I got my CCP about 3 weeks ago and wanted to order myself a holster for my Springfield XD sub compact 9mm. I was looking around for a holster and my wife noted some holsters from Northern Gunleather. They looked real nice. I asked a question on the web site which was promptly answered by the presumed owner and I placed an order for $125 for a holster and a magazine holder. That was almost 3 weeks ago. I have sent 3 emails with no response back. There is no phone number. I contacted my CC company and will file a complaint but that is no guarantee I will get my money back. Well live and learn will order from the people that post on here. Who knows maybe the guy died or something. Hard for me to believe someone would make a web site and just not follow through. Buyer beware!!
What a mistake!!
- Thread starter Scuba2do
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mc5aw
Member
If the holsters are made to order, rather than sitting in stock, three weeks isn't even half the time most of us wait for a custom rig. The top custom makers often have waiting lists of patient customers who sit tight for 7+ months before receiving their orders.
Interesting. On the Northern Gunleather website it says wait time is 8 days and add 3 days for drying, etc then shipped after 11 days total. So not really sure how to take that but if its 11 days from begin to end of process that's not bad. What you don't have here is a time frame of backlog. You can assume its only 11 days, but the site is not exactly clear. Odd there is no contact number. Hope things turn out well.
Lesson: Order from "[email protected]"
you can pay more but not get better,
you can pay more but not get better,
sipowicz
Member
Maybe that's a mistake and they meant 3 days for crying.
Yeah, its a well made site, the guy has a real personable bio page. The prices do not look outrageous and the pictures of the holsters are well made. Yes Jimmy I was going to originally do that but my wife ran into the site and we both thought it looked good. I have never been ripped off before on the web so I guess that's not bad. Mc5aw , I understand it takes time to make a holster but as the others have said it should have been done in the time he put on the site. He has totally ignored all my emails except for the 1st one inquiring information about the holsters.
I own a business and if I stopped answering pages or my phones it would quickly run dry. It's a lesson learned....
I own a business and if I stopped answering pages or my phones it would quickly run dry. It's a lesson learned....
Your timing with the order may have just been bad. You ordered it, he started working on it then took a preplanned week of vacation plus the weekend on either side. Use another email address and ask a different question about a different holster and see if you get a quick reply. If you do, then it may be time to start worrying.
Comrad
Member
Doesn't look too promising, the guy lists his claim to fame as a Flash/HTML/CSS/JS developer and graphic designer. That would explain the good looking web site. No mention of any leather work that I can find other than his own site.
Once upon a time I called a gunsmith to see how long it would take to fix my gun. I was told one month. Three months later I called about my gun and they had not started on it. I reminded them that they stated it would take one month to fix it. They replied that it would take one month once they started on it. Maybe you should have also ask how long before they would start. Larry
Yeah Comrad, I saw that...didn't know if it was the same dude or not. I google'd him and did see a reference from another forum of someone recommending his holsters but it has been some time ago. Lesson I learned is to check out the individuals before I purchase, if there is no contact information besides an email I will stay away. (Noticed everyone mentioned the Lobo site and it does not have any contact information so I won't be ordering from there, no offense to anyone.)
I will probably just end up getting a mass produced holster like a Bianchi, have a couple already for my 627 and my GP100. What a shame that this has soured my experience.
I will probably just end up getting a mass produced holster like a Bianchi, have a couple already for my 627 and my GP100. What a shame that this has soured my experience.
Yeah Comrad, I saw that...didn't know if it was the same dude or not. I google'd him and did see a reference from another forum of someone recommending his holsters but it has been some time ago. Lesson I learned is to check out the individuals before I purchase, if there is no contact information besides an email I will stay away. (Noticed everyone mentioned the Lobo site and it does not have any contact information so I won't be ordering from there, no offense to anyone.)
I will probably just end up getting a mass produced holster like a Bianchi, have a couple already for my 627 and my GP100. What a shame that this has soured my experience.
I've known Ray at Lobo 40 + years. He's as honest as they come. Here is the link to his page. Lobo Gun Leather - Home
No offense taken but I would urge you to reconsider . . . don't rule out custom makers simply because they don't provide a telephone contact number.
The best custom work . . . whether holsters, stocks or anything else . . . is very labor intensive and often are done by one-person operations. Ray at Lobo . . . and Craig Spegel at Spegel Custom Grips . . . are two such examples.
Like others, I have been extremely pleased with Lobo holsters and find Ray to be very responsive by email. Rather than interrupt his work-in-progress to take phone calls, he sets aside time daily at a good stopping point and returns emails.
Russ
I would also suggest adamsholsters.com, he has a springfied XDM in stock. Be Safe,
raylan007
Member
Simply Rugged Holsters
I have had good luck with these folks who make custom holsters and state up front their lead time is 3 weeks. The average time I have received my holsters is half that time but I believe it depends on the complexity of the customized features you ad to your order. Check them out! Very reasonable and produce a nicely made custom holster.
I have had good luck with these folks who make custom holsters and state up front their lead time is 3 weeks. The average time I have received my holsters is half that time but I believe it depends on the complexity of the customized features you ad to your order. Check them out! Very reasonable and produce a nicely made custom holster.
LoboGunLeather
US Veteran
Yeah Comrad, I saw that...didn't know if it was the same dude or not. I google'd him and did see a reference from another forum of someone recommending his holsters but it has been some time ago. Lesson I learned is to check out the individuals before I purchase, if there is no contact information besides an email I will stay away. (Noticed everyone mentioned the Lobo site and it does not have any contact information so I won't be ordering from there, no offense to anyone.)
I will probably just end up getting a mass produced holster like a Bianchi, have a couple already for my 627 and my GP100. What a shame that this has soured my experience.
I completely understand your reluctance to enter an order with someone who has not published contact information (phone number, etc). Perhaps you will understand my reluctance to do so with a bit of explanation.
I take orders via website e-mail link. This regularly brings 350-plus inquiries every week, and I spend 30-plus hours responding to every one, 7 days per week.
Some inquiries are from people who demand that their orders take precedence over those place before them.
Some inquiries are from people who have an idea in mind for the "perfect holster" and they are looking for someone to turn their dreams into reality.
Some want to lecture me about how things should be done, according to them (or their brother-in-law, or their friend who knows everything).
Every customer receives a good-faith estimate of production time before the order is confirmed, and I have filled every single order within the estimated completion time for over 40 years.
Every customer receives e-mail confirmation of order completion and mailing.
Most customers are easy to deal with. Most customers are courteous and kind. A few are not.
Some start demanding order status updates weeks before the estimated completion dates. Some start to sound like kids in the back seat of the car on a long road trip (Are we there yet? When are we gonna get there? Are we there yet? When are we gonna get there?). All this accomplishes is adding to my e-mail chores and taking away from production time.
Quite frankly, if I published my contact information (phone number) there would never be any time left over for production work. I just won't take telephone orders, and I don't accept walk-in customers. I don't have time for that nonsense unless I'm willing to renege on promises to customers who got their orders on the production schedule before you decided to make an inquiry.
Over the past 6 years I have moved 3 times into larger production facilities, I have hired and trained an assistant, and I have worked every single day to stay current on orders and e-mail inquiries. No days off, no weekends, no holidays, no vacations. I have made a considerable amount of money, but not nearly enough to publish my telephone number on-line.
Best regards.
KLYDE
Member
You will be short changing yourself by not placing an order with Lobo. Ray has probably sold thousands of holsters to Forum members and all with no phone contact. I'd have to open the holster drawer and take a count but I'm probably up to 10 or so.
It didn't take long before I began including on my GunBroker listings a note requesting that buyers don't call as I won't be answering the phone. This after dealing with a number of kooks, cranks, guys who call in the middle of the night, lonely guys who want to chew your ear off for an hour reliving old hunting trips and whatnot and assorted other time-wasters and annoyances.
I can imagine how terrible fielding calls from the general public must be for an actual full-time business and don't blame anyone for not listing a phone number when email is so much more convenient.
I can imagine how terrible fielding calls from the general public must be for an actual full-time business and don't blame anyone for not listing a phone number when email is so much more convenient.
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