MidwayUSA / Watch Out

[AriM]

hmmm......I was about to place a large order on reloading gear/supplies....maybe I should check somewhere else...thanks for the heads up....what happened to the customer is always right?

[Barney Gumble]

hmmm......I was about to place a large order on reloading gear/supplies....maybe I should check somewhere else...thanks for the heads up....what happened to the customer is always right?

Read the update...the OP did run afoul of Midway's policy and although Midway could have handled it better from a customer service perspective they're not trying to screw anyone.

Midway is GTG I just placed another order with them myself.

[freonr22]

Natchez has treated me well in addition to midway.

[Peter W Bush]

I will continue to proudly support midwayusa. The NRA has recieved over $4,000,000 from their round up program, and you will be hard pressed to find a store with their selection.

[jmlivingston]

Be warned that if you have a dealer/CC&R account, do not try to ship to an address other than the one on your FFL - even if it's just for a box of Q-Tips.

You can have two addresses on your FFL, the "premise" address and the "mailing" address. You'd probably be good to go if you just update your mailing address to be your work address. Though I'd be careful about getting their flyers delivered at work.

John

[mikehaas]

So it seems you misunderstood Midway's shipping policies, which created a situation that is now cleared up. No harm no foul and we all know better. Good.

But I suggest this thread now be removed - it's done it's job. The problem with forums is that SO FEW READ ENOUGH OF THE CONTENT TO GET TO THE RESOLUTION. Now, for many, a dark cloud hangs in the air for an excellent vendor when it was the OP's self-described mistake.

The OP did his due diligence, refering to the post with the resolution in the original post, but those who read the thread before the resolution are VERY unlikely to read that first post again or see post #58. And some newcomers will miss post 58 entirely and go away thinking evil things about Midway. Not fair and not what calguns is about. I would think all the honest vendors here (of which I am one) and maybe a few customers could put themselves in Larry Potterfield's place and take his back here. Sounds like he dealt directly with the problem and provided a valid explanation - kudos to him.

So let's pull it down, huh?

[halifax]

So it seems you misunderstood Midway's shipping policies, which created a situation that is now cleared up. No harm no foul and we all know better. Good.

But I suggest this thread now be removed - it's done it's job. The problem with forums is that SO FEW READ ENOUGH OF THE CONTENT TO GET TO THE RESOLUTION. Now, for many, a dark cloud hangs in the air for an excellent vendor when it was the OP's self-described mistake.

The OP did his due diligence, refering to the post with the resolution in the original post, but those who read the thread before the resolution are VERY unlikely to read that first post again or see post #58. And some newcomers will miss post 58 entirely and go away thinking evil things about Midway. Not fair and not what calguns is about. I would think all the honest vendors here (of which I am one) and maybe a few customers could put themselves in Larry Potterfield's place and take his back here. Sounds like he dealt directly with the problem and provided a valid explanation - kudos to him.

So let's pull it down, huh?

I, respectfully, disagree. The lesson here is READ THE FINE PRINT. I would think that we are intelligent enough to figure that out on our own. I did and I'm boarderline stupid

If any damage has been done, it is done and, if removed, those opinions will never change because there is nothing left to change them.

Now, for many, a dark cloud hangs in the air for an excellent vendor when it was the OP's self-described mistake.

Future readers will see the resolution and form their opinions on that.

Like you said:

The OP did his due diligence, refering to the post with the resolution in the original post

Maybe a link in post #1 to post #58 and change the thread title.

[Got Stuff?]

As a business owner myself, I think it's too bad. Until they somehow change my mind and their policy, I am not recommending Midway anymore. While I'm at it, I'm throwing away all their catalogs and I'll just go somewhere my business is appreciated.

Well it took a few weeks, and a few emails back and forth, but we have come to an acceptable resolution.

Be warned that if you have a dealer/CC&R account, do not try to ship to an address other than the one on your FFL - even if it's just for a box of Q-Tips. Although it was a non-FFL item that was mis-marked in their system as a class-3 restricted item that started the mess, it seems that they are very serious about their shipping policy. While I wasn't aware of it at the time, I'm now seeing that they do have it listed in their fine print under dealer policies, even though their website still lets you do it (making it easy to make a simple mistake if you don't make dealer purchases there often and don't read their dealer policies every time before making a purchase).

Midway has agreed to reinstate my account, and I'll just have to find a way for UPS to hold my order to make sure it doesn't disappear from my porch which was why I have most orders delivered to my alternate address in the first place.

I think Midway needs to do a better job making sure people are aware of their shipping policy, and to that end Mr. Potterfield asked that I post his explanation of their dealer policy:



So there you have it. I don't necessarily disagree with their reasoning, and they have every right to set their policies as they see fit. To be clear, I was not and never was attempting to drop ship to customers - only trying to make sure that I didn't have boxes disappear from my porch with expensive optics in them when I couldn't be there to receive them. Now that they have made their policy clear, I will have no excuse to still try to have a different billing and shipping address.

[problemchild]

Midway F'ed me too. I placed an order and they shipped it in 3 batches charging me shipping 3x. I guess items were out of stock so instead of waiting and shipping it all together they dinged me 3x.

I canceled the orders and shipped it all back and asked for my money back.

[Dirtbiker]

Did you steal my dog?

[TaxAnnihilator]

Did you check/uncheck the ship as items become available box? Never encountered this with Midway, but Amazon has this option.

Also, OP resolved his problem and it was a misunderstanding exacerbated by a computer error and delayed resolution.

Sometimes it does take time for complaints to get into the right hands, especially in a larger company. Sucks for the customer. I blame American workers who have never viewed their job from that of the owner or customer, but that is a whole other can of worms!

Midway F'ed me too. I placed an order and they shipped it in 3 batches charging me shipping 3x. I guess items were out of stock so instead of waiting and shipping it all together they dinged me 3x.

I canceled the orders and shipped it all back and asked for my money back.

[nn3453]

Midway has terrible customer service and it is expensive.

I use Grafs, Wideners and Midsouth. They treat you like king. Want to change an order? No problem. Want to add something to an order? They will if they can. Want to cancel it? Sure thing.

[Mssr. Eleganté]

Midway has terrible customer service and it is expensive.

I use Grafs, Wideners and Midsouth. They treat you like king.

Midway has always treated me like a king. One time they sent me the wrong item. It wasn't even their fault because the manufacturer had packaged it in the wrong blister pack. Midway knew who I was and what the item was before I even got chance to mention it to the customer service operator. The conversation went something like this...

ME: I just received an order from you guys and you sent the wrong item. The packaging says it's the right item, but inside was the wrong item.

MIDWAY: Sorry about that Mr. XXXX. Is that the Harris bipod adaptor?

ME: Yes it is. Um... How did you know my name and what the item was?

MIDWAY: From the caller ID on our phone system.

ME: Neat!

MIDWAY: Well it's obviously not worth your time to send that item back to us. Just keep it and we will send out the correct item right away. Sorry for the inconvenience.


I get so tired of other companies' customer service phone systems asking you to enter your phone number and account number while you are waiting to talk to an operator and then when the operator finally comes on you have to give your name and account number to them again anyway. The fact that Midway actually used the technology to save time and improve customer service really impressed me.

I had originally tried to remedy the problem with Harris directly, since it was really their fault. It was hard to get their phone number. The lady who answered said I should mail back the incorrect part with a letter explaining what was wrong and they would send out the correct part when they got more in stock, possibly in a few weeks.

[HUTCH 7.62]

Well it took a few weeks, and a few emails back and forth, but we have come to an acceptable resolution.

Be warned that if you have a dealer/CC&R account, do not try to ship to an address other than the one on your FFL - even if it's just for a box of Q-Tips. Although it was a non-FFL item that was mis-marked in their system as a class-3 restricted item that started the mess, it seems that they are very serious about their shipping policy. While I wasn't aware of it at the time, I'm now seeing that they do have it listed in their fine print under dealer policies, even though their website still lets you do it (making it easy to make a simple mistake if you don't make dealer purchases there often and don't read their dealer policies every time before making a purchase).

Midway has agreed to reinstate my account, and I'll just have to find a way for UPS to hold my order to make sure it doesn't disappear from my porch which was why I have most orders delivered to my alternate address in the first place.

I think Midway needs to do a better job making sure people are aware of their shipping policy, and to that end Mr. Potterfield asked that I post his explanation of their dealer policy:



So there you have it. I don't necessarily disagree with their reasoning, and they have every right to set their policies as they see fit. To be clear, I was not and never was attempting to drop ship to customers - only trying to make sure that I didn't have boxes disappear from my porch with expensive optics in them when I couldn't be there to receive them. Now that they have made their policy clear, I will have no excuse to still try to have a different billing and shipping address.

Bast***s

[tac]

That's some good information.

I just applied for my FFL 03 and have an alternate address that I use for shipping. Was gonna apply for the dealer pricing as soon as I get my FFL in the mail and I have my alternate address on file with them...