Do any of you calculate the total cost per round with shipping when buying ammo online?
I've noticed some great ammo deals lately, but the shipping fees can sometimes outweigh the savings.

For example, I came across this listing for .45 ACP ammo. Where ammo listed for $8 per box, but the shipping cost is $15, which seems pretty steep compared to the price of the product. I've noticed the price per round looks great until I see the shipping charge.



I’ve been using this directory: https://www.bulkcheapammo.com/handgun-ammo/45-acp-auto


what’s your approach?

It has been a long time since I bought ammo, but as I recall, yes, the shipping was about $12 for the first box, but was only about $14 for 10 boxes. Each additional box did not add much to the shipping.
So when would do a mail order, I would buy in bulk to make the shipping charges relatively low, spread out over the entire order.

I used to order from SGAmmo.com in those days. I was just looking at their web site and they are showing orders over $200 are free shipping, so that's even better.

Roll your own.

"Roll your own" is certainly good advice, for many.

If I'm looking to buy ammo, I often use sites like AmmoSeek, which has filters for caliber, projectile weight, manufacturer, and shipping costs. I can find places that don't charge extra for shipping, or, as mentioned in the OP, add the shipping costs (and taxes) to the ammo price and figure my per-round costs that way. I call that figure "landed cost," based on a faulty memory from an accounting class over thirty years ago.

But, yes, "landed cost" even gets calculated when I buy a box or two at a local vendor.

I always calculate using as much information, like shipping and tool maintenance, as I can to get a more accurate reflection on how much (if any) money I'm saving. For training ammunition in, say 9mm, it's pretty hard to come out with significant savings by handloading especially on a single stage press when shooting training ammunition.

With cheap calibers and internet shopping it's hard to justify handloading to save money. I handload because I have tailored and hand built my ammunition to my guns and the use to which I put them. I build training ammunition and I build Performance self defense ammunition even though I do not carry handloads on a day to day basis for SD. Handloading .32 and .380 for training has paid for the ammunition many times over the cost of shipping components and buying tooling. 1 lb. of powder builds me 1944 rounds of .380 acp and I'm shooting a lot of .380. If I was only buying a 10 boxes of .380 a year to practice/train with It's take years to justify loading my own. At 400 rounds per month the savings, while small. add up. Plus if I wanna keep 600 rounds of .380 in stock I just gotta get busy a few days at the press.

VooDoo

papajim2jordan wrote: Wed Sep 18, 2024 8:46 am Roll your own.

You beat me to it. I don't pay for shipping for ammo, because I'm a reloader.

Now, for components, you do have to pay HAZMAT for powder and primers. That's why I prefer to buy that stuff locally when I can. Projectiles. i. e. the actual bullets, there's no HAZMAT, and you can get some pretty good deals from places like MidwayUSA. For bullets, their "Factory Seconds" often are pretty good deals. Shipping is quite reasonable, and oftentimes you can even "double-dip" and get the Free Shipping code. Same goes for brass, though Starline offers quite reasonable pricing along with free shipping. Starline's great for handgun cases and most non-belted rifle cases.

But what if you're not a reloader and don't feel ready to give it a go? What do you do then? Well, you just gotta shop around well.

Ammoseek and only buy when shipping is colored green, then check on the dealer's site to compute actual costs

BearPaws wrote: Wed Sep 18, 2024 11:07 am "Roll your own" is certainly good advice, for many.

If I'm looking to buy ammo, I often use sites like AmmoSeek, which has filters for caliber, projectile weight, manufacturer, and shipping costs. I can find places that don't charge extra for shipping, or, as mentioned in the OP, add the shipping costs (and taxes) to the ammo price and figure my per-round costs that way. I call that figure "landed cost," based on a faulty memory from an accounting class over thirty years ago.

But, yes, "landed cost" even gets calculated when I buy a box or two at a local vendor.

Yes, ammo directories are good time saving options. I like ammoseek & bulkcheapammo.com.
BulkCheapAmmo has made the process even easier. They show the shipping cost and the final price for each product, making price comparisons simpler. Plus, you can check costs by state—a super handy feature.
Give it a try.

papajim2jordan wrote: Wed Sep 18, 2024 8:46 am Roll your own.

Totally this. While the initial investment might seem steep if we go for the "most excellent set up," we easily can escape that by going with a single stage press and minimal peripheral pieces. Then we set our sights on that progressive press with bells and whistles enough to frighten a retired locomotive engineer. "True story, bro."

CDF