MGE vs MSR Distribution

Both catalogs are synced into one shared vocabulary, so the same UPC can be counted on either side and matched across them. Everything below is what we measured in the two feeds — how much each one lists, how much of it is the same product, and what only one of them carries.

Catalog size, overlap, feed uptime, and integration type for MGE and MSR Distribution.
MGEMSR Distribution
Active SKUs5,9122,554
Distinct UPCs5,9112,482
Shared UPCs (both carry)161
Only at this distributor5,7502,321
Uptime100%100%
IntegrationFTPFTP
FreshnessSynced 24 minutes agoSynced 22 minutes ago

What each one lists most of

MGE and MSR Distribution describe their catalogs in their own words, and we resolve both against one shared product vocabulary before counting. A category below therefore means the same thing on either side. Each list is that distributor’s own largest categories, counted in active listings.

MGE

Firearm
3,432
Knife & Tool
930
Other
854
Ammunition
465
Optic
231

MSR Distribution

Firearm
1,119
Magazine
319
Apparel
258
Parts & Components
146
Safe & Storage
143
Other
112
Optic
90
Ammunition
67

Firearm, Other, Ammunition and Optic appear in both lists, so those counts can be read against each other directly.

Each list stops at that distributor’s eight largest categories. A category on one list and not the other is one we have not counted here, not one that distributor does not carry.

Where each one will ship it

Taken from each company’s own site on the dates shown on their individual pages. Running a drop-ship programme and naming where the parcel goes are separate questions, and most distributors answer only the first — so “Not stated” below means they have not published it, not that they refuse.

Drop-ship programme and shipping destinations for MGE and MSR Distribution.
MGEMSR Distribution
Ships to your storeYesYes
Offers drop-shippingNot statedYes source
Ships to your customer's FFLNot statedYes source
Ships to your customer's addressNot statedNot stated
Ships NFA items to a receiving SOTNot statedNot stated

Every distributor here ships to your own licensed premises — that is what a wholesale account is, not a policy any one of them publishes. Confirm anything you will act on directly with the distributor.

Which should you open?

MGE lists 5,911 distinct UPCs to MSR Distribution's 2,482 — about 2.4× the breadth. 161 UPCs are carried by both — 3% of what MGE lists and 6% of what MSR Distribution lists. Beyond that overlap, 5,750 UPCs appear on MGE alone and 2,321 on MSR Distribution alone. If you open one account, MGE is the wider of the two on its own — it leaves 2,321 UPCs unreachable, against 5,750 if you open MSR Distribution instead. Carrying both reaches 8,232 distinct UPCs, 2,321 more than MGE covers alone. The largest category in both lists is Firearm — MGE lists 3,432 there to MSR Distribution's 1,119. Both feeds answered us 100% of the time over the window we monitor.

This is arithmetic on the counts above, not a recommendation of one company over the other. Which account is worth opening also depends on terms and on what your customers ask for, neither of which is in the catalog data we measure. What each company publishes about shipping destinations is in the table above it.

MGE

MGE Wholesale runs a smaller, focused catalog and delivers it to Project Parabellum as scheduled file drops rather than a live API connection. It fits best as a supplemental account in a dealer's distributor mix — a narrower catalog checked alongside a bigger primary feed rather than run instead of one.

How to open a MGE dealer account

MSR Distribution

MSR Distribution runs one of the smallest catalogs Project Parabellum syncs, delivered as scheduled file drops the same way MGE's and Zanders' feeds are rather than through a live API. A sync pass here finishes quickly given the size, and in practice it works as a niche or supplemental source rather than a catalog broad enough to anchor a storefront on its own.

How to open a MSR Distribution dealer account

Applying for a dealer account

  • Apply for a MGE dealer accountAs a smaller, focused catalog, MGE works best as a supplemental account rather than a dealer's sole distributor. Being an FTP file drop rather than an API, catalog and stock updates arrive on MGE's schedule.
  • Apply for a MSR Distribution dealer accountThe catalog's small size makes this a supplemental account rather than a dealer's primary distributor. As an FTP file drop, updates land on MSR's publishing schedule rather than on demand.

Both links leave this site. Applications are submitted to, reviewed by, and approved by the distributor themselves — Project Parabellum is not part of that process and cannot speed it up or vouch for you.

Project Parabellum is not affiliated with MGE or MSR Distribution, and neither distributor reviews or supplies this page.

The counts here are our own measurements of the feeds we sync, refreshed hourly. They describe what each distributor sends us, which is not the same thing as everything either company sells, and they will differ from figures published elsewhere.