According to a new report from the gun violence prevention group Guns Down America, [former gun store owner John] Kielbasa’s experience is evidence of decades-long coordination between retailers and gun manufacturers to fix prices above what the market might otherwise support. Retailers — particularly those with the buying power to influence manufacturers — have steered the scheme to guarantee profits, the report alleges, leaving the American gun-buying public to pay the price.
“The gun industry is artificially inflating prices, and blocking safety efforts,” said Hudson Munoz, Guns Down America’s executive director. “That screws gun owners, and it fills the war chest on which these companies depend to oppose public safety efforts.”
Kielbasa told The Trace he closed his store in 2022. He said the gun business was “lopsided” in favor of bigger retailers who can negotiate compensation for unsold stock. He felt his hands had been tied by manufacturers who enforced minimums on price. “Once I purchase the product, it’s my product, and if it ain’t selling what am I going to do with it?” he asked. “It’s a hard business for mom-and-pop stores, so I’m done with it.”
The report, titled The Price is Wrong, argues that the alleged price-fixing scheme inflated gun industry profits and helped bankroll its political activities over the past two decades — a period of intense partisan gridlock on guns. Guns Down America suggests that antitrust enforcement might lead to settlements that could fund violence prevention and force the industry to adopt reforms, as well as provide fairer prices for gun owners.
Neither SIG Sauer nor the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the industry’s leading trade group, responded to multiple requests for comment about the report.
— Champe Barton in Gunmakers Coordinated With Retailers to Keep Gun Prices High, New Report Alleges
So a fellow who couldn’t figure out how to make money money selling guns in one of the hottest gun selling markets ever is bitter about everyone else who makes money selling guns in one of the hottest gun selling markets ever then wants the government to “fix” his problem…yeah, this one’s an easy call…
News Flash! ‘Guns Down America’ and ‘The Trace’ discover a new thing called the ‘free-enterprise’ system.
“The report, titled The Price is Wrong, argues that the alleged price-fixing scheme inflated gun industry profits and helped bankroll its political activities over the past two decades — a period of intense partisan gridlock on guns. Guns Down America suggests that antitrust enforcement might lead to settlements that could fund violence prevention and force the industry to adopt reforms, as well as provide fairer prices for gun owners.”
OK, lets translate that to what they are really saying – “gun industry profits helped bankroll its political activities over the past two decades, and our agenda is getting its butt kicked even with our mar*xist socai*list mill*ion/billi*on-aires funding our political activities. So we want the gun industry to make less money. And to do that we are gonna make a baseless claim they are doing something illegal and for good measure we are gonna pretend to be doing it for American gun owners so as to bias them against the gun industry we hope to eventually force out of business by them not making enough profit.”
But what is Kielbasa’s part in this? If he couldn’t make a go if it when all his competitors could, why? Something fishy with what we’ve been told.
A clue is in the article with this part…
“Kielbasa told The Trace he closed his store in 2022. He said the gun business was ‘lopsided’ in favor of bigger retailers who can negotiate compensation for unsold stock. He felt his hands had been tied by manufacturers who enforced minimums on price. ‘Once I purchase the product, it’s my product, and if it ain’t selling what am I going to do with it?’ he asked. ‘It’s a hard business for mom-and-pop stores, so I’m done with it.’
The so called ‘report’ focuses on MAP ‘agreements’ (‘minimum advertised prices’ agreements) implying they are somehow indicators of criminal ‘anti-trust price fixing’ by the gun industry, and attaches that to Kielbasa’s situation. They are not, MAP’s are not illegal nor are they indicators of of any criminal ‘anti-trust price fixing’. Virtually all manufacturers of virtually all products have MAP agreements, its not just the gun-industry. They are standard things and part of the ‘free enterprise’ system.
A minimum advertised price (MAP) agreement is a policy set by a manufacturer that sets the lowest price retailers may PUBLICLY ADVERTISE a product for in its marketing. But retailers can still sell below that price in-store as long as they do not ‘publicly advertise’ that price lower than the manufacturer policy. These policies are legal in the U.S. under the ‘rule of reason’ standard established by the Supreme Court in 2007 and are used to protect brand image and limit free-riding on promotional services.
MAP is a manufacturer set policy that defines the lowest price at which a retailer can PUBLICLY ADVERTISE a product. It is not a contract or a two-party agreement. It is a unilateral policy from the manufacturer of basically “If you [publicly] advertise our products below this price, we will stop supplying you.”
The critical requirement: the policy must be unilateral. The moment it becomes a two-way agreement or negotiated contract, it risks crossing into price-fixing territory under antitrust law (which the so called ‘report’ implies has happened and is happening). As long as it does not become a two-way agreement or negotiated contract its not illegal. Everything the so called ‘report’ implies is somehow indicating illegal activity is a bunch of BS, and even in their report outlining what they imply is illegal activity is actually legal.
Now the clue this whole report is a bunch of BS and Kielbasa was basically not very good at running a business – this part to start, “He said the gun business was ‘lopsided’ in favor of bigger retailers who can negotiate compensation for unsold stock” – negotiating compensation for unsold stock under a MAP is negotiating a ‘contract’ or two-way agreement. Manufacturers don’t do this, they have no need to do this, there is no advantage for them to do this, there is no ‘financial incentive’ for them to do this, its illegal to do this. Sure, in a matter of good will or ‘commitment’ standards/policy sometimes a manufacturer will offer to buy back unsold stock if they know a retailer can not liquidate it by sales techniques but they do not negotiate compensation for unsold stock under a MAP policy. And sometimes there are separate agreements where a manufacturer will offer/provide or negotiate compensation for unsold stock but that’s not MAP – its up to the retail outlet to make sure they have such an agreement, if they do not and get stuck with unsold stock that’s their fault.
Its pretty unlikely that Kielbasa went out of business due to a MAP ‘illegal price fixing’ scheme by the gun industry (like the so called ‘report’ implies). He got stuck with unsold stock because he either over procured and did not judge his market correctly, or did not have an agreement with a manufacturer to buy/take back unsold product, or did not bother to avail himself of the hundreds of places that would have liquidated his unsold inventory for him. And sure, mom-n-pop stores have a harder time then larger chain or franchise stores, but Kielbasa was a ‘brick-n-mortar’ and could have sold his stuff in store below any MAP price by simply charging less at check-out and reduced or eliminated his ‘unsold inventory’ burden.
Maybe Mr. Kielbasa was spending too much time on his other business, selling sausages. Hah!!
Must be some interesting backstory to this.
Basically, he got caught ‘price fixing’ by Sig.
and I would post why and how, but it seems the SNW ghost post thing is really active today so can’t get the information posted.
Unless there are a lot of John Keilbasas that own gun shops he seems to be doing fine. He’s a typical richy Northeasterner with Florida property. Two gun stores one in NY and one in FL.
His real gripe seems to be with moving Sigs and that probably has more to do with the stupid air force murder/suicide and the resulting click farming youtube bait fest that followed.
It seems that these people want us to forget. That they helped to destroy gun companies that produced inexpensive guns , basically for poor people. By suing them to death.
Jennings, Cobra. “The ring of fire.”
They produced guns, not the best guns. Some of them were actually unsafe. But any gun is better than no gun at all, when you live in a poor neighborhood.
Heritage Arms and High Point. Still in business and still producing reliable, low cost guns.
And almost all the high end gun makers have had recalls of their firearms. And the premier gun maker Remington. Their guns killed their owners.
Historically, gun control was always for two groups of people. The poor in general and black people specifically.
It seems that these people want us to forget. That they helped to destroy gun companies that produced inexpensive guns , basically for poor people. By suing them to death.
Jennings, Cobra. “The ring of fire.”
They produced guns, not the best guns. Some of them were actually unsafe. But any gun is better than no gun at all, when you live in a poor neighborhood.
Heritage Arms and High Point. Still in business and still producing reliable, low cost guns.
And almost all the high end gun makers have had recalls of their firearms. And the premier gun maker Remington. Their guns killed their owners.
Historically, gun control was always for two groups of people. The poor in general and black people specifically.