Ammo Price Differences

I just don't understand the current state of affairs regarding the pricing of ammunition. Sure I know, the excuses for higher priced ammo over the last few years have been:

1) Higher fuel prices, so the cost had to go up because it cost more to components to the factories, and ammo from the factories to the stores.

2) A shortage of components because of the war in Afghanistan, and the war in Iraq.

3) Good old inflation.

Okay, I can buy these three reasons; but it seems that when the ammo manufacturers, and the ammo retailers, tell us there are price increases coming and these are the reasons, they leave out what surely, at least in my opinion, must be another reason - out and out price gouging due to greed. For example, I was at an ammunition retailer yesterday, as a matter of fact I was at more than one, in the form of sporting goods stores. I took a look at the price of Remington's .35 Remington Cor-Lokt, 200 grain soft points. One of the stores had a box of 20 rounds for about $24.99 plus tax. The other store had it for the same price give or take a dollar or so. Then tonight I checked online with a major retailer who specializes in great deals on sporting goods (among other things). They wanted $55.77 per box of 20 for the same exact ammunition. That is absurd since I got the same ammo from them for under $14.00 per box of 20 just last August. There is no legitimate way, as I see it, that they have boosted the price by 3.8 times since last August - not when the other retailers are selling it for so much less. As a matter of fact those other retailers had it for about $20 to $22 last August, so they have only gone up a few bucks in price during the time between last August and the present.

Not that anyone out there thinks this is just a one item fluke. The online store has 32 WIN Special for $19.77 per box of 20, same brand Remington, same bullet configuration Cor-lokt, 170 grain softpoint. This time it was one of the retail stores that seemed to have a way too high price; the store was selling the 32 WIN Special (same exact stuff) for almost $40.00 per box of 20 rounds! The role of possible price gouger seemed reversed between the store and the online seller.

This is not something limited to this small group of ammo types, nor to these two retailers. If you shop around there are what seem to be some out of this world price differences for the same exact types of ammunition between different retailers. Is there any legitimate reason for the difference in price between these retailers? If there is - well I cannot see it, but if you do then please explain it to me. Of course I guess these prices could be mistakes, but this type of 'mistake' if that is what they are, are becoming all too commonplace lately. I guess the old saying of Buyer Beware is one that makes a lot of good sense; so if you are in the market for ammo, don't be a schmuck, shop around before plopping down your hard earned gelt.

All the best,
Glenn B