Nice to see that CCI is down to $45 for a brick.
I wonder if we will ever see $30 again.
https://miwallcorp.com/cci-large-pistol-primers-no.-300---5000-primers-adult-signature-required-see-details-in-description/ (https://miwallcorp.com/cci-large-pistol-primers-no.-300---5000-primers-adult-signature-required-see-details-in-description/)
To see them at $35 or even $30 would be great!
There are a few new companies that are making primers so that may help out. CCI was part of the buy out of VISTA a while back
https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/czechoslovak-group-acquires-federal-cci-hevi-shot-remington-ammo-speer/ (https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/czechoslovak-group-acquires-federal-cci-hevi-shot-remington-ammo-speer/)
I have seen Servicios Adventuras primers for $30/k if you bought 5k or more. The company advertised "no hazmat" but shipping was outrageous - like $40 for 5K primers. I complained that they were clearly soaking the hazmat fee into the shipping and advertising a "fake" per/k price.
Here is the funny thing, and I told them this: If they had advertised them at $30/K for 5K + hazmat and shipping, or if they had advertised them at $38/K for 5K including hazmat/shipping I would have gladly paid $38/K and bought 5K for $190 for 5 k primers. But they way they advertised no hazmat, then had outrageous shipping and then denied they had just hidden the hazmat fee so they could advertize "no hazmat" felt like a deception. And I didn't need to do business with a company that would lie to a prospective customer.
Maybe I am cutting off my nose despite my face. But on a road trip a few months back I drove within 500 yards of their retail storefront and still didn't stop and buy primers. I can pay $40-$45/k to do business with a company that is honest with me.
But, I do think we will see prices continue to drop. Especially is things can cool off in eastern Europe.
UPS charges a $33 Hazmat fee to the shipper for ground shipments. The shipper also needs to train at least one employee and get him / her certified.
Hence orders for 1 brick make no sense, either way, no matter how they roll the cost into shipping.
At $40 for 5K primers they make a loss on the shipping.
- Average UPS ground shipping for a business with discount for that weight is about $17.00
- Those Hazmat shipping boxes cost $6.20
- Hazmat UPS fee is $33.00
- Employee picking the product, packing it, doing the Hazmat paperwork, printing the label and Hazmat forms, having it picked up, could be 10 minutes all in. Lets say he costs the business $35 an hour with overhead and all, that's another $5.80
Total cost to ship for seller: $62
When he charges $40, he makes a loss of $22 on that order, and that comes out of the profit margin from the product sold.
Ever since Amazon started that ""free shipping"" crap in order to undermine every single online retailer in the world, we online retailers have been struggling to make it work.
In reality, people should instead boycott Amazon before the last few remaining independent online shops go belly up, and Amazon will shaft everybody with higher prices as a true monopoly.
I have prime, mostly for the access to NCIS reruns and the new Star Trek. And momentum as I have had it for years. I don't disagree that it has become a parasite and not a service provider unless you are very judicious about what you buy.
But buying from Home Depot or Walmart is no better even though it is local. I try to frequent actual locally owned stores. Ace Hardware is usually independently owned and I have a couple near me. I look for IGA in small towns, or a complete independent if I can find one.
Here is a funny thing I have noticed. Frequently, maybe even usually, if I look at the paid shipping options on Amazon, they are cheaper than Prime, even with the shipping costs. But I won't get it tomorrow (or maybe even later today).
And that is the best use case for me for Amazon. Something I can't get locally that I need quickly.
Quote from: sqlbullet on August 20 2025 07:39:05 AM MDTI have prime, mostly for the access to NCIS reruns and the new Star Trek. And momentum as I have had it for years. I don't disagree that it has become a parasite and not a service provider unless you are very judicious about what you buy.
But buying from Home Depot or Walmart is no better even though it is local. I try to frequent actual locally owned stores. Ace Hardware is usually independently owned and I have a couple near me. I look for IGA in small towns, or a complete independent if I can find one.
Here is a funny thing I have noticed. Frequently, maybe even usually, if I look at the paid shipping options on Amazon, they are cheaper than Prime, even with the shipping costs. But I won't get it tomorrow (or maybe even later today).
And that is the best use case for me for Amazon. Something I can't get locally that I need quickly.
When everything is based on corporate greed, we the consumers pay for it, so we become greedy too, by trying to find the cheapest deals. So we end up supporting those, that screw us over the most.
While many think that unregulated capitalism is the foundation for freedom, it in fact is a downward spiral that will lead to less variety, less buying options, less innovation, and less personal freedom.
On many levels, there's not much difference if government or a handful of corporations own us. Its the same dead-end road, just on the opposite side.
The US needs massive anti-trust laws, and the mergers and buy-ups from the past 20 years should be reversed. Any company with a trillion plus market cap, needs to be split apart. And before that can happen, we need to stop any and all lobbying, and introduce term limits for the clowns that are getting rich on screwing us over.