Very excited to have just bought my Ruger Single Six 22/22Mag and naturally needed a holster for it. Spent about an hour on line and found what looked to be a good match/fit from Sportsman's Guide through Amazon. It showed in stock, ready to ship so I ordered it. A couple of hours later I get an e mail saying it would not arrive until late January vs the 3 to 5 days they stated when ordered. Of course they had already charged my credit card for a product they could not deliver. Their e mail said call before 7 CST but when I did they were closed...arrrg!

Sent a smoking e mail and finally got called back. Finally got the order canceled but they said it would be days (as in we don't know or care when), before my card would be credited back. Not a huge amount but how do these bozos stay in business?

I found what I needed at Midway USA and should have the new holster by the end of the week, no freight. The saddest part is that this sort of BS seems to be standard practice with so many retailers. Tried to order from one and only on the last page of the order did they disclose tax and freight/handling charges = to 20+% of the sales price.

So who can you trust these days? You may rest assured it is NOT Sportsman's Guide!

I was going to suggest midwayusa too. Always check out a few different holsters there too sometimes there on sale.
I purchased a shoulder holster for my ruger super Blackhawk with 10 1/2" barrel for $25 on sale I bought the same brand in the belt holster. I figured someday I'd take the 10 1/2" barrel out for some fresh air(ccw).


We have to realize these places are swamped right now between Christmas orders and people buying up guns at the fastest rate we've ever seen. I hope it slows up soon.

If the shortage and crazy prices on ammo ever ends its sportmansguide who will have the cheaper prices first. After the last two ammo shortages it's been sportsmansguide who's been constantly first in offering lower prices. They had 7,62x39 @ $59+ shipp for 1,000rds. and Czech 7,62x54r silver tip for 880rds for $85 delivered. I didn't checkout the other calibers. But watch right after this shortage sportsmansguide for great low prices.

With only a few exceptions I've had pretty good luck with Sportsmansguide.com.

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- Change it back -

I have actually had very good experiences with both Sportsman’s Guide and Amazon. I deal with one or the other however, I don’t go through Amazon to buy from Sportsman’s Guide.

Sportsmans Guide THROUGH Amazon?

That's probably your problem.

I've been buying stuff from SG for 20 years, anyhow. And you know, if something is back-ordered, they have NEVER charged my card until it shipped. Never.

Sounds like an Amazon thing.

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I always take precautions

I just hit Amazon costumer service with a complaint of my own. I complained about the drop shippers and the delay when they sell in one place but ship from another, usually another company. Amazon costumer service told me that most of its venders are drop shippers and there is no way a buyer can tell which is not. I have bought a number of times from Amazon and usually have been satisfied. Maybe the slow down and mistakes are a result of massive holiday business.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

I have bought Christmas stuff for grandkids on Amazon, and had it ship from different places, and had to pay shipping from each company. One of the reasons I really do like to deal with Amazon, but the kids like putting their Christmas lists there, and I have to deal with it. I need to be on there now, rather than hanging out here.

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Richard Gillespie
FBINA 102

We order alot through Amazon (well my wife does) and she is a amazon prime member. We get free second day shipping on everything she orders.
If not we look for another vendor with same item who does offer it.

I'm glad some of you have had good luck with Sportsman's Guide. My post was merely a cautionary tale illustrating some very poor business practices. I simply won't do business with a firm that charges my card for product they don't have after stating it was in stock and would arrive in 3 to 5 days - only to find out it was going to be 3 weeks.

In this case I would blame Amazon, from my experience if you order directly from SG they not charging CC until they have goods in stock. I've had 1k of 7.62x39 for 8 month on backorder and my CC was never charged.

I've had five completely successful, no-shipping orders from Sportsman's Guide in the last month. There was a time when I ordered a lot from them, but then I moved away from it as I perceived their prices weren't so hot. The company is back on my radar, though, for certain things.

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How God has blessed us!

S.G. has a reputation that would make a used car salesman look good.

I'm not going to proclaim them as fantastic, or anything...but I've had quite a few orders from Sportsman's Guide, and they all went through just fine. In fact, I just had to return a toy for a friend's son that I had purchased through them...it arrived broken, and a quick call to them, and they shipped out a return shipping label, no hassles.

I'd have to agree with what others have said...I'd suspect that the problem came with using Amazon as a middle-man. I see no reason for going that route, when ordering through Sportsman's Guide is fairly painless, and they offer better prices if you're a member...probably something unavailable through Amazon.

Tim

At least they're better than Cheaper Than Dirt.

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Certified AR-15 / SIG Armorer.

I've had very good luck with Amazon, especially with returns. Even third party vendors have been easy to deal with. I doubt the Amazon is the problem if Sportsman's Guide is the seller, even through Amazon.

Sports Man's Guide is difficult to buy from if you are in MA and some other states. They have a very, very, long list of things they won't ship to MA, even things that are totally unregulated and are sold in state. Which is why I don't bother dealing with them.

I thought that they were a subsidiary of CTD, but I might be wrong. CTD is good to shop in if you go to the store, but harder on line. Nor do they live up to their name any longer, at least in the catalog.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

Sportsman's guide is just barely a step above Botach Tactical, IMHO.

I'vve seen stories JUST LIKE yours in different places on the net. Enough to convince me never to order from them.

I've never had any problems with Sportsman's Guide.

I've noticed the shipping charge thing late in the ordering procedure, too. I will go through the procedure and if the credit card info request comes before the total w/ shipping, if go elsewhere.

Usually, they want an email address to "open the account" and if I do not complete the order, I will get an email asking why I did not order. I will always reply that they need to either have a shipping estimate page or the total cost including shipping before I enter credit card info in the event I want to cancel.

My run at anarchy, I guess!

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... a little behind in my work

Poor customer service is rampant these days. It is part of the society we the people have created. It will not change until we do and I don't see that happening anytime soon, if at all. As Pogo said we have met the enemy and it is us!

I wrote em off when they were among the first to jump on the ammo shortage with their high prices---wrote off Cheaper Than Dirt too for the same reason--found what I need many other places and usually at better prices too.
olcop

Actually the enemy is/was Sam Walton. He was the one that started the "CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS...ALWAYS...ALWAYS 100% RIGHT."
People no longer had to take responsibility for their own stupidity. Walton actually started an early form of the 'big brother will hold your hand through life lifestyle.'
No I don't shop there.

I'm confused. The idea that the customer is always right means the business expects their employees to do whatever it takes to satisfy the customer. In other words give great customer service.

So how does that mindset translate to lousy customer service? Seems like Sam Walton would be the hero, not the villain if that is the principle he and his company operated under.

Now if you are trying to say that he raised people's expectations for customer service to unreasonable levels, I guess I can follow your logic. But as far as absolving people of responsibility and fostering the idea of the nanny state taking care of them from cradle to grave, I think the blame for that falls squarely on the torte system and the lawyers who promulgate it - including the politicians who are almost all lawyers.

"The customer is always right" goes back well before Sam Walton's time, I think. He made it a major plank in the Wal-Mart platform, but I don't think it originated with him.

In 1956 I had a temporary job in a prominent local department store (now long gone). While I worked there a woman came into the beauty salon in the store, raising hell. She had paid what was then a lot of money for a perm for her teenaged daughter. Two weeks later the girl was killed in a wreck. The woman wanted most of her money back because the child didn't get full use of the permanent.

They gave it to her.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Not true. SG's ammo prices were not artificially inflated like CTD ... SG's prices rose as every other legitimate vendor's did as supply dried up. Additionally, SG honored pre-panic prices long after the fact on back orders, when real time prices were significantly higher. When 7.62x39 was fetching $300+ per case, I was still receiving SG back orders at the original purchase price of $239. SG did not have to honor the lower price in the midst of the ammo buying frenzy, but it did. I have been buying bulk ammo from SG for over a decade, and have found the company's in-stock supplies and pricing to be among the best on the market.

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I'm with the banned ...

"The customer is always right" is a cornerstone of good business and that has been true long before Sam Walton started his business.

So, to follow up on my post from ten days ago, I just had a couple more good experiences with SG.

On the 18th, they ran a special where you'd get free shipping and a $20 gift card (delivered separately and it had to be used by the end of January) with any purchase. So I bought a couple boxes of Winchester #4 buckshot rounds I've been needing - cost me $8.36, total.

Well, I got the two boxes of buckshot rounds delivered last week - I stuck them in my stocking (whoo-hoo! shotgun shells!). And then my $20 gift card came in the mail yesterday.

So, this morning, SG was running another free shipping sale, so I cruised over before leaving for work and found a box of .45 +P Critical Duty ammo for $21.37, so it cost me $1.37, delivered.

So to sum up: that's two boxes of 12-ga #4 buck rounds and a box of Hornady Critical Duty .45 ACP +P delivered to the house for $9.73. Dang - that's less than one of those boxes of shotgun shells would have cost at the store. And I would have had to pay tax on that!

I've got to say - I'm not a member of their "club" or anything, but Sportsman's Guide has been doing right by me lately.

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How God has blessed us!

I have had a $13 dollar order for a molle attached pair of simple one pocket ammo dump pouches that were listed in stock and then put on backorder. I finally recieved a different pouch (single) but with the same catalog order number on the plastic bag. I called customer service and told them that they only sent me one pouch when description listed two. They credited my card and ordered another to be shipped to me to complete the order and then charge my card at this time. The pouch I received is so much better than the item I ordered that i am willing to keep responding to the emails requried to keep this on order. The customer service agent I talked to was great. I have in a past call to customer service got the worst gal I ever talked to and stopped my buyers club membership at the time as a result of that call. I am glad I gave them another chance and hope they are reviewing tapes of calls to weed out the bad agents that have given them the bad reputation. I will do business with them again and often.

the customer is always right i buy something they charge my card i expect to get how easy is that and how can i be wrong

Got another (free shipping, with Buyer's Club pricing even tho I'm not a member) order from them yesterday. Just thought you'd like to see the hilarious packaging.

I ordered three percussion revolver cones from them. Less than half an ounce - less than 2ccs. Look what they sent me:





Oh, and it was $6.29 for the three delivered to my house in four days. Gotta love 'em!

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How God has blessed us!

I am of the impression it is illegal to charge a credit card for merchandise on back order. When I ordered 10 P-mags earlier last year I was told I would be in for a long wait, but they never charged my card until the order shipped.

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Luke 22:36

I have been doing business with them since the mid 90's...and I have bought a TON of stuff from them, camping gear, mil surplus, shooting stuff, gun parts,optics, mags, ammo, clothing, you name it.....occasionally I recv'd something that was not what they had advertised/or I didn't like it for whatever reason and after a call or e mail they sent me a UPS return label and back it went.....prompt refund.....I certainly have had better experiences with them, than Bo TAc or CTD.....not saying they are perfect...nobody is.