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I will continue to buy from whoever has the products I need in stock at the lowest prices at the time that I need them. As I said before - I buy ammo and gun parts too and high prices are frustrating. But market prices are simply a form of information. It doesn't make sense for me to hold a grudge against the people who delivered the information to me, just as it doesn't make sense for me to curse the weatherman for telling me that it's going to rain today.
If CTD intentionally cancelled pending unshipped orders and asked customers to place the orders again at higher prices, that's dirty and a legitimate reason to not want to do business with them ever again. A deal's a deal and once an order has been placed and approved it should be fulfilled as long as the item is in stock. If they were selling financial instruments instead of gun parts and they pulled a stunt like that they'd probably end up getting arrested.
Kreutz seems to be the only other user in this thread who agrees with my stance on the topic, but that doesn't surprise me. I actually expected to have no one agreeing with me. When it comes to markets, understanding is not a prerequisite for participation.
Although I would not spend more money to go to a place that had treated us better, I do not look at Cheaper than dirt. I don't like that company, but I would buy if it came up on a general search and saved me 5 percent or more.
It depends on how I like their services. If they do something like: 'well, if they charge 1/3 my price, go shop there..oh, wait. They do not have anything to sell you.' Then No.
On the other hand, I blame the panicky consumers and the local soldiers who have nothing more to spend their money on, that they pay those prices.
I saw two options during the run (and continuing for 22LR).
Stores could choose to keep their prices at or close to "normal", resulting long lines at stocking time and bare shelves the rest of the time. This was great if you had the time to camp out at the right stores on the right days. Or were sitting at a computer ready to pounce when an online retailer sent out email notices to the thousands of people on the wait list saying they had 200 boxes in stock. Walmart, Academy, Midway, Cabela's, etc.
Or, stores could choose to sell at "market price" and always have ammo in stock. The advantage to consumers with this method is that if you absolutely needed a box for a class or hunting trip you could get some... if you were willing to pay for it. "Cheaper than Gold", is the most famous of these, along with many local gun shops.
My area had both types of retailers. I hold no grudge against either.
The flippers, on the other hand... those guys are scum. Running to a half dozen big-box stores at stock-up time to pay $0.05/shell for .22LR then listing it on Gunbroker the same day for $0.15/shell. Those type of guys actually helped prolong the run. Because people weren't able to get ammo at their local stores they believed all the conspiracy theories about gub'mint interference with ammo production and were willing to pay the inflated prices to "stock up". Every dime of profit the flippers made was taken directly out of the pockets of every shooter in the country who was forced to pay inflated prices because the retail shelves were bare.
[oops... just noticed this was a thread necropsy... sorry about that]
Mark me down as another former CTD customer. But my personal boycott goes back 6 years to when they price gouged in 2008. Up to that point, I was a regular. Matter of fact, they still send me catalogs - just got another one yesterday. It's in the garbage today.
I don't buy from price gougers and I really don't buy from people that pulled their black rifles because of political correctness. I will net set foot in a Dick's Sporting Goods again.
Quite a coincidence - a CTD store just opened here in Round Rock a few weeks ago, so I walked around in the place for the 1st time today to check it out. They sure had a lot of inventory, but pretty high prices. Only saw one pistol (a Kahr CW9 @ $353) that I'd consider buying, but will wait for Bud's, Kentucky, or PSA to put it on sale at a better price.
Their S&W M&P AR15 Sport was well-priced @ $595, but I already have one. Same with their Ruger LCP.
I too recall how they screwed a lot of their old customers, not because of the price gouging, but cancelling their orders and telling them to re-order at the higher prices.
Location: East Texas, with the Clan of the Cave Bear
3,266 posts, read 5,633,404 times
Reputation: 4763
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScoPro
From reading on several gun boards, Cheaper Than Dirt lost a lot of long-time customers because of their gouging.
Never have bought anything there myself.
CTD is dead to me !
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I hold a grudge
