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RBid · April 16, 2013, 01:52 PM

"Back order" basics:

- in the firearms sales industry, there are Manufacturers, Distributors, and Dealers. Most manufacturers prefer to sell to Distributors, who then sell to Dealers. Some manufacturers (Kimber, for example) sell directly to dealers.

- "allocation" = prioritizing high volume clients. Unfortunately, this means that giants like Walmart often get priority for things like ammunition.

- when we say that things are "back ordered" at the manufacturer level, we mean that dealers have submitted orders to distributors (mostly for general inventory), and those distributors have submitted orders to the manufacturers, with such volume that the manufacturers require X amount of time to fill a fresh order, placed on the date at which the backlog is quoted.

So, "Glock is 11 months back ordered" doesn't mean, "you can't get a Glock for 11 months". It means, "if you place an order today, it should arrive in about 11 months".

An important note is that things come in batches. High volume items are produced pretty frequently. Low volume items, less often. In one case, a manufacturer told me that a particular item was "a low priority", which would be produced "late in the calendar year". This conversation happened in January, about an order that had already been outstanding for a couple months.

What this means to the consumer:
1. Dealers will have "stuff" coming in, but getting specific items may be a challenge.

2. That "stuff" will appear all over town, then dry up for awhile, then reappear, then dry up.

This will likely be the case for the next 6-9 months, assuming no more mass shootings before the market corrects.

April 16, 2013, 01:52 PM	#19
RBid Senior Member Join Date: March 10, 2012 Posts: 1,059	Bought my first glock today... "Back order" basics: - in the firearms sales industry, there are Manufacturers, Distributors, and Dealers. Most manufacturers prefer to sell to Distributors, who then sell to Dealers. Some manufacturers (Kimber, for example) sell directly to dealers. - "allocation" = prioritizing high volume clients. Unfortunately, this means that giants like Walmart often get priority for things like ammunition. - when we say that things are "back ordered" at the manufacturer level, we mean that dealers have submitted orders to distributors (mostly for general inventory), and those distributors have submitted orders to the manufacturers, with such volume that the manufacturers require X amount of time to fill a fresh order, placed on the date at which the backlog is quoted. So, "Glock is 11 months back ordered" doesn't mean, "you can't get a Glock for 11 months". It means, "if you place an order today, it should arrive in about 11 months". An important note is that things come in batches. High volume items are produced pretty frequently. Low volume items, less often. In one case, a manufacturer told me that a particular item was "a low priority", which would be produced "late in the calendar year". This conversation happened in January, about an order that had already been outstanding for a couple months. What this means to the consumer: 1. Dealers will have "stuff" coming in, but getting specific items may be a challenge. 2. That "stuff" will appear all over town, then dry up for awhile, then reappear, then dry up. This will likely be the case for the next 6-9 months, assuming no more mass shootings before the market corrects.