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Gunsmithing The last time I will order from Midway

R

robescc

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Sep 28, 2010
194
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Everett, WA
I just placed an order with Midway for a carrier screw for a Marlin 336. It wasn't till I hit submit when I noticed they charge a $3 handling fee. What is up with that? It has been a year or so since I have ordered anything form them so they must have recently started this. What a rip. I guess Brownell's has my business now.

Rob
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

Yah they charge a $3 handling fee if you dont order $25 worth of stuff. One of the many reasons I dont order from them anymore either
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

Wow i didn't know that. I usually have over 100 bucks orders. If u reload u could buy a box of bullets or bag of brass to get past the handling fee. Can't ever have too much brass.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

The service charge for <$25 orders has been a long-standing Midway policy for as long as I can remember. That is one of the reasons that I gladly wait until I have a larger order (and a discount code) before buying anything from them.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

For me, Midway is a "last resort" option.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

I have had nothing but good luck out of Midway. That small part fee is fairly common among retailers. I ran into the same thing recently, and just added some other goodies to the order.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

I rarely order from Midway. Brownells is my go to for most anything gun parts related. Considerably lower prices, cheap and very fast shipping, and customer service second to none. My Midway orders consist primarily of Midway only items, like the Vortex Viper HS they have.

I remember when Midway was free shipping, and cheap.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

Its $3 people, and Midway ships their in stock inventory ASAP. That's worth $3 to me.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

Its 3 bucks that other companies, like Brownells, do not charge. I get my orders from Brownells, with cheaper shipping, faster than I do from Midway, and Midway is closer to me.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

I can almost always find any given product elsewhere for cheaper.

It pisses me off that Midway strategically puts many items on "sale" for a couple cents off regular price - so those items won't apply towards the total you're trying to hit to make use of a coupon.

It pisses me off that Midway rapes you on shipping. I work for a business that ships a lot of stuff via Fedex, UPS, USPS etc etc, and I know how much it costs, and very often (though not always), Midway charges ridiculous amounts. For example, they wanted $28 to ship a soft rifle bag they will fold up and cram into a 12"x12"x3" box weighing 1.5lb.

Anyway, nothing new, and luckily Midway hasn't been nationalized and I'm under no obligation to buy stuff from them - so I exercise my right NOT to...
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

"My name is Larry Potterfield, and that's the way it is!"
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

If you guys can point me to somewhere I can get a Badger FTE brake, AI AW mag, and an American Defense AD-170-S for my atlas... Id be all ears!

I dont necessarily like using Midway, but they seem to have a lot of stock of a lot of products.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: patrol120</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Its 3 bucks that other companies, like Brownells, do not charge. I get my orders from Brownells, with cheaper shipping, faster than I do from Midway, and Midway is closer to me. </div></div>
This is almost exactly what I was going to say but I live maybe 60 miles from Brownells! I think the cheaper price is because we end up paying our states sales tax but I will never understand why I get Midway stuff faster...I like both places and dont mind paying a handling fee I mean if I buy a $1.50 screw then it cost the company $3.00 to get that screw from a shelf and into a box to ship it they sure wont make any money to keep the doors open and on top of that if a $25 order gets rid of that fee well then that is better then it being a $100 min and I bet we can all find enough stuff to meet that $25 min.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

The only thing I have ordered from Brownells was a five dollar spring and shipping was six bucks! the small spring showed up in a 6x6 box with the large air filled bags, give me a break!
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Sonic Crack</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The only thing I have ordered from Brownells was a five dollar spring and shipping was six bucks! the small spring showed up in a 6x6 box with the large air filled bags, give me a break!

</div></div>

Sure, but was it six bucks, plus a three dollar charge? At least with Brownells, you know exactly what shipping is going to be, 5.95 for small orders, 13.95 for large orders. It doesn't change, vary, or get jacked by fees because you didn't spend enough money. If I order from Brownells on Monday, its in my Mailbox on Wednesday. With cool guy pricing, they are consistently cheaper than Midway, and are awesome to deal with.

Hell I even like the Brownells boxes. They are useful as hell.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

The $3 small purchase fee has been a Midway policy as long as I've been buying from them, 4+ years now.

Also, Midway's shipping costs have come down over the last couple years (at least for my typical purchases), and I do a good amount of shipping from my office with a UPS contract so their UPS Ground prices are (mostly) realistic in my experience. They also recently started a low-cost USPS shipping option for small, light items; to have a CDI DBM, Savage bolt head, or similar stuff shipped to me it was just a couple bucks.

As for Brownells...I've bought from them a couple times, they shipped fast. Prices tend to be higher than Midway, plus I have to pay IN sales tax.

Bottom line: they don't pull a fast one on you, its right there in black and white before you press 'submit'. Don't like it, feel free to take your business elsewhere.

I will continue to buy from whoever has what I need in stock at the best end price...be it Midway, Brownells, etc.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BoilerUP</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The $3 small purchase fee has been a Midway policy as long as I've been buying from them, 4+ years now.

Also, Midway's shipping costs have come down over the last couple years (at least for my typical purchases), and I do a good amount of shipping from my office with a UPS contract so their UPS Ground prices are (mostly) realistic in my experience. They also recently started a low-cost USPS shipping option for small, light items; to have a CDI DBM, Savage bolt head, or similar stuff shipped to me it was just a couple bucks.

As for Brownells...I've bought from them a couple times, they shipped fast. Prices tend to be higher than Midway, plus I have to pay IN sales tax.

Bottom line: they don't pull a fast one on you, its right there in black and white before you press 'submit'. Don't like it, feel free to take your business elsewhere.

I will continue to buy from whoever has what I need in stock at the best end price...be it Midway, Brownells, etc. </div></div>

Absolutely. When I order from Midway, I know what its gonna cost, and I voluntarily pay that.

As for Brownells, their retail is higher than most, but their dealr/LE/Mil pricing is very competitive. Retail is not their market, and they price accordingly. Sales Tax, however, would suck.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BoilerUP</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

They also recently started a low-cost USPS shipping option for small, light items; to have a CDI DBM, Savage bolt head, or similar stuff shipped to me it was just a couple bucks.

</div></div>

If you're talking about the "UPS Mail Innovations", you had a lot better luck than I did!
It took me almost 2 weeks to get a small item from Midway that was shipped in a Tyvek envelope.

UPS picks it up and delivers it to the nearest post office. Then it gets dumped in with Parcel Post, or bulk mail items, and it moves to the next stop when the container gets full-maybe 2 days, maybe 2 weeks.

They had another one that was called "Smart Post" or something like that. UPS had possession, with a genuine UPS tracking number, straight to the post office. That one always worked fine for me.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

A $25 order??
confused.gif
Ive never made one of those to midway?
How the hell could you make an order to Midway or Brownells or any of the gunpart/reloading/gunsithing/Shit thats just cool web site?? I wish I could keep it under $25. But there is always something I need.
crazy.gif
crazy.gif
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

Yeah don't do the UPS Mail Innovations, spend the extra .50 and get it a couple days sooner
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

That really sucks. I think their shipping is awful also, but they donate and match a lot of money for my youth shooting foundation. So most of the time I just deal with it.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

Ordered THOUSANDS of dollars worth from Midway. NEVER had a problem. NEVER ordered less than $25 worth. ALWAYS receive my packages in a double hurry, even back ordered items. I am glad to hear not everyone likes MIdway. It is good for competition and it means that they have a lot of the stuff I want, in stock at a good price.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

I use em both. Never had a problem with midway, but I can't remember the last time an order was under $50! They ship quick to me, as does brownells. I think midway's site is easier to navigate, but I get a good discount from brownells too. I still wouldn't hesitate an order for a part I needed, even with a $3 fee. If ya gotta have it, ya gotta have it. Not to mention their customer service and returns are great in my experience.

Also it's Larry Potterfield and they give to the nra as well as support a lot of other gun related foundations.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

I never had a problem with Midway. I don't think I have ever paid the handling fee either. Twenty-five bucks isn't hard to get to. They probably do this to help deter people from ordering one M&M at a time.

You've bought one screw from them in a year or so? Your going to slam a good company,over 3 bucks, in a internet forum? Are you my 92 year old neighbor that is still bitching that a pack of smokes is over a nickle?

What do you want? Your own fucking "midway elf" to go down in the fucking basement for one fucking screw and self lick the fucking stamp to the fucking envelope? Would that work for ya?

You just ripped me off of three minutes of my life over your petty shit!
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

All shipping was free from Midway until about 10 or 12 years ago when Larry Potterfield went to Africa for a long Safari with exotic antique rifles.

While he was gone shipping charges started and went way up. I had been doing $2k/year with Midway. I quit.

They had a lot of $5/ hour people who did not know anything. Growing pains.

Now Midway seems to have cleaned up their act, and I now do some biz with them. Not as much as Brownells or Graf&son, but I am doing biz with Midway.

And instead of Potterfield showing off how rich he is, he is making youtube videos doing amateur gunsmithing with a Chinese lathe. He is actually a smart guy.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

I always keep a list of stuff that I need to order at any given time to try to save on shipping and avoid a handling fee. The problem is that Midways stock is so spotty that there hasn't been a time in the last year that they had everything in stock as well as a coupon code to entice me to check stock. They also had, last time I checked, a requirement to ship each item in an order as soon as possible even if, due to out of stock items, this results in several costly shipments.

So.... the result of all this has been that I just never seem to order from them. I appreciate the wide selection they offer but some combination of a slow website with poor navigation, difficulty finding products in stock, so-so prices, and bad shipping policies has added up to not worth my effort.

I understand the emotions behind many of the posters here. It's not that you hate Midway or feel cheated by them. It is just that they are not very good at their job. You want them to be the Newegg of gun supplies but just aren't that innovative, or even well run. Hopefully someday some young upstart will come by with good ideas and a slick operation and eat midways lunch than we will all get what we want.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ShOoTiN2KiLl</div><div class="ubbcode-body">"My name is Larry Potterfield, and that's the way it is!" </div></div> I was placing a decent $$$ order and I was shocked about the shipping was the highest I ever seen. I told the customer service lady, I guess Larry is right then huh, she said what do you mean, I said THATS JUST THE WAY IT IS. She had no comment lol
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

I always just order of the amount. Cant have too much gun stuff.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

For Fu*K sake, with such a little order as soon as employee takes it off the shelf they are loosing money on the deal.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

Have been buying from them for many years, and will continue to do so. Mr. Potterfield gives a ton back to the shooting sports with match sponsorship dollars, heavy sponsorship of shooting sports related television, and is a really great guy too. I have had several conversations with him by phone and e-mail and he is always gracious and willing to listen to his customers concerns. $3 is no big deal when someone orders a small part. Much the same as my fees for welding and fabrication time. $55 per hour, 1 hour minimum charge. even a minimum wage employee would cost them more than the 3 dollar charge for boxing up a single screw . Plus the cost of the box, tape, shipping label and printing the invoice. Like others have said, it doesn't take much to make the $25 limit to avoid the measly $3 charge. Midway also started the NRA Roundup program and has donated millions to help protect our rights.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

If the price is all you care about, then you need to cast your nets more widely.

Otherwise, convenience can have a value in and of itself.

Greg
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

About the only irritating thing about Midway's shipping is on an order that contains backordered items. I placed an order Monday for some tools, an AR spring set and some inletting black. The last two (total $20) were on backorder and the shipping charge would have been just shy of $10. Needless to say, I removed them and continued with the rest of the order.

I sometimes order from Brownell's because, for some reason, I get a small discount. However, I can't say their shipping costs are any lower than Midway's, and on a number of items, the cost is higher.

I consider it to be six of one and a half-dozen of another.

I have learned that Optics Planet often has an equivalent price, but free shipping. For instance, I ordered a new RCBS furnace from them because the shipping was free (and actually the furnace was about $10 less than from Midway).

Cheers,
Richard
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

I've got to agree with sawman556. Well stated. Almost poetic. Gonna email Mr. Potterfield,(curious about the Midway Elf) I've often been amazed at how quickly my orders arrive.
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ORD</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The service charge for <$25 orders has been a long-standing Midway policy for as long as I can remember. That is one of the reasons that I gladly wait until I have a larger order (and a discount code) before buying anything from them. </div></div>

How do you get a discount code from Midway????
 
Re: The last time I will order from Midway

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: PharmShooter</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ORD</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The service charge for <$25 orders has been a long-standing Midway policy for as long as I can remember. That is one of the reasons that I gladly wait until I have a larger order (and a discount code) before buying anything from them. </div></div>

How do you get a discount code from Midway???? </div></div>
Go to top Thread, S4 Snipers Hide Equipmemt and go down 13 posts, Lowlight has them posted each month. Nice guy to do that for us.
 
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