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Most every company out there sources BCG's. Colt is one of the very few companies that do both (make them in house and outsource them).
Outsourcing BCG's isn't a problem AS LONG AS the company provides the manufacturer with specs (materials used, dims, coating, hardness, etc). Then, they HPT and MPI (use an accredited Lab to check) each and every one. If a company just orders "BCG" they will get whatever the manufacturer has sitting around. It is 100% realistic for a company like Colt or BCM to reject BCG's, send them back to the manufacturer and then they send them to a dealer that doesn't do the same level of QC.
Read the BCM upper receiver thread that I wrote about them rejecting nearly 50% of the receivers they were getting in.
C4
In 2012, BCM raised prices on their BCG's by $5 dollars from the beginning of the year to the end. In 2013, they went up about $15 dollars. The reason for the increase was simple. Supply and demand. They could not meet the demand because of all the shortages throughout the industry. If you cannot meet demand, there is no reason to sell them for as cheap as you can.
Even going back to 2011, BCM BCG's did not retail at $130. The reason I know this is because that's not far off my cost for them.
Colt BCG's typically sell for $200-$250. So to me, the BCM's are fairly priced.
YMMV.
C4
So I'm imagining buying a BCM BCG at $130-$135 in 2011? How about the uppers that used to be $419 and are now $459? I get supply and demand, but that time has passed, stuff is sitting on shelves compared to a year ago.
And I don't put much stock in Colt individual prices, they can kick rocks there. Black Friday you could get a 6920 for $950 shipped. If you were to build that rifle in pieces it would be $2000.
This is coming from a guy with BCM and Colt rifles in the safe. I just don't get why they get a pass on the price increase and everyone else gets nailed to the wall here.
Understand. Most every company does this (fyi). So you should pretty much assume that a company did NOT make the LPK's they are selling.
The reason they cannot sell it by the name of the manufacturer is because:
1. Most people have never heard of the companies that make parts (so it is meaningless).
2. Don't want to divulge where they get parts.
3. They source parts from several different companies. So it always changes.
We source our (G&R) LPK's from two main companies. One of them is LMT. Unfortunately LMT does not make things like springs and detents so we have to go to another company that does.
From what I know, I only use LPK's (in my own guns) from these places:
1. Colt
2. BCM/KAC/LMT/G&R
YMMV.
C4
Last edited by C4IGrant; 03-05-14 at 17:36.
You might have for a little while. Somewhere in the middle of that year BCM raised prices. There were two main reasons for this. Shortages of parts and they added distributor sales. Once they did this, they had to raise prices so that the distributor and dealer could make a certain percentage.
It is just as difficult to get quality items now as it has ever been. BCM (for instance) continues to add more QC, contract out more parts (made only for them) than ever before. All of this has a price.
A company that doesn't do as much (or any) QC, doesn't in house HPT and send everything out to an independent lab for MPI and have a dealer sales network, can easily sell BCG's for $130.
Cost of living, overhead, shortages in raw materials all takes its toll. If it bothers you stick to companies that sell cheaper gear.
C4
It doesn't, as you can tell from the last paragraph of the post you quoted. I'm merely stating my confusion for why certain companies price increases during the same time period are "shady", and others are fine. I plan on ordering another BCM BCG in the next week or 2 because I know it's a quality product, and the rifle it's going in isn't a toy. But at the same time I have to wonder if I'm paying $50 more for the name, when I could get a CMT M16 BCG from Bravo Company for $130.
I think the difference is that BCM told you why they did it. Other companies just let you guess. That's the difference.
Less Colt, I don't know any company that does more QA/QC than BCM. The amount of money they spend on fixtures to check every critical dim is breath taking! On top of this, their give chit factor is extremely high.
Buy with confidence.
C4
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