FAQs
TOP 2020 Q3 and 4 Question: Why is the price of brass so high now!? (Also emailed as: "your prices suck").
Starting in 2019, the government started recycling contracts instead of auction contracts for fired brass. Occasionally there is still brass available, but mil fired brass is becoming much rarer to find. The problem with auctions is that the rarer something is, the more bidders that something attracts, and the more bidders on an auction, the higher the buy price becomes. One one hand, we have brass coming in, but the brass is multiple times higher than we have ever paid for brass.
Historically, the price of brass has been largely driven by the price of ammunition. When ammunition was cheap and widely available, the brass was also widely available and cheaper. Because fired brass comes from what was once a loaded round, when the price of ammunition went up, the price of each fired component also went up.
Brass Questions
Q: Where does your brass come from?
Our fired 9mm, 5.56, and 7.62 come directly from the DOD military auctions. Our 300blk brass is converted from military 5.56. Brass auctions have been exceedingly rare over the past year. While we have successfully obtained more military direct brass, the price for that brass is multiple times higher than previous auctions. We do not expect this supply or pricing situation to improve under a Biden administration.
The new commercial brass come from the respective brand factories.
Q: Was this brass machine gun fired?
Depending on the military's prior use of the brass, the fired brass may have been fired from a machine gun. Unfortunately, we are unable to know with certainty whether or not a particular brass has been machine gun fired. So for the purposes of purchases from Kaleo Arms, yes assume that the brass has been machine gun fired. We do not guarantee ease of processing.
Q: Are the Primer pockets crimped?
Yes. Most of our unprocessed brass calibers have crimped primers. Range brass is commercial brass and is typically not crimped. Assume all brass purchased from Kaleo Arms is crimped. The crimp will need to be removed before reloading.
Processed brass have been swaged to remove the crimp.
Q: How is the brass cleaned? What about the primer pockets?
As of April 2020, brass is no longer offered cleaned or washed.
Our brass is processed in-house through our Type 06 FFL sister company, Kaleo Manufacturing. Kaleo Arms is the domestic retail arm of the Kaleo Family of Companies. In May 2019, due to changes in the firearm, ammunition, and reloading markets, we have stopped offering processed brass for retail sale. As of December 2020, we are evaluating whether to re-start brass processing.
Contact
Q: How do I contact Kaleo Arms?
The best way to contact us is through email at Customer.Service@KaleoArms.com. We strive to respond within 24 hours Monday-Friday, by end of business Monday following a weekend, or by the end of the next business day following a holiday.
Email is the best way to contact us so we can research your order or question to provide the most helpful answer. We do have a phone number, but Kaleo Arms is a run as a phone-free business for greatest efficiency and to avoid any potential misunderstandings that can occur over the phone. The voicemail is not often monitored. Instead, please send an email to Customer.Service@KaleoArms.com, and we will get back to you shortly.
Order Questions
No. Our company view is that credit card processing fees should be paid by the merchant and not charged to the buyer customer as an additional fee. Credit card fees are the modern day cost of doing business, and we do not burden our customers with additional fees.
Q: Can I pay with a check or send cash?
Sorry, no. Checks are problematic for a number of reasons: mail gets lost, bounced payments etc. The USPS does not recommend sending cash in the mail for the security of the sender and recipient. In short, we do not want to be embroiled in a he said/she said payment was sent/received situation so we only accept credit cards processed through our payment processor, Authorize.net.
Q: Do you charge a material or handling/processing fee?
No. Similar our view on credit card processing fees, we do not charge any extra order percentage fee for materials or to pack your order.
UPS and USPS.
We brass ship to most US addresses except for Massachusetts and District of Columbia. Empty ammo cans can be sent to these locations. Because brass casings are considered "ammunition" in Massachusetts and District of Columbia, we are not able to ship brass directly to customers in those states. However, we can ship to FFLs in those states.
Q: Do you ship internationally?Due to dwindling brass supply and availability, we are discontinuing international offerings to focus on meeting the needs of US customers.
Orders $75 and over ship free.
Orders $74.99 and less will be shipped via USPS Priority Mail at a flat $5 shipping rate.
For the last 5 years we have been able to absorb the annual USPS shipping increases, but this year we are no longer able to do so at the $50 free shipping threshold.
Our eCommerce platform and shipping partners, generate a shipping email when a label has been purchased. Your package will be on its way to the post office shortly. The USPS scanning and tracking system does take time to update so please check back with USPS for updated information. UPS will update when the UPS truck comes for the pickup.