The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: RTFM on May 07, 2012, 10:40:06 PM
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So I've had a Stainless Steel SR9C on order for 7 weeks now, I put some advanced money on it - and every time I went in to check on the status I would get the "not yet" - 'Charlie is working on it" - "No news yet"
All the while I've seen other SR9C on the shelves of other local and "chain" gun shops here in Southern Idaho.
For the last three weeks I've been getting in Charlies face about his lack of ability to secure a gun for me.
He said he could not fined one to order, so last week I I brought him in a list of local, state and national dealers who had them, I told him I would pay a reasonable mark up if they would order one and resell it.... he said he has "Over 93 gun distributors searching high and low for me and would not entertain a purchase from a competitor"
I went in on Saturday May 05 and he would not talk to me, he got up went to the back room and apparently out the back door, as I tracked down the owner of the store and plead my case to her - she wanted to make it right and went to go find him out back to figure out what to do, she came back and said he and his car were gone.
I went in today and cornered him along whit his boss/owner of the store and after some very nasty words, he said "WE DON'T WANT RUGER GUNS IN HERE"
I finally get down to the REAL reason I could not get a SR9C - they refused to find/secure/order my pistol.... then he told the owner to charge me 35% restocking fee for a gun that was never ordered, said he had to call people and do paper work.
Again more words... the owner was clearly upset, I manage two or three new guns a year - most of my ammo, magazines... you all k now the stuff you buy to run your weapons - and have for the last 12 years.
She sided with him but never looked me in the eye when she made her decision.
I told her if this was the road we wanted to travel, she'd never see me or my money again....
When we got to the register she gave me back all of my deposit but told me not to tell Charlie....
She won't have to worry - they'll never see me again -
Always wondered why I have never seen any RUGER firearms, and now I know why.... THEY DO NOT RUGER HERE"
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Sorry for the long book post... just a little pissed off.
This year I plan on buying through them but now through Sportsman's Warehouse a RUGER SR9C, a RUGER 10/22 Take down, Also on the list is a RUGER SR1911 (If I can find one) and a RUGER Scout Rifle (If the budget can support it)
(yes - I have already received the wife's permission)
When it is all said and done - I do plan to go there One More Time - to show them just how much money there WE DON'T WANT RUGER HERE policy cost them.
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Makes me wonder what kind of experiences they have had with Ruger to cloud their judgement? IIRC Ruger is growing at record rates, some of which I attribute to the death of Bill and some of his old school beliefs, and has surpassed 1.3 million guns sold in the last year.
It is about time I buy another Ruger or two... ;)
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Maybe this has something to do with that:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_B._Ruger
Ruger received criticism from gun owners for suggesting that rather than ban guns, that Congress should outlaw magazines holding more than 15 rounds.[8] On March 30, 1989, Bill Ruger sent a letter to every member of the US Congress stating:
"The best way to address the firepower concern is therefore not to try to outlaw or license many millions of older and perfectly legitimate firearms (which would be a licensing effort of staggering proportions) but to prohibit the possession of high capacity magazines. By a simple, complete and unequivocal ban on large capacity magazines, all the difficulty of defining 'assault rifle' and 'semi-automatic rifles' is eliminated. The large capacity magazine itself, separate or attached to the firearm, becomes the prohibited item. A single amendment to Federal firearms laws could effectively implement these objectives."
William B. Ruger[9]
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Bill Ruger was also interviewed about it later on TV by some big media person like Tom Brokaw or Dan Rather. Bill's exact words were " no honest man needs more than ten rounds..."
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Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to excuse the gunshop's behavior. They should have been on the up and up right from the git-go with you.
In my opinion your best recourse is to drag the shop's name through a website like insiderpages.com
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As a business owner he has the right to sell the merchandise he chooses. What he DOES NOT have a right to do is charge you a deposit for a gun he never had any intentions of ordering for you in the first place. How stupid is this guy? I mean really, how did he think this was going to end up?
You put cash money down on this weapon. A weapon he never ordered, and had zero intentions of ever ordering. He then lies to you about his actions, telling you, or else having someone else tell you he's moving heaven and Earth to find one, when they're everywhere. Was this guy so stupid as to think you were simply going to give up and let him keep your money?
I swear some of these business owners are getting dumber and dumber. If they make money, many do it in spite of themselves. I would tell everyone you know about what happened. This kind of crap needs to hit these people right in their pocket book. Then they'll wise up. As far as his whacked out, silly reasoning why he "doesn't want Ruger guns in his store!", that's fine. Then put up a sign telling people that. All this fool did was involve you in a stupid jackpot that didn't have any reason to take place to begin with. And it has cost him a loyal customer. That's a pretty big slice of dumb for him to have to eat all by himself.
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One of the shops I go to has the same policy! Not sure why. There prices on almost everything are a bit high so I don't worry about not having Ruger firearms but it is a place to see and hold things sooner than other places. I can choose something I want and but it somewhere else when available!
Richard
PS: They are the only stocking STI dealer in the area also, so I get to look at STI guns. A lot of good ideas but nothing I can't live without.
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A lot of these businesses get stupid and careless when business is good, not realizing it can get bad equally as fast. And people don't forget. I'm having a problem now with Wideners. I have done a lot of business with them in the past and they've always been quick to ship. They are very busy now, and on their website they state in big red letters there is up to a 16 day wait for shipping Haz-Mat materials.
Way back on the 18th of last month I ordered 3, 8 pound jugs of WC-844 powder from them because they had it in stock, and at a good price. While I wasn't in a hurry, and almost out of it, I didn't have a problem with the wait. What they do not inform you of is they charge your credit card at the time you place your order, not at the time they ship. If they were going to ship in just a few days it wouldn't be an issue. But they charged the entire amount to my card 15 minutes after I placed it, over 3 weeks ago, and my order still hasn't been processed. That is ridiculous. I called about it and she told me it would be at least until the end of the month before they shipped my order. In the meantime the powder is showing "out of stock". It was in stock when I ordered it, or I wouldn't have placed the order. If my 3 jugs are set aside, I have no way of knowing other than by them telling me, which they haven't. At this point I'm not so sure I would trust them because of what they pulled.
Today I'm going to call them and tell them if they can't ship by the end of business today, and provide me with a UPS tracking number for proof of shipment, I want the order cancelled, and my account credited for the full amount. Waiting is one thing. Paying, and waiting is another. You would think they could put 3 plastic jugs in a box and send it faster than Ford can build a truck and deliver it to a dealer across the country. This is the kind of careless, foolish crap that sinks small businesses.
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Well, the shop I work at will not sell Smith and Wessons or Colt. I guess to each his own. I wish we did. The owner got pissed off at Smith back when Clinton was in office and they made some sort of deal with the Clinton administration. Colt at one time basically stopped selling guns to civilians. Boss said screw them both, and have not had new ones in the shop since. He wont carry Walther, because they are with Smith, nor T/C since Smith bought them out. I think it is a bad business decision myself, but he writes my checks, so what can I do? Nobody has been able to talk him out of it, and almost everybody has tried.
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Bill Ruger was also interviewed about it later on TV by some big media person like Tom Brokaw or Dan Rather. Bill's exact words were " no honest man needs more than ten rounds..."
Well, the shop I work at will not sell Smith and Wessons or Colt. I guess to each his own. I wish we did. The owner got pissed off at Smith back when Clinton was in office and they made some sort of deal with the Clinton administration. Colt at one time basically stopped selling guns to civilians. Boss said screw them both, and have not had new ones in the shop since. He wont carry Walther, because they are with Smith, nor T/C since Smith bought them out. I think it is a bad business decision myself, but he writes my checks, so what can I do? Nobody has been able to talk him out of it, and almost everybody has tried.
These type of gun boycotting decisions are just plain foolish. Here is why. Bill Ruger is dead. Not only is he dead, but no one with the last name Ruger is currently holding any type of management position in that company any longer. Ruger has totally changed their old policies that Bill Ruger diligently enforced. They are selling Hi-Cap mags not only to anyone, but have brought their prices way down as to be more in line with the current economy and shooters needs.
Smith & Wesson isn't even owned by the same company, (Tompkins PLC), when their then President Ed Schultz entered into that stupid agreement that never went anywhere. They are now owned by Safe-T-Hammer Corporation here in Phoenix. They have come a long way since then with introduction of AR-15 rifles along with the Smith & Wesson .500 and .460 Magnum. Making them pay for what the company did while they had no control over it is dumb. They are not only hurting themselves, but the gun industry in general. This kind of foolishness accomplishes nothing, and is like cutting off your nose to spite your face.
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Believe me, billt, I agree with you. Many of us have tried many times to get him to relent on this, but he is hardheaded as hell.
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Lots of luck on the Scout coming to a store near you since I know a guy that has one on order since Dec last year
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Again more words... the owner was clearly upset, I manage two or three new guns a year - most of my ammo, magazines... you all k now the stuff you buy to run your weapons - and have for the last 12 years.
This is the bit that puzzles me, if I was the owner I would have suggested that the store member pull their heads in and ordered the firearm. Clearly this person has no idea of how the shop is run.
I dont know of any owner which would alienate a customer which would cost them not only now but of future purchases.
Howmany people will you tell at your local club, friends etc a few hundred dollars is likely to cost them thousands, Just plain stupid imho,
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This is the bit that puzzles me, if I was the owner I would have suggested that the store member pull their heads in and ordered the firearm. Clearly this person has no idea of how the shop is run.
I dont know of any owner which would alienate a customer which would cost them not only now but of future purchases.
Howmany people will you tell at your local club, friends etc a few hundred dollars is likely to cost them thousands, Just plain stupid imho,
+1 exactly what I was thinking
if it was not going to work for the client at all then I would not sell and let them know however in this case
in this day and age with 1 the internet to tell everyone of your experience and 2 money is tight and retail can and is tough out there you would think they would be after every sale they can get especially as easy as yours would of been.
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I just got off the phone with Wideners. They were very willing to cancel my order and credit my account. Too willing. My guess is they sold that stuff out and weren't keeping track of how much they had. They most likely wound up taking more orders than they had stock on hand. They then had several people who's orders they couldn't fill. Rather than call them telling them the situation, they just left me hanging hoping I would wait it out. Now I'll never do business with them again, and I was a good customer.
Today I'll head up to United Nations Ammo Company. They've got British Kynoch .50 BMG Ball ammo for $375.00 for 150 rounds. That's only $2.50 a round. I can't shoot my Weatherbys for that price unless I handload brass I've got on hand.
http://www.unammo.com/
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This is the bit that puzzles me, if I was the owner I would have suggested that the store member pull their heads in and ordered the firearm. Clearly this person has no idea of how the shop is run.
I dont know of any owner which would alienate a customer which would cost them not only now but of future purchases.
Howmany people will you tell at your local club, friends etc a few hundred dollars is likely to cost them thousands, Just plain stupid imho,
They are "The oldest gun shop in Idaho" the problem being is (in my opinion) it was pleasantly run by past generations, when Grand dad and dad passed away - the store fell in to the eldest daughters hands and her son.
It has gone through A LOT of issues and faces in the last 10 years, adding a tattoo parlor in the back which failed, added a piercing parlor - failed, moved twice, added motorcycle leather distribution - failed, pawn shop -
They almost lost the shop in the last few years and had the ATF scrutinizing them, but as usual, the ATF was found to have trumped up some paperwork that lost their case, in those years it was like no distributor wanted to touch them with a 10' pole. Rightly so, would you want inventory tied up with a store that was in dire straights with BHO's henchmen?
Mother and son just don't appear to have a SOLID grasp of what a local - full service gun store needs to be - the stock / selected group of manufactures they carry blows with the wind.
One year all you can find is FN then next all Glock, then S&W then Springfield, you typically do not find a solid mix of manufacturers but ALL models x5 of each and very little selection of other manufacturers.
After last nights fiasco I cut the cord, I was solidly in there corner and really tried to stay by their side through thick and thin but it became glaringly clear to me, they just do not care about customer stultification - they talk the talk in advertisements but they did not walk the walk when it came down to it.
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Take all the guns in...
Tell them you need ammo, holsters, soft cases, hard cases, optics, lasers, .....anything you would need for them...
When they are all stacked up on the counter, tell them "On second thought, I think I'll get this stuff from the shop that sold me the guns. Loyalty, you know."
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Take all the guns in...
Tell them you need ammo, holsters, soft cases, hard cases, optics, lasers, .....anything you would need for them...
When they are all stacked up on the counter, tell them "On second thought, I think I'll get this stuff from the shop that sold me the guns. Loyalty, you know."
That is exactly what I plan on doing - hopefully around Christmas 2012 - lay out all of the receipts for a single competitor and tell them THIS! is what we don't want your business DID NOT earned you this year.
Thanks for letting me vent all. Man was I hot last night (ad still am - but cooling off)
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That is exactly what I plan on doing - hopefully around Christmas 2012 - lay out all of the receipts for a single competitor and tell them THIS! is what we don't want your business DID NOT earned you this year.
Thanks for letting me vent all. Man was I hot last night (ad still am - but cooling off)
Not only the reciepts, but the websites you've mentioned it on, including this one, specifically listing the number of members that saw the posts. "If they tell two friends, and they tell two friends..."
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Not only the reciepts, but the websites you've mentioned it on, including this one, specifically listing the number of members that saw the posts. "If they tell two friends, and they tell two friends..."
+1
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When people do a google search for say "gunstores + idaho", that store will come up, then there will be an option for clicking on reviews. Go see where those reviews are posted, then post your own. In some cases it is insider pages. I have never done it, but i have shooting friends who have done it.
You could also go to Boise Craig's List in the sporting goods section and type a post saying that XYZ guns sucks.
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Just don't post anything that isn't true! Slander is a crime!
The frustration here is that a gun store may have handguns in stock but I cannot purchase all of them due to our phuqued up list of approved firearms.
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Do what you want. She did the right thing and gave your money back. For me, that would be the end of it. I would just go my own way rather than rub her face in it.
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Do what you want. She did the right thing and gave your money back. For me, that would be the end of it. I would just go my own way rather than rub her face in it.
I would agree!
As a business owner, she knows she's losing money but chose not to do anything about it. You're probably getting more upset than she is...
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Armslist, Gun Broker, Bud's Guns.
They gottem.
I bought em.
SR9C.
I love the way they shoot. :D
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I also recommend Budsgunshop.com. Knock on wood (knocking on head ;) ), I have purchased two revolvers from them and have not had any problems.
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They are "The oldest gun shop in Idaho" ...
This "no Ruger" thing is hard for me to understand. Even more so because there's a vendor on GunBroker named "Red's Trading Post" whose banner includes this same "oldest gun shop in Idaho" message (also says 'Since 1936') and they seem to have Rugers listed on a fairly regular basis - a new listing for a Single Ten 22LR showed up just this morning. A search of all of their listings shows several Ruger pistols and revolvers. If this is the same store as the OP is talking about, then something is weird - they may not want Rugers in the store but they have no problem selling them on GunBroker. I have not bought from Red's but they have an A+(5225) feedback score with no negatives in the last 30 days.