Gun shop price versus UPS ordering.
Here in Pennsylvania local gunshops have been burdened with a lot of new regulations.
The ATF used to license the shop. Now any employees in the shop, including owners, must themselves be licensed by the ATF. Background checks, fingerprints, etc. Issued out of Philadelphia in this part of the state and you end up making several trips to get the license.
When my wife spends 3 days behind the counter at Dixons each year she cannot touch a can of black powder. She cannot even simply pick it up off the counter and put it in a bag for a customer. If she touches a can of black powder she commits a federal felony since she is not licensed. But when a UPS truck drops two cases, or 50 pounds, on my front porch she can shove them into the living room until I get home!
So the ATF individual store worker licensing adds additional costs to handling black powder.
Then the PA DEP gets into the act. The state now has an inspection and licensing program. Inspecting the magazines, etc. to see that they don't pollute the environment. Yet another layer of licensing and inspection fees.
Some small shops feel that stocking black powder is simply not worth the trouble and expense.
Mad Monk