AK Prices- Is It Just My Area??

[sbcman]

Is it just me or has everyone else seen a major rise in AK prices? I was recently at a local gun store and saw a WASR10 for $569. This shop is known for having ridiculous prices, but just three months ago WASR10s set there at a reasonable $450. But then, I stopped in a shop in Booneville this week and saw another one for $569.

Is everyone seeing these prices or is it just my area?

For what it's worth, I prefer my AKs come in Sporter configuration from Saiga and I convert them. Still very reasonable to do pricewise and gives you a great AK (although I'm not seeing as many x39s showig up around here).

 

[Gunaria]

I see them at the +$500 fool retail range as well. I see that and just hit the back button.

 

[Titanium_Frost]

Finally going to pick one up in the proper caliber and not that weak NATO crap?

 

[Fordtough25]

It seems anything that looks menacing or is in the hands of a soldier somewhere is jumping up in price. It probably won't stop here at this price point either.

 

[indiucky]

Dealer cost is approaching the $500 mark for WASR's.

IMHO it has more to do with the devaluation of the dollar as supply and demand. If the dollar is not worth as much as it was in Romania then the costs are going to rise.

We tend to forget that when the cold war ended all of these countries were broke and their currency had very little value. Our currency did have value at that time and the AK's and SKS's were priced accordingly.

To paraphrase Nicholas Cage in Raising Arizona "I see no return to the salad days."

 

[sbcman]

Finally going to pick one up in the proper caliber and not that weak NATO crap?

Haha! The picking has been done for awhile now, I just had problems getting over a WASR10 with a $569 price on it

Dealer cost is approaching the $500 mark for WASR's.

IMHO it has more to do with the devaluation of the dollar as aupply and demand. If the dollar is not worth as much as it was in Romania then the costs are going to rise.

We tend to forget that wehn the cold war ended all of these countries were broke and their currency had very little value. Our currency did have value at that time and the AK's and SKS's were price accordingly.

To paraphrase Nicholas Cage in Raising Arizona "I see no return to the salad days."

That makes sense- good post

 

[BuckShotSG]

On the dealer end, AK's have went up in price quite a bit. When prices raise, it is not always the dealers who are trying to make more money on something, but rather the cost has went up on our end.

 

[indiucky]

On the dealer end, AK's have went up in price quite a bit. When prices raise, it is not always the dealers who are trying to make more money on something, but rather the cost has went up on our end.

You are correct sir...

 

[Cannon762]

My first WASR a little over a year ago cost me $450 in the box, there has definitely been an increase.

 

[Horse]

It's a wonderful convergence of forces at work:
Weaker dollar compared to previous exchange rates,
Increased popularity, political uncertainty.

Higher prices result.

 

[Titanium_Frost]

I remember a quote from somewhere that said you can gauge the level of peace in the world by the price of AKs

The explanation of a weak dollar in the global market is scarily accurate. Time to invest more of these useless dollars in assault weapons and ammo. At least they hold and increase their relative value.

 

[vitamink]

I think the popularity is back in full strength. People seem to want ak's now, and just like most, they buy the cheapest one and move up from there. This significantly bolsters the price. Supply and demand.

in 2006 you could buy a saiga 12 for $300. People saw how amazingly cool they were and the price shot up to $600. As someone mentioned earlier with political uncertainty, the price shot up to nearly $1000...in 4 years the price almost quadrupled.

On the upside though, it seems high end AKs are hovering around the same price they've been at for a while. Yes, you can no longer order an SGL21 for $520.00 from kvar but that was an extremely rare deal for a short period of time.

 

[indykid]

It is sad that the price of AKs is skyrocketing.

There are those of us who remember the good old days when you couldn't give away a Chinese variant, and Romanian SARs were selling for around $250. The first WASR-10 I bought (at Bradis! ) was on sale for $179!!!

 

[chickenman]

Here this might help to understand why the prices have gone up.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/15/b...-survives-on-sales-to-us-gun-owners.html?_r=2

 

[tradertator]

I'd say the ATF barrel ban also plays a factor, since many AK's are assembled from part kits.

 

[Disposable Heart]

Dollar devalue but also, how many of those parts kits can they scrounge up before there aren't that many anymore? They 'dun built dem all'!! Want a 250 or 350 dollar decent AK? Gonna need a time machine. I remember the days of the $250 AKs, no one wanted them b/c they weren't "real" AKs, they were some Romanian "junk". Now people will commit genocide or eat fried babies to get one for less than $500!

Couple that with the 2008 panic: Having worked for a dealer, the distributors are screwing the dealers (but who cares, you add 10-20 percent, then move on, people still buy them). Distributors saw the numbers, they saw the huge movement of product and empty shelves and long lead times from manufacturers. They are hoping for a round two here in 2012, hoping you paid off your credit cards from the last demand surge. Dealers are monkey in the middle. (most, there are some that marked stuff up and having worked for the mark up gang, I hated facing customers who would flip out and call you a profiteer of fear, but then grudgingly pull out their credit card, made me feel like a thief)

I have yet to see a few items go back down in price after the panic, the first and foremost being Kalashnikovs. Ak mags, AR mags (though the pricing on them has gone down a touch due to supply outstripping demand), ammunition (not concurrent to metals pricing), all of these have been resistant to dropping in price due to lesser demand.

The used market is becoming a real bear right now. Call me what you will, I do have experience in second hand items and market movements. Interesting microcosm of economics, if you care to study. Very passion based and irrational, but a distinct pattern to the irrationality. It's neigh on difficult to sell anything unless it's very odd, priced wacky or an AK/Cheap AR/cheap Mini (keyword here is defensive rifle). I've noticed a huge glut here recently in bolt action rifles that people want to get rid of to get capital for an AK or AR. People are, despite how educated they think they are or "above it all", still VERY motivated by fear. Fear, like greed, works, it sells, it clarifies, stimulates and mitigates.

Face it, when you are panicked, but don't have a ton of capital, wanting something that will "be banned" but cannot afford an AR, want it NOW NOW NOW, what do you turn to? AK. Minis, dealers always price em too high for what they are. Keltecs are either complete junk (having had the SU16 before) or non-existant on shelves. ARs are expensive comparatively and suffer from supply issues: Either buy an expensive off the shelf unit or wait in line to get a lower, wait in an electronic line to get parts/uppers, then finally amass some magazines. AK? Buy, load, stash away. Dealers, distributors and everyone knows this: cheap, reliable and IN DEMAND! Price it 100 bucks higher than before, but still cheaper than the Mini and WAY cheaper than an AR, you created a market for a product that cannot and will not be satiated.

 

[Quad]

You can still find sales at Dunhams for a WASR for $459. While they don't seem to have those "sales" every week anymore, they still have them occasionally.

 

[Ryano23_98]

It is sad that the price of AKs is skyrocketing.

There are those of us who remember the good old days when you couldn't give away a Chinese variant, and Romanian SARs were selling for around $250. The first WASR-10 I bought (at Bradis! ) was on sale for $179!!!

same here i bought 2 on a black Friday 2000 for that traded them on a HD 2 years ago $1500 off in trade .

 

[U.S. Patriot]

It's called inflation. The cost of everything is going up.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

It's called inflation. The cost of everything is going up.

I blame it on ethanol. Here's why:
1) Ethanol is made from corn.
2) Pigs eat corn.
3) Price of corn is higher because of the demand created by ethanol production.
4) Pigs are more expensive to feed.
5) Since pigs are more expensive to feed, the price of bacon goes up.
6) Everyone knows that gun owners (to include gun dealers and private sellers) love bacon.
7) Gun dealers and private sellers have to raise their prices in order to be able to afford bacon.

It's just that simple.