Paying full boat for preorder

[OldmanWilly]

Does anyone else have a problem paying the full price of an airgun, on back order, up front? Mind you, I don‘t mind putting down a deposit, up front, which would be forfeited if I canceled the order. But dropping $2200 with an expected delivery date makes me pucker up!

 

[Firewalker]

NOPE!

I'm patient enough to wait...

 

[cmatera]

@cmatera Do you mind sharing the dealer that shafted you so some of us don't make the same mistake?

Sorry, no. Anyone who advertises here is protected. I almost got banned for telling the truth on several occasions. Just realize this is a free website paid for by the advertisers.

 

[Ezana4CE]

Sorry, no. Anyone who advertises here is protected. I almost got banned for telling the truth on several occasions. Just realize this is a free website paid for by the advertisers.

@cmatera Understood.

 

[blackdog899]

Waiting on a Hatsan neutron star . It was a good price I think at $500 for the wood stock one.
Store gives you a big speel that it may take up to 30 days. So since they stated that ahead of time
and I thought it was a great deal I bought. That was Dec. 7 . Emailed to inquire what’s up . That was last Friday.
Got a couple computer responses and a person that basically said nothing.
Turns out Hatsan had a 30% off coupon all along which would have been about the same price.

In this case it’s Dacks . Just now received another bot email stating someone would contact me within 24 hours.
Fourth one of them I got. They advertise a family company and to get those prices don’t rush. I got my zelos
in less than a week from another discounter Gun Deals for $420
As far a Dacks , it’s been 32 days it’s the up to 30 and lack of communication. told them if they didn’t have gun to cancel. I’m sorry it wasn’t through PayPal as I know it
would be refunded.

 

[elh0102]

When I was active in BR and varmint hunting, I had a few custom rifles made. The gunsmith with whom I worked with most would charge me enough up front to cover his material costs incurred. I think that's fair, since it was usually several months until the rifle was built.
A retailer has no cost incurred in an order for a standard production rifle, and usually has 30 day terms on the inventory payable. So any up front charge is simply an interest-free loan for the dealer. If it's a specialty item, then a reasonable deposit is not unusual or unreasonable.

 

[OldmanWilly]

What airgun store

 

[DeanB]

Nope no way Id prepay full price too much crap can go wrong. Doesnt matter how bad I want it, percentage up front should be enough to hold your gun when it comes in.

 

[OldmanWilly]

@OldmanWilly, why not simply wait and buy when the gun is in stock? How about you let us know what gun would merit such an “up front” payment and from who

 

[cmatera]

I will say I like the way AoA ran their preorder system. They took a fixed amount, like $50. Twice, I just changed my mind. All it took was a phone call and my money was refunded during their next batch processing, usually by the next day.

I asked myself this question. If a gun is SOO in demand why should I have to pay the full price upfront? If a dealer has 100's of buyers in line, why not just sell it to the next guy in line. That's what AoA does. They have called me and told me a gun I pre-ordered with a small deposit was now in stock. I told them I forgot about it and that my financial situation had changed since the pre-order. They said, "no prblem, we'll just go to the next person on the list". Most other pre-order systems are a scam. You take the full price for an item that may never be delivered, and use the $$ to say build a new building. You use the customers money interest-free to get richer. I say if you want to build your business and need money, talk to your bank.

 

[OldmanWilly]

When I was active in BR and varmint hunting, I had a few custom rifles made. The gunsmith with whom I worked with most would charge me enough up front to cover his material costs incurred. I think that's fair, since it was usually several months until the rifle was built.
A retailer has no cost incurred in an order for a standard production rifle, and usually has 30 day terms on the inventory payable. So any up front charge is simply an interest-free loan for the dealer. If it's a specialty item, then a reasonable deposit is not unusual or unreasonable.

I too had two custom 17 HMRs rifles made, one a Volquartsen and a Clark Custom. I made no upfront payment and only payed when the order was completed.

 

[OldmanWilly]

@OldmanWilly, why not simply wait and buy when the gun is in stock? How about you let us know what gun would merit such an “up front” payment and from whom?

Will do

 

[OldmanWilly]

@cmatera Do you mind sharing the dealer that shafted you so some of us don't make the same mistake?

I was not shafted, just asked a question.

 

[elh0102]

I too had two custom 17 HMRs rifles made, one a Volquartsen and a Clark Custom. I made no upfront payment and only payed when the order was completed.

Yes, but my rifles were made by a gunsmith in his home shop. In that scenario, there is no inventory of parts, everything is ordered from a different supplier, action, barrel, stock, trigger, etc. So, he has to order stuff and pay for it, not knowing with any certainty exactly when he will either receive everything or make the rifle. I had the same experience as you with Kidd, Volquartsen, and Wilson. I'll add, when dealing with an individual smith, you have to have a high comfort level with him, and a lot of patience. Some are great craftsmen, but not so great in planning and communication.

 

[cmatera]

I was not shafted, just asked a question.

No one said you were shafted. The reply was to me.