Tyler T Grip company shutdown - shipping again
 

I just got a call from a friend in OK that the Tyler T Grip company was shut down by the State. Has anyone else heard of this?

No, that's news to me.

Their web site reports that an office and plant relocation has taken longer than expected, but that they planned to be up and functioning again by one week ago. Since plans rarely work out as hoped, I wouldn't be surprised if they were still in relocation limbo.

Would anybody in OKC like to try direct contact with them and see what the scoop is?

I hope not. I just ordered a couple.

I have called for the last two weeks to confirm is they are willing to take orders...the same recording stating to call back, no way to leave a message though I did leave several last month asking if they were processing new orders...no response.

I have the check in the envelope ready to go but I'm not sending it without talking to a live person AND hearing some feedback here on orders!

Well, I was just checking the bank, and I see they cashed my check. Doesn't mean anything in relation to the question at hand, but at least somebody was there a day or so ago.

Man, I've found that gun accessory customer service is generally really good. Except for these guys.

Call OK state attorney general, too many complaints of cashed checks with no product received equals mail fraud.

Sending money to Tyler at this time is not a good idea.

p.s. Tyler grips are going for big, big $$$ on ebay right now.

They are set up to receive phone calls only between 1 and 6 pm Okla. time.

They are a small family owned operation and sometimes they move slowly. I would not count them out yet.

http://www.t-grips.com/

tipoc

Hopefully your friend saw the old location and was not aware of the move to a new one.

I think if the OK Attorney General was dealing with this business, their on line site would definitely be shut down.

I have bought almost all of the N & K Frame Tylers that I have run into at gun shows for the past year, because they are usually so hard to find. Over the past few months I have traded 15-20 away for various stocks, parts, etc. I have less than 10 left, so my days of trading them away are probably over.

I don't get it. Somebody passes on a crazy rumor and all of a sudden there's advice to call the OK Attorney General, and more advice not to send Tyler money. I've bought five T-grips from Tyler over the last couple of years. They're friendly, helpful and honest folks. Payment is in advance and your T-grip arrives in about 3 weeks. Right now they're changing locations, not running to Tahiti with some guys thirty buck check. Lighten up!

I've had bad experience with Tyler also, Erich. I had ordered a black T-grip for a Colt Detective Special I wanted to photograph for an article. When it arrived, it looked like it was spray painted, and the paint had run and dried in rivulets. I called them and sent it back; the replacement was almost as bad. I got a lame excuse from them and sent the replacement back also. On the third try I got a good one. No company can survive if it manufactures junk and then tries to sell it. They need a good dose of effective Quality Control at Tyler.

John

It is not three weeks. Mine is more like ten-weeks. My check cleared the first week of February. No e-mail, no post-card received to say there would be a delay for any reason. 'Tis a poor way to run even a part-time business. With the number of posts complaining of none-receipt, it is far more than just a thirty-buck check......

Man you would think someone with a Cnc machine could start cranking these out. I imagine there are no patents on these.

I gotta say it's darned tempting to look into it. Coming up with a mold wouldn't be that hard and it's not that tough to melt aluminum.


Hmmm...

I've got a friend with a waterjet company . . . :cool:

That was true some years ago. I did a Tyler order about 18 months ago and your time frame was about right. If you read the thread here that is not even close to the time frames since last fall.

I have called every day THEIR Time to attempt contact. Last call was YESTERDAY. No answering machine just a message to call back.

I also sent them a email requesting contact...again no response...

I would NOT send a check until I talk to a live person to confirm they are shipping grips...

I'd love to have a set of plain brushed aluminum for my model 60. Their website does not foster any kind of confidence that you will receive anything. It's just, send in the money,... we'll get to it if we feel like it.
I can do without.

Rick

I'm glad I bought quite a few in the past 5 years or so, because now you'll be seeing "Got a T-Grip for under $100!" posts:eek:

The prices are gonna quadruple when people start getting wind of this......I though paying $30-40 was too much, I won't be buying any more of them for the prices the used ones will start to go for.

I have personally dealt with Tyler since 1980 and never ever had a problem until 2009. Back when I had an FFL in Florida I would purchase 20 or 30 at a time. I had hoped that all the problems they were having would go away so I could purchase some more but sadly it does not look like it will.

There are several other threads in the forum and at other locations were people have been waiting up to a year. The excuse of the move is only the most recent explination for all the problems.

From what I have been told, the OK Attorney General's Office has ordered them to either refund monies collected or give purchasers their orders. They are not to take any more orders. I do not understand why the website is up.

I most sincerly hope the company comes back. In my lifetime I have unfortunatly seen too many good gun companies go out of business.

The one my father bought in the '50s was cast. The patents have to be long dead on that one. I have friends with both machining and casting experience that I'm inclined to ask about the process of duplicating these things. They can use mine as a sample if need be (it's for a K frame). Think I'll call 'em tomorrow.

I have seen the same situation time and again. The Old Man builds up a great product and company. He dies and the heirs aren't motivated to provide the product or are too sorry to work for the profits from the company. They want all the profit, but all for no work.

Send a copy of each style to a Chinese manufacturer and you will likely have a connex full ot the adapters before Tyler can send you one.

I hope they can get their act together and start producing. Melvin Tyler, the origanial owner was a nice guy. He stocked and sold wooden replacement grips and they were nice. That is what my Dad's Police Positive has on it now.
He ran a gunshop at Frontier City for awhile and a long time ago I bought a very clean 20 gauge Lefever Nitro Special from him for
$47.50. I think I still have the receipt and wish I still had the gun.

Lighten up? Look around. There are a multitude of customers that have paid Tyler good money only to be given one bs story after another and, after months and months and months, no product. Now Tyler will not even answer the phone or return calls.

I wouldn't send them a plug nickel until they get their act together!

I sent Tyler a check on February 1st for two adaptors. The check cleared the next week. As of 0710 hours, 20 April, still no grips.

Moving to a new location is not a valid reason to ignore your customers. How hard would it be for them to change phone message to something in the order of " Hello, you have reached Tyler's Manufacturing. We are currently moving to our new facility and are unable to process orders at this time. We hope to be up and running by XX date. Thank you for your patience."

Also, if they are indeed staying in business, why can't they update their website?

Placing an order with Tyler's at this time is a pretty big gamble, however, it is your money.

I also believe I would wait untill this all comes out in the wash. As much as I like the Tyler T grip, I hope another one of you guys/girls does come out with there own T grip, If you are the only one making a product in the market then you dont have to worry about anything, but with competition you will either get your act together or move on.

With a manufacturing background, I've kicked around the idea of making a product similar to the T-grip (and I'm sure I'm not the only one here) but the problem is recouping the investment and realizing profit. We're talking about a small casting operation, finishing equipment and expensive raw material (aluminum and copper). To illustrate, let's say a $5K investment to get up and running, one would have to sell 200 grip adapters at $25 per just to cover the initial layout, and that's not considering what's in the product itself, time/labor, overhead and unforeseen costs associated with running a small business. Even for someone with all the equipment already in place, a stockpile of aluminum and plenty of free time, he'd have to sell a lot of them, and not only a lot of them initially but continuously, to make it profitable and worth doing.

It's doubtful 100 grip adapters per month change hands out there right now. Trying to break into the market and double or triple that demand somehow, month after month, to stay afloat isn't feasible. Although the grip adapters are popular, they're still a small niche product in a larger revolver market that is slowly shrinking, not growing, over time.

Sounds like this job might require some Chinese people.

Pretty much the conclusion I've come to. It's a darned shame about Tyler.

I really like the T-grip and need a few more, but given the situation I may have to come up with something else.

That is kind of the bottom line. Most people carry automatics now and young guys I meet think revolvers are relics of a bygone era. I hate to see the T Grip go. I am very fond on them and only have a few. I left one on a J frame I sold an old friend the other day but would not have done that for just anybody. Maybe Tyler will work through their troubles but it has been ongoing so long now it doesn't look good.

I probably have half a dozen T-grips, but most of them were bought on eBay. The price might escalate, but at least you are usually assured of getting them.

John

For those who are thinking of manufacturing them, why not in injected molded plastic? There are so many plastic's on the market now, surely there are some well suited for this, ( and they could be any color). Of course there is still the problem of investment start up cost and return on investment. If there is a manufacturer out there that is already in business, and could just create another product line.

Someone please! Stop this madness! :)

Tyler T Grip S&W K & L New in Box Polished | eBay

Madness...
 

Time to start prowling the used gun cases, snapping up everything with a Tyler and then throwing the guns away....

Geeeeez.

$212 is still the record, sold on ebay a month or two ago and posted here. We might see $250 or even $300 soon. Crazy.

time to go dig mine out of the safe and trade it for something I need.

Pachmayer did but gave it up some time ago. Sounds like a good idea though.

That is exactly what I have thought for a long time. I suppose it would not be possible to get a "bright" finish with polymers to match nickel, but matte colors are very attractive as they are. I have a nickel T grip on my Model 629 and a black one on my Model 60. You could not say the finishes exactly match but the contrast is pleasing to the eye.

There must be a better way.

>>if they are indeed staying in business, why can't they update their website?<<

What they should do is sell the company to someone who'll actually produce product and ship it in a timely fashion!

HORRORS
 

NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! I still need one for my RB mod 19.There must be one more chrome or bronze 3R left somewhere in the world. And hopefully not in the hands of a price gouger.I'm trying not to go into PANIC MODE but this is TERRIBLE NEWS.Why, oh why, couldn't this have happened after I got MINE.WOE is me.....Whine, whine, moan, moan...There I'm over it...BUT, I'd still like to have one.

Considering how large this forum is, I would suspect that there is a member that knows where this outfit is. Stopping by the location and asking "Whats up?" should not be out of line. They could also determine if there was anything actually being made at this time.

With all of this bad news, trying to find a positive note, has anyone recieved a T-grip in the last 6 weeks? If so, when did you order it?

I have a friend that was down there for a wedding and tried to reach the company with no luck. He owns an OEM gun parts company and I had talked him into looking at purchasing the equipment and moving production to his facility. This was before another friend mentioned the shutdown.

I'll put my neck on the line and see what I can find out. I live in the OKC metro area and will do some checking. I recently acquired one of their grips on eBay (I will not reveal what I paid, although the recent auction makes my buy look like a real steal!) and have their "old" address on the box. I'll report back when I know something. Wish me luck!

I searched the forum and could not find the $212. Can you send me the link? I have to see this madness.

Sorry, it was $202, back in December. The link to the auction is dead now: http://smith-wessonforum.com/lounge/...#post135750598

Well, now I don't feel so bad. I just bought one on EvilBay for $66.00 and knew I was paying to much, but I wanted/needed it to finish off my project M 19. I only hope that the seller ships it soon.

I feel your pain. I needed one as well, and after weeks of searching paid about $100.00 for a K Frame round butt T-Grip on Ebay. I may have paid more than $100. I don't remember. Somebody posted a link to the sale suggesting that only an idiot would pay that much. Guilty as charged, but it sure looks and feels good.