And now, a word about a word from our sponsors
You’ll notice over there on the left that Cheaper Than Dirt is now advertising here at SayUncle. And you’ll notice on the right that Lucky Gunner Ammo is also advertising here. The reason I bring this up (in addition to sending a few more eyeballs to those helping me pay the bills) is that it’s good to see the gun industry folks utilizing blogs for advertising. After all, my readers tend to be the target market.
September 18th, 2009 at 9:46 am
I order from CTD from time to time … might as well do it by clicking through here!
September 18th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Has Cheaper Than Dirt ever resolved their order system that bills people even for things that aren’t in stock? I ordered from them once and then sent it back because they billed me the entire order when the sent maybe 60% of it. Some items were apparently out of stock (though they had not appeared to be on the website) and when I called about the full billing, they told me that they didn’t even know if they would be restocked, much less when, and their system did not allow them to only charge for items shipped. I sent it all back and demanded a full refund. Since then, I won’t even look on their site or in their catalog. But, I am curious to know if it’s something they have resolved over the years now that technology has evolved.
September 18th, 2009 at 10:03 am
i’ll ask Daniel.
September 18th, 2009 at 10:52 am
I’ve ordered magazine, and grips, and tools, and cleaning supplies and ammo from CTD and have always been pleased with the service
September 18th, 2009 at 11:28 am
Bitter: We generally do not backorder items any more just because of that problem. All items that are out of stock now have a notice stating that that item is out of stock, and usually has a notice that we don’t do backorders anymore.
The technology is getting better, but we’ve found that people would rather wait and order it when it is actually in stock. To that end, we have a system that allows you to enter your email address, and be notified as soon as the item you are looking for is in stock.
September 18th, 2009 at 11:37 am
Speaking of awesomeness of advertising in blogs, I must say coming into a blog post about a company and having a representative of that company answering questions in the comments really goes a long way to adding a good reputation to the name. (The Q&A with the Kel-Tec CEO over the RFB at snowflakes in hell also comes to mind)
September 18th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Yup, I appreciate the response. It’s good to hear there are improvements to that system. Unfortunately, I still probably wouldn’t do much shopping there just because the customer service agent at the time left such a bad taste in my mouth, and Midway has really hit the ball out of the park on that end even when I discovered a very bizarre and nearly impossible to trigger glitch in their system. But hopefully for other customers, the service is also on the same track of improvement.
September 18th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I loves me some CTD. It’s not exactly like going to Ray’s Sporting Goods (in Dallas, which is a hajj every gunnie should make) but it sure is fun. The guys at the catalog desk are exceptionally helpful and better yet, somewhat patient. I generally make it over there every few months to pick up goodies that I see in their monthly catalogs, when I can get them away from the wife, but she’s not on a first-name basis with Bertha.
I think she buys more there than I do.
Regards,
Rabbit.
September 18th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Thanks for the welcome! If you folks are looking for ammo, everything we’ve got on LuckyGunner.com is in stock and ready to ship today.
LuckyGunner.com is new and we’re trying to get the word out but the core message of the site won’t change: “If you see it on the site, we’ve got it in stock and ready to ship!”
Great to be here and happy to support the gun blog community.
September 18th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Weer’d Beard: We’re really trying to be a part of the community now, and part of that means coming out and participating, so here we are!
The Q&A is a good idea. I know I answered alot of questions about ammunition availability, the shortage, etc. while I was at the GBR-IV. We’ll probably do an online Q&A early next week.
Bitter: Sorry to hear that – if there’s something we can do to change your mind, just let us know. For what it’s worth, I (or anyone from our internet team) can handle any customer service issues as well, so put the word out that we can resolve issues when we’re contacted online through Twitter, Facebook, the Blog, or through our live chat.
September 18th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
target market
A little double entendre?
September 18th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
I can definitely vouch for the guys at Lucky Gunner being good people – and I agree with Uncle that it’s good to see firearms/accessory companies getting into blog advertising.
September 18th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Yay, we win!
September 18th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
http://i34.tinypic.com/2yl0acz.jpg
September 18th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Ditto Bitter on CTD. No big deal on having them as an advertiser, but my experiences have all been less than pleasant – the last one the worst of all.
I do not have a CTD store nearby here, have to use mail order. I am one of those who will not order from them for a number of reasons:
1. They had a buyers club (for a fee) which they summarily ended with no notice or explanation. When I received the first catalog without club pricing, I called and was finally told they had ended the program, but that my discounts would be applied “automatically” when I ordered. I asked how long my membership was good for, and he would not tell me. No refund on the club fee either, even prorated.
2. My last order with them was for multiple bags of 6.8 brass. I received confirmation of the order. A few days later I received an email telling me the items HAD shipped. A day later I was told that – contrary to the order shipping, they had run out and they WOULD only be shipping 40% of my order. +1 on the notification, -1000 on the complete and utter lack of integration between sales and inventory. I have stopped buying from any online store that does that to me. Companies need to take a page from MidwayUSA and conduct their business like Midway does.
3. The price run-up – on ammo and on magazines – was the last straw. It did not mirror other price increases, it was excessive. But that’s OK – you can be a jerk in business all you want, I will vote with my checkbook and deal with more reputable companies.
I am fortunate in that locally I do have 3 large chain sporting goods stores (with guns and ammo), a Mom and Pop gun store, plus a Mills with an adequate gun shop and surplus aisles all within three miles of each other. Not to mention mail order. So I do not need CTD and will not buy from them.
September 18th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
The “your ad here” link page tells me the ad image can be no larger than 150 x 200 pixelks, yet there are ads much larger than that here. Whaddup yo?
September 18th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
And why is Cheaper than Dirt not an UltiMAK distributor? (says Lyle from UltiMAK)
September 19th, 2009 at 11:11 am
I’ve been buying from Lucky Gunner. Great service and fast. Like you said in the “Hens Teeth” post the other day, 380ACP in stock. It’s great range ammo and affordable. I’m very appreciative those guys are out there doing what they do.