Small rant about Dealers & Vendors........

[SW-Shooter]

Is anyone else tired of ordering parts & accessories from Dealers/Vendors that don't list items as out of stock?

I placed a humbly modest order with a Dealer at TOS, only to find out 4 days later that they didn't have it in stock to begin with, they call me 4 days later to inform me of this. He say's " I contacted XYZ and they are packaging them up and sending them out in as fast as they can". In my opinion he tried to divert the blame on XYZ. That dog just don't hunt. I know for a fact there isn't a massive shortage on FDE & Black XYZ gear.:rolleyes:

After considering it for an hour or so I call back to cancel the order so I could place it with another Dealer that has the item on hand. Problem is they only answer the phone on certain days for 2 hours or so. Pretty shabby if you ask me, but it's my fault I should have performed my due diligence. Being they pay for a spot on the wall of fame I figured it was a safe bet, my mistake.

Who are the best ones to order from that keep current stock on hand updated?

I can tell everyone this, I will never order from them again. I do about 2k in parts and accessories a year, not including guns and optics. While it may not be a lot but it's going somewhere else and that is for certain! I know I'm not the only one that feels this way. Oh, as soon as I get my order I'll list the name of the Dealer/Vendor.

Thanks for hearing me out.:mad:

[dp509]

That is a pain. Or worse yet, you order a item from the local supplier, you go to pick it up and they gave it to someone else :mad:

[lalakai]

Even though the net has openned up markets that many of us would never have had access to, finding the good ones is still a challenge. Most people who trade/buy/sell on the net will agree that once you find a good shop, you stick with it, often trading a few pennies for peace of mind.

most of my purchases are electronic and camera gear, and i have my "go-to" places. I was pleasantly surprised after recently placing an order only to get a phone call a few minutes after my order was placed, telling me that an item was out of stock and how did i want to handle it?? I decided to wait and hold for the item to arrive, and the vendor was good enough to hold the rest of the order until the entire package could be shipped; I've now added Grant's place to my "go-to" list.

you can find the good ones, it just takes a little longer. but it's worth the peace of mind. For all the other places, i make sure to share that info also.

[sewvacman]

Grant (www.GandRtactical.com) is definitely a go to guy. If he doesn't have it he'll get it fast and reasonably priced.
That said, and being a small buisiness owner, I had to drop my website because I couldn't keep up with it. The markup you make online usually doesn't pay for someone to sit and update it daily unless you are really moving some product. That's no excuse but a complaint I hear from other dealers constantly.
I personally hated calling customers to tell them I didn't have what I said I had, so I stopped altogether. I am losing hair at a slower rate now.:D

[chadbag]

My website doesn't show in stock or out of stock. That is because the accounting system is not tied to the webstore. And if it were it may not be up to date as I have stuff come in and I can start shipping it but the invoice from the vendor has not come yet or is sitting on my desk and has not been entered yet so the system thinks it is out when there is a whole case of them sitting here.

I am a one man shop and trying to keep the inventory system up to date is not worth it, let alone tying the offline secure accounting system (which controls the inventory) to the webstore, is not really possible from a time or practicality / technical standpoint.

With almost any vendor, if you are concerned about in-stock, you should call them and ask.

[rob_s]

I definitely prefer to shop from vendors that have instock/out of stock on their website. If it's something I really need I may call and check to see if the website is wrong and they may have just gotten something in, but otherwise I'll wait.

I also prefer a site that has a way for them to automatically notify me when the item comes in stock.

[LOKNLOD]

Yeah, it's tough buying gear. Imagine how much it would suck without the online vendors though. As popular as some stuff is, and as busy as dealers are, it's going to be tough to keep everything's stock status updated if it's done manually. I will say SKD has a pretty good system on their website, but they are one of the few.

It is frustrating to get your package and find some of the stuff missing because it was out of stock. I had that happen on my last order, and while it didn't kill me that it was not all there, if I'd have known it was back ordered I could have gotten it on the way for something else. If I'd have needed that stuff for a class or something, I'd have been hosed.

One good way to know you'll get good service is to stick with the M4C vendors, like e-guns, BravoCo, and G&R. If something is popular or hard to find, drop a phone call or email and see if they've got it...

[rob_s]

I had one $200 item that got backordered from one vendor, so I ordered it from another and canceled the first. Imagine my surprise when the first vendor shipped anyway, and charged me, a month or two later!

It was all good in the end because I don't mind having two of them, but if you're not expecting a $200 hit it can really play hell with your finances depending on how you have your bill paying set up.

[ST911]

I don't like wasting time on the phone, and I prefer to shop online. I prefer to know stock status when I order, but I use some vendors that don't have it. If it's a priority/time sensitive purchase, I'll usually call ahead.

I also try to stay abreast of who has a preferred/contracted dealer status with manufacturers I use, to maximize availability potential. Manufacturers take care of some better than others.

[lalakai]

With almost any vendor, if you are concerned about in-stock, you should call them and ask.

This is a golden rule, for initial contact with new purchases over the net. before i trust personal info and cc info to a business, i want to know what their CSR's are like, how organized, how consistent, and how they answer questions. Not picking on the net merchants alone; i will do this when i shop at a new hardware or electronics store. If the CSR's don't know what they are talking about, i look elsewhere. The upside, is that i'm pretty loyal to the shops i trust...........lol just ask Newegg or Mushkin.:rolleyes:

[chadbag]

From my own (non dealer) personal experience, I have had online systems tell me something was in stock when it really wasn't, etc. No system is fool proof. That is why I call if it is really important.

[SW-Shooter]

Biy oh boy do I have bad luck. Ordered parts from Glockmeister on 10 September and still haven't received them. I called them up and get the ole song and dance, sorry I have to research your order.

Back to my AR parts order, tried to call them today and get a message that they won't be in the office from Friday until Monday. That sucks now I have to wait four more days to cancel my order.:mad:

[HighSpeedDreams]

I also like when a site has provisions in place to allow the buyer to decide the outcome of the order based of the stock involved. For instance, selecting "please cancel my order if these items are not in stock" or "send what is in stock now and send the backordered items later."