Log Cabin Shop website

I like to buy from vendors that are in Ohio whenever possible. Stumbled upon the Log Cabin Shop awhile back and set up a log in to website. I haven't been able to actually purchase anything online though. I called in my only order so far. It is easier to be able to order online. I saw a message that Javascript needs to be enabled which I have double checked that Firefox has Javascript "on". Any one able to use website or have any ideas on solution? Have same problem with Firefox and Microsoft Edge browsers. I didn't explain the problem which is if I add something to cart a box pops up with an "error message" and several lines of words. Also when trying to check out the drop down menu to select state doesn't work. I mentioned the problem when calling in the order but got no solution.

I had the same problem. They don’t seem interested in maintaining their website. So I got one of their current print catalogs, which is first class, and order from that by phone. They are great people to do business with!

William Hagewood said:

I had the same problem. They don’t seem interested in maintaining their website. So I got one of their current print catalogs, which is first class, and order from that by phone. They are great people to do business with!

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Web sites are expensive to maintain. Dixie Gun Works site isn't always up to date either. I prefer their catalog.

I haven't ordered from them in probably a year or more, but when I did, I had no problems with online ordering. I just checked now, and the site seems to have some fundamental problems (including a text message (not a pop-up) that flashes briefly on the home page as it's initially loading. It disappears too quickly to see what it says, but it's something about Javascript, and I don't want to try to debug it. I then tried to add something to a cart. I cannot log onto the site and get a "URL was not found on this server" error in addition to a secondary 404 Not Found error.

Short story: currently the site is a mess. They have to know this. But they may be finding it difficult to get it fixed (or to fix it themselves if they're directly maintaining it). This doesn't look like just a couple of glitches.

doubleset said:

Short story: currently the site is a mess. They have to know this. But they may be finding it difficult to get it fixed (or to fix it themselves if they're directly maintaining it). This doesn't look like just a couple of glitches.

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What isn't screwed up today? I attempted to run a web site once, and discovered I was spending more time trying to keep it up to date, than I was selling product. Biden and Putin wasn't even a factor at the time. If you're a small business, things are tight financial wise. We have to face it, the muzzleloading business is a niche market. Where we traditionalists are concerned, we have to compete with the in-line offerings that sell for dirt cheap. What we really need is for everyone of us to complain to our reps and get the damn things separated from the muzzleloading season.

david w said:

Where we traditionalists are concerned, we have to compete with the in-line offerings that sell for dirt cheap. What we really need is for everyone of us to complain to our reps and get the damn things separated from the muzzleloading season.

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Not sure what this has to do with a small business running an ecommerce site. I'm afraid that separating "traditional" from "modern" muzzleloading seasons (or something like that) won't help these little companies provide quality ecommerce sites. But I sort of get your drift.

Maybe people interested in traditional ML shooting should also commit to getting their supplies in the old ways: by writing letters. I mean ... get really steeped in the 18th/19th century experience. Of course, I'm also not sure that the USPS is up to 18th century standards.

doubleset said:

Not sure what this has to do with a small business running an ecommerce site. I'm afraid that separating "traditional" from "modern" muzzleloading seasons (or something like that) won't help these little companies provide quality ecommerce sites. But I sort of get your drift.

Maybe people interested in traditional ML shooting should also commit to getting their supplies in the old ways: by writing letters. I mean ... get really steeped in the 18th/19th century experience. Of course, I'm also not sure that the USPS is up to 18th century standards.

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I merely conveyed to me, what is is involved in operating a web site for a small business with one person trying to run everything. I am sure there are people who are much, much, much smarter than me.

I filled out the "contact us" form again today (second time) and got a response that they would contact the web company about the problem. Maybe it will be fixed. I can always call in order like I had to do first time. Just more convenient to order online. Couldn't buy from RMC Ox-Yoke yesterday because of some credit card processing problem. Finally able to buy the item from Jedediah Starr. Crazy world we have know.

longl said:

I filled out the "contact us" form again today (second time) and got a response that they would contact the web company about the problem. Maybe it will be fixed. I can always call in order like I had to do first time. Just more convenient to order online. Couldn't buy from RMC Ox-Yoke yesterday because of some credit card processing problem. Finally able to buy the item from Jedediah Starr. Crazy world we have know.

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Yes, it is crazy. I guess some people think these companies are run by 50~100 people or so. Dixie Gun Works has one of the largest catalogs. Care to guess how many employees they have? I happen to know, but won't divulge it.

david w said:

Yes, it is crazy. I guess some people think these companies are run by 50~100 people or so. Dixie Gun Works has one of the largest catalogs. Care to guess how many employees they have?

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It's varied across the years. Probably the best current estimate from a perspective outside the company is ~ 22. But I wouldn't be surprised if it's less than that at the moment.

For several years in the 80s I worked for a small company, founded by three guys in their spare time, that became a supplier of several software products and (in a couple of cases) a direct competitor to Microsoft. For the few years I was working for it, there were for a while only six of us. After 3 years it was bought by a larger very well-known company, and at that point there were about 15 full-time employees, split pretty evenly between "technical" and "support" (sales, shipping, etc.). Look at the history of companies like Gander Mountain, Herter's, and REI, and you'll see the same thing.

William Hagewood said:

I had the same problem. They don’t seem interested in maintaining their website. So I got one of their current print catalogs, which is first class, and order from that by phone. They are great people to do business with!

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If they would at least keep a current list of guns for sale, one or two sentence description, no pictures it would be a help.
Their inventory of guns would be so subject to change it would not be worth the expense and time to put them in a catalog that may only get printed once or twice a year.

smoothshooter said:

If they would at least keep a current list of guns for sale, one or two sentence description, no pictures it would be a help.

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Yes, but who would do that?

The problem with small (or even "medium" size) companies is that either you need someone with the technical know-how to update web pages (either at the raw code level or by using whatever tool/framework was used to create the site), or you need to pay someone (or another small company) to do that. Often only one person at a small company has that knowledge and skill (and likely is hanging on by the skin of their teeth), or it's outsourced to some other company (which in the current environment may be facing similar skill and staffing problems). Doing what may appear to users as "simple" changes involving additions and deletions requires more experience and skill (even when using a tool designed for that) than just typing text on a page or dragging and dropping an image. And it's real easy (for the relatively untrained) to make a simple blunder that can then ripple problems throughout the site. And since people who aren't professional software or application developers don't know to follow the practices necessary to recover from a blunder and "go back" to something that works, they can get hopelessly stuck with no way out because they can't "back up" to what used to work.

I've been in the position of having created a complete site for a community organization and then turned it over to someone else (with the required skills) a couple of years later. I just looked at it again tonight (about five years after I left), and it's pretty much a mess -- almost certainly because it ultimately got passed to someone else who decided it was "too complicated" to work with as it was, changed the underlying technology to make it "simpler," and broke significant parts of it. So I don't know what's going on at Log Cabin Shop, but they have my sympathy -- because I can guess what problems they've been facing. And what it will cost them to get them fixed. This is a real problem for small businesses in the digital age. I think it's akin to going into business without a good idea of what sort of insurance you may need, and how to go about getting it.

You live in Lima, Ohio. Lodi is only a 2 hour drive. Take a drive to the LCS. It is well worth it. I live in Maine. When I visit my daughter's family in Avon Lake, Ohio I always make a drive to Lodi.

I have ordered from them many times and never had a problem In fact I just placed and order today.

Big Bubba said:

I have ordered from them many times and never had a problem In fact I just placed and order today.

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What operating system and browser are you using? I have Windows 11 and either Firefox or can use Microsoft Edge. I just tried again and still get the pop up Java boxes.

longl said:

What operating system and browser are you using? .

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This could be the issue. I run Win 10 Pro and normally use Firefox -- and had the problems. I just tried Chrome and was able to add an item to my cart.

BUT ... I still got that text message about Javascript flashing briefly on the screen when the home page loaded. So it looks like there are AT LEAST browser dependencies, and probably also something else going on. This could have happened if at some point someone tinkered with some of the HTML without knowing what they were really doing. But again, they have to be aware of this and should fix it. However, Chrome might at least work for ordering -- even if there are some deeper issues on the site.

Have been a frequent flyer at the LCShop for near 50 years. I like catalogs best , and just call them up. They are the best.

I have ordered from them many times using their website. The only site defect I have found is the account log in from the main page give a URL not found error, but if I go to a product category there's a different login prompt that works. Once I'm logged in everything else, search products, wish list, shopping cart and checkout works fine. I can do this on Windows 10 using Chrome or Android.

Calling in the order is still a big step up from mailing in three Kellog's cereal box tops for the baking soda powered submarine when I was a kid.

longl said:

What operating system and browser are you using? I have Windows 11 and either Firefox or can use Microsoft Edge. I just tried again and still get the pop up Java boxes.

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I've got a MAC.