No Sierra Bullets in My Rifle!!!
- Thread starter Danja
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I don't have a horse in this race but isn't the 2 tiered pricing you describe very common in most product lines?
shortgrass
Well-Known Member
Absolutely!! Most seem to think all business buy products for the same price, not true. Money talks, and the more you spend, with most manufactures, the lower the price per item. It's called "volume buying/selling".
jcoop
Well-Known Member
Yea that is pretty much the norm in the sporting goods industry. Almost every company does the exact same thing, unless they are big enough to have a large staff of sales reps to be able to call on small shops. Or just up the price enough that the end user to pays for the rep. You will find most companies that go dealer direct have a bit higher prices to pay for the extra sales people needed. Its much cheaper to sale 1 distributor $10,000. worth the bullets than it is to sale 10 different dealers $1,000. worth. Also most dealer dirrect companies (not all) use some sort of price fixing, which is illegal and much worse for the end consumer (but better for the small dealer). Just something to think about.
Not "price fixing", It's called MAP pricing (minimum advertised price) and easily gotten around, just don't "advertise" the price in national media.
jcoop
Well-Known Member
Price fixing and MAP are different but usually used in conjunction with each other. Many companies use map and many more us map with an understanding that if you sale below map, advertised or not you will not receive product or your fill rates will be so bad it is not worth trying to stock them (Usualy you will be the last to recieve your product). Other dealers usually are the ones policing this, and manufactures get phone calls quite often from other dealers tattling on someone's discounted pricing. I have worked in the sporting goods industry for a while, in retail, as a rep, and now for a manufacturer and this is the norm if you are buying a product from the manufacturer and not a distributor.
I not saying you should change your opinion of Sierra but there are two sides to the distributor vs. factory direct argument, and it is not quite so simple.
Camshaft
Well-Known Member
I was in sales for years, and I can assure you this is perfectly normal.
Fiftydriver
Official LRH Sponsor
I can only speak for my own business but if someone calls me and wants to order a Painkiller muzzle brake I quote them X price. If they want to order two at the same time, I give them a break on price for each brake.
Same thing with rifles, if someone orders one rifle, Price is this, if they order two, I drop prices a bit.
Just an incentive for more sales.
Is this unfair........ I do not think so, just insentive to group orders together to get a discount.
Look at it this way as well, There are alot of companies including mine that offer an active duty military discount or LE discount, myself included. Is this unfair to everyone that is not in the military or LE, I guess someone could look at it this way but the way I look at it, its just a reward for them putting their rear on the line every day.
A company like Sierra is HUGE. Dealing with very small customers actually costs them money. This may make some angry but its a fact. If you compare the profit of selling 1 million bullets to a wholesale distributor in a one time order, to that of selling 1 millon bullets over 1000 orders to small businesses.
Just consider the amount of man power and paperwork to keep track of those 1000 small orders compared to the one time1 million order sell to the wholesaler...
From a business standpoint, unfortunately, its a no brainer. It would be nice if they would offer the same price to everyone but thats just not the way business works and thats why its hard to be a small business owner, especially on the retail side.
The good thing, there are many other bullet makers that are more user friendly to smaller businesses!!! Take your pick.
Same thing with rifles, if someone orders one rifle, Price is this, if they order two, I drop prices a bit.
Just an incentive for more sales.
Is this unfair........ I do not think so, just insentive to group orders together to get a discount.
Look at it this way as well, There are alot of companies including mine that offer an active duty military discount or LE discount, myself included. Is this unfair to everyone that is not in the military or LE, I guess someone could look at it this way but the way I look at it, its just a reward for them putting their rear on the line every day.
A company like Sierra is HUGE. Dealing with very small customers actually costs them money. This may make some angry but its a fact. If you compare the profit of selling 1 million bullets to a wholesale distributor in a one time order, to that of selling 1 millon bullets over 1000 orders to small businesses.
Just consider the amount of man power and paperwork to keep track of those 1000 small orders compared to the one time1 million order sell to the wholesaler...
From a business standpoint, unfortunately, its a no brainer. It would be nice if they would offer the same price to everyone but thats just not the way business works and thats why its hard to be a small business owner, especially on the retail side.
The good thing, there are many other bullet makers that are more user friendly to smaller businesses!!! Take your pick.
I am in the industry as well and work with ammunition companies such as Hornady, Nosler, Federal, Barnes, Remington, Berger and Winchester. All these companies work with small businesses except for Winchester, they are similar to Sierra in their business tactics. Most of these companies are bigger than Sierra but they still put forth the effort to get there products in the locally owned businesses even though it would be easier to cut them out and be distributor only. This has nothing to do with sales reps and
this has nothing to do with tiered pricing.
this has nothing to do with tiered pricing.
Fiftydriver
Official LRH Sponsor
Thats why the free market works, take your business to who you think deserves it.
If enough people do this, maybe Sierra will change how they do business with small businesses.
I still believe this type of business behavior is much more common then uncommon unfortunately. With the economy the way it is and companies trying to shave the bottom line and do more work with less man hours, I suspect you will see more and more of this simply because of the reasons I listed in my first post.
If enough people do this, maybe Sierra will change how they do business with small businesses.
I still believe this type of business behavior is much more common then uncommon unfortunately. With the economy the way it is and companies trying to shave the bottom line and do more work with less man hours, I suspect you will see more and more of this simply because of the reasons I listed in my first post.
Ok, your in the business. Name one bullet manufacture that requires a $100,000 opening order to do business with. None. Those kind of standards are not common what so ever in reloading components. If it where ammunition and reloading components combined then $100,000 is nothing. But I'm talking strickly bullets.
I am amazed at how many people here immediately jump in to defend this box store mentality.
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Danja
I must be missing something here. Aren't Sierra bullets available through hundreds if not thousands of local dealers?
I must be missing something here. Aren't Sierra bullets available through hundreds if not thousands of local dealers?
shortgrass
Well-Known Member
Remember to thank those suppliers, that still deal with the little guy, next time you have them on the phone or send an e-mail.
new shooter
Well-Known Member
Good that leaves more 300 gr bullets for me.
