Warning about online sites selling components, buyer beware!!

[Twoevilfouryou]

try Diamond K brass here in AZ.
Every reloading supplier here is jammed with back orders or are waiting to be resupplied buy their suppliers, a couple have closed and several have shut down there web sites and are only doing walk in business until they can get caught up on there back orders.

also i like to go through the pawn shops and recently found a large box of miscellaneous brass around 4,500 peices of mixed brass for $50. MAYBE I GOT LUCKY but i going to keep looking at pawn shops for a while just in case

 

[Almondgrower]

Take personal mental note : this WILL flatten back out and return to normal but the question is as usual.....when . The best part of supply and demand is that all the manufacturers really ramp up production and eventually it all backs up , then comes the email blasts begging you to buy it ......cheap ! I have enough for reloading for a long time because I stock up during these times ! I'm not a hoarder nor do I buy cheap to gouge people , I fact , I don't sell anything , I just make sure my dad and I are covered in times like these. Take note of the business playing these game and once this is over .....forget they ever existed and only buy from the honest ones !

 

[ntsqd]

I'm sure that there are reputable companies caught in a bad situation with this shortage going on. Most likely they're doing the best that they can given the turmoil.

I'm equally sure that there are disreputable companies taking advantage of it. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Keep your need in check and don't let it make bad decisions for you.

Never ever buy from optics planet, they're bald face liars.

I've bought powder and bullets from powdervalley in the last cpl weeks, both shipped in a matter of days.

It seems wapiti Bob is correct ive seen alot of other instances like he's describing with optics planet

Count me as one of them. Ordered a butt-stock from them. Picture clearly showed a component that I'd have had to buy separately from others, and for a competitive price. Read the page thoroughly multiple times before placing the order, it never mentioned that component as either being included or excluded yet it was clearly in their picture of the butt-stock. No such part when the order arrived so I called them and got the run-around. The "CS" person that I talked to refused to send me to their supervisor. I think that the 'S' in their case stands for "screw", not "service'. As far as I'm concerned that was bait and switch, but a $15 part isn't worth the trouble of getting the local DA involved - even if they would pursue it (which I kind of doubt).
However, Optics Planet made a enemy with the memory of an elephant over a $15 part and their attitude, and I'm not missing a chance to paint them in a bad light.

 

[PAGSDIII701]

I am waiting on some bullets too. 5-6 weeks before shipping. Frustrating, but netter than not having them coming.

What did we order?

 

[Huggy]

I've been searching/surfing the various web suppliers for some .357 magnum brass for the past two or three months without any success. This pretty much is what we've all been getting, up until this afternoon when I went on a very reputable site and found some new, Starline, .357 magnum brass for $108 plus shipping for 500 pieces, and....it was in stock!! Well.....I thought that this was too good to be true, checked the company out, they "were" a reputable company, been around for a while, so I opened an account and placed the order. I then later received a confirmation email:

"Your order has been received. Thank you for your payment.

DUE TO THE HIGH VOLUME OF ORDERS, IT MAY TAKE UP TO 14 TO 16 WEEKS FOR YOUR ORDER TO BE SHIPPED.

You will receive an email when all of your order is complete.

Your order details are as follows."

I cannot believe the 14-16 week shipping times, and...this company finds this acceptable??? At this point I am asking should I cancel the order, or leave it to see if they in fact fill the order at the price they advertised. I've have also found sites on Ammo Seek that have said they have components in stock, go their web site and before you can order they get all of your contact information. Once the contact information gathered and you try to order the components, they were in stock when you were searching their web page, however they were back ordered once you have opened an account. I am sure others have found this to be true also. Thought that I would share this information with other reloaders in hopes to prevent others from getting ripped off. This isn't reloading stuff, however another ripoff. In September I ordered a custom made, crossdraw holster for a Glock 20. It was advertised 9-12 week waiting period. I place the order online, my credit card was charged the next day for the amount of the holster; like $160. The site advertised that once the holster was in production I would receive updates on the holster's progress. On December 24 I received an email with a USPS tracking number for the holster being shipped. The shipping information stated that the "shipping label" had been made and that the USPS facility was awaiting arrival. At the end of January this was all the tracking information provided. I contacted the company and kept getting the run around, so I told the company to cancel the order. Well now they want to charge me a 25% restocking fee for the holster that I never got or got lost in the mail. Just curious if others have any experiences such as this/these??

Man, I feel your pain on this one and have experienced it myself. If it is any consolation, there is the "Nuclear Option" that i have employed before.
When Company X pulled that BS on me, I contacted my CC company, explained the situation and THEY pulled 100% of the funds from the merchant, pending a dispute period.
That usually ends with a nasty call from Company X demanding their 25% restocking fee but I tell them that with their disreputable business plan they can C.M.A. and I give them scathing reviews on every platform online I can find. They have even written me emails asking me to remove my scathing reviews because "it is hurting our business."
The GALL some of them have in doing business like they do!
They take your money TODAY to keep the lights on and it makes me wonder about their solvency. Makes me wonder how they can even stay in business some times.

 

[LanceS4803]

The site advertised that once the holster was in production I would receive updates on the holster's progress. On December 24 I received an email with a USPS tracking number for the holster being shipped. The shipping information stated that the "shipping label" had been made and that the USPS facility was awaiting arrival. At the end of January this was all the tracking information provided.

This seems to be more common lately.
They start the shipping process, get a tracking number, and it just sits.
I have to wonder if this is related to making it more difficult to dispute a cc charge?

 

[RWE]

MidSouth did not charge me until the order shipped.

Of all the places that I have bought reloading gear and components from, I am sticking with MidSouth Shooting Supply.

I have no association with them, just appreciate good business and thought I would add.

 

[Huggy]

MidSouth did not charge me until the order shipped.

Of all the places that I have bought reloading gear and components from, I am sticking with MidSouth Shooting Supply.

I have no association with them, just appreciate good business and thought I would add.

THIS is the ethical business practice I feel ALL businesses should adhere to but I maintain that too many of them are running close to financial margins that they closely parallel a Ponsi scheme: take YOUR money TODAY to keep the lights on long enough to convince others to send money so they can fulfill earlier orders first.
And if they go our if business, who takes it in the shorts? I'll let you figure that one out. It can be maddening though.

 

[mcnanysa]

As a business guy, you can't charge your customer before you deliver goods and/or services. If you do, you start acting like Enron - and that ended so well for so many people - to the point Congress passed laws against it (The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002). Now, there are "reasonable" times put on those restrictions, and you have to pay attention to the "fine print" that shows up on the screen when you're ordering. Some of the sites I've seen tell you that you are giving them the right to charge your credit card immediately, so pay attention.

I've had great dealings with Midsouth, too. MidwayUSA has been good about shipping and their customer service has bent over backwards to accommodate me. Natchez Shooters Supply is decent, too. I had major issues with Numrich (trying to get odd-ball parts for my gunsmithing business) when their "governor" decided everything needed to be shut down for 2020, but they finally got things straightened out and are shipping quickly and efficiently.

Unless it is demanded, all of my shipping goes through FedEx. That includes all the stuff I order in. Sometimes I have to pay a bit more, but FedEx gets my shipping money first, and then UPS. I won't deal with USPS anymore, as they have proved they're beyond incompetent.

 

[robert6715]

Never ever buy from optics planet, they're bald face liars.

I've bought powder and bullets from powdervalley in the last cpl weeks, both shipped in a matter of days.

I couldn't agree more. 5 or 6 years ago I posted similar disparaging words about these clowns & the post was removed, I assumed it was because they were a sponsor at the time. Will be interesting to see if this gets removed.

 

[Huggy]

I couldn't agree more. 5 or 6 years ago I posted similar disparaging words about these clowns & the post was removed, I assumed it was because they were a sponsor at the time. Will be interesting to see if this gets removed.

There is always Yelp to voice your issues with them. Those are untouchable by the business except to dispute the claims. Of course if you go ignorant with foul language it might be removed by the Yelp moderators.
But YMMV.

 

[Floridaboy123]

A friend ordered something from midway a while back. Was tracking and ups said arrived in town but had turned package over to postal service which they shipped to Miami. Took 2 more weeks to come back!!

 

[Alibiiv]

As a business guy, you can't charge your customer before you deliver goods and/or services. If you do, you start acting like Enron - and that ended so well for so many people - to the point Congress passed laws against it (The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002). Now, there are "reasonable" times put on those restrictions, and you have to pay attention to the "fine print" that shows up on the screen when you're ordering. Some of the sites I've seen tell you that you are giving them the right to charge your credit card immediately, so pay attention.

I've had great dealings with Midsouth, too. MidwayUSA has been good about shipping and their customer service has bent over backwards to accommodate me. Natchez Shooters Supply is decent, too. I had major issues with Numrich (trying to get odd-ball parts for my gunsmithing business) when their "governor" decided everything needed to be shut down for 2020, but they finally got things straightened out and are shipping quickly and efficiently.

Unless it is demanded, all of my shipping goes through FedEx. That includes all the stuff I order in. Sometimes I have to pay a bit more, but FedEx gets my shipping money first, and then UPS. I won't deal with USPS anymore, as they have proved they're beyond incompetent.

Thanks for this information, this I didn't know. Also when I posted this thread I was concerned there would not be that much interest however I was wrong and lots of good information is coming out of it. Thanks to everyone for their replies.

 

[marchboom]

With the efficiency of the USPS, the gov't has the nerve to say that they can manage our health care better than we can.