Has the AR market in Canada totally collapsed or what?

I think with all the other options avaliable, people just want change. CSA/VZ at half the cost, XCR, Travors, etc. I mean AR are the Civics of the gun world. I've used a AR system for over 15 years, built a few from 7.5" 223 to 9mmm options are endless. But in the end its the same as they were when they came out.

Each claim to be better then the next. I don't blame norico, it just allows people to get a AR at half the cost of a quality and as it stands they're holding out well.

I went with a CSA over a AR, I don't know why, half the cost of a AR, real steel, 223, option avaliable for use of 10rd AR mags, gas piston, endless options. I guess people choices that well everybody and their dog has a AR, some people now just want to be different.
 
ARs have been around in some shape or form long before the current craze. Once you accept the concept of "craze", the inevitable saturation of the market is not that hard to understand.

4b1t said:
What's wrong with the AR market ?

That's an easy equation.

RPAL + FRT + ATT + Reg Cert + High River - no property rights - no compensation - no repeal of C68 = 2015 is just around the corner and Justin "Shiny Pony" , Elizabeth Bray and Thomas Mulcommie are already putting out tenders to buy the chop-saws and build the smelters....

Owning an eeeeeevil Mini-14 is a safer bet right now (but not by much).
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Hand-wringing at it's finest......
 
The firearms market isn't some magical market on a pedestal. Every commercial market needs to deal with imported competition. Look at the shelves of any retailer and you'll see the same. The AR market is no different, and frankly the Canadian market hasn't really responded well to the price shock introduced by Norc and to a lesser extent NEA. Everybody can see what US manufactured ARs sell for in the US, and can compare the price differential to their bolt guns or handguns to see how the AR market is/was often priced differently, even though shipping and border issues should be similar. NEA was able to get their prices quite low, despite being a manufacturing start-up with all the costs that entails, so a smart consumer knows that there is something up with the margin rate that has been charged historically in Canada on ARs. If your gun was purchased before prices declined, don't expect to recover your initial cost. Heck, you can get a new Colt LE6920 for $1650ish shipped now.
 
I just returned from a trip to Oroville, Washington, a very small town near Osoyoos, BC. The local department store (Princes) had Olympic AR-15s on sale for $688.88. I have seen Norinco AR-15s for more than that in Canada (i.e.: Wanstalls is currently asking $699.99 for a Norinco). It is good to see prices coming down on both sides of the border unless, of course, you are trying to sell one you bought at recent inflated prices.
 
There are two issues...if it can only be used at a range, then why wouldn't someone purchase an NEA for $1000 that can do everything they're allowed to do with it, no one needs to trust it with their lives, just for plinking and competitions.

If on the other hand someone wants to spend the $2000 or more for a high end AR, why wouldn't they get a non-restricted that they can play with outside of a range? The quality of a high end AR is not significantly better than the quality of any other non-restricted black gun.

If the AR is non-restricted, or if restricteds are allowed to be used for hunting at some point in the future, then you can expect more of a market for high end AR's, especially in larger calibres that would take a deer.
 
Tom E Gun said:
I just returned from a trip to Oroville, Washington, a very small town near Osoyoos, BC. The local department store (Princes) had Olympic AR-15s on sale for $688.88. I have seen Norinco AR-15s for more than that in Canada (i.e.: Wanstalls is currently asking $699.99 for a Norinco). It is good to see prices coming down on both sides of the border unless, of course, you are trying to sell one you bought at recent inflated prices.
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I agree, why buy someones overpriced used, when there are deals on new ones, too bad we don't have the availability like they do down south.
 
It will pick up again once the newest fad hits. tiny barrels, 300BLK, piston uppers were good for a year each.

Perhaps what is old will be new again.
 
Collapsed?

I can get a Colt M4 for under $1900 these days, whereas just a few years ago they were selling for up to $3400.
 
joe-nwt said:
ARs have been around in some shape or form long before the current craze. Once you accept the concept of "craze", the inevitable saturation of the market is not that hard to understand.



Hand-wringing at it's finest......
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I laugh at the Craze, I have to pay extra to get a barrels with FSB on it now.
 
misanthropist said:
That depends entirely on which perspective you are looking at: buyer or seller.

If the total number of ARs being sold has increased, but external forces have driven down prices, the market hasn't collapsed at all.

So there are in fact multiple definitions of "market collapse".
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+1

Seller.... LOSING MONEY

BUYER..... MORE of Them but SPENDING LESS
 
mikethebike said:
That's exactly the definition of a market collapse.
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Maybe for people that bought rifles for the sole purpose of price speculation. Too bad for them! I buy guns to shoot them and enjoy their technical features, not market gambling.
 
Market collapse:
Seller: You buy a house at 1 million bucks, now you want to sell it, it's valued at 600 000 bucks, you're sad :(
Buyer: You're buying a house at 600 000 bucks that was valued at 1 million a few years ago, you're happy :) .


Same goes for here
 
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Alternatively:

Seller: I want a million bucks for this house.

Buyer: but the market exploded. Demand was so strong that a thousand new construction companies were formed, and instead of choosing between five houses, I'm choosing between five hundred.

Seller: Oh no! The market collapsed!

Builder: Hooray! I'm selling more houses than ever! This market is incredible!


What really happened? The primary market is so strong that the artificial prices previously supported in the secondary market are no longer tenable, even though demand is stronger than ever.
 
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