I got this yesterday in an email. Thought I would share....


TAPCO: U.S. Manufacturer goes wholesale


After 21 great years in the gun industry selling to both wholesale and retail customers, we are making a change to sell only to wholesale businesses.

Why? Well, for the past three years TAPCO has undergone a progressive transformation from being a Distributor to a U.S. Manufacturer. For each of these three years, we’ve become a stronger industry leader than the previous year. The more we’ve stepped out of the retail market and focused on product development and manufacturing, the better our reputation has become for providing the highest quality shooting products on the market. So it’s now time to make the logical switch to being exclusively a wholesale manufacturer.



How does this affect you?



For customers who have come to count on TAPCO products, this new direction is a great move. It will give us more time and energy to develop and bring to market much needed products that are made right here in America. These are products that you have been asking for, and we will be delivering them to you more rapidly. Starting January 1st, you can continue to purchase TAPCO brand products from companies that you may already do business with, such as: Cheaper Than Dirt, Cabela’s, The Sportsman’s Guide, Brownell’s, Brigade Quartermasters, and Midway USA. Many more carry a broad line of TAPCO products and usually offer better pricing than TAPCO since they buy in large volume. See the “Distributors” section on our website for a complete list.



Intrafuse



You may already be noticing our new dynamic brand Intrafuse. After extensive market research showed that the fusion name is overly used in names of other products on the market, we have begun launching the Intrafuse brand of products which are unique to TAPCO. The fusion brand packaging will be transitioning to Intrafuse throughout the end of 2008, and will be completely replaced by Intrafuse in early 2009. The Intrafuse brand will include the same great products you’ve been purchasing under the fusion name.

Intrafuse: Form and Function Become One



TAPCO: The American Parts Company

What name could better describe our mission? We are proud that with all of our products, you can count on American quality at the best value on the market.

Cliff notes version....."we're sick of fucking around with a pile of $20 orders."

I don't blame them. Administration costs can eat you alive.


Tony

Very insightful. I suspect that is 100% correct.

WJ

Just for the record, my current order is $33.00!



Yea, my little customers take just as much time as my large customers when it comes to invoicing, mailing, phone calls, etc. You do what keeps you profitable.

No more free subscriptions to "Guns and Ammo" ? CRAP!

It makes sense. I hope that they bring some new and exciting shit out for us. But, I hope that their development efforts won't stifle the many "inventors" that we see around here who come up with an idea and then produce it to suit our niche.

I was thinking the same thing. A bunch of orders for $5 and $30 would suck.

I miss the open show room sales there. I bought 3 StG FAL kits there for $120 each!

cliff notes-besides the trigger kit and saw grip the rest of the TAPCO stuff is shit just my 2 cents

I think it's the fact that when you buy your $80 "stock" and realize it's only worth $8, that the return rate is more than they can stand. Let the resellers deal with their garbage, in exchange for their handful of useful parts.

Except for basic trigger kits and sks mags, there's really no reason to purchase what they're squirting out of their machines.