Cartridge prices

[Shaun Hopkins]

 Have just picked 1000 hull superfast from countryway guns west malling £148 been using them for sometime now and find them no different to anything near the £200 mark (but thats just my opinion) the thing is the guy there tells me that they shift tons every week because of price but has seen a hugh slump in the sale of the usual favorites i.e ely superbs and such this is obviously causing concern to other cartridge manufacturers as it seems the big cheeses have been visiting countryway to air there concerns! they are now selling ely first for £149 per 1000 as a special deal from ely.. All leads me to think that if everyone was to stop shelling out (no pun intended) on the dear stuff and use some cheaper alternatives it may force the manufacturers to bring the price down  elsewhere. any thoughts on this one :huh:   

 

[Angelfire]

 Have just picked 1000 hull superfast from countryway guns west malling £148 been using them for sometime now and find them no different to anything near the £200 mark (but thats just my opinion) the thing is the guy there tells me that they shift tons every week because of price but has seen a hugh slump in the sale of the usual favorites i.e ely superbs and such this is obviously causing concern to other cartridge manufacturers as it seems the big cheeses have been visiting countryway to air there concerns! they are now selling ely blues for £149 per 1000 as a special deal from ely.. All leads me to think that if everyone was to stop shelling out (no pun intended) on the dear stuff and use some cheaper alternatives it may force the manufacturers bring the price down  elsewhere. any thoughts on this one :huh:   

I suspect you are on the brass. So Eley can reduce he price and sell for £149. I also assume they are still making money, doubtful they are dropping money on the sale.

Phil*

 

[jonz]

Thought everyone knew that all the cartridge manufacturers use the pricing method of "what the market will bear" rather than cost + profit of course they can afford to drop the price and still make money, they have ripped shooters off for years, not as if they have had to spend hundreds of thousands in developing new shells is it, not like car makers, or any of the other types of industry where the model changes every couple of years, the basic shotgun shell is the same now as it was 30 years ago, I suspect they still use the same machines to make some - unless they have invested in faster machines to make more in less time, and rip us off quicker !!

We should take the advice of ShaunMK38 and go for the cheaper shells - I'm sure they would wake up quick enough then !

 

[sibaldib]

Were these on all the range or specific loads e.g. 24 gms?

If they were on 28gms, I'll pop in on Monday for some 9s.

 

[Hamster]

I've said this before, it's definitely a case of what the shooter will pay. Once they know you'll pay £180-£200 a thou it ain't ever going to come down no matter what. I fear Eley will see a slow death of their golden Superb goose; £149 for Blues sounds perfik.

 

[Shaun Hopkins]

Were these on all the range or specific loads e.g. 24 gms?

If they were on 28gms, I'll pop in on Monday for some 9s.

Pass on that one Sib tend to use nothing other then 7 1/2 guessing the price is based on the most widely used size, oddly enough i have never found 24gram to be that cheap, my wife usually shoots 24g express but they come in at about £174 per 1000 where as hull comp x 21g are £148 so she has switched over to them for the time being always worth a visit though seems your near.

 

[Shaun Hopkins]

I've said this before, it's definitely a case of what the shooter will pay. Once they know you'll pay £180-£200 a thou it ain't ever going to come down no matter what. I fear Eley will see a slow death of their golden Superb goose; £149 for Blues sounds perfik.

Sorry Hamid meant ely first not blues as quoted call the dogs off :???:  have amended post

 

[Chard]

I think they're more likely to get together, agree to end the price war and increase the costs of the cheap stuff a bit, until the gap is narrowed and people are tempted back to buying the expensive shells.

They won't significantly reduce their premium stuff I don't reckon. They're more likely to remove the thing that's tempting shooters away from them. <_<

That's what I'd do anyway

 

[Hamster]

Well spotted Chard, it tends to work out that way in the end. Only a new to the scene importer with a tiny product range can end the cartel. 

 

[MARK-POACHER]

 Have just picked 1000 hull superfast from countryway guns west malling £148 been using them for sometime now and find them no different to anything near the £200 mark (but thats just my opinion) the thing is the guy there tells me that they shift tons every week because of price but has seen a hugh slump in the sale of the usual favorites i.e ely superbs and such this is obviously causing concern to other cartridge manufacturers as it seems the big cheeses have been visiting countryway to air there concerns! they are now selling ely first for £149 per 1000 as a special deal from ely.. All leads me to think that if everyone was to stop shelling out (no pun intended) on the dear stuff and use some cheaper alternatives it may force the manufacturers to bring the price down  elsewhere. any thoughts on this one :huh:   

SHaun i coudnt agree more , im shooting   hull superfast 27 gram and they break anything i shoot at ,, and 150 pound a 1000 

 

[newbie]

I think they're more likely to get together, agree to end the price war and increase the costs of the cheap stuff a bit, until the gap is narrowed and people are tempted back to buying the expensive shells.

They won't significantly reduce their premium stuff I don't reckon. They're more likely to remove the thing that's tempting shooters away from them. <_<

That's what I'd do anyway

then they will be breaking the law. then its open warfare.

I think the other issue with cartridges in the UK is the length of the supply chain, importers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers etc. cost price isnt that bad, end price is daft. ANyone who says there is no mark up in cartridges is drunk. As a relative percentage is well above average returns. in absolute terms it is indeed pennies. but, if i had £1M now to blow i would start commodity trading in cartridges.... 15-25% return.... 

 

[Chard]

then they will be breaking the law.

Oh, well that won't happen then

 

[Mark Jones]

Nice idea but you can't get everyone to buy just the cheap stuff, tried it round here with petrol where the product was the same and people still went to the rip off places! by the way i've shot Kent Velocit5y for the last 3 yrs

 

[Salopian]

I think if you look back far enough on this site you will find that I started this rant when the site first started. 

The cheapest cartridge is better than the best shooter.If a reloader can load a shell cheaper than a commercial load there is something wrong with the industry. A reloader can just about do it after paying retail prices for his components.

But of course we will hear the manufacturer bleat about labour costs, shipping costs, price of oil, price of lead, price of plastic.

Fine shut up shop, we will buy from Ladds of Crediton , Malmo, Tom Young etc., who can import from Italy and still sell at a profit. 

 

[Shaun Hopkins]

 The way i see it though is that just one outlet has made suppliers sit up and smell the roses in that region and i do believe cartridge sales have already taken a nose dive as people are starting to feel the pinch and nothing suggest to me times are getting any easier, premium cartridges probably only account for about 20% of sales with mid range no more then about 40% (nothing more then pure speculation) BUT i do believe that just a little pressure and more mid range shells will come down in price. wink.

 

[Clanchief]

Well spotted Chard, it tends to work out that way in the end. Only a new to the scene importer with a tiny product range can end the cartel. 

This is true,However the cost of Transport and Diesel in the Uk can have a great bearing on things, Importing from Italy can seem good with cheap European fuel, but the same truck has to fill up here and return so it all comes back around. What you may need to look at is a country near Uk, such as Ireland or France and see if they can start selling nearer the mark with shorter journey costs.

 

[tiptop]

This is true,However the cost of Transport and Diesel in the Uk can have a great bearing on things, Importing from Italy can seem good with cheap European fuel, but the same truck has to fill up here and return so it all comes back around. What you may need to look at is a country near Uk, such as Ireland or France and see if they can start selling nearer the mark with shorter journey costs.

Not to sure about the transport cost having any bearing on this.

There are at least three suppliers in the south/midlands area where the price varies for the exact same cartridge,two of the suppliers within 5 miles of each other,the other about 30/40 miles down the A40.

One is 183/1000 only sells shells

One is 177/1000 with a shooting ground and gunshop on site.

The last one is 158/1000 with a gunshop and a shooting ground up the road.

Not defending the manufacturers but the suppliers are not angels either,although people do need to make a profit.

I know which one will be getting my hard earned money.

 

[Richard59]

But what is a "fair" price for 1000 cartridges?. At present paying £160/1000 (bulk) only to see same cartridge on offer anything up to £186/1000. The split prices for 750/500/250 are staggering but the lower volume purchase is the only option for a lot of shooters.

 

[Peter.W-T]

Hull Superfast have been in my bag for most of this year and I like them a lot. At the end of the day the cartridge will always be better than me !
But if I like them and the price is acceptable then all good here.

The comment about Hull and Ely getting together and raising the price is clearly worrying and above all else this would be anti competitive and hence illegal.

Every body who shoots needs good cartridges at a sensible price. Drop the price and people shoot more. People who shoot more help the grounds. Goods grounds mean more people shoot and more people come into the sport. More people in the sport buy more cartridges and visit more grounds etc etc etc - simples eek !