I tried to buy a smith model 41 from Buds over the phone made a down payment on it got email back from them and they said it was on layway. within a few day I got a email the 2nd time saying they screw up and sold the pistol to some one else after i had it on layway. I got my money back but finding a nice 41 with box and tools used is hard to find. So I lost out and they lost a customer never again. HORNET

Sorry you had a bad experience. I live in Lexington and visit Bud's a couple of times a week, usually just to use their range, but it is usually a madhouse in there. It is the only real decent gun shop in the Central Kentucky area, and they always appear to be swamped with customers in the store and WAY understaffed. I think it may just be a case where that the left hand (online customer service) is just not very aware what the right hand (people buying in the store itself) is doing. I can say from firsthand experience that the guys in their Military and Law Enforcement gun sales are top notch, but I can't speak for anyone else.

I have purchased 12 handguns, 4 Shotguns and 8 long rifles from Buds Gun Shop and Buds Police Supply. I have had various transactions ranging from Cash, Credit and there 90 Day Layaway with only 1 issue. That issue was a 7 day transaction time during a Holiday weekend. I simply find it easier in time and financially to purchase online and Buds makes it all the more easy.

I'm sorry for your bad experience, but businesses like Bud's have bad days...

__________________
Never Forget

I ordered my 15-22 from Buds on 11/20 and have yet to receive it. Should i be worried.

Have you checked the website for order status or called? I would think record sales volume combined with Christmas shopping is resulting in a back log of orders.

I ordered my 15-22 from Bud's maybe a little over a month ago and my local gun shop had it in 4 or 5 days. Could just be the time of year maybe.

I never had any real complaints about buds until, on 2 different occasions, I tried to buy a used firearm. Couple of years ago saw a great deal pop up on a colt anaconda. "bought" it but the next day I'm told that the revolver wasn't really in the system. It was a computer update error.

Ok but the same thing happened a few months later for a screaming deal on an older m1a/m14. Well a bit too coincidental for me.

The status said shipping for the past week. I tried calling today and they were closed. Ill call on monday. Im sure its what you guys are saying about them being busy but after seeing all your rigs i want mine asap.

I've been waiting on my 15-22 MOE to ship across town from their warehouse to their retail store for pick up since last Wednesday.

I realize they say 3-7 business days for processing and that it's a busy time of year, but I'm getting antsy and really tempted to just cancel the order and pick up one of the 3 standard threaded barrel version they have on the shelf at my LGS/R especially since all of my initial batch of stuff to throw on it (ordered on Monday morning) has already been delivered via UPS ground. Probably would have just done this in the first place if the CS rep hadn't said orders typically only take 2-3 days to be available for in store pickup.

I just want to note... the 3% credit surcharge is BS. Gun shops are the only industry I ever see who pull these shenanigans. And I buy a LOT off the web. A lot. They know they are a huge ONLINE gun dealer, so they know their "cash" prices are enticing, but not real world to the average ONLINE buyer. So, we must use a CC to make a secure purchase and purchase in a reasonable time frame. Most companies out there absorb the CC fees as a cost of doing business, this gun industry.. not so much.

I just got a pistol from Bud's, I know its that time of the year, but they did not respond to my email request on the status of my order then it suddenly showed up. I dunno if I will buy from them again or not.

Is it?

If people don't notice the 3% CC charge, I'd call that a "stupid tax".

On the other hand, if you noticed the surcharge but don't like it, please tell us the make and model of the gun that someone put to your head forcing you to buy from Bud's; I'll be generous: identifying the caliber is optional.

I had an eye on a gun at Bud's and was set to purchase when I noticed I had to be a "VIP Member" to get the advertised discount. The is gimmicky and off-putting. The VIP's get better prices for multiple purchases supposedly but it seems to me just another way to suck a few dollars from would-be customers. I won't shop at Bud's again.

I personally am uncomfortable with the thought of buying firearms online, especially when I can't return them. I'm very picky, and I want a perfect firearm with an undamaged box, accessories, etc. I've seen too many guns at shops with nicks, scuffs, and other flaws.

Also, when I factor in the shipping costs, transfer fees, tax, etc. and the time and anxiety of dealing with people online, I've found I'm not very saving much after all.

They are terribly slow to ship. I was told 3-5 days but its been double that, I've called and e-mailed. Their response is "we're super busy". Seriously annoying

__________________
Dyin ain't much of a livin

I cant speak for Buds or gun shops in general but the 3% is NOT BS. We tell the same thing to our customers who want to use a CC. If you buy a $1000 of product from me with a CC I will receive $970 from the CC company. So in order for me to get my $1000 i need to charge you $1030. This is the % the card company takes from us as soon as we swipe/run the card. Thats just visa. Mastercard used to charge 5% so we stopped accepting them.

CC companies do this most of the time but businesses that do a lot of sales eat up that %. Like Walmart, they wont charge you 3% for buying a pair of socks or light bulbs. Because the make so much they can afford to eat the % cost. In my business (cars) where you might have a few sales a month you cant eat the %. Gun business might be the same or similar

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

In early 2011 I bought a CZ 452 from Bud's, faxed them my LGS FFL, paid with a CC and had it in hand 5 days later. Don't recall anything about a 3% surcharge but that doesn't mean they didn't do it.

Couple of weeks ago I was in another local GS (much larger and better managed than the nearer one) and a customer next to me mentioned Bud's Gun Shop to the store owner. When I told the store owner that I had once purchased a rifle from Bud's he said, "You don't have to do that. Get their price when you want to buy from them again and I can come very close to matching it and chances are you won't have to wait".

I think I'll be doing just that from now on.

RE: Credit card fraud. I have a Citi credit card and last year, when I still had a land line, Citi called my home phone one morning and the woman said, "hi, I guess 'cause you answered your phone you're still home in Arizona." "Right," I answered. "Then," she said, "I guess you didn't buy a $459 leather coat from a department store in Chicago this morning, did you." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. She told me they had canceled the charge, called the store, and the guy was apparently still in the store and was apprehended.

The credit card surcharge is a fact of life. The retailer pays it no matter what. Buds tells you up front that buying with a card will cost you another three percent. Others just tack the surcharge onto the price and say nothing.

Which is the more honest retailer?

BTW, I've never bought anything from Buds and don't purchase firearms online. Everything I've wanted a specific firearm, I've been able to purchase it locally for little more than mail order prices.

Your charging us the money in the end anyway! In my book you look lame for the whole CC charge... just build it into your price & be done with it like 95 percent of the other businesses figured out how to do. You look worse doing it this way IMHO & that perception matters.

I'm way more likely to buy from a place that just has a price versus one with a double price as you look nickel & dime to me.

Honest? Huh?

Somehow most businesses figured out how to build it into the price & get on with it. How is it being any more honest to note it after the fact and look like your nickel & diming? Both charge the same in the end but this way retailers look like the dreaded airline industry...

Here is your price BUT here is the actual price.

Remember here - as some are blowing this off - we are talking about an ONLINE business so most can't get the "cash" price... so the CC surcharge is even more of a dig.

Just like the gas stations, giving a cash discount...

Whatever you say. It's obvious this really bugs you. It appears that you are in the minority on the subject.

I am ok with the 3% CC charge most shops are not making that much off gun sales. The true money makers are accessories. I know the local guy I get most my guns from has shown me his cost on a few guns.

Most the time he is about 12% over his cost and 5% of that 12% gets donated back into a local Hospital. He is always the cheapest and normally the same price or close to the price of Buds. I have not heard good things about buds CS our there business practices so I stay away other then just browsing there sight.

Consider a checking/debit card account set up just for use over the web. Ebay, Gunbroker, etc. Keep just a few bucks in it, deposit money in to it right before buying something online. If they hack the account number, there is only a few dollars in it to lose.
Not keeping a minimum will cost you a monthly service fee, but if it keeps your main account numbers off of websites maintained by those beyond your control it is worth considering.

If you bank over the web, your password needs to be secure. No words in English, or even other languages, should be used, because password stealing programs look for whole words. Instead use a short, gibberish phrase, or use the first 2 or 3 letters of 2 or 3 different words, along with upper and lower case, numbers, and symbols if allowed. Some people say let a 2 year old hit some keys and use some of it as your password.
Store your web-financial passwords on a flash drive. You can buy 4 gig flash drives for about $5 these days. When you sign in to your bank, or pay pal, or other such sites, do not hand type your password, instead copy/paste the password off the flash drive, this eliminates the common "key stroke" record (typing in other words) that stealth programs look for on your computer. If there is no record, they can't steal it and hack your account.
Keep the flash drive near your computer, but only plug it in to the USB when you need it.

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Geoff. Since 1960.

Yea and the next guy says "hey look they are charging $30 more. I'll buy from the other company. " OR "hey look they are trying to be sneaky with their CC fee and are not upfront about it! How do i know they are only being charged 2% but making me pay 3%?"

Trying to please everyone Id rather pull my own teeth slowly and without pain killers

This way you know what it is and how much everything is.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

Will credit card users now have to pay swipe fees?
The massive Visa-MasterCard settlement ends a long-running battle with merchants, but also opens the door for retailers to charge customers extra.
By TheWeek.com Jul 16, 2012 1:36PM


(V -0.71%), MasterCard (MA -0.66%), and several banks have agreed to pay $7.25 billion to settle antitrust charges that were brought by 7 million merchants -- a diverse group ranging from the nation's largest chains to mom-and-pop shops.


If the deal is approved by a federal judge, it would end a long-running dispute over the "swipe fee" -- 2% to 5% of the bill -- that Visa and MasterCard charge merchants every time a customer uses plastic. Under the terms of the settlement, Visa, MasterCard, and the banks would pay out $6 billion in penalties and reduce the swipe fee. In addition, merchants would be allowed to levy a surcharge on customers who use credit cards, which would let them recoup the cost of the reduced swipe fee.

Are retailers likely to do so?

Yep. Customers should expect to start paying more: Many retailers will likely impose a new "checkout fee" for consumers paying with credit cards, says Susanna Kim at ABC News. While big chains like Wal-Mart (WMT +1.09%) and Target (TGT -0.50%) may decide that they can afford to eat the costs of the swipe fee in order to retain customer loyalty, struggling mom-and-pop shops around the country are more likely to take advantage of this windfall.

Source: MSN Money: Will credit card users now have to pay swipe fees?- MSN Money

Neither my FFL-Holder and at least one of the large retail stores here in Denver will not accept shipments from Buds. Fradulent misuse of an FFL was one reason.

Do you know that the credit card companies charge the merchant 3 to 5% of the transaction? The fact is that most merchants build that cost into their price. Bud's gives you a chance to save that 3% by paying cash. I recently bought a S&W 617 from Bud's and I opted to pay the additional cost for the connivence:cool of using my credit card. It was clear to me what the terms were. As for shipping, they do take longer than some companies, not a deal breaker for me.

I have the largest gun dealer in New England just 30 minutes from me. I find that after you figure in the FFL fees and all, they equal or beat Bud's prices 95 percent of the time. There's a smaller dealer nearby that does almost as good.

No reason to deal with mail order dealers.

My wife and I run a small business and accept credit cards daily. As soon as the card number is ran and accepted the persons info is shredded no questions ask. No numbers for anyone to get.

My last 4 guns were bought via the web. I have zero qualms about it. I do enough research (web, hands on, forums, etc) to know I know I want it before I buy it. So, for me, it is a zero issue buying off the web. And I, of course, research the sellers. With the web, you can find out all about a seller.

Of course, I think it totally goes without saying that you factor all related costs from a web purchase versus your local FFL before buying. I think that is a no brainer.

In the case of the M&P 15-22 I bought last week off the web from Oregon, I paid an extra $25 at the end of the day to have it ASAP versus my local FFL who showed no MOE in FDE in the system. So, they had no idea when they could get it - could have been 6 months for all they knew as that FDE is harder to get. So, for me, $25 extra was worth getting it. And, that extra cost was all due to the shipping in the end. At the end of the day, the web sellers base cost was much cheaper and had it not been for shipping, even with transfer fees it would have been cheaper than my FFL out the door. But I accepted that - in this case - given the fact you cannot just find MOE in FDE that easy.

I will also say this... I am nearly 100% price dependent on my shopping. I will generally buy from whomever is cheapest. In this economy, I go for the best deal. Period. If my FFL has it cheapest, fine I buy. If a web seller has better (with ALL costs factored), fine I buy. I have no allegiance to any shop or store, I have allegiance to saving money, my bank account and getting the best deal as I work hard for my money and I feel good with that mentality of saving first and worrying about patronage to a shop later. Customer service is nice and all, but I won't care about that in 2 weeks and I don't require much CS as I know what I want exactly. Saving $100 on a gun, I will care about forever.

The worst part is they advertise a great deal with a little asterisk next to it. Then come to find out its a cash deal. You get it for that price when you pay cash in the store.

That's very unfortunate to hear of your experience at Bud's but that can happen anywhere.

My 15-22 finally arrived today at my FFL dealer. I ordered it on 11/20. Im just happy it finally showed up. The only gripe i have with buds is the poor communication. Ive been emailing them for over a week without any responses. It showed up today so im happy. Cant wait to get started on my build.

Well ive been dealing with Buds since the 90s and ive never had a problem. They treat every police officer and firefighter with the upmost respect. Im a local so i deal with them in the store.

Full disclosure, I have bought 2 guns from Bud's with no problems. I have been taking credit cards for over 30 years in my businesses and I don't charge anyone anything extra. I also encourage all of my customers to pay with check or cash. I have built a percentage, based on overall credit card usage, into all of my transactions. Before anyone goes ballistic, it is a fraction of 1 percent. Virtually all businesses do this to help them stay competitive and responsive to all customers. If, however, I had a business that was vast majority internet, I would have to pass the full card fee, called a discount, onto each CC customer. It would be the only fair way to do it. One can always send a Postal Money Order to avoid any CC fees, however, that has a cost as well. BTW I don't take AMEX or Discover because their discounts are in the 5% range. As for Bud's, there are very visible disclaimers all over their site advising of the CC fee, so it shouldn't be a surprise. If it is that irritating to anyone, I suggest you don't buy there instead of trying to tell someone how to run their business, especially with no direct knowledge of their overhead or margin. This is no different than than shopping the LGS's for price and availability. You don't usually berate a store owner because his price is higher than the other guys, you will usually buy from the lowest priced seller all things being equal.
RichH

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

I have bought a couple of weapons on line from Davidson's with no issues, but now I only buy from local gun shops. I have found one little country gun store with excellent service and fair prices. You can't go wrong with supporting your local businesses.

__________________
Have Gun Will Carry

So your going to applaud him telling others not to complain about how a seller sells, especially when we don't know the sellers situation... but then he goes on to make a thread that complains about sellers selling, despite the fact he does not know their situation

Actually, far different. My complaint was regarding private party posts on our classifieds, not responding to inquiries. This has absolutely nothing to do with retail sales. It actually had nothing to do with sales at all, it was a complaint about the lack of communication between members of this forum. It certainly had nothing to do with pricing and CC fees. It just seems like bad manners to me. As a matter of fact, I bought a low priced bipod from another member using PayPal recently and he absorbed the fees personally. I didn't expect that from him, even though I appreciated it, and I wouldn't expect that from an internet gun seller. My opinions and ethics may not be what everyone likes, however, they are extremely consistent.
RichH

You are talking about something completely different.

And yes, I applaud his comments.

Though I agree with your higher frustrating point totally about sellers, here is where I disagree with what you said and made the tie between your retailer comments and your complaint about sellers:

"instead of trying to tell someone how to run their business, especially with no direct knowledge of their overhead or margin." - no one is doing that per se. But, in your case, you didn't like how sellers were handling their business - not following through - and posted about it and yet you have no idea their "situation" (tantamount to the portion of your retailers comment about "no direct knowledge about...."). Maybe they got sick, travel for work, died, etc. Point is, you don't know their reasons for them doing what they do and it irritated you enough to post so you posted. Same with those of us critiquing a retailer for their methods. We don't know why they choose to do what they do, but we don't like it so we posted. Same as you.

Point is, it is a very slippery slope to get on the web and seemingly condemn others about their complaining, and then... complain yourself. Which is what it appeared to me you did and I have low tolerance for that type of seeming double standard.

p.s.- you said you take CC and figured out - like millions of other retailers on the web and across the country - how to adjust your pricing and such to account for that and the cost of doing business. The ones that do the 3% charge back to you CC fee are, IMHO, just lazy at running their business and trying to nickel and dime the user. Very, very, very, very few business use that lame tactic, the gun shop industry is one who routinely does. I buy hundreds and hundreds of items a year via the web, no one but the gun industry does this that I encounter. And I think it is lame and stand by my statement. And BTW, I have owned my own business for 13 years FWIW and I figured out how to not look tacky to my customers.

L-n-L,
You seem to be missing several points. First, for the vast majority of us on this forum the interactions we have are way more social, maybe even inter-personal relationships, than they are business relationships. Because someone wants to sell a surplus item from their cache doesn't make them a businessman any more than flying on an aircraft makes one a pilot. My complaint, if you wish to call it that, I would classify it more as an observation, is when someone on this list, a fellow enthusiast, invites a dialogue and then doesn't follow through on their end of that dialogue. It has nothing to do with the proposed transaction, it has to do with bad manners. In the amount of time that elapsed from my post to them, and my comment on this list, which was over a week, I really expected the courtesy of a reply from one of them. This is a far different comment than what we were talking about in this thread and that is why I started a completely new thread. I really didn't want to hijack what was being discussed here. We were discussing the costs and associated fees for the purchase of guns and accessories over the internet. My comments on the other thread had nothing to do with that in any way, shape or form.

I will not take personally the accusation of having double standards even though I believe that is a very serious charge against someone's character and ethics. You have never met me, or even PM'd me, so you really would have nothing to base that on other than my comment on a different subject that you have taken out of context. You will notice, however, that I didn't confront anyone personally, or call them out on the forum, or accuse them of character flaws. The comments I made were sanitized enough so that no one would be able to ascertain the identity of the posters. My only goal was to point out that we, as forum members and fellow enthusiasts, may have some obligations in the way we interact with each other. Not wanting to be rude, or hijack this thread, I have said all I can say on this matter.
RichH

Never thought about asking to order, but when I was last at Ft Irwin this summer the gun counter at the PX was gone.... its a bit of a drive for me to go there anyway. I'd prefer to do it when getting paid to but I don't think going during AT and returning on a convoy with extra firearms would go over to well

Well aguablanco we can agree to disagree & move on as there is a bit to much false drama and to many tangents & loose ends in your comments for me to tie up without writing a dissertation to address them 1 by 1 and frankly... I doubt the OP cares whose topic we hijacked, I doubt the readers care and so like you I'll end here... thanks for the interesting debate nonetheless.