Good price for 223's?

E

Edward429451

Moderator
I was going to sell of a little 223 components to my buddy because he can't find any to order or buy and I want to help him a little. Well it turns out that he isn't even set up to load for 223 and I have a Dillon 550B set up for it.

Even though it will be for the components, he wants me to let him load it on my Dillon but price it by the loaded round for him. I already have a price in mind but wanted others opinions on what would be a decent price in your mind for such a venture. In this way I can check my price to see if I am being fair or raking him, which I do not want to do.

I stocked up before the madness began with pricing and availability. He of course want my initial cost of components which I do not think is exactly fair to me since I could not replace the stuff for that price. What do you think? Per round.
 
I stocked up before the madness began with pricing and availability. He of course want my initial cost of components which I do not think is exactly fair to me since I could not replace the stuff for that price.
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You couldn't replace it for that price today, but will the amount of ammo he wants to load deplete your stock to the point where you'd have to replenish it at today's crazy prices? Or do you have enough that you could wait until the prices go back down?

Unless we're talking about a quantity large enough that it's going to cause you to run low on components in the near future, I'd charge him for the components based on prevailing prices just before things got crazy, plus maybe an extra 10-15%, based on the fact that prices may never come all the way back down to what they were a few months ago.
 
That's the thing. With the components I have, I was loading them for about .20 apiece or 4 bucks a box. I priced components now and I can't get it down under .40 apiece (if they were even available). I have plenty, but still...

and my brass is prepped better than any I can buy. All trimmed, swaged primer pockets, flash holes deburred, and cleaned. hmm.
 
That's the thing. With the components I have, I was loading them for about .20 apiece or 4 bucks a box. I priced components now and I can't get it down under .40 apiece (if they were even available). I have plenty, but still...
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That's what I was getting at. Basically, what do you think the component prices will be **when you actually need to replenish your stock**? It's not fair to you to base the cost on pre-panic pricing if the amount of ammo he wants to load means that you'll need to go out and buy more components next week.

On the other hand, charging him "panic pricing" seems like a raw deal for a "buddy" if you'll still be left with enough stock to carry you through the next six or nine months.

I just saw your addendum about the prepped brass. If no one sold similarly-prepped brass pre-panic that you can use to establish a fair price, then you'll just have to decide how much the time you spent prepping it is worth to you.
 
I think the brass alone is worth 20 cents apiece by it's self. I found some for 14 cents, but it's only cleaned and not even trimmed or swaged.
 
I'd pay $0.20 per case, considering how much you've done to it - I *really* don't like trimming cases.

As long as you're not using SMK or similarly-expensive bullets, why not just charge him pre-panic typical commercial prices for something like PMC Bronze? Maybe $9-10 per 20? That's still a smoking deal for him compared to anything he *might* be able to find on the shelves today, and it should more than cover your costs, assuming you won't have to replenish until after prices come back down.
 
I think it depends on how much ammo he wants to load. You have a fixed supply. 100 rds may be insignificant to you and you could charge him a lower price. 1,000 rds may get more serious. That is a lot of bullets and nearly 4 lbs of powder. Plus, you should charge him for the cases and give him a partial refund for returning used cases (which may or may not be the ones you gave him to load), or he can keep them to reload again.

If it was 100 rds so he could try out reloading I would sell the components to him at 30% of replacement cost, and he returns 95 cases at least. If it was 101- 500 rds then I would charge full replacement costs and have him buy some of your cases to use and re-use.

More than 500 rds and I would start escalating the cost for the risk factor of not knowing when you can resupply. Many sources are saying the supply pipeline for reloaders is back logged at least nine months. Manufacturers are diverting all components to loaded ammo, so until there is abundance of ammo on the shelf don't expect to see primers and powder much.

Even at full replacement costs mist of the stuff is not available. A
 
Maybe $9-10 per 20?
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That's what I had in mind actually. .50 per round. I think he does want a lot. I don't think he wants to bring me back any brass either. He does have a 550B of his own, he just isn't set up for 223 yet.

I guess I'm used to cheaper ammo. 50 cents apiece sounded high to me, especially for a buddy but you guys are making sense to me. This with 62 gr ss109 bullets, that's what I have the most of. He's not getting my SMK's for that price! I may have to limit him to 500 rounds so it doesn't hit my stock too hard.

I feel better now, thanks. :)
 
^^^

Help your friend by pointing him at Armslist and show him the "ammunition and reloading" area for sale, and let him shop for what he needs.

Give him a loaded magazine of 20 for self defense if he has none, and invite him to provide sporting ammunition for himself.


Grasshopper and Ant...


Willie


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