Used Brass Prices

B

BBarn

New member
Took a peek at used 45 Auto brass from a supplier and was surprised at the price. Today's price is 70% more than what it was a few weeks ago. It's their brass and they are free to charge what they wish, but it's disappointing to see such gouging.
 
Where I live, it is hard to imagine paying for used handgun brass. All one has to do is gather it at our local range in the early morning. There is abundance, just sort out undesirables. If I am going to buy brass I will buy ammo and save the brass after shooting. I have purchased quantities from Starline on occasion too, but I will not purchase used brass.
 
I have mixed feelings about viewing the increase entirely as gouging. Some increase may be necessary to keep his stock from being emptied overnight by hoarders, or worse, by profiteers looking to resell it at a higher price anyway. He may also be thinking the ranges will close and he will have no additional income from this business for awhile. Hard to know without asking.

My club range has canceled all matches and gatherings. We can still use it as individuals, though.
 
but it's disappointing to see such gouging.
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The trouble is, one man's "gouging" is another man's "Free Market!"

Where do you draw the line? IF you do draw a line??

Where I live, it is hard to imagine paying for used handgun brass. All one has to do is gather it at our local range in the early morning. There is abundance, just sort out undesirables.
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Which is a fine thing, though of course, it does limit you to those calibers people leave behind, and what happens when no one is going to the range to leave that brass for you to find???

I happen to have several uncommon calibers (rifle and pistol) that you won't find as range pick up.

IF there is no change to the supply and the supply costs, then I'd say jacking the price up, SO THAT the entire increase is pure profit, would be gouging.

But if there is a change (and unless you're competing in the same business you probably won't know what the change(s) are, or how much they affect his operating costs) so just deciding you're being gouged by a price increase is a bit arbitrary, at the least.

Supply and demand Capitalism is not a "fair" system, but it is, if left alone, a self correcting system. Some folks think wage and price control is a "fair system". The problem with that (and other socialist ideas) is that no matter what is claimed, "some animals are more equal than others".
 
The price of brass had dropped dramatically over the last 3 years. The last .45 ACP brass I bought was $.05 per case. 70% increase would be $.08 per case. Still not to bad of a price.

I just checked castboolits website and there was someone selling 1,600 earlier today for $.05. The problem now is that everyone is buying, buying, buying which is a huge contrast with 2 weeks ago where stuff would sit for days. You can’t wait for the panic buying to start and then expect to find a good deal.
 
Some years ago I was at the range and some brass from the guy next to me ended up in my lane so I scooped it up and returned to to him. He said toss it the rest is in the trash. He thought I was nuts when I sorted out the trash for a couple boxes of once fired .45 auto cases.

Ah the life of a brass scrounger... :)

Tony
 
Yeah. It's a lifetime habit. When I got to the point in life where I could afford new bulk brass rather than relying on range foundlings, I thought I would save range scrounging time. Nope. First, having my own bulk brass, I am more motivated than ever to try to recover every last piece I brought with me and collect and count it compulsively. Second, putting that extra effort into finding every last piece not only takes longer than I spent scrounging originally, but I recover even more of other people's brass in the process. Unless it's something I can use that I don't buy bulk for, I now put it out on a countertop at the range so someone else can use it. But I never just leave it where it lies. I can't bring myself to do that.

This thread has me wondering if I should bag it to donate to needy shooters? I think I may suggest the club start a few plastic buckets for collecting it on the put-one-in or take-one-out on an as inclined or needed basis that a lot of stores use with penny trays.
 
Another source that I like is ammobrass.com for either cleaned or fully processed brass. I've ordered 40 S&W and 380ACP from them and the product was cleaner and shinier than new brass I've purchased. Their customer service is also top notch. I sent a message once that the bags of brass opened up in shipment and I had to sort through about 50 cases to separate them...they sent me an apology email and followed up with 500 additional cases in both calibers I'd ordered. They advised me in the email that that's what they were going to do, and despite that I told them it wasn't necessary, they sent them anyway.
 
I put an ad up on another forum trying to unload close to 5000 once fired .223/5.56 cases for 7.5 cents each which was below what the brass sellers were getting a month ago and can't get a bite. Not real sure what's going on, maybe I need to up my price?
 
I bought some brass a coupla weeks back because as a "preferred" customer, I was given $20 off a purchase of $100 or more. I'd guess that ain't gonna happen for a while, which to me, means the price of brass, just went up %20 overall.

I think a lot of retailers are looking down the road and realize that A, their wholesale prices are going to go up due to demand, and B, they might not be able to get more for a while due to the shortage and the priorities of our country right now. Most are small to medium businesses that like many others, do not know the economic outcome of this, nor the impact it will have on their loyal employees. So, huge increases are gouging. Small increases during periods of high demand are just part of doing business.
 
I bought a couple of 5 gallon buckets of range brass over the years and enjoyed sorting and cleaning what I got, keeping what I wanted and trading the rest with others. Most of it is 9mm which I don't own but friends & family do and I use the junk 9mm brass to swage .40 hollow points for myself. I won't trade brass that I myself consider junk.

And in this way, I've got thousands of .40 for myself. and can be picky with head stamps. Haven't bought any new ammo in years.

If you need any clean 9mm and have any .40 Win, GECO, FC or RP headstamps, let me know and I'll be happy to do a trade via USPS anything that fits ships box.
 
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