therifleshoppe?

[rickystl]

They can afford to ship just once a week because you pay for your items in advance. If they had to ship and invoice, it would kill their monthly receivables.

It might be all they can do just to keep TOTW and other distributors with Brown Bess parts? :idunno:
Rick. :hatsoff:

 

[Rick Boylan]

AG = Attorney General. If they want to rip me off or take a year or more to get me what they say is in stock, then I'll bring in some help to put a fire under their britches. :cursing:

 

[Rick Boylan]

AG = Attorney General maybe?

Yeah, that's the only translation I could think of but, as far as I know there are no cities with an attorney general, that is a state or national office. unless you're in Virginia where we have a Commonwealth's Attorney.

Ya. Get lawyers involved. That will certainly help. :/

The AG will likely laugh at a demand like that, they have important criminals to prosecute. Now, maybe he could contact a lawyer to take the case but would just be a threat of a phone call from the law office and even that would take a good deal more money than spent on the parts or, for that matter, frock coats.

Actually the AG here in Iowa, Tom Miller, is very good at going after consumer fraud and/or mail fraud. He's gone after businesses that behave this way and has a very strong reputation for championing for the consumer.

 

[necchi]

Do they offer things that cannot be purchased elsewhere?

Yes,
I once ordered a hammer for an original 1834 Potsdam percussion conversion.
Actually a small independent local shop owner ordered for me. The piece was out of stock at the time and we found out some months later that the part had to be cast and there where mold problems for that hammer.
We had long since given up and the musket was delegated to the deep recesses of the gun locker and forgotten.
Two years later the part showed up. :idunno:
To their credit the hammer was a nicely cast piece and a virtual drop-in.
I have not needed a specialty item like that since.

 

[MacRob46]

They can afford to ship just once a week because you pay for your items in advance. If they had to ship and invoice, it would kill their monthly receivables.

It might be all they can do just to keep TOTW and other distributors with Brown Bess parts? :idunno:
Rick. :hatsoff:

You don't understand sarcasm, do you?

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

.........
Actually the AG here in Iowa, Tom Miller, is very good at going after consumer fraud and/or mail fraud. He's gone after businesses that behave this way and has a very strong reputation for championing for the consumer.

Ah. The thing you said that confused me was ..."AG of my city", you meant your State Attorney General. That straightens out my confusion, cities do not have an Attorney General.

I still doubt it will do any good since they are following the letter of the law in that they will ship when the parts are available, it just takes time on occasion, as described on their website. They are a very small shop and they have a huge inventory that they are capable of producing but things happen. Am I excusing their sometimes long delivery times? No, I am not, their website says that due to the custom nature of their work it can take up to, in their words "60 to 90 days".
http://www.therifleshoppe.com/general_product_information.htm

Of course, we know some people complain, constantly, that they have had to wait longer, with years often mentioned. It is not that I don't believe them but I have had none of those problems, 3 weeks is the average time I have had to wait and I am not rare in that sense, they wouldn't be in business if there were only a couple of us who are satisfied customers. We live in an age when instant gratification is demanded and one day shipping has come to be the norm.

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

I know nothing about The Rifle Shoppe. Do they offer things that cannot be purchased elsewhere?

They certainly do Claude, a glance at their website shows ample examples of what they offer that are simply not made or even available elsewhere. Also, their quality is exceptional.

Is that why people are willing to accept their lack of customer service?

I suppose you could say that, but as you say, you know nothing about them so you are taking the word of people on the internet. And, as we all know, it has to be true if it's on the internet.... :wink:

Seriously, read their website just to see what is available, you'll see what I mean when I, and many others, say that they do have things not available anywhere else:
http://www.therifleshoppe.com/

 

[kb466]

About getting the AG and/or lawyers involved-- first, I am a lawyer and I don't think you would have much luck getting your state's AG to take your case-- it wouldn't happen here. They likely would refer you to the postal inspectors, and they would probably do nothing. You could hire your own lawyer, but I think that would be an exercise in futility, and probably an expensive one at that. A couple of issues preventing your maintaining a successful lawsuit is that TRS says right on their website that your order will likely take a while and that if you're in a hurry don't order. Also, as far as I know, TRS doesn't charge you till your order is ready to ship. I chose to pay for mine up front-- my decision. So if you do hire a lawyer and go after them-- what will you expect to get? Well, your order will be cancelled if you haven't paid and if you have paid up front, you will likely get a cancellation of your order and return of your money. I would guess you would get these things anyway if you just asked TRS to cancel your order and return your payment. So in the end, you have to decide whether you are willing to wait for your TRS order. If you go in thinking you will receive it in a week, well you are foolish or uninformed at best, particularly after reading these posts and the notice on their website. I made a decision to order their parts with the full knowledge that it could take months or years to get them. I try to schedule my builds accordingly. Yes, I'm frustrated that I haven't received my 1756 Brown Bess set I ordered over two years ago, but only because I am now ready to start building it. But I won't cancel the order, but start another project instead. That's my choice. I'm willing to put up with the delay and attendant aggravation only because I want and cannot buy parts of such quality elsewhere.
Bill M.

 

[rickystl]

Hi Mac. Yes I do! :haha: My comment was intentional, but not serious. :haha: Rick. :hatsoff:

 

[Claude Mathis]

Is that why people are willing to accept their lack of customer service?

I suppose you could say that, but as you say, you know nothing about them so you are taking the word of people on the internet.

It never occurred to me that our members would be lying, just to make a vendor look bad.

 

[Alden]

I would like to get a frizzen for a snaphaunce lock pistol I have but I am 68 and may not have enough time left to wait for it!

Took me, what, 2-1/2, 3-1/2, years to get my 1590 snaphaunce pistol ala TRS many years ago now. They "had" the parts and were going to make it for me. Half the delay was at TRS and they finally gave up assembling their own gun -- they just couldn't do it. They shipped it to someone in Canada to finish it. Took them quite some time and they too just couldn't do it and threw their hands up as well. The Canadians then, in turn, sent it to my gunsmith for me...

He identified that two parts were clearly the wrong ones, made correct pieces by hand, removed as much of the oil soak stain from the lemonbutt stock as he could, and sent it to me.

SURE you want to order that frizzen!?

 

[Tinker2]

It never occurred to me that our members would be lying, just to make a vendor look bad.

Does exaggerate or embellish count?



William Alexander

 

[necchi]

It never occurred to me that our members would be lying, just to make a vendor look bad.

Does exaggerate or embellish count?



William Alexander

:rotf:

 

[robinghewitt]

I've been wanting to buy a top jaw for my Hall rifle, you can't get them anywhere else, but will I live long enough to get it? Perhaps my widow could sell the gun full price with a note saying "Rifle Shoppe pn: 645TJ $12.95" :rotf:

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

It never occurred to me that our members would be lying, just to make a vendor look bad.

Not at all Claude, I think it is more frustration than anything else. TRS would do well to make a better effort to communicate, but as I said, they have a small staff.

 

[MacRob46]

I would like to get a frizzen for a snaphaunce lock pistol I have but I am 68 and may not have enough time left to wait for it!

Took me, what, 2-1/2, 3-1/2, years to get my 1590 snaphaunce pistol ala TRS many years ago now. They "had" the parts and were going to make it for me. Half the delay was at TRS and they finally gave up assembling their own gun -- they just couldn't do it. They shipped it to someone in Canada to finish it. Took them quite some time and they too just couldn't do it and threw their hands up as well. The Canadians then, in turn, sent it to my gunsmith for me...

He identified that two parts were clearly the wrong ones, made correct pieces by hand, removed as much of the oil soak stain from the lemonbutt stock as he could, and sent it to me.

SURE you want to order that frizzen!?

I just said I would like to - did not say I was gonna do it.

 

[MacRob46]

In answer to what Claude said, I believe there is a genuine problem with TRS customer service. They sell, or purport to sell, things that are simply not available elsewhere, admit that they don't keep those many items in stock all the time and yet they have a problem filling orders as if this is a part-time business, which it may be for all I know. Somehow they have managed to stay in business these many years so they must be doing something right but from what I see here and what I have encountered elsewhere, it does not seem possible. Frankly I expect something like this from custom builders who sometimes underestimate their ability to get something made and out to you when promised but not from a parts manufacturer. I remember the last catalog I got from them took months to arrive after they said it would be ready to mail. Not a big problem for me as I use it strictly for reference and don't want the hassle of ordering from them. Too bad.

 

[Claude Mathis]

Somehow they have managed to stay in business these many years so they must be doing something right but from what I see here and what I have encountered elsewhere, it does not seem possible.

I have a couple friends who are retired and they run very small businesses, more as a hobby. Their business doesn't depend on a large volume of sales (or any at all, really), so they have a pretty laid-back attitude. They do, however, answer email and calls. :haha:

 

[MacRob46]

Somehow they have managed to stay in business these many years so they must be doing something right but from what I see here and what I have encountered elsewhere, it does not seem possible.

I have a couple friends who are retired and they run very small businesses, more as a hobby. Their business doesn't depend on a large volume of sales (or any at all, really), so they have a pretty laid-back attitude. They do, however, answer email and calls. :haha:

I have operated a small business for nearly 14.5 years which I am selling as of 11/01. In all that time I have never failed to get an order out within 24 hours when the item was in stock, have always kept track of back ordered items and made sure they went out when received from my supplier. I have gone the extra mile to try to find something the customer wanted if it was available and kept them up to speed while I looked. I have replaced items that were clearly broken by the customer which usually resulted in a loss to me but a customer who was satisfied, would tell his friends what I did and who would place more orders (with which there were no problems). I did all this while working full-time in the banking industry until three years ago and doing financial consulting for one year after retiring from the bank. My wife, my partner in the business, worked as a full-time teacher during seven of our 14.5 years. The reason I am saying this is because, yes Claude, your friends and I and no small number of other people have done it but apparently the owners of TRS cannot.

 

[kb466]

What this all comes down to is that we all know TRS usually takes a very long time to fill its orders-- that seems to be an established fact. However, they sell a quality product that you can't find elsewhere for the most part. So, it seems that it is up to each of us to decide if it is worth it to place an order and then wait for the delivery. I understand completely that many, if not most of us would be unwilling to do so. But if you do, don't be surprised if you have a long wait ahead. I have chosen to place a couple of orders with them for parts sets. The first, a 1795 Springfield musket arrived after 18 months. I was very pleased with what I received. My second order, a 1756 Brown Bess, was placed over two years ago and still hasn't arrived. But I will continue to wait--my choice, because I want the parts. My point is that we each need to make an informed decision as to whether we want to do business with TRS either way. But if you do, as I did, you are on notice that you should expect a long wait.
Bill M.