Bad Experience please read

[Guest]

Tried to buy a gunsafe from Sportsmans Steel Safe Company. Gave a deposit in March and received a voice message to send the balance and the safe would be sent along about May. Tried to call them several times and their phone was cut off I was told for non payment. Finally contacted them after their phone service was reinstalled they couldn't find my paperwork. Boy am I glad I didn't send them anymore money. I told the sales rep to just cancel my order and send me my money back. Said he would check and I would get a call from the owner the next day. Six months later after I had written them several letters and finally contacting the attourney general of California they responded. I just got off the phone with the son of the owner he told me there is no way he is going to send my deposit back to me. I promised him free advertizing.

I posted this here just because it seems everyone reads this forum. I am not saying don't do business with them I just wanted you to know of my experience.

BTW he told me he would send me a safe if I would just send him $3000. LOL.

[bwiese]

I am sorry you had to go thru this experience. Sadly, you appear to not be the only one....

I have heard of quite a few other similar stories about Sportsman Steel Safes. If you do a web search, look on AR15.COM forums, scan messages on the AR15-L group on Yahoo, maybe even here on CalGuns, etc. you will likely find discussions of them. It appears they misship items & do just plain wrong orders, some safes have problems, etc. - this is combined with bad service and confrontations w/owner family members about refunds, credits, etc.

Their prices vs features seemed good initially when I was shopping for my new safe but I backed away.

BTW they used to advertise frequently in Shotgun News (and maybe Gun List, IIRC). Now they seem to advertise as Pentagon Safes - located at the same Paramount Blvd address.

If you are nearby LA it might be worth a small claims court fight for deposit return. How much was the deposit?

Did you sign a contract, paying the deposit for a safe to be delivered at a specific time and in proper shape/configuration?

Also, the $3000 and "I'll send you a safe" is pretty funny. Combined with your deposit, that's a reasonably hefty price - for that price you could get a top-notch Fort Knox or National Security (Liberty) or a Hall's or AMSEC, with probably better fire & burglar safety and a great warranty.

Bill Wiese
San Jose

[bwiese]

Sorry that it's hindsight now, but this thread
has 3 or 4 other people that aren't too happy; join the line

http://calguns.net/eve/ubb.x?m=2616022121&a=tpc&cdra=Y&...&f=473607176&q= Y&p=1


Bill Wiese
San Jose

[TimG]

Wow. Have you tried Dean safe co. in Arleta ?? I bought one from them this weekend and had a good experence. Granted I bought probably the cheapest gun safe there but that didnt seem to matter to them. They have a ware house about a mile away from the store that has a lot of safes, they probably have what you're looking for.

ETA.. just noticed you live in Texas, I know they ship but I think Mr Wiese had some difficulties with shipping from Deans in the past. Couldnt hurt to call http://www.deansafe.com

[bwiese]

Originally posted by TimG:
Wow. Have you tried Dean safe co. in Arleta ??

Yes, Dean just sells others' safes. They don't make their own (perhaps a good idea, takes a lotta work).

Sportsmens Steel Safe both builds and sells their own safes. Funny that no one else sells Sportsmens Safes

...just noticed you live in Texas, I know they ship but I think Mr Wiese had some difficulties with shipping from Deans in the past.

Small clarification - I can't say I had any 'problems' whatsoever with Dean Safe. I just had a unique situation.

Dean was attractive in that they had Ft Knox line in stock and at nice prices. Dean can indeed arrange delivery to your doorstep for a very reasonable price. Unfortunately I needed some skilled guys to get a very heavy safe down a flight of stairs (my place is terraced/ multilevel) and not crack some very pricey Porcelanosa tile in my living room - and their delivery service couldn't do that; they stop at the front door. I couldn't at the time find someone else to handele that (time pressure, etc.) Plus the local Liberty dealer took my old safe on consignment and sold it a week later.

Other folks will not have these problems and/or will not be ordering a safe that difficult to move, so still I'd encourage anyone to buy from Dean Safe if they find the safe they like at the price they want.

Bill Wiese
San Jose

[Guest]

Yup I also had some bad blood with those characters at Sportmans Safe... Some how I managed to call their bluff and then he coughed up my safe.... construction of the unit is okay not top notch but it will serve its purpose for now... If your looking for something along the lines of their quality minus their attitude at Sports Man safe, there is a place in Pico Rivera called HomeLand Safe Company.. I beleive they are on Beverly Road they manufacture their own and pricing is some what aceptable, you should pay them a visit... bunch of hard working guys trying to make it.....
Just my .02 cents worth...

Zroamer...

[MadMex]

Inpursuit,

I hope you can eventually recover the $.

I had great success buying from Visalia Safe Co.

[imported_dadoody]

Hmm. I will not be buying anything from Sportsmans Steele then.

To be honest, most of my safes are Brinks Firesafes.

[CamW]

A friend of mine called Sportsman's Safe , Set up an appointment with a salesman, took off work early on a Saturday, got there about an hour before closing and saw everyone leaving the shop. When he asked where the the particular salesman he made an appointment with was, my friend was told he had already left for the day and they were closing early . My friend left with the several thousand dollars CASH that he was going to spend and ended up buynig a Homeland Security safe. He got a great price and service from Homeland Security.I was told that the owner of Homeland Security is a former empolyee of Sportsman safe.

[saki302]

I had excellent service at Dean's. The American Eagle line is made by Canon, but is a little more cheaply finished on the outside (matte wrinkle paint) to cut down on price- just what the doctor ordered! Mine was osmewhere around $700 for a 32x24(?)x5ft. mine even came with the digital lock some guys dislike

-Dave

[A60P]

Sportsmans sucks. I had the unpleasant experience of visiting their "showroom" and hearing one of their salesman yelling on the phone to a customer to send more money or he won't send out the safe the customer had already agreed to purchase!?? and then no one bothered to come over to see if I needed any help or was ready to buy a safe.
Went to Deans, they are great. Top notch safe delivered to my home and bolted down when scheduled, no problems whatsoever. I recommend them highly.

[pogo]

I've got a Sportsmans Special Forces safe and like it a lot, but then I bought it second-hand from a Calguns member here at a great price.

After reading this thread I don't ever want to deal with them.