do not have a choice ~ IE: that is the only place to buy it and they are the only one that has it and it is a REQUIREMENT that you must purchase it ...THEN your theory is valid. Otherwise you are waayyyy off base. It matters not if it is fruit, ammo, milk, or ANY other product. Pricing is a matter of opinion anyway ~ what is high to one person may not be to another.

Time to wise up!

 

[blazer]

I DON'T BUY IT FROM GOUGERS! It's just plain wrong and that's that!

 

[brickboy240]

You all remember these "lectures" on ammo price increases and capitalism when gas reaches 3-4 bucks a gallon this summer...ok?

I can remember hearing many people say how THAT was gouging or whatever and blaming the oil companies and a host of other incorrect reasons. Many were gun retailers who had a problem with the higher gas prices but did not think anything of raising the prices on guns and ammo.

Its "gouging" when YOU are the buyer, but perfectly ok to increase prices when YOU are the seller.

...funny how that works.

- Brickboy240

 

[Scat]

Maybe the price of dirt went up?

Just try to buy the dirt at Times Square!!!

 

[blazer]

FYI

Just picked up 4 boxes of .40 Blazer Brass for 12.97 a box at Wal Mart in Houston. It was the only pistol ammo on the shelf besides .25 . I checked out Bass Pro in San Antonio 3 days ago and the pistol ammo Isle is now GONE! Maybe we should start considering the shotgun as a personal defense weapon? Now I'm buying it whenever I get the chance. could be a long 4 or 8 yrs.

 

[hk boy]

walmart in mansfield has 9mm, .40 sw ammo in stock
bought my 2 box limit this morning

 

[brickboy240]

I have to admit that 40SW is easier to find than 45 or 9mm.

Man...makes me glad I kept my old XD-40 - its this only centerfire pistol I can find ammo for these days! LOL

This has got to end sometime...right?

- brickboy240

 

[country_boy]

This has got to end sometime...right?

Impeach obama and all the other tax cheats. That will help things out.
Kind of similar to Klinton's era...

 

[45tex]

After seeing CTD's shipping charges, NOTHING is cheap at CTD.

 

[jamesmp]

Come on guys! If you owned a store, or do own a store of some kind, I would hope that you try and make as much as possible. You guys don't seem to realize what it takes to be in business right now. Not just ammo is sky high. Go buy a gallon of milk!!! Everything is so high on the small business owner right now. I don't care what you sell, could be ammo or rubber ducks for that matter. If its selling at 50.00 a box/duck, you better get it while you can.

CTD has always been high even when the economy was good. CTD is just a name....

 

[brickboy240]

You have to be dumber than dirt to buy from Cheaper Than Dirt!

LOL

- brickboy240

 

[ROGER4314]

Hi Guys,

Been reading all of the posts and I agree with virtually everything written here. My thoughts eased back to Tulsa in the early 80's when you couldn't buy a job. I was a damned good painter so I bought an airless sprayer on credit (Graco $2200), gathered my ladders and went to work painting houses and buildings. I did that for 8 years, 3 of it full time.

When I was hungry at the first of the season, I'd shoot someone a low estimate, and do a spectacular job for the agreed price. I always did MORE than I agreed to do and never broke my promises. Later, I got more contracts from folks who found me by asking: "who did that job?....it's beautiful!" My bids would rise a little in price once I had a backlog of work but I was always able to bid lower than the gougers. That is the market system at work.

Several things were true, however:
I never wanted my customer to feel screwed so I made certain the prices were always below the other guys. You can't screw your customers as they actually get the jobs for you! When you lose work because you jacked the customer......that's the market system at work, again.

I made certain that I kept my nose in the market and bid slightly UNDER the others. Let the customer feel like he got a great deal and he will sing your praises! Yup...market system again.

I had a job and the older gentleman who owned the house asked me if I could do something with his old wicker furniture. I painted that AND the outdoor furniture he had on his patio...........no charge. It cost me a little bit of time and money but he got several other jobs for me. That's how referrals work.

So...........applying this to the "Cheaper Than Dirt" discussion, they broke almost every rule I listed above and you guys just blistered them! From what you guys said, I wouldn't buy from CTD if they had the last bullet on Earth!

Applying those principles again, I have dealt with Big Dog and Jim at "Ammunition To Go" with terrific results. They endure the same shortages and frustrations that we all have but I've NEVER been lied to or cheated there!

I'm pretty close to retirement so I told them that I wanted to build a small backlog of ammo to keep my hobby going after I had less money. The current shortages had not even started then. I made a list of the things I wanted to do in my hobby and made sure I had some rounds to accomplish that. It's not a lot of ammo but it was carefully planned with their help.

In fact, Big Dog (John) saw the shortages and price increases coming 3-4 years ago and warned me to buy what I thought I would need while it was still available.....and cheap. He was right on as I witnessed a MOUNTAIN of 7.62x54R dwindle to a few boxes. That stuff was always super cheap but it went the way of 4 cent per round Turkish Mauser ammo. I will always be grateful to those guys for their guidance. They are good friends and great to do business with.

The moral here is: Go where you are treated well and stay away from those who cheat you!

Flash

 

[hk boy]

Roger
+1

 

[Jason]

I bought a bayonet at CTD's store a few years ago when I was up there and I think the case of 7.62x39 ammo I have floating around was from there too. I didn't make that purchase so I don't really remember, but that ammo purchase was probably 7 years ago.

I guess that is one company that the government won't bail out if it fails and also one that sounds like no one will miss...

 

[blazer]

liked your story about working your way up. I work in sales and I know my customers can buy their "widgets" from anybody. We can't control competitors who undercut us, misrepresent themselves or us, how much we have to pay for what we buy and resell at times. But one thing we CAN control is how we treat our customers. That's what has helped me do well. Having an earnest desire to really help the customer even if my solution isn't his best option and I have to tell em that.

As for ammo. May get to the point when we can buy ammo and the gunshops will throw in the gun for free! I've been saving ammo almost like putting money in a 401K! May become a form of currency! I really doubt it will come to that, but if President Oblamo (blame Bush) gets his way, we'll be fighting in line for health care, a gallon of gas, and a can of spam!

 

[navyguy]

While I'm no big fan of CTD, I do go in there from time to time for items they don't have way overpriced. I do not condone the price gouging or not honoring verbal commitments. I've seen the gouging first hand, but not the other, however with so many employees I can see how that will happen. (I'm not defending them by the way)

Just a little history on that place. They started in the mid-late 1990's selling military surplus and guns. All through the retail store. When the internet started to take off in the late 90's they opened the internet store, which they run as a separate business, although they are both under the same roof. They made there millions in 1998-1999 when the big Y2K scare was out. Selling MRE's, survival gear, ammo etc by the truck load. They were doing better than 10,000 shipments a month for almost 18 months. You can do the math on what they made off of that.

After 2000 came around that business all but dried up, and in a TV interview, the owner said he had to take the business in a different direction. Not sure what that was at that time, but they were still pretty much respected as a good vendor for a number of years. Then when the elections came around and it looked like Obama was going to get in, again in a TV interview the owner said he had hedge his business by taking it a different direction. I guess we know what direction that is. I think they are trying to extract as much money as they can out of the business, in fear future restrictions on firearms and ammo will all but shut them down.

Like any retail business with 10 or so employees on the floor at any given time, there will be some great ones and some ass-hats. There are a couple there that have done good by me over the years. But it looks like they are cutting there own throat. And maybe that's by plan.

 

[ForneyRider]

I stopped buying from them. They wouldn't let me return/exchange a bag I bought that was wrong size.

Their prices are greater than everywhere else I shop.

I don't care for the fear-mongering emails they send either. So I got off their list.