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Old March 19, 2012, 06:54 AM   #1
LordTio3
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Why are SD mags so Pricey?

A buddy of mine just told me that he bought a Smith and Wesson SD 40 over the weekend. He really liked the feel of it and tells me it shoots great.

Conversation proceeded until he notified me that right after he bought it, he looked into adding to the 2 magazines it came with only to find out that they were about $35-40 new.

Now I'm no expert on magazines, but my M&P mags are only $21. What the heck is Smith and Wesson thinking offering an inexpensive alternative to their top service line pistols and nearly doubling the price of the magazines? Sure sounds counterintuitive to me.



I don't get it. And mine are even made by Mec-Gar.



Anyone have any enlightenment?

~LT
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Old March 19, 2012, 07:54 AM   #2
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I don't think 35 is too unreasonable for magazines... I would like to know where you found M&P mags for $21 so I can buy a bunch of them.

Stupid mags for my HK USP 45 are around 65.
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Old March 19, 2012, 08:44 AM   #3
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www.44mag.com/category/smith_and_wesson

Cheap, but not $21 cheap.
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Old March 19, 2012, 08:45 AM   #4
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about $35-40 new
My local Cabela's has them for about $28 -- don't remember the exact price, but noted it was the best I'd seen yet for SD9 magazines.
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Old March 19, 2012, 08:48 AM   #5
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Although pricey, a good investment.

There are other manufacturers that charge even more.
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Old March 19, 2012, 09:05 AM   #6
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http://www.botachtactical.com/smwempma.html

$21.98

Just for you Malice and John. They charge no tax/shipping.

I think I'd throw up if I had to pay $65 for a new magazine.

~LT
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Old March 19, 2012, 09:12 AM   #7
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Oh, well that makes sense. I wouldn't order from Botach again is they were the last magazine supplier on the planet.

They don't stock hardly anything. Some things they do get a quantity of and run specials on... then they are okay.

The vast majority of products on their website are not in stock and take MONTHS to receive - if you ever get it at all. They have no customer service to speak of... try calling and talking to someone... you'll get an answering machine every time.

I ordered my Sig P229 22LR conversion kit from then when they had some on sale a while back. I did receive that order in an acceptable time frame. I've tried to place 2 other orders of multiple items that clearly show in stock on their website, only to find out that they do not actually have them. Estimated wait times were around 12-15 weeks.

Took me over 2 weeks just to get someone to confirm the order cancellation, and another 2 weeks for the charge to be taken off of my card. This is not a unique experience either. Google for Botach reviews (we even have a Botach thread on these forums in the seller reviews area.)

Botach is very bad juju, my friend. I'll gladly pay the extra 7-8 bucks per magazines to order from someone with a good reputation.
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Old March 19, 2012, 10:03 AM   #8
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I can't answer your question, but this is another reason I went with my Beretta 92A1. Mags can be had for dirt-cheap. Last thing I wanted was something that breaks the bank on mags. You want to cry, take a look at the cost of mags for the Ruger SR9. They must be gold plated or something.
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Old March 19, 2012, 10:23 AM   #9
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Ruger SR9 mags? Buds gun shop had them for $24.99 a while back (17 rounders), bought 4 of them.
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Old March 19, 2012, 10:26 AM   #10
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Walther is also particularly proud of their magazines. For the pps, ppq, and p99 factory mags tend to run in the $40-50 range.
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Old March 19, 2012, 10:55 AM   #11
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I havn't paid more than $35 for any gun magazine I own.
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Old March 19, 2012, 11:08 AM   #12
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hk mags have to be the worst priced mags. the price for a used psp mag is around $40 if you get a good deal.
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Old March 19, 2012, 12:59 PM   #13
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"Botach"

No thanks. Even if they were free.
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Old March 19, 2012, 02:38 PM   #14
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Nearly $40 for a single stack 1911 mag.And they didn't work reliably in my Springfield.
http://shopwilsoncombat.com/8-Round/products/371/
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Old March 19, 2012, 02:44 PM   #15
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Nearly $40 for a single stack 1911 mag.And they didn't work reliably in my Springfield.
Was that the aluminum base pads one?

I have 3 Wilson Combat 8 rounders and a 10 rounder with the standard plastic basepad for my Springfield TRP. All work flawlessly. Wilson is known for good products. If you had an issue with it, I would've contacted them for a replacement.
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Old March 19, 2012, 02:45 PM   #16
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they are just stamped metal with a spring.

ALL of them are expensive.

At Cabelas my px4 17rnd was close to 50.00 with tax!

They should all be in 20.00 range, but I think the manufacturers know you can't do much so they make a killing on them.
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Old March 19, 2012, 03:59 PM   #17
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If you want cheap mags, you've got to find a gun that the maker MADE a lot of. A mag vendor won't start up a magazine production line for a few hundred of anything -- they've got to make a lot to be able to sell at a lower price.

I once had a SIG P-210-6. There were no after-market mags to be found that were worth having, and the factory mags were about $90 (this was 10 years ago).

I now have a SIG P226 X Five in .40. Factory mags are about $85, if you can find them, and they hold 14 rounds. Mec-gar makes a replacement that holds 17 rounds, and costs $29. (And, it works in both the standard 226 and the X-Five.) You have to do a little sanding on the top of the baseplate to make them work in the X-Five.

$40 for a mag isn't THAT bad.
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Old March 19, 2012, 05:29 PM   #18
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Quote:
If you want cheap mags, you've got to find a gun that the maker MADE a lot of
Will mags from other models fit the SD9 or SD40? I've been told that Sigma and M&P mags will fit, but have no evidence either way.
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Old March 19, 2012, 05:50 PM   #19
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"[Will mags from other models fit the SD9 or SD40? I've been told that Sigma and M&P mags will fit, but have no evidence either way.]"

Base plate is rounded on the SD & Squared on the Sigma, But will fit ; )
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Old March 19, 2012, 05:53 PM   #20
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you know the 35-40 dollar range is normal for most mid to upper level guns.

My sig pro 2022 mags are 39 plus shipping
my magnum research eagle 40 bucks for one, if you are at a gun show you can get two for 70 if the guy wants to deal.
but again 35 each

so that is pretty much in line with most of the other mid price range pistols I'm familiar with personally
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Old April 1, 2012, 10:36 PM   #21
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My Walther & Sig both have magazines that cost more than $38...so my friend, the SD mags ain't really that bad.
Get yourself a standard 1911 - you can find dozen generic production mags for under $10
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Old April 1, 2012, 10:43 PM   #22
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You think that's expensive try buying the 10 rd magazine for the browning buckmark, $29.99. I have 10 of them.

BTW botach sucks, I ordered a knife from them for my nephew who was going to Afganistan and they sent me the wrong one. It took them forever to send the wrong one by the time I got it my nephew had deployed. Took for ever to get someone to get authorization for return and took longer to get a refund.
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Old April 1, 2012, 11:12 PM   #23
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Manufacturers' margins on guns have been shrinking the last few years. One of the ways they recoup that is by raising the cost of incidentals, magazines included.
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Old April 2, 2012, 05:50 PM   #24
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Magazines for S&W pistols have always been a total ripoff, whether they were actual S&W or aftermarket. Back in the 80s I bought a S&W 745 (SA only 645) for IPSC and of course had to buy at least 6 or 7 mags. At that time the only place you could get magazines for a S&W pistol was - S&W. And back then they wanted 25 to 30 bucks a mag.
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Old April 3, 2012, 11:37 PM   #25
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Quote:
Walther is also particularly proud of their magazines. For the pps, ppq, and p99 factory mags tend to run in the $40-50 range.
That's why you buy the Magnum Research Fast Action mags for the PPQ and P99 for $32 each. They are the exact-same Mec-Gar manufactured mags as those sold by Walther. The only difference is the name molded into the baseplate.
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