this is not a WTB.  i have always bought my powder and primers online.  but the last time there was gun shop that came to the local match that had some great prices on powder and primers.  i also read often here about people buying 8# of some powder for cheap locally

So is online cheaper all the time?

No,
That said, it is for me in the last couple of years.

No absolutes in life. Check out estate sales from old gun nuts. All sorts of tools and stuff. If you're really lucky, they might entertain a lot price on the powder/primer fort old days gramps had. I'd prefer to see how they're stored though first.

Sometimes the big box stores also run specials on Primers. I bought a bunch from Cabelas for $22/k earlier this year...

It highly depends on how much profit the local guy needs to make.

There is not going to be a one size fits all answer to your question.

In my AO you are about $5 ahead buying primers local.  One pound of powder at a time, local.  8 pound jug, coin flip on what is cheaper.  Stacking powder deep, online.

If you can settle on a powder, buying 8 pounds is the long term cost effective option.  Assuming you stick with reloading, most people won't buy opened half used powder jugs.

No.  I've seen the same price per 8 lb. container at the gun shows that I see on line.  When I buy at the gun show I don't have to pay shipping or hazmat fees that I would if I bought on line.  So I save money for more reloading stuff.

Not always cheaper online. I'm very lucky to have 3 stores within 15min of me that are all very well stocked and have great prices.

I did just buy some VV online though, because I can't find it locally.

The big stores I go to seem to wanna rape you for every last penny on primers and powder.  They make you pay as if you shipped a single pound or box of primers to your house.  Full hazmat on every single box.

I don't visit gun shows much but for reloading supplies relatively close to me I don't have many options other than the big box stores (Gander Mountain).

I have bought a few 1lbers here and there of stuff I wanted to try out before I bought 8lbers online.  Most of their powder is $25-40 a lb and primers are only sold in 100pks and are $3.99 ea.  The one time I bought a pack of primers 3 primers were missing...

But anyways in my case online is the way to go if looking to buy several 8lbers and 10-20k of primers are once.

Not necessarily. For a pound or two at a time, there are a few stores locally that area competitive.

Cabelas often has 10%-15% off coupons plus you can regularly find $100 gift cards for $80-90 so there's another 10-20% off. Brings pricing to a competitive price

100% cheaper for me but I split orders with friends so we offset shipping and hazmat fees.

Normally it is cheaper if you max out the 48 pounds per hazmat fee, and sometimes, the online places have free shipping or free hazmat.

There are exceptions.  I was at the gun show a couple weekends ago and I was talking to one of only two vendors selling powder.  He remembered me from the last time I bought 4 pounds of Varget from him and because I had pointed people in his direction on a local forum.  I was telling him I was thinking of picking up this and that, and he told me to pick what I wanted, and he would basically knock $5 off each pound.  I bought about 10 pounds of various powders and I basically paid what I would have paid online, without hazmat or shipping.  Even when I added the $7 to get in the show, I was still ahead by quite a few bucks.  

I will say that is the exception around here.  For powders that are about $19 to $21 online, they run $25 to $27 locally.  If they are $23 to $25 online, they are $30 give or take $1 locally.  Even that is cool if you just need a pound to experiment, try out, or develop loads.  But I actually prefer to stock up on 1 pound canisters for stuff I am not using immediately.  I prefer to break the seal on as little as possible, and I rarely load enough to use anywhere near an 8 pound jug.  Also, if I need a few bucks here or there, I can unload a couple of 1 pound cans much easier than an 8 pound one.

This is one of the two local places here.  I wanted to buy 4 cases of primers, but they wanted me to pay the shipping and hazmat on each case, "since  I would have to pay it if I ordered from home".  I said, "yes, but only one hazmat and shipping for the whole order, not every box I buy..."  They didn't care.  I ordered online anyways.

I assume OP is a serious question, so this is as well. Can you do basic math? You compare the total cost of items shipped versus total cost of items purchased at local store.

The prices local to the members at various places across the country will differ from you as will shipping costs and taxes. We can't tell you what your costs are.

One of my sort of local shops has good powder prices.  The primer prices aren't bad and they're in stock when I go.  I would rather buy from them than online because its a short drive and I hope they're there in the future with a similar supply.  I need to go by again soon and pick up another 8lb bottle of 8208xbr and some primers.

Depending on where you are at, the backpage guys around here always have a good supply. We also have a store that caters to the precision guys that has a great stock of powders at about $10 a pound less than the 3 big box scalpers.

I have had similar experiences at one of 2 local shops here too.

I have one place that's only 1 mile away and the other is about 15. The closest place are a bunch of rapists while the shop farther away is competitive with online prices if you include shipping and hazmat. When I need small amounts of pistol powders I don't use a lot of I go to the shop farther away and it's still cheaper and a better buying experience than going to get reamed close to home.

For large orders of powder and primers it is almost always a better deal to buy online. Sometimes gunshows around here are a good place to get supplies.

I was buying from a local shop because their price was the same as the online price without the hazmat fee.
Once their inventory was gone and they raised prices I went online exclusively.  

Some places online charge more for Hazmat fees than others. Shop around.  

I dont think so. I don't want to pay crazy hazmat fees so I'll just hit a gun show or drive to bass pro or green top.

There is a guy that usually shows up at the Charlotte, NC gun show that has awesome prices on powder. He's about at the same price or just a little more expensive as online but without the hazmat fees.

Local suppliers have never caught up from Sandy Hook.  

After paying for parking and entry, gun shows aren't cheap for hardly anything.  

Buying online has been cheaper than locally, for a long time.

What do you mean by caught up?  Every shop near me, that normally sells powders and primers, has powders and primers.  One of them has shelves that cover about a 12 to 14 foot wall and another couple of shelves on the perpendicular walls, floor to ceiling, and they are all stacked full of powders.

I asked the gun show dealer I mentioned earlier, about an 8 pound jug of something.  He said anytime I see the show coming to town, just give him a call at least three days in advance, and he could most likely get me anything I was asking for, and he would bring it to the show.

I found two stores near me that sell reloading supplies (I haven't checked Bass Pro prices. It's right up the street) but the prices seemed a little outrageous.

Eight lbs Winchester 231 costs $220 + $19.80 tax at one local store but I can buy 8 lbs from Midsouth for only $140 and they only charge $26 Hazmat fee (and don't collect state tax), so even with the Hazmat fee I'm saving a boatload. That's the most extreme difference I've seen. A box of 1,000 primers cost about $5 - $7 more than online. I paid $45 plus $3.60 tax for a box of CCI #41 but can get them from Midsouth for $37.48 (out of stock right now).

For me, ordering online and combining items into a single Hazmat fee has been the most cost effective. Admittedly I'm still fairly new to reloading so haven't found all the local stores that sell supplies yet. I also haven't been to a local gun show so when the next one comes around I'll check it out.

I made it back to NH a couple of weeks ago and stopped at Riley's just to check out the new reloading section (well, new since I moved). They had quite an impressive supply of powder and primers. I didn't check powder prices but primers were on par with online prices.

I threw a silent little foot stomping temper tantrum in my head because my wife won't move back. I really miss NH.

Not for me.  Few places I visit are very close or the same on powder as the online places except I don't have to pay any shipping/hazmat  fees.  I'll occasionally buy primers and projectiles from Midway when they are having sales and I can get customer pickup as I drive right by them 3-4 times a year.  I've gotten some great deals buying primers from them, some of their sales have been great, but timing is everything for that.

Not cheaper online all the time.

Once a year my shooting club does a group buy.  Last years order from the group was nearly $350k.  Prices are fantastic but its always during the holiday season so personal finances can be tight.

I buy in bulk online a few times  a year and find it cheaper. There is 10% sales tax where I live so if I order a number of items I can usually beat the sales tax in shipping fees.

When ever on line vendors offer free shipping or no haz mat fee-that's when I try to place the largest order of the year.

Every time I price out components like powder and primers online it's always ridiculously over priced. I just priced out H335 and small rifle primers. The in cart total was $60 but after shipping and hazmat fees it was $167. I'd rather spend a Saturday and drive two hours to go to Cabela's. I don't have the money some of you guys do to be ordering 10k primers and 200 pounds of powder at a time.

You basically need to have 35lbs of hazmat(powder/primers) to make online cheaper where I live.

Since I always fill the tag though that isn't a problem :-)

I recommend you sit down and do some math.  Hazmat fees are $28.50, shipping is usually about $20 to $25 on 48 pounds of powder/primers.  Some places charge less for both.  Some places have special sales and wave the shipping or hazmat, or both.  

Yes, it doesn't make sense to buy one pound of powder and one box of primers.  But all you have to do is set some money aside to buy a bigger batch and find someone local to split the order with.  You can also keep up with the sales and take advantage of the reduced or waived hazmat and or shipping fees.  With the mark up some places, like Cabelas has, you could buy as little as 7 to 10 pounds of powder online, with full hazmat and shipping fees, and still break even on the product, while saving on tax and cost of driving 4 hours, so you would actually be ahead.

And none of us order 10K of primers and 200 pounds either.  That would be about 5 hazmat fees since the fee only covers up to 48 pounds.  We try to max out the 48 pounds on one fee, usually by splitting an order with two or three other people.