Variable/Flexible Pricing; Guns (A 1911 in particular)

(No, I'm not going to let this morning's post be today's post. That was just a delayed yesterday's post! If you haven't seen the X-Rays -- Go check it out!! -- Cool pics from the inside of me!)So this is just an interesting case study in the short-term movement of the price of something I purchased recently. (Well, I didn't really purchase it yet, I reserved it so I can be next in line and lock in the price, more on that later)You know that I've ben itching for one of the classic American guns for a while now. The object of my affections is the good old 1911. It's 100 years old this year and I figure it's appropriate that I get myself one.I want to shoot some IDPA competitions and the natural choice is the 1911 since the rules are basically laid out in a way that for some of the classes the only gun that fits the bill is the 1911. Based on that I wanted to get one that's pre-decked out with the features that you want: front-strap checkering, mag-well, hand-fitted and so forth.The one I settled on is the Springfield 1911 Trophy Match.I've been watching that particular gun at Buds Gun Shop for a while now. It was typically priced at $1221. It came in stock for a moment and was again out of stock and it dropped down to $1157 for a day or two then went back up to $1221.I saw the cycle start to repeat. It was in stock a few weeks later for a few hours then was gone again.On the 15th it dropped back down to $1157 and I pulled the proverbial trigger to reserve it for me:So there's that I paid for it. Why did I get it? Probably it was me being completely full of self-pity the day after my crash. Women buy clothes. I buy hard stuff. (Not just firearms, but things like computers, radios, tools, test gear and all the that stuff.)Aside: This is how I wind up with the weird collection of stuff I have. This is why I have a lightbox so I could post the X-rays earlier today.The next morning after I paid for that, as if by clockwork the price went up to $1221 again. (I didn't take a screenshot since I didn't think I'd be writing about it)Today I get an email that an item on my wishlist is in stock. Lo and behold the Springfield is in stock! And the price now is $1228! An hour later it was out of stock and holding at $1228.As I started to write this post I refreshed the page out of curiosity and the price now is $1265 and it's back in stock again!

At this point I'm really wondering if this is a batch job that's playing with the pricing or if someone is sitting down and tweaking these prices.

This post really doesn't have a punchline. I guess the closest I can come to one is to pat myself on the back for buying low.

In any case, I'm hoping that they'll ship it out next week and I'll have a freshly minted 1911 of my very own.

- = -

So I was about to hit post and decided to refresh the page once more:

So there you have it. Back down to $1221. Full circle.

My theory: when they are putting together an order they have a low teaser price to get someone (like me) to start to finance the order. Then they gather up some more orders at the regular price. When they place the order to the manufacturer they order one or two more. Those get sold at the higher price to offset the teaser.

That's what I'm thinking.

- = -

Update: As of Saturday at 11:30AM the gun is back in stock selling at $1208.

Go figure.

- = -

Last update: Now at 5:30PM it's settled back to the norm of $1221 and out of stock.