DROS Issues?

[Uruz003]

Hi All,

This is my first post. It addresses some hurdles I've come across during my first purchase and I was hoping to get some advice on the current situation and how to proceed. This post is in no way meant to attack anyone, but as a first time buyer I am a little nervous and would greatly appreciate some help.

Recently I made my first purchase from Valkyrie Arms in San Jose. The folks there were nice and very knowledgeable, talking to me for the better part of an hour to help me with my first purchase. Unfortunately the DROS was down at the time, nevertheless I purchased the gun and would come back later when the DROS had been restored, and I could fill out the paper work.

When I had first made the purchase on August 14th, they told me that the DROS should be back up by the following Wednesday. However, when I checked back with the company on Wednesday the DROS was still down. They told me to check back with them on Friday, and when I checked back with them the system was still down. This cycle was repeated a few more times over the weekend and I'm beginning to get frustrated. I understand that most of this debacle is out of their hands, and in reality hurts their business more than it discomforts me as a soon to be gun owner, but is it too much to ask for a realistic date? I understand that they are hopeful, but this repeated cycle of check back later/stillnotupyet is making for a rather discouraging first experience.

So my questions to the Calgun community are thus: How long does it normally take DROS to be restored to a store? What needs to be done to restore the DROS? and How should I proceed with this situation?

Many thanks.

[cbaer5]

they can call the dros in at least that is what i understand. there has also been speculation in other threads about this place. and you should take your busyness elsewhere get your gun and go to the range. also welcome to calguns.

[chris650]

Welcome from a new calgunner myself, I dont know enough about that to comment but I can say the wait is bad enough without that drama on top of it!

[john.t.singh]

If you feel uncomfortable you can just ask for your $$ back and go somewhere else to purchase.

Generally I don't put $$ down unless I begin DROS. If the gun is unavailable it is better to wait just to make sure the FFL doesn't make a error. The only time I put $$ down is if for sure the gun is something I can't get anywhere else or a insanely good deal and I want to lock it down.

If it makes you feel better I put down a deposit for a Kimber TLE/Rl2 that was $200 under MSRP in December 2010.... it is now August and I have not gotten my gone yet... yet I haven't asked for a refund of my deposit...

[intradubio]

I was waiting for someone to bring this up. I am in the same boat. They want a 30% restocking fee to cancel, even though I said I would buy it when they came back up. They have been down at least since 8/10. If they aren't back up today I guess it is time to give up and try to get the credit card company to help with a refund.

They are super cool people but encouraging someone to make the purchase knowing that the system was down more than temporarily is kind of not good.

I think I found an old thread somewhere from like March of this year where they were down back then (not 100% sure, can't find the link now).

Also found this quote from them here "Thanks for the continued support Calguns, we are waiting for out Vendor Status to be approved" Any idea why they are not on the vendors section of the site?

[cbaer5]

restocking fee ? really they haven't started the dros they haven't sold you a gun.

[Black Majik]

Ask for money back in full amount and purchase elsewhere.

What kind of gun are you looking to purchase?

[awall919]

Welcome to cal-guns. As recommended above I would request ALL my money back and take my business elsewhere, there are plenty of shops in the area that would gladly help you without a hassle.

Cbaer5: I thought they could call the DROS in as well. I thought they could at least start the DROS process while waiting for the system to be fixed or what not. could be wrong though i'm no expert.

[cbaer5]

like i said there was a similar thread not to long ago and i do believe that one of the vendors said that they could call it in and curiously I think that name was mentioned in the same thread. I'm going to see if i cant find it and edit with a link.

[john.t.singh]

A lot of stores will charge you a 30% restocking fee... However check out the fine print. I think if it is their bad they will return you the money. I know Turners fudged up someones 10/22 purchase, forgot to run DROS or something, and they just returned the $$$ back to the guy and didn't charge the 30%.

It doesn't hurt to call and ask for a refund without the 30% penalty. If they hold it to you, you can try the CC route or just suck it up.

[sw99]

Hi All,

When I had first made the purchase on August 14th, they told me that the DROS should be back up by the following Wednesday. However, when I checked back with the company on Wednesday the DROS was still down. They told me to check back with them on Friday, and when I checked back with them the system was still down. This cycle was repeated a few more times over the weekend and I'm beginning to get frustrated.

Are they saying they have not been able to DROS ( or PPT ) a single firearm since Aug 14th?

If the whole DROS system had been down, then no dealers at all would be able to DROS anything. That's a lot of delayed business, and cash flow issues for a lot of business men... plus a lot of unhappy gun buyers. I'm pretty sure we would have heard the screams by now ;-)

Sounds like their DROS connection is down

I understand that most of this debacle is out of their hands

NO!, it's not. They can scream at DROS support , they can threaten to call in their lawyers, as someone else said .. they can simply phone the DROS in.



This does not pass the smell test.

[tenpercentfirearms]

they can call the dros in at least that is what i understand.

they can simply phone the DROS in.

Fail.

DROS can only be submitted through the website. Phone in is not an option.

It must be their specific problem. DROS is rarely down and I certainly have been DROSing guns all though those dates.

[TonyM]

In other circumstances with other FFLs where this has happened recently it's been a non-payment of the DROS bill.

Not saying that's the case here, but this story sounds extremely similar.

[Uruz003]

Thanks for the welcome and advice guys.

I spoke with the folks there and it seems like they've managed to sort out their stuff. They're able to order more inventory and expect to be completely back up with DROS tomorrow. They were confident enough to where they invited customers who were in my situation to fill out the DROS paper work and they would enter it manually tomorrow. I have since filled out the paper work and expect to hear from them tomorrow when they have entered it into the DROS and I can begin the long 10 day wait to getting my very first.

From what I heard when I first purchased the gun, the DROS seemed to be down with a number of other shops in the South Bay Area, but I did not verify this. When I checked in with them today, they said that they had been inundated with new forms they had to fill out. They would submit paper work, then be told there was additional work to be be done. Since they say they're allowed to order more inventory, I would imagine that their paper work should mostly be in order. I also heard from one of the employees that one of the higher ups (whether that means owner or manager, I don't know) failed to submit their renewal forms this year. Anyhow, the situation has seemed to progress in the right direction and I will my fingers crossed until the transfer is complete.

My purchase is a LWRC M6A2. I know it's a pretty penny, but I decided to save up for it instead of going for a more basic AR. The main selling points were the reliability, ease of cleaning, quality of parts, and the fact that I don't have to muss about and change out parts after the initial purchase.

[MajorMalphunction]

Just a minor correction Uruz, they are located in Milpitas :P
I'm glad you're getting things sorted out nonetheless.

-Zero