Last of the AR mags went out in todays post. Everyone should have theirs within a few days.
In case anyone is curious, what’s the criteria for these sorts of infrequent offers I put out there? Pretty simple – it has to be an item that I need for myself, that can be discounted if bought in a large enough quantity, small enough to ship Priority Flat Rate, and inexpensive enough that I can be okay with getting stuck with keeping it all for myself.
You’d be surprised how many vendors change their tune about their pricing when you ask about buying 500 magazines rather than 50 magazines. But…to get that sort of discount, I need to find a buncha folks who are willing to take a buncha mags off my hands to make the discount happen. Thats where you folks come in.
Remember the 10/22 deal last year? I moved a couple thousand magazines in that episode. When you dial up the guys at Mags-R-Us and ask if they’d do a little better on a thousand magazines…well…numbers start shifting. As a result, I get to buy mags for myself at a good price and pass the savings on to you, as they say.
The drawbacks? Well, its a lot of work. There are always people who make it difficult. They say they want thirty mags and then -poof- they never pony up. Or they order mags and think Im going to ship them overseas. Or they want to pay me when their next unemployment/disability/VA check shows up. Or they just send cash in the mail without telling me (which is fine, but I need to know its on the way so I know to set some mags back…which carries back to Problem Person Number One in this list). And then pack stuff up, labels printed, hauling dozens of boxes to the PO, etc, etc. Its a bit of work.
But, so far, it’s been somewhat worthwhile. I usually wind up with a few extras for my own stash at a good price, and you guys wind up getting what I hope is a good deal. Everyone wins…which is the best situation you can get in a business transaction.
Future bargain buys? If I can get a good deal on Glock 9mm mags or Mini-14 mags, that might come to pass. Before you start jabbering in comments with “Hey, if you can get a deal on .45 Smith and Wesson M&P mags…..” No. It doesn’t work like that. Its stuff that I need for myself, and that Im okay with keeping if it doesn’t sell. If I dont have a Smith, Steyr, or Valmet, then the odds are pretty good Im not going to be looking to fabricate some Smith, Steyr, or Valmet deals. Makes sense, right?
As I said, at the moment the only good deals I’d be interested in putting together (gunwise) are ones that fit my needs. Other stuff turns up once in a rare while…micro Pelican cases, Esbit stoves, etc, etc. But so far the magazines get the best response and thus get the best discount.
So thats how it works, guys. It’s all self-interest. By selling you guys stuff at a good price, I get a quantity discount that lets me fill my own stockpiles. Everyone wins.
But, with most .223 running around $0.32/@ it seemed like a nice way to get some blasting ammo. For you young bucks who are too young to remember, back before Slick Willy was flavoring his cigars with brunettes we could buy cheap Chinese guns and ammo. How cheap? You could get an SKS and a case of 7.62×39 for about $125-150. Seriously. My UPS guy hated me. Quality-wise it was…interesting. At one point even Chinese gunpowder (hey, they invented the stuff, right?) was on the market very briefly until it turned out that it was basically fireworks powder..it had a burn rate measured in Planck time. Their ammo was a mixed bag…always dirty, often underpowered, but always cheap. Kinda made Wolf look like Federal. All those SKS rifles you see these days were purchased because ammo was nine cents per round.
