List price gougers here

[anygunanywhere]

Actually, increasing pricing during short periods emergency or short periods of high demand is technically unethical (or at least that how it was taught to me...).


Examples of Unethical Pricing Strategies

Price gouging is an example of an unethical pricing strategy. A company may raise prices of items that are temporarily in high demand. This is sometimes seen in the wake of emergency situations when the price of plywood jumps after a flood, even though there is enough plywood to repair houses. Predatory pricing, on the other hand, involves pricing a product low enough to dampen demand. This type of pricing is typically used to end a competitive threat. The company lowering the price is operating to protect market share from moving to the competition.


That being said I think for most folks are posting to this thread not because they don't believe in the free market system, but because they want to make their fellow gun owners aware of the companies who chose short term profits over long term customers.

un·eth·i·cal
[uhn-eth-i-kuhl]

adjective
1. lacking moral principles; unwilling to adhere to proper rules of conduct.

2. not in accord with the standards of a profession

Technically unethical? Asking for what the market will bear is not unethical. Tecnically this is not an emergency situation. Technically, people waiting until now to run out and purchase an AR does not make asking market price unethical. The cause does not follow effect.

I am getting ready to have a garage sale. I have two generators for sale. I will ask for what they will sell for which is less than what I paid for them.

If I wait until a EOTWAWKI scenario I can probably get many times more what they are actually worth but I need garage space now. I intend to sell what I have for what I can get for them, no matter what it is and someone else's opinion of my price being unethical does not in fact make it unethical.

Anygunanywhere

[anygunanywhere]

03Lightningrocks,

You, me, a few others on this thread have done what they can to point out how the free enterprise systems works - beyond that, there's little more we can do...

You're not educating anyone...the people reporting these profiteers are.

I don't think anyone is saying what they are doing is illegal, just unethical.

Ethics has nothing to do with it. How can you say this is unethical?

Lightningrocks and Abe got it right.

Anygunanywhere

If CTD canceled pending backorders (a transaction that was agreed upon by seller and purchaser for a given amount at a future time) to allow CTD to increase prices, as alleged by others in this thread, I would say that's unethical. If they did it to adjust for the increase costs passed on by their suppliers, that's a matter of business as the conditions of the transaction changed. If the price increases were just conducted on future orders, that's neither illegal nor unethical -- but a good way to turn off loyal customers. Consumers are loyal to certain businesses because they expect reasonable consideration in return; that is to say, a loyal customer expects a certain margin of profit to be made off an order, but not anything like the ratios we have seen with Pmags, etc. Even if legal and ethical, I choose not to support businesses which overnight quadrupled (or more) their profit margins on firearm related products, regardless of whether the market would sustain such pricing.

I am in agreement with this. CTD is lower than dirt.

Anygunanywhere

[VMI77]

03Lightningrocks,

You, me, a few others on this thread have done what they can to point out how the free enterprise systems works - beyond that, there's little more we can do...

You're not educating anyone...the people reporting these profiteers are.

I don't think anyone is saying what they are doing is illegal, just unethical.

Ethics has nothing to do with it. How can you say this is unethical?

Lightningrocks and Abe got it right.

Anygunanywhere

If CTD canceled pending backorders (a transaction that was agreed upon by seller and purchaser for a given amount at a future time) to allow CTD to increase prices, as alleged by others in this thread, I would say that's unethical. If they did it to adjust for the increase costs passed on by their suppliers, that's a matter of business as the conditions of the transaction changed. If the price increases were just conducted on future orders, that's neither illegal nor unethical -- but a good way to turn off loyal customers. Consumers are loyal to certain businesses because they expect reasonable consideration in return; that is to say, a loyal customer expects a certain margin of profit to be made off an order, but not anything like the ratios we have seen with Pmags, etc. Even if legal and ethical, I choose not to support businesses which overnight quadrupled (or more) their profit margins on firearm related products, regardless of whether the market would sustain such pricing.

I am in agreement with this. CTD is lower than dirt.

Anygunanywhere

I won't do business with them anymore simply because they cravenly bowed to the antis and halted the sale of AR platforms. However, to me, that order, and subsequent back order, is a contract to sell a particular item at a specified price. Just like if I come to the cash register in a store with an item that has been mis-priced, I expect them to honor the price THEY placed on the item, I also expect a seller like CTD to honor the contract they made to sell an item at the specified price. It's not a legal requirement, but it's not very good business practice to tell customers at the register that the real price is actually quite a bit higher. I just checked a mag price at CTD to be sure, and no where on the page for that item does it say anything like "prices subject to change without notice." If they can't get the item anymore, or it's going to take a very long time, then the ethical thing to do is to inform the customer and offer to cancel his order so he can seek another supplier.

[steveincowtown]

Actually, increasing pricing during short periods emergency or short periods of high demand is technically unethical (or at least that how it was taught to me...).


Examples of Unethical Pricing Strategies

Price gouging is an example of an unethical pricing strategy. A company may raise prices of items that are temporarily in high demand. This is sometimes seen in the wake of emergency situations when the price of plywood jumps after a flood, even though there is enough plywood to repair houses. Predatory pricing, on the other hand, involves pricing a product low enough to dampen demand. This type of pricing is typically used to end a competitive threat. The company lowering the price is operating to protect market share from moving to the competition.


That being said I think for most folks are posting to this thread not because they don't believe in the free market system, but because they want to make their fellow gun owners aware of the companies who chose short term profits over long term customers.

un·eth·i·cal
[uhn-eth-i-kuhl]

adjective
1. lacking moral principles; unwilling to adhere to proper rules of conduct.

2. not in accord with the standards of a profession

Technically unethical? Asking for what the market will bear is not unethical. Tecnically this is not an emergency situation. Technically, people waiting until now to run out and purchase an AR does not make asking market price unethical. The cause does not follow effect.

I am getting ready to have a garage sale. I have two generators for sale. I will ask for what they will sell for which is less than what I paid for them.

If I wait until a EOTWAWKI scenario I can probably get many times more what they are actually worth but I need garage space now. I intend to sell what I have for what I can get for them, no matter what it is and someone else's opinion of my price being unethical does not in fact make it unethical.

Anygunanywhere

I think raising pricing as CTD has lacks moral principle, which by definition is unethical.

I am not arguing that they don't have the right do it, or even that they shouldn't have the right to do it. I am merely stating they lack morals which by definition makes it unethical.

1mor·al
adjective \ˈmȯr-əl, ˈmär-\
Definition of MORAL
1
a : of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior : ethical <moral judgments>
b : expressing or teaching a conception of right behavior <a moral poem>
c : conforming to a standard of right behavior
d : sanctioned by or operative on one's conscience or ethical judgment <a moral obligation>
e : capable of right and wrong action <a moral agent


To be honest, it is really just semantics at this point. You can call it what you want. I call it bad business and a move that although will certainly result in short term profits, will lead to long term losses.

[03Lightningrocks]

03Lightningrocks,

You, me, a few others on this thread have done what they can to point out how the free enterprise systems works - beyond that, there's little more we can do...

Yep...

[03Lightningrocks]

The part of this thread that gives me a chuckle is the posts proclaiming the end of CTD. It was just 3 to 4 short years ago that the very same posts were being made about CTD and a few others. LOL... last year, everybody and their momma was buying from CTD. I expect the same level of commitment this time as well.

[03Lightningrocks]

My CHL renewal class is tomorrow. I'm taking three extra boxes of 9mm and .40 . Hoping somebody messes up and forgets to bring ammo. I plan to ask 25 dollars a box for the 9 and 30 a box for the .40. I am also taking an extra handgun in case someone has a problem and wants to borrow one. I figure 15 bucks to rent my handgun if they buy the ammo from me.

[jmra]

My CHL renewal class is tomorrow. I'm taking three extra boxes of 9mm and .40 . Hoping somebody messes up and forgets to bring ammo. I plan to ask 25 dollars a box for the 9 and 30 a box for the .40. I am also taking an extra handgun in case someone has a problem and wants to borrow one. I figure 15 bucks to rent my handgun if they buy the ammo from me.

Free enterprise is alive a well.

[03Lightningrocks]

My CHL renewal class is tomorrow. I'm taking three extra boxes of 9mm and .40 . Hoping somebody messes up and forgets to bring ammo. I plan to ask 25 dollars a box for the 9 and 30 a box for the .40. I am also taking an extra handgun in case someone has a problem and wants to borrow one. I figure 15 bucks to rent my handgun if they buy the ammo from me.

Free enterprise is alive a well.

I was looking at is as helping my fellow shooter.

[03Lightningrocks]

I have at least 50 PMAGS... Rumor has it I can get 75 bucks a pop for them. I may take a couple of those in case I find a fellow shooter with an AR and a limited magazine selection for it.

Again... Just trying to help out.

[TLE2]

In times of emergency, price gouging rises to the level of profiteering, a crime.


To bad only gun folk think this is an emergency.

I just can't bring myself to pay $10-20 for 50 round of 22LR when a few months ago a brick of 22LR was cheap.

[03Lightningrocks]

Oh my gosh. I feel ashamed of myself.









Not really!

[03Lightningrocks]

I tell you folks what is out of hand and someone should go to jail over it. BACON!!! My GAWD!! What is with the price of bacon? Talk about gouging!! It just ain't fair!!


Goodnight everyone. Relax about the prices of this stuff. It will settle down... Eventually. Well... Maybe. It really depends on how successful odumbell is with sneaking through legislation. We might wake up one morning to find we were sold out by some politician trying to bring a job package to their district.

[remington79]

My LGS sends out an email newsletter every month. I remember last month going there for my GSSF match and seeing everything at normal price except for the M4s they had in stock. There was an LE6920 for sale going for $2750 with Magpul furniture while I bought mine for $1050 last summer. It turns out that the 4 ARs/M4s were on consignment and those were the prices the people selling them wanted to charge. When the owner got back from SHOT Show he saw the prices and the concerns from his staff. He called the owners and told them that they had to take the rifles back or sell them with in $100 of blue book price. He did not want gouging and he did not want people to think he was inflating his prices and tarnish the name of his business.

[TexasYankee13]

http://alamoammo.com/pistol-ammo/9mm/9m ... 7700364209" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


WOW!!! Just wow... $60 box for $229 - please please please tell me that nobody is buying this!

$50 for $16 boxes available at Academy?! what the heck!!!

I hope they are making a fortune now, I can't imagine that customers won't have long memories when this calms down.