First-Come-First Served vs. Waiting List

[ACC]

I got to wondering this morning why NO ammo retailers are doing a waiting list for their customers as opposed to just being first-come-first-served. Many of these same retailers do a waiting list for hard to get firearms. Now that ammo is the thing that is hard to get, why not start an ammo waiting list for all the popular calibers? Seems like this might be an easy way to stop the hoarders/resellers and give us regular guys a shot at getting some ammo without having to go to GM or WM at the buttcrack of dawn only to be disappointed 90% of the time. I think this would be a much more fair way to go about dealing with this ammo crisis.

 

[hornadylnl]

I think the government should ration ammo until this terrible crises is over. That way everyone can get their fair share.

 

[koutsevil]

I read an article in Concealed Carry magazine, the writer talked with several ammo manufacturers, that claims the manufacturers have already reduced the ammo sent to government agencies. They are sending most everything out to civilian consumers. Seems everyone is still sucking it all up. The article also talks about how manufacturers makes runs on one size ammo then retool to run the next size. The one guy claims that, usually, they produce enough 8mm mauser in one production run a year. Now it is still not enough. I don't think that the government is buying *mm mauser ammo.

 

[sparkyfender]

I personally, wouldn't want to deal with the headaches and paperwork, trying to figure out who was next on the list and what they are getting, etc.

Since they are selling all they can field anyway, why go to all of that bother? One guy's money is as good as the next.

Ammo is out there: yes, it can be expensive, and most places have a purchase limit, but it can be had.

I have really given up on finding 9mm or .22 lr at China Wal or the big chains. It sucks, but a free market is a free market....... Hopefully, someday it will stabilize.

 

[Spike_351]

I think the government should ration ammo until this terrible crises is over. That way everyone can get their fair share.

is your purple broken

 

[hornadylnl]

is your purple broken

It's for the good of the sport.

 

[EdC]

I personally, wouldn't want to deal with the headaches and paperwork, trying to figure out who was next on the list and what they are getting, etc.

Since they are selling all they can field anyway, why go to all of that bother? One guy's money is as good as the next.

Ammo is out there: yes, it can be expensive, and most places have a purchase limit, but it can be had.

I have really given up on finding 9mm or .22 lr at China Wal or the big chains. It sucks, but a free market is a free market....... Hopefully, someday it will stabilize.

This. It takes time and trouble, which means money to a retailer. There's no need for them to be doing that.

 

[worddoer]

I got to wondering this morning why NO ammo retailers are doing a waiting list for their customers as opposed to just being first-come-first-served. Many of these same retailers do a waiting list for hard to get firearms. Now that ammo is the thing that is hard to get, why not start an ammo waiting list for all the popular calibers? Seems like this might be an easy way to stop the hoarders/resellers and give us regular guys a shot at getting some ammo without having to go to GM or WM at the buttcrack of dawn only to be disappointed 90% of the time. I think this would be a much more fair way to go about dealing with this ammo crisis.

Plenty of ammo is available. You are not looking at the right places. You may not like the price, but there is plenty of ammo around. See attached link...

GunBot find 223 5.56 AR-15 ammo in stock

 

[TomJefferson]

I think the government should ration ammo until this terrible crises is over. That way everyone can get their fair share.

I'm sure they will start rationing as soon as they have stocked up on their 2 billion round order.

Feds Buy Two Billion Rounds of Ammunition

 

[PGRChaplain]

Cost Prohibitive, won't happen in retail.

 

[Miles42]

How about ration cards. Use to be that way during WWII. I need purple.

 

[hornadylnl]

How about ration cards. Use to be that way during WWII. I need purple.

You'd be amazed at how many gun owners would support this if they thought it would put $19 bulk packs back on the shelf at Walmart.

 

[ACC]

I think you all are missing my point.

This post is not about government orders or rationing. It is not about the fact that there is ammo available at reasonable and unreasonable prices.

This is purely a customer service question.

Yes....doing a waiting list is extra time/money for retailers, but it is also about giving better customer service. Most all LGS have waiting lists for guns (ie. S&W Shield, Glocks, Kel-Tecs, etc). That takes extra time/money but they do it because they want to offer good customer service.

I personally know that if I could go to my LGS and get on a waiting list for .22lr and 9mm, I would really appreciate the extra effort by the LGS and would give them more of my business.

 

[sparkyfender]

Interesting......

But one question. Is the ammo you are on a list for going to be priced at the old, seemingly now "bargain" prices, or is it going to be priced at what price the market dictates today? Are you expecting a list that will also give the customer a fair chance at purchasing ammo AND at the pre-craze asking price?

I think that would be too much to be expected, too good to be true.

 

[ACC]

Interesting......

But one question. Is the ammo you are on a list for going to be priced at the old, seemingly now "bargain" prices, or is it going to be priced at what price the market dictates today? Are you expecting a list that will also give the customer a fair chance at purchasing ammo AND at the pre-craze asking price?

I think that would be too much to be expected, too good to be true.

No...the waiting list would just be for ammo availability. No expectation of better pricing or pre-panic pricing. The waiting list would just give the chance to buy ammo to hose who cannot drive all over town at all hours of the day/night to try to score some ammo.

 

[88E30M50]

A lot of places will hold ammo for good customers, but not for an overly long period. Unless there is a guarantee to buy, why would they? As others have said, it would mean additional work for the store and could cause bad blood with long time customers. I've asked a LGS to hold a bit of .22lr for me when they got it in and they did. But, when I went to pick it up, it was at twice the price they used to charge. That was the going price though and they had sold the entire shipment for that price except what they held for me. I bought it at that price and did not complain even though normally would not have paid that much. They did me a favor by holding it.

I could see where that might be a problem for others though. It's just much easier to sell it at the going price on a first come, first serve basis and not worry about who's next in line. This way, they don't have to sit on ammo that could be sold while waiting on the next person on the list to show up and either take the ammo or turn it down.

 

[ACC]

I see your point about the wait list buyers needing to guarantee that they would purchase it. I guess I am imagining that the waiting list buyers would be pre-informed about the price of the ammo they are waiting on.

 

[Leo]

I kind of thought that the "back order" system was a waiting list. I think that went by the wayside. I have things on back order at several places and I hear people talking about getting the very items I have on backorder by being there at the right time. I notice some places are not allowing any back orders. I guess the list got too long and too hard to manage.

In the 1970's gas rationing days most people were driving old school gas hogs, so high mpg cars got into extremely high demand, and you couldn't find any in stock. The local Datsun dealer had a waiting list and when they got some cars in, they would go down the list. The salesman said something like "we have a green one with a 5 speed. It will cost $XXXX.XX" If you didn't say yes right then and there, you lost your place and he sold it to the next name. Of course the price would be 20-30% over manufacturers suggested list. True supply and demand can be very unforgiving when market influences change drastically.

 

[LarryC]

I can think of a couple reasons a retailer would not make a "waiting list" - first is that they really want you to come to their store and even if they are out of ammo, look around and possibly buy something else. Second is that they would have to dedicate a person to handle (1) maintaining the list, (2) notifying the persons on the list (3) tracking the actual purchases so if a person does not show up in a set time it goes to the next on the list. This would cost the retailer money as labor time is money.. Plus they lose the opportunity to sell you something else.

 

[IndyDave1776]

I think the government should ration ammo until this terrible crises is over. That way everyone can get their fair share.

Horn, have you been listening to Wesley Mouch?