I like the idea of a group of private citizens getting together and forming a Co-Op so to speak. A large enough group to pool their resources to be able to buy in bulk mass quantities think wholesale here not retail. And to get it directly from the manufacturers. There must be a way to do this. A shooting club could do it if they can get enough members to buy in on the idea.
It's not a bad idea, especially as ammo prices will continue to rise rapidly with fuel, metals and everything else.
However, there's a lot of details to work out. First off, how big of an order needs to be placed to really get a good discount, and preferably have reduced shipping rates? Are we talking about 10,000 rounds, or 100,000 rounds or what? There's a threshold that would have to be met, and that would require members who sign up to keep their commitment to order. Here's an example based on scanty research: Say you get 100 people who say they're each interested in a minimum order of $105 in 9mm rounds, assuming that each 100-round box will be $15. That means the minimum delivery is 7 boxes (or 700 rounds) of WWB. If everyone orders the minimum, you'll be dealing with at least 700 boxes, or 70,000 rounds, and also $10,500. The minimum number of total rounds you need to get this kind of price is, let's say, 50,000 rounds (shipping has already been figured in to make things simpler). You start taking orders in January and tell people that you're collecting money through April for an order in May which will be delivered in July, and it'll be available for pickup until September.
Now...while lots of people seemed interested, they in fact don't come through. You collect enough money for 300 boxes, which is $4500 sitting in the co-op bank account. April comes, and Winchester wants your order in on deadline so they can be sure to have it on time. Now you're stuck...you've got a lot of money, but not quite enough to make it. You can't wait to collect more money, because a bunch of people are counting on their ammo showing up on time...but, giving it all back will be a huge headache and destroy confidence in the system.
So, the challenge is in getting enough members so that you'll
almost certainly get a good discount, but not promising them a price that you can't necessarily deliver on. At the same time, you also have to make the offer enticing enough to attract a lot of people and make it worth their while to pay for something that they won't see for a few months. If the co-op massively overperforms and gets more people than you had counted on, then the savings could be passed on in the form of extra ammo.
So...now that that's out of the way, here's some more things to think about:
Assuming the orders are taken and the money collected, who handles all the money, puts it into a bank account, and writes the check? This would have to be overseen to ensure confidence in the system, to make sure there's no shady dealing. That can quickly cause any co-op model to fall apart.
Secondly, where is the ammo stored once it comes in? It has to be stored *very* securely and out of the elements, with no leaky roofs or excessive moisture. No one wants to shoot rounds that got mildewy during a heavy rain. It also needs to be somewhere that's convenient for members to come pick it up - which might exclude residential areas unless you want to look like a crackhouse. If there's a lot of it, then weight may be a consideration as well.
Record-keeping is also an issue. You've got to keep track of who ordered what and how much, and make sure that it got delivered, so that it's there when they come to pick it up.
Another thing to consider is which rounds to carry in the first place. If you have 100 shooters, some might prefer to put money into .40 and others might want .45; others might want 9mm...etc. Caliber disunity will quickly destroy the quantity buying advantage. It's not like buying a single monolithic product like toilet paper. After all, 20 shooters putting money into something won't get nearly as good a deal as 80 or 100 contributions would.
I think it can be done, and if done properly, could be a model for others to imitate. It just has to be done carefully, because there's a lot of money and valuable product involved.
