honest question,? would you turn from online bigstore to buy from a new store

[Strinin]

I bought a Hatsan Sniper Vortex 125. I had read where it was known to ship with dryer out seals, so I asked them to check it in the other comments at the bottom of order form. Got the rifle and seal were bad, expressly the breach seal, no rise in it at all. That was two week of no rifle for me, they did ship a good one after that.
Then I bought a Crosman Vantage and the sites exploded before my eyes on the fourth shot, Crosman's bad on that one I think but next one was fine.
Bought Air Venturi air tank. That would not fill up my rifle at all so bought another rifle and would not fully fill it or balance out tank. Rifle filled to 1000psi and tank read after fill 1500psi. This ordeal took a month and a half . They just refunded my money yesterday.
Also bought a sx60c and asked again to have seals checked on order form. Rifle arrived with main seal inside air tube jumbled (???), but that is what it was. Was told it held air at shop. No way it ever held air. Was sent full seal kit for rifle.
Also bought two other guns with questionable seals but keep anyway, did not want the hassle.
Three things I was happy with Benjamin Marauder, Hill hand pump and ammo, twice they missed the count and sent one tin short. Oh and four cases.
Just ordered a Benjamin Bulldog. Have read about bleed valve leak, 50 50 chance it will leak. Called and asked them to check it for me was told they just grab one off the shelf but if I have an issue please return. i was trying to save them money on shipping and me that hassle. I will not return for this reason and will fix myself.
Anyway, but Man really,where is the integrity and personal service on known issues xpecaialy? How long can it take to open a box and check a breach seal or bleed valve?
I have been a self employed craftsman my whole life and I always went the extra steps when asked and I don't get it.

 

[zebra]

I'd probably give a new online store a chance once if they had what I wanted in stock for a good price and they would ship it out quickly (and weren't on the other side of the country). If I had any hassle dealing with them, I wouldn't go back again. That sinking feeling when you notice that your $1,500 gun arrived broken is usually enough to put me off a store for a long time. 


The quality of the website plays a part. I like to order online so I rarely order from stores that don't have that set up. This sounds obvious and like something every store should have in 2016 but many don't for some reason. It's odd because it's free and easy to set-up.

I'll typically avoid stores that don't have good info about the product. On a $1500 purchase I think they should have more than the manufacturers blurb. Some store are excellent for this. Some seem to know nothing about what they sell. 

Regardless of anything else, I probably won't pay more for the gun. Some stores charge $100-$500 more for the same product. Even if they offer a special service, I'd rather save $500. 

There is a value in testing a gun before sending it, it's just not worth any additional cash. I might favor the store who tested every gun before shipping over one who didn't though (as long as there is no charge). It's not like anyone is making money back promises on accuracy and if it doesn't work, they all let you send it back anyway. I do like to avoid hassle wherever possible though.

The one exception might be if a store opened a physical location near where I lived so I could go and try the guns before I buy and make sure I don't leave with a gun that has issues. That would be worth a small premium to me. 

One other thing, if there was a store that tested accuracy for each unit at 50 and 100 yards and included a link to the groups when you ordered online and gave you the option to pay a little more for the cream of the crop and less for the ones that were below average, I'd never buy from anyone else again. 

 

[Smaug]

"Willie14228"

"Smaug"For me, if all else is equal, I'd go for the one that's closer geographically, for faster shipping. 

If you don't already have enough cases, a free hard shell case is a nice benefit! You can just throw it in the trunk or check it on a plane with a hard case. 

I also like like to support the smaller retailer, if realistic. Ma ' n Pa stores, I like to support. More personalized service, less chance of mixing things up, and fewer games. (Like having to buy four tins of pellets to get a fair price)

Do you ever try to match your tin lots to get better accuracy?
What Cal.

No, I don't. I shoot only .177, for now. I'm just not that serious, I guess.

 

[Willie14228]

I want to Thank each and every one of you that has taken the time to share your knowledge and feedback in what you would like to see in an air gun store I deeply respect the knowledge and willingness to share that knowledge that you have. I hope that in some way I may return the favor.
While at the Texas Air Gun show it was one of the neatest things that as a southern raised Texas country boy I saw was that there was no strangers,., everyone I spoke with asking a question, commenting on what we were seeing, or just plain bull !##@ I would have felt just as conferrable sitting at my kitchen table sharing a meal.
The store of knowledge that is on this forum is incredible and that store is built by you the members, while Michael may own and run the site it would be nothing without each and every one of you.
I will say this, The information you have shared is being put to good use. Any business that is worth a grain of salt, be it web or brick-n-mortar is in the same way built by its customers. I will be the first to admit I have a huge amount of learning to do, and I pray that you will continue to allow me to learn from you folks.
A business can have the most expensive building on the block and the best built website on the web, but without proper research and willingness to fulfil a customer’s needs it will fail. At one point not so long ago high end air guns was a niche market that is to say there was not a huge competition of other retailers marketing the products. Now however is a different story and it is no longer necessarily about who has the cheaper price but about who can provide the best customer service and who is willing to back that service with hands on experience.
I do want to share some things that many retailers would probably wish I didn’t but it explains a lot of the failures that was mentioned in the posts shared by you.
In today’s web market almost all online retailers are drop shipping products. There is a simple reason for that, overhead cost. With the web programming becoming as advanced as it is, and the ease of forwarding an order directly to the supplier. Along with the simple fact that the cost of shipping and warehousing is greatly reduced, more and more retailers are using this option. Don’t let the invoice fool you almost all suppliers that offers a drop ship option also include what is called Blind Drop Shipping, they simply use the retailer’s logo and invoice. So put simply Strinin Your comment in the sales order you made was probably not even seen by a human eye.
This is also why many of the products have the manufactures blurb description and little to nothing else. But there is another factor in that too, in that if a retailer adds to the manufactures data they could be held liable for any misinformation. Consider also Zebra while I hate to contradict you a good website can cost thousands of dollars to build and flesh out. While there are a lot of open source templates on the market they still require some programming and hundreds if not thousands of man hours to fully describe the products with more than what the manufacture provides. Smaug brother you hit it on the nail a smaller retailer can provide that kind of service because they are physically handling the orders in many cases, and also they HAVE to provide that service to stay above water.
T3PRanch like Smaug your right but one thing I need to add note to. Per item the overhead is actually higher for smaller stores because they cannot reach the ordering tier that bigger companies can so the product can cost them more. Being a country boy word of mouth has always been my best advertisement. I have always believed in letting my work and service speak for itself and take my lumps when I mess up. It has served me well both in my ranch hand and construction service.
Guod123 , Strinin speaking for myself I always like to shoot and so ya, being able to test a gun would be very enjoyable even if that is not the purpose. And while that is what you would want to see happen with every gun you order. Other clients would be complaining that the gun isn’t New-in-Box That is actually a Legal binding terminology that a customer can use to start a charge back on a credit card and it is extremely difficult for a retailer to contest it. So it is a service that if a retailer offers is done at risk. It can be a service provided as an add to order service but it cannot be done before. As such it would mean that the item ordered would take longer to arrive. One other thing that I would mention too is that I could get behind a gun zero it in perfectly and get up and you sit down behind it and start shooting…. And it would no longer be zeroed. Not because of any lack of shooting ability but simply your build, dominate eye, and hold difference to mine.
Ginuwine1969 Brother even your handle sounds cool, I am with you a 100% I have walked away from some really good discounts because all that is listed in the contact page is an email. That being said when it comes to my clients orders for any work to be done I ask them to email me. For one thing I am only a couple of years younger than you and I want to have some paper to help me remember what needs to be done. But yes for me also talking over the phone or in person is an essential service.
I_Like_Irons I happen to know a one eyed purple people eater I met not long ago, that is hording some tins of pellets (I think he actually pulled one of his guns out of a safe to make room for the tins) so I know how important to some at least lots are. In the same manner as those who do their own reloads some air gunners will spend hours on Sorting and selecting the cream-la-cream
Again folks
Thank You and please don’t ever hesitate if there is something I can do in return let me know
Willie