Midway and "sales"

[rogn]

Igot a 5d about amonth ago and when I put it on the wish list it was 24.99, a gfew days later I processed the order and it was labelled "on sale" for 27.99. I have had some issues with Midway lately.

[J Miller]

Call 'em and discuss it with them. That's the only way to get it settled.

Joe

[HEAD0001]

I had a problem with them on my Birthday pricing. So I called them, and they basically did not fix the problem. It is a long story so I do not want to go into it. But to make a long story short I wrote a private E-Mail to Mr. PotterField. He requests you to do that if you have a problem, and he gives you his E-Mail address on the web site. Been about ten days now, and never heard a peep from him. I am done with them. Tom.

[John in MS]

Years ago, they used to be pretty good and did have meaningful sales that were a great way to save money. Now, their prices are so high that I can usually beat their "Sale" prices just by shopping around elsewhere. When their monthly "sales" flier comes, I just toss it in the trash.
No point in looking; no bargains to be had.

John

[Pisgah]

My beef with Midway began years ago when they started playing the "shipping and handling" game. Yes, their prices were often very low, compared to others like Graf and Sons. But their shipping/handling fees more than made up the difference, and I soon realized that with them "sale" meant the price had been raised.

[grass range]

I have had a FFL, retail and gun repair business since 1980. I got a letter from Midway that I was no longer elgible for their dealer catalog since I did not have any wording in my business name like "guns, sporting", etc.

[cnjarvis]

I had a problem with them on my Birthday pricing. So I called them, and they basically did not fix the problem.

I had the same problem last year and was told that the birthday discount was randomly generated and that I wouldn't get it every year. Whatever...

[Blaine]

I like Graff and Sons, or Buffalo Arms.... Cabelas, IMO, will try their best to make something right for you if you're not happy, and I like their Visa Club Card setup.

[WinM71]

I agree completely, Midway definitely ain't what it used to be. I had a pricing issue with them & sent Mr. Potterfield an email explaining what they had done. Got a reply "form" email saying "we try very hard . blah . blah . blah". No correction for the problem, no nothing. Not the place to deal with from a customer service perspective.

[765x53]

I usually order from Midsouth to avoid Missouri sales tax, service has always been excellent.
The orders I have placed with Midway have always arrived before the computer was cold.

[CowboyTutt]

Stopped using Midway almost two years ago for all the above reasons. Plus 1 what Blaine G. Said. -Tutt

[kimwcook]

It's sad that a business builds itself up and gets a decent, dedicated following and then get so big it all falls apart. I've ordered a couple of things from them and in fact got a 10 rd. name brand 1911 magazine recently that wouldn't lock into my Les Baer. I already had two of the same that worked fine. I sent it back to Midway and they credited my debit card. Went pretty smooth actually. Will keep this post in mind for the future though.

[BenT]

I shop around like most people. I like Graf's the best. But I don't have a problem with Midway. Even if some things cost more money. Midway spends money promoting the gun industry. NRA round up, sponsering shooting shows, etc. I'm OK if my money goes for that. Plus when I mail order Midway usually has everything I need in stock , so one stop shopping and I don't have to pay for multiple shipping from different sellers.

I seem to get the birthday discount every other year. I also support my local sporting goods store. I buy almost all my bullets from them . They get shipments from there supplier almost every day, so it cost me a couple bucks more per box, I don't pay shipping and support a local business and sometimes get them the next day.

[CowboyTutt]

Midway never has everything I need in stock, or for my friend Jim Williamson who is a Shootist. Instead, they charge you double shipping as they complete the partial orders even if the other parts come in one day later. Graffs is much more pleasant to do buisiness with. Midway has become a total scam. -A-

[HEAD0001]

I am completely done with Midway. Their marketing and sending me E-Mails every other day is ridiculous. I waited this year for my birthday pricing. I wanted to buy a Hornady LNL press. So I got my code and entered it. My birthday pricing came up at $327. So I made my list and called the order in a couple of hours later and they would not honor the price. They said it was a special price and was only available at that time, which was two hours earlier(and yes on the same day-before my birthday). So I got a bit upset. That was almost a month ago. So Larry says on his site to E-Mail him and he promises to get back with customers who have a complaint. Needless to say to date I still have not heard from him. I just don't need, nor want to foster that type of service. Tom.

[claybob86]

Couple of years ago, I ordered some bullets that were back ordered and they kept moving the arrival date back. Then, when they STILL didn't have them, they put them on sale for a lower price than I had paid, so I called and asked if I could get the sale price and they said the only way I could do that would be to cancel my original order and place a new one and wind up back at the end of the line. I cancelled my order alright, but took my business elsewhere. I also find Potterfield's apparent celebrity complex rather tiresome.

[BenT]

Wow ! I've never had a problem with Midway. But I could see them getting too big and losing track of the quality of the purchase experience for the customer. If I experience this I would be rubbed the wrong way. Hopefully I don't run into that, but it sounds inevitable.

Usually if Midway doesn't have it in stock neither does anyone else. Plus when I make an order it is usually a variety of reloading stuff, gunparts, or gunsmith tools . Midway is one of the few sites that carry that variety. But like I said in the previous post , if I can get it from my local sporting shop and save the shipping I do. This works out well if I only need one box of bullets. Shipping prices have killed most of my internet shopping.

[Don McDowell]

The only time I'll use Midway these days, is to order 22 match ammo, they've been the best place to get the Aquila that my rifles like so well, and to get the Tipton Carbon fiber cleaning rods, other than that they're to high, and shipping prices are always a stuff shoot....

[damienph]

I've always had good luck with Midway. I only buy items that are in stock, and only when they are on sale. I don't use any of their "special" pricing such as birthday offers, and I NEVER order anything on backorder.

I buy the majority of my brass and bullets from them. I've gotten (IMO) very good deals on bulk packed bullets, especially blemished bullets, when they are available.

Mail order is the only way that we can buy components where I live, except a rare trip to Kansas City or Wichita (over two hours either way). We have few local (within 50 miles) gun shops, and those have very limited stocks of firearms and ammunition. And no powder, primers, etc.

I've also ordered from Grafs and Midsouth. No problems with either of them. One thing that I do like about Midway is that their website is easy to navigate.

[adirondakjack]

The prices are what they are. I've had good luck with their CS the couple of times I needed it. One time some cleaning brushes and bore mops had the wrong threads (catalog error), and the gal not only fixed the catalog right while we were on the phone (I could see the change on the website), but figured out what the correct stuff was and sent if free of charge, and told me to go ahead and keep the other stuff (maybe $35 worth). That's about as good as it gets.

[pwl44m]

Never say Never but I will definitly check around before ordering from them, they will be the last resort. Monday I had about $250 in My cart and when I entered My discount code it said that sale had ended. So I took the Lee Turret Press out of the cart and checked out with $ 154 worth of stuff which I haven't received yet (maybe tomorrow).So about 10 minutes ago I got an E-mail from them with 10-20-&$30 discounts depending on how much U spend. Arrrrgh. Could have had My Press maybe tomorrow. Cabelas seems to be the best deal so far.
Another question for those of U who have that press, do U have the safety prime system. It appears that I might have to order 1 part from Lee to use it. that would be the mount bracket and washer.

[Washita]

I've used MidwayUSA for years, and have never had a serious complaint. They're not always the cheapest supplier around, but neither is anybody else. It pays to shop around, and I do. Sometimes Midway has the best price, sometimes Natchez or Grafs or Champion shooters or...you get the idea.

So far as "free shipping" is concerned, like free lunches, there ain't no such thing. One way or another, you will always pay shipping; either directly or buried in the price of the merchandise. Companies are in business to make a profit, so you'll always pay their costs--all of them. Midway used to average out shipping costs on their "free" shipping, so one customer would pay more, some less than actual cost. When they changed their policy to charge shipping separately, total shipped price on some things went up, some went down.

When I order on line, I always shop around & consider the total price of all items on the order including shipping. If Midway is best, I use them. If not, I buy from whoever is best. I give Midway top ratings for their user-friendly web site (it's almosr always easier to find an item on their site than anybody else's), their HUGE inventory of so many different items and the fastest shipping in the industry. When an item is out of stock, you can easily get them to email you when it arrives, (others will do this too), and I've usually found that out of stock items arrive earlier than they estimated.

In short, I don't think they're perfect, but neither is anybody else. And I do think they're better, overall, than most of their competitors. But like I said, it pays to shop around.

[marlinman93]

Haven't dealt with Midway since they started charging me s&h on orders. Used to be free for orders over $25, and I bought a lot there, but now they rip you off on the s&h just like many others have done.

[olyinaz]

What Washita said. All that matters to me is the final price - not whether or not the outfit charges me shipping.

Since they opened a Cabela's up in Phoenix I now get charged sales tax as well as shipping at their web site (despite the fact that I don't live anywhere near Phoenix). Doesn't mean I don't do any business with them, it just means that something has to be on sale at a really good price (or they need to be running a special like they are right now) before I will. I'm not going to swear ANY gun oriented web site off because at the end of the day it's good for me if all good gun oriented businesses remain a viable option, and Midway is certainly a very good option.

Midway does push out too many "clearance" emails however so as a result I usually just delete them - exactly what you do NOT want out of good advertising.

Cheers,
Oly

[damienph]

Midway's "clearance" e-mails do work for me. I agree that they send out plenty, but they are easy to delete. When I get them (almost daily), I look at the clearance items and check the "brass and bullets" in the column on the left. If I don't see anything interesting, I just delete it. I have gotten, what I think, are good deals on both brass and bullets. I get a separate e-mail that tells me when they have blemished bullets available.

I've bought grips, "gunsmithing tools", scopes, sights, sight blanks, 1911 parts, etc..., usually, but not always "on sale".

Paying their shipping costs is alot cheaper than I would pay in gas to drive to a decent gun shop, where I would probably end up having to order something and make two trips anyway.

I am not praising Midway, their primary motive for being in business is to make money; gun related stuff just happens to be the way they do that.

The few gunshops that are within realistic driving distance are more than happy to order anything I want, but they typically price special orders at full retail.

If I had alternatives locally, I would use them.

[stretch]

Like all retail, " One hand giveth and the other hand
taketh away."

Still, their customer service is top-notch, and I've never
had a problem with the VERY few defective items I've had
from them. That sort of customer service does cost some
money.

Look at Dillon for instance:

The tooling for their Square Deal B is long-since paid for,
the base castings are pot metal, and a lot of the rest of the
machine is plastic. It's probably overpriced when all of that
is considered. But mine has loaded thousands of rounds through
two owners, and if anything goes wrong, help - and really, really,
good, knowledgeable help - is only a phone call away. That's
why the press costs a wee bit more than it probably should.
And in my humble opinion it's worth it.

So's Midway's customer service - at least for the time being.

-Stretch