This is our 3rd installment of “Getting What You Want.” I am trying to share some of the strategies and techniques that you can use during this time of unprecedented panic buying. I am not encouraging you to panic buy yourself, but rather offer this as a service to those who may be finally getting around to buying their first carbines or those who, like me, were caught in the middle of a build when all of this happened.
This is certainly not a big secret but it takes some work on your part. Many online vendors offer the ability to receive an email notification when a product is placed back into “in stock” status. This can be a very useful way to be informed immediately when something that you are looking for is available.
Looking for an ALG Defense QMS Trigger? So is everyone else!
These email notifications work best if you are able to stay connected throughout the day. In today’s panic buying climate, items like magazines, receivers, and bolt carrier groups sell out extremely quickly, so if you wait to check your email until you get home from White Castle on your weekly Slider Slaughtering Trip, you will probably miss out.
Your best bet is to place an email notification on every item that you are potentially interested in with every vendor that allows them. It takes time, but it can be worth it if you end up finding the item you want at a normal price.
Our site has the “email me when back in stock” feature, but in the current climate, things go incredibly fast. Last Friday we released a limited number of magazines, complete rifles, stripped barrels, Spike’s, Lancer and Stag stripped lowers (about 150 combined) and they all sold out in about twenty minutes. The amount of traffic crashed the site and our CEO’s email account was shutdown by yahoo, because they thought it was under attack. It’s like the WHO back in the 70’s selling out huge arenas in mere minutes. The sale was for our newsletter people with a special link, inside the email, to the sale page. The previous time we put 700+ PMags on the site and they were gone in twenty minutes at regular prices as well. The strategy of getting those notifications setup is a good one, but when items come back in stock, it’s every man for himself. You are competing with hundreds if not thousands of people for a few dozen of a particular item. Even though I work at the shop, I can’t even get stuff at this time. Hopefully when the dust settles, things will go back to normal. Those people that paid $2000+ for an $800 rifle are not going to be happy either.