Primer Prices, Availability

[Donny1]

I'm curious what the take is on the current primer situation.

I got caught a little short at the beginning of the shortage but I was able to stock up on what I could and have traded with some CG's to the point of have about a years worth for everything I load as of right now. Considering it's too friggin hot to go out that is getting extended.

I've been monitoring the Marketplace and it seems like primers at $100 are selling but above that the threads are stagnant and sales are slowing. Also people are now talking about finding them online intermittently and in the $80-100 range with shipping and hazmat.

Basically when I got to a point where I though I could sustain for enough time that supplies would return I stopped seriously shopping, buying, trading. Not to say I won't buy if the deal is not ridiculous but through all this I haven't paid more than $60 for a brick. To those that are actively still trying to get primers what is the trend? Things relaxing a bit or people just giving up until things improve to "close" to normal.

[Tommy Gun]

Basically online you are usually relegated to 1 or 2 box only per order so can not take advantage of haz mat like before. Sadly $100 is going to be the going rate for most people. You can find en cheaper by going to the stores but again they might have restrictions on how much you can buy. No one knows obviously when this will end. I'm hoping for next year sometime but I also have a ton of ammo already loaded from past years that LR is only primer I need to buy.

[MuayThaiJJ]

[edgerly779]

Primers at $100 plus are not selling now. Mybe out in the sticks where they are harder to come by. I am going to Flagstaff tue for work and back friday will check walmart there for ammo and any other shops for primers.

[choprzrul]

If Remington can bring their primer production back to full capacity, we will start seeing excess Federal primers up for retail sale rather than being used to support Remington ammunition production. IMHO, this will be my signal that primer shortages are coming to an end.

.

[kcheung2]

Earlier this year people were predicting 2 years until things return to somewhat normal, but I think by the end of this year prices wiill be much more reasonable. Not quite the $25/1000 sales from 2018 but pretty close to Dec 2019 prices, like $40-$50/1000.

I'm already seeing .224 and .308 fmj projectiles nearing late 2019 prices.

[Hogxtz]

I don't know. I am still watching people paying $350.00 a brick on Gun Broker for primers

[TomReloaded]

Some people are idiots, and there's a tax associated with that. Apparently its $350. Lol

People are still convinced it's the end of the world, and they'll pay up. Reality doesn't care though, and as time goes on more people bail off that ship when they catch on that other people are just walking into the store to buy a $50 brick.

[Donny1]

Just a re check on the current status.

It seems prices are coming down in the marketplace and according to some they are finding primers online at Midway and other places and at local GS's. I am still not willing to pay elevated prices past what I built up when prices started to rise at around $50 1k. Bullets and powder have been a non issue for me at least, waiting 4-6 weeks for bullets to arrive is no problem and I have never had any problem getting the powders I use. I mean if you can get primers from Midway for around $80 shipped why would you buy for $100-$125 in the marketplace, or worse, gunbroker. Although it hasn't been my luck to find any online but I'm not willing to sit there and refresh the page all day but some are doing that.

So at what point will we see primers back or close to the norm in stock? This is the hardest part, right? Due to the fact that boxed ammo is the priority for manufacturers we need that to catch up to ammo demand and then more to supply the reloading market.

I personally don't see as much panic as the Biden agenda is being regularly stalled. And I see many videos where there is tons of ammo and primers on the shelves in other states and people talking about how the shortages are over but retailers are still holding out for higher prices. Not what I see here! Here there is next to nothing at stupid prices.

I also hear my favorite supplier, Phillips in Covina has been getting primers fairly regularly but is not listing them on the website. I fully understand that as he is letting his regular walk in customers have that supply. Unfortunately that's an hours drive just to check. As much as I like the guy he's kind of a PIA the way he won't even hold one item for me until I can drive there, "nope, first come first serve" he says. Even though he knows me by name and I've been going there for years. His business, his rules but gees. His prices listed are now $50 1k, it was $33 I think before all this. Another reloading place here in the desert called me last week saying he will have some SRP this week for $80 but I'm not that excited about that.

I will say that the current weather has lessoned my need for ammo in general, just too damn hot to shoot most days lately. I know many are worse off than me and actively searching so if you read all that and want to chime in with an opinion, pleas do.

[Waffle]

I'm in Visalia and there are none to speak of anywhere I can find.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

[JackEllis]

Until supply and demand come back into balance, those who have primers will be able to dictate the price to those who want them. That's the simple explanation.

In situations like this everyone wants to be able to point to a single cause. Based on what I've read and NOT on what I know, it seems like there are several things at work. First of all, the pandemic caused primer and ammunition manufacturing to grid to a halt. Then every one and their uncle decided they needed a gun (or another gun) and ammo to go with it. When ammunition and components disappeared from the shelves, that induced more panic buying that appears to be continuing unabated. There's could be a fair amount of "diversion" going on where people who have the knowledge and the means are managing to get primers from the wholesalers and sit on them, although I don't know how to determine the extent of any diversion.

One way to look at this is, the shortages are being driven by irrational behavior. Like all other manias, it has to run its course before things return to normal, but no one can predict when that's likely to happen.

However if you want a crystal ball, PM me and we can negotiate a price

[1911-CV]

Close but no cigar..

Jack:

I agree with most of your post, except "the pandemic caused primer and ammunition manufacturing to grid to a halt". Pretty much all the ammo producers have come out and claimed there was no "halt", but the addition of millions of new gun owners (all of who needed ammo), and some slowdown due to distancing and supply chain challenges, put a huge bulge in the demand. Think snake eating a giant rat.

Same issues as you noted, just slightly different cause. Also Remington went BK and just brought a plant on stream this spring to help with the recovery. I'm seeing 9mm available and back in the $0.33 range locally and online. Not $0.20 like pre-pandemic; but heaps better than 'got none' and $1/round in January.

As to primers, the marketplace has a guy trying to get rid of 15,000 SPP and several others with lowered prices. As the supply rebounds we'll continue to see prices come down.

Agree with you... supply and demand.

Until supply and demand come back into balance, those who have primers will be able to dictate the price to those who want them. That's the simple explanation.

In situations like this everyone wants to be able to point to a single cause. Based on what I've read and NOT on what I know, it seems like there are several things at work. First of all, the pandemic caused primer and ammunition manufacturing to grid to a halt. Then every one and their uncle decided they needed a gun (or another gun) and ammo to go with it. When ammunition and components disappeared from the shelves, that induced more panic buying that appears to be continuing unabated. There's could be a fair amount of "diversion" going on where people who have the knowledge and the means are managing to get primers from the wholesalers and sit on them, although I don't know how to determine the extent of any diversion.

One way to look at this is, the shortages are being driven by irrational behavior. Like all other manias, it has to run its course before things return to normal, but no one can predict when that's likely to happen.

However if you want a crystal ball, PM me and we can negotiate a price

[Donny1]

Multiple sales in the Marketplace are now down to $75 1k, trending down

[Sidewinder88]

Primers

First indication was when Midway USA sent me an email telling me that 5k of primers would no longer be sold (from their "Notify Me" link).

Then, new normal pricing of $75 to $79 per 1000 online. Add Hazmat and Shipping and you are looking at $110 for 1k or if you're "lucky" and limit is 2k, then $190.

I think the online vendors who have not upped their pricing have not seen any primers yet and have yet to update their pricing.

There is an online vendor on AmmoSeek that is asking for $200 a brick for CCI SPP's; I hope they get stuck with most of them.

I am pessimistic that the old pricing will ever be seen again.

[sigguy552]

My buddy was driving back from WA and stopped at a larger chain. He sent me a photo of cases filed with cci primers at 64.99 a box with a one box limit. Things are definitely coming back down finally.