Midway USA sales flyer

[Doc]

I just got another sales flyer from Midway (again). So I finally sent off an e-mail to Larry Potterfield telling him to save postage and printing costs by not advertising products that he or anyone else doesn't support with the sales of bullets and ammo components. Who the hell needs his stuff if you don't have access to bullets.

 

No, it's not going to change anything or make any difference at all except that I finally got some of this anger off my chest aimed at those that are on the supply end of this problem and who are failing their customers.

 

Honestly, I have no interest in buying anything gun related when I have to guard the last of my shooting supplies like gold.

[covert]

Just curious how they are "failing their customers"?  They put quantity limits per customer on most of their stuff awhile ago so that no one could grab a whole bunch and shut out everyone else.  You're mad at Midway because what, they don't call you and give you first dibs when they get a truck in?

[Doc]

Just curious how they are "failing their customers"?  They put quantity limits per customer on most of their stuff awhile ago so that no one could grab a whole bunch and shut out everyone else.  You're mad at Midway because what, they don't call you and give you first dibs when they get a truck in?

They have allowed their supply to their customers to be disrupted. If you can't guarantee supply then get the hell out of the business. I don't care if they are part of the problem or all of the problem, or just a symptom, but months have gone by and the situation is exactly the same and shows no sign of being fixed and not even a statement or apology or explanation or even an acknowledgement that they have a problem. Your damned right I am mad and while I may be striking out at the wrong people, I am getting sick and tired of sitting here like a lump watching this problem go on and on for month after month with no end or explanation in sight. They definitely have taken the posture of not caring about the inconvenience to their customers and if they feel the need to be sending out flyers and such, it might be a good idea to add in an occasional statement about the disrupted supply of ammo and ammo components as well as maybe at least  a minimum of explanation as to what they are planning to do to remedy the situation. Are they in the business or not?

[tuckersdaddy]

Ease up there Doc. Larry's or his company isnt the problem here. we all are frustrated by the situation at hand, but you cant kill the messenger. they are in just as big of bind as everyone else. Look at it from his perspective, you cant sell what you cant get! tough to make payroll when 1/2 your core business is non-existent. direct that disgust where it belongs, the crisis manufactures called the government!

[carloracer1987]

Doc you feeling okay ? Just because the supplier does not have product does not mean they are not trying to get it. Trust me they want to sell it. They can get it so we can get it. That's like you going to buy brake pads for you car and the auto store doesn't have any. You going to say " why the hell are you in business if you cant supply me", more then likely no you would not. We are all upset with how this is going, just hold on and it will get better.

[tuckersdaddy]

just spot checked some stuff on midway. they have more now then 3 months ago. still no consistent supply of 22lr, but they had 22cal bullets (not ammo), 30 cal  bullets some powders and a few shotgun/muzzleloading primers. Not a lot of variety but some stuff they didnt have not long ago.

[covert]

Ever watch The Wild Bunch?  "They?  Who the hell is They?  Here you are with your thumb up your azz, a handful of holes and a BIG GRIN to pass the time of day with."  

 

No one can "guarantee" the supply of anything.  They can only sell it as fast as they get it and with the miracle of the Interwebs customers can buy (and are) 24 hours a day as fast as it comes available.  It isn't "They" it's "Us".  "We" suck up every bit of inventory as quickly as it can be produced.  This happened in 1994 and again in 2008-2009.  Then when it finally did calm down some of "Us" socked away a few extra boxes up when it was cheap and plentiful and now can sit back and watch the rest go beserk.

[fasteddie]

Beikirchs is one of the best ammo supply dealers around for miles . They can't get a lot of supplies . It goes out faster than it comes in . People are buying stuff up and hoarding it and some are selling it off at a profit .

No doubt the same thing is happening at MidWay , MidSouth , Natchez , etc .. They can't sell what they cannot get . If you need something , don't wait to order because it will be gone in a flash !

[Doc]

I think you guys are too eager to give these retailers a break. They have an obligation to at least acknowledge that there is a problem. Has anyone heard word one about how they intend to alleviate the situation? Anyone seen any attempt to explain anything about their inability to supply their product? Has anyone seen any sign that they are concerned for their customers? Has anyone seen any explaination as to how they are trying to thwart the hoarders? Are they doing anything to thwart the hoarders. I want to see some concern! I don't want to see a major supplier yawning and carrying on business-as-usual without their one primary product. These are the guys who have the ear of the manufacturers. They are a major account that has some clout. At the very least they have the ability to get answers and convey them on to us out of simple concern for their customers.

 

I'm not ready to let anybody along the chain of supply off the hook. They all are part of the system that's going to have to adapt and take action. And as a very minimum, they should have the decency to communicate to their customers with more than just sale flyers.

[fasteddie]

I think I am going to send Larry Potterfield a Get Well Card ........

[ctjaeger]

Funny thing but this ammo situation has been nationwide. Keep in mind the the ammo suppliers have acknowledged that there is a shortage with all this stockpiling of ammo by many people. They need to hire more people and buy more manufacturing equipment, but who would want to do that if tomorrow a law may get passed at the state or federal level that would jeopardize their new investment.

Think of it this way. Would you renovate your house today knowing that next week you may lose your job and not be able to pay the mortgage and would lose the house.

Once this gun control issue is resolved then people will not stockpile ammo and the supply will self regulate. You will have to give it some time maybe even a year.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Doc, how can the retailers even dream to keep up with demand if the supply from the manufacturers cant keep up? You are way off base on this one, and if thats the attitude you are going to cop with Midway, you may as well just write every single retailer in existence off.

 

Instead of blaming retailers, or suppliers, blame the masses of people that keep paying the hoarders and reselling individuals the incredibly high prices for the ammo that they keep scooping up from the retailers as soon as it hits the shelves. If people would stop panic purchasing, the prices would come back down, the individuals would gain nothing from hoarding it up and you would see the availability in the retailers go back to a more normal level.

 

Go look at the manufacturers web sites, like CCI. They have their factories running 24/7 and they cant keep up.

[Doc]

There certainly is enough blame to go around, but this attitude of business as usual without a word of explanation or announcements of what the future of this situation is or what their actions are relative to solutions is inexcuseable. I'm sure they are not just sitting on their hands waiting for something to run its course. Midway is not your corner gun store. I know there are things that customers can do to apply pressure on their suppliers, and that applies all the way from the individual consumer on up. I have been in that end of business and know that there are no acceptable excuses for disrupted continuity of supply. Of course if everyone is going to dream up excuses for everyone along the supply side of this issue, then I really don't look for anything to change. Right or wrong, I don't accept excuses, I only accept results. It's up to everyone along the chain to apply pressure as needed to get to those results.

 

If somebody is buying up all ammo as quickly as it can be manufactured, I find it hard to believe that Midway management is not aware of it. I also find it hard to believe that they would not  implement limits on sales to get a more uniform distribution. Satisfying a handful of hoarders at the expense of your main customer base is not good business for the long haul, and is a slap in the face to the regular customers.

 

And for those of you that think everything will be back to normal in a few months or a year, I hope you are right, but I don't see anything that will make that happen. Like it or not, there is a new middleman in the pipeline. We call them "hoarders", but they really are people that buy from the willing and cooperative  retailers and then gain control the market and the product. That little arrangement with the willing cooperation of outfits like Midway are not likely to disappear and prices will forever be impacted by this activity.

 

I really don't want to recieve flyers trying to sell chronographs to people that can't get bullets to shoot through them. They need to understand that their number one priority has to be figuring out how to solve their supply and resale problem. Those that want to just sit back and become silent victims, fine. Myself, I am going to start kicking and screaming a bit. And my voice begins at my supplier.

[covert]

Are you having trouble seeing through the red haze over your eyes?  Midway sent several mass emails out towards the beginning explaining what was going on and what they were trying to do about it.  They started with not accepting any more backorders until they had the existing ones caught up, then they imposed limits on purchases. 

 

Go on their website; most of the types of items you are squawking about have purchase limits on them.  Right there under "Date expected in stock" it says "Quantity limit of 10"

 

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/528001/federal-american-eagle-ammunition-223-remington-62-grain-full-metal-jacket-box-of-20

 

What are they supposed to do?  Make you turn in your empty boxes for exchange before you can buy more?  Make you sign a pledge when you order ammo that you promise not to ever have more than 100 rounds on hand for every caliber?

 

 

[tuckersdaddy]

Doc..... yes midway is trying to sell you chronos, turkey calls and duck boots because thats all they have to sell! i dont see you ranting on gander or dicks.... So what would you expect midway to do... tell the ammo manufacturers to wave their magic wand and produce everything you need when you need it? Midway has dug deep looking for suppliers here and abroad to find any ammo to sell. half the manufactures they have stocked lately i never heard of. So lay off larry and direct your anger to the problem, not those trying to do what they can to make a bad situation better.  

[Doc]

Are you having trouble seeing through the red haze over your eyes?  Midway sent several mass emails out towards the beginning explaining what was going on and what they were trying to do about it.  They started with not accepting any more backorders until they had the existing ones caught up, then they imposed limits on purchases. 

 

Go on their website; most of the types of items you are squawking about have purchase limits on them.  Right there under "Date expected in stock" it says "Quantity limit of 10"

 

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/528001/federal-american-eagle-ammunition-223-remington-62-grain-full-metal-jacket-box-of-20

 

What are they supposed to do?  Make you turn in your empty boxes for exchange before you can buy more?  Make you sign a pledge when you order ammo that you promise not to ever have more than 100 rounds on hand for every caliber?

I am a pretty regular customer of theirs and never received any e-mail from them. I'm not saying that such a thing never happened, but if you are serious about reaching all of your customers, a little blurb one one of the many flyers that they are still sending out wouldn't hurt.

 

Also, I believe you have found the only place on the entire site that mentions any kind of limit. I checked through the .270 listings, and even on the couple that had an availability there was absolutely no statement of quantity limits. On components .... the same thing on bullets. 

 

What I am finding interesting is that it is claimed that ammunition manufacturers are all going balls out with their productions, and yet it would appear that Midway has been getting none of it for months and apparently don't expect to be getting any for the foreseeable future. It seems like some of these mom and pop gun stores have a better line of supply than Midway because periodically something shows up for the hoarders to clean off the shelves. Something simply isn't adding up. If hoarders are the problem, where is it that they are getting their supply. Are we saying the the entire ammunition industry is only selling to hoarders? Come-on. There is something not being explained or not being explained correctly. Something is being terribly mismanaged in the area of supply, and Midway is part of that problem. Enough excuses! I want results. And that is exactly what I asked Midway for. How they solve their supply problem is up to them. I simply want it solved.

 

 

[WNYBuckHunter]

Oh they get the ammo in from time to time, but it gets bought up within hours, sometimes minutes. There are people that stake out stores and have alerts, etc setup for online retailers and they buy it up quick. They also do the same thing in groups, to avoid the purchasing limits.

 

josephmrtn posted a link to a site that keeps pretty up to date listing where what kind of ammo is available online. Take a peek at that, you might luck out!

 

Sorry, but right now we are all in the same boat.

[fasteddie]

Back to the MidWay bit ----- I don't buy too much from them as I think their shipping costs are quite high . The last thing I bought from them was a composite forearm and Youth Stock for a NEF rifle . I wasn't able to find these elsewhere .

[ridenismo]

Ive had good luck with midway, and have used them many times in the past.  They have almost everything i need for my projects and i can get it all in one place.  When they get ammo in, it is only available for sale for a moment.  I was looking for 22LR and 223 ammo two months ago and my buddy called to tell me both were available on midway.  By the time i got to my computer the 22LR was sold out and by the time i reloaded the page after purchasing 5 boxes of 223, it too was listed as sold out.  All that happened in less than 5 minutes...

[waterweasle]

I actually got an email from larry saying that they were delibrately holding back on anything doc may need, just to see him cry..............gimme a break dude, no one has stock its not the retailers fault its the hoarders buying everything they can as fast as they can to  hide, or flip on sites like gunbroker

[shawnhu]

I hear a lot of hoarders buying things up, but I don't buy it(no pun intended). I too think there's something else going on they don't want the public to know. I believe the factories are running at full capacity, but who are they supplying?

[WNYBuckHunter]

take the tin foil hat off.

[Doc]

I guess I'll never say that any explanation is beyond possibility. Prior to Cuomo's midnight raid on gun owner's rights, I guess I would have said that such governmental mis-use of power was impossible. And there were a bunch of people right here on this forum that claimed it could never happen. But I guess we all know better now.