Widener's Reloading & Shooting supply Inc. review

lockmasteroz · September 21, 2011, 06:45 PM

Warning to all consumers considering purchasing any product from Widener’s Reloading and Shooting Supply! My name is Mike and this is a review of my first and very last purchase from this company.

On September 12 2011 I was shopping online for several things including a new Lee Challenger Breech Lock Reloading Kit. Widener’s was one of many companies that had this kit available at a good price. I ordered it along with some other items thinking the transaction was done. I then waited 7 days for it to get here via UPS. When it arrived I felt like a kid on Christmas morning opening his gifts.

All was good, and I inspected every item in the box piece by piece. I then discovered that in the Lee box (numbered 90030) I received only 1 breech lock bushing. I then got on the computer and went back to their website because I believed that their listing of the Lee 90030 explained that you would receive 3 breech lock bushings.

Now before you say to yourself well that was just a typing error and you can just buy the bushings from them separately for a minimal cost. Let me explain what happened next.

I called Widener’s the next morning and spoke to a lovely sounding lady explaining that the ad stated that I was to receive 3 breech lock bushings. She placed me on hold, while I thought she was looking up my information. I expected her to come back on the phone to explain to me that she (Widener’s) would take care of the issue and send me out the bushings I did not receive as per their web page listing. Instead she got on the phone and explained to me that they do not open the boxes received from Lee and that it was Lee’s fault. I was then given the phone number to Lee’s customer service department and advised I would need to contact Lee to resolve the issue.

I called Lee and another very polite lady answered the phone. I explained to her that I had purchased a 90030 from Widener’s Reloading Supply and it was missing 2 of the bushings. The Lee representative then explained to me that the packaging had been changed some time back and the newer 90030’s being shipped did not come with 3 bushings. She apologized to me and then told me that Widener’s was informed about this change via a letter so they could update their web site, and Widener’s was responsible for the missing bushings.

Now before you blast me…..yes the cost of the bushing are minimal ($7.99 from many places). I called back to Widener’s and explained that I had called Lee as per their request., and was advised by Lee that Widener’s should have made corrections to their web page as Lee had advised them via a letter. The same lovely lady explained that it was not her fault, but it was the web page guy’s fault. She then transferred me to the web page guy. He then explained that he was sorry, and the web page would now reflect that you (the consumer) would only receive 1 breech lock bushing with the purchase of a 90030 Lee Challenger Breech Lock press kit. I asked if I could expect to receive the promised bushings from them, and he said that he would ship them to me if I paid for them freight free of course.

Now before you say to yourself “What a complainer! He could pay for the bushings, and everyone would be happy.” Just think for a minute. If you owned a supply business that relied on repeat business, would you treat your customers this way? I’ve been in the retail business for 30 some odd years. I’ve worked for my self , independently owned companies and even corporations. Never would I have thought for one minute about not taking care of the consumer on the very first call. I would have stepped up, sent out those bushings, and apologized to the customer.

After the customer was taken care of, I then would have found out what may have happened with the web site and corrected it before it could happen again.

Now the cost on these bushings to a company such as Widener’s is less than the advertised price of $7.99. Isn’t it really worth the minor cost to send the bushings out or even possibly offer the consumer a discount on a future purchase in order to show they are a reputable company that will stand behind they mistakes. Ask yourself how would you handle this, and then you will see the kind of representation this company (Widener’s Reloading & Shooting Supply Inc.) has.

I am just relaying to you my experience. You will have to judge for yourself if this is right or wrong, and if you wish to do business with this company. I have a copy of the web page in PDF form showing that I did not make this up.

Thank you,
Mike

Sgt Pepper · September 22, 2011, 10:27 AM

Did you let Widener's know that their phone person did not handle your situation correctly? A customer never cares whose fault it is internally for the company. Why would she ever think that you would want/need/should talk to their website guy?!?!?! Ugh, and I like Widener's, too.

lockmasteroz · September 22, 2011, 02:06 PM

The reason I made the order was because a friend of mine recommended them to me cause my normal supplier was out. I was very disappointed with the passing of the buck and lack of compassion on their part. It's a very sad day for everyone when things like this happens. Thanks Mike

lockmasteroz · September 24, 2011, 10:32 PM

I reformatted the original post so it would be easier to read. Sorry about it being all one big sentance. Mike

lockmasteroz · September 26, 2011, 01:43 PM

Update........The web site guy I spoke with on 9-20-2011 contacted me on another message board today. He stated if Lee will reimburse them (Wideners) for the bushings, they (Wideners) will send them to me.

I still have a bad feeling about this. Mike

lockmasteroz · September 27, 2011, 06:37 PM

The web site guy from Wideners contacted me today via another message board and said that Lee was going to reimburse them (Wideners) for the missing bushings and that they (Wideners) would be sending them out. Mike

lockmasteroz · September 29, 2011, 09:40 PM

Update......I recieved the bushings today with a suprise, they sent 2 boxes of 2 so I contacted the web site guy and asked him how he would like me to send the overage back. Mike

Missionary · September 30, 2011, 03:38 PM

Greetings Sounds like with a bit of communication Widners did you right.
I have dealt with Widners for years buying powder & they have never goofed but I can see your perdicament was a bit unusual.
Mike in Peru

lockmasteroz · September 30, 2011, 07:20 PM

Although I was upset and disappointed with my initial purchase, Wideners made it right and because of that and the loyal customer support that they have, I feel that they deserve to get my future business. Mike

riverwalker76 · October 17, 2011, 12:50 PM

I've ordered from them minimally over the past several years, but have never had a problem with their making an order right.

On one occasion I had received a damaged package through UPS and there were 500 bullets floating around inside the box and packaging material. They didn't hesitate to send me another package of bullets, and, even though I insisted returning the 'loose' bullets .... they insisted that I keep them!

So, in my case, in order to keep me happy they resent another package of 500 bullets, and told me to keep the 460 odd loose bullets that were inside the box when it was damaged. Even though it was a UPS mistake ... they ate the cost to keep me happy.

hootey · December 25, 2011, 12:56 PM

Have ordered from wideners for years, never had a complaint. I have not bought any firearms from them. Always recieved orders in a timely fashion, always well packed, & what was ordered.

dave2 · January 20, 2012, 07:45 AM

I ordered a Sig P6 from them and after not hearing anything from them or my FFL I called them after 10 days. The lady said the FFL had just then sent their info over to Wideners but without my name. My credit card had not been charged she also said.
Anyway I should get my P6 sometime next week. I hope its a good pistol :-)

mudlark · January 20, 2012, 03:49 PM

Mike

"they sent 2 boxes of 2 so I contacted the web site guy and asked him how he would like me to send the overage back. Mike"

They finally fix their clusterfluff and you want to send the overage back? I would have assumed the 2 extra were included for my headache and left it at that. You were kinder than I would have been. They should have included a gift certificate also. The customer service person should have done all the footwork and left you out of it. Customer service must be better in today's economic climate.

Just my .02 worth.

BerettaTN · January 20, 2012, 08:01 PM

Bought reloading supplies from them and would probably buy more if they ever had anything in stock.

**Shane Tuttle** · January 21, 2012, 07:28 AM

One should take note the member hasn't been online here since his last post. And with a grand total of 7, mostly in this thread, should give a pretty good indication the sole reason why he joined...

TRDFurgesson · March 6, 2015, 09:25 AM

I ordered some projectiles on the 15th of last month, Unfortunately they are shipping orders from the 14th and have been for quite some time I suppose I'll just have to continue to wait and see what happens.

gdvan01 · March 6, 2015, 09:29 AM

You already stated your case here:

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=559952

Why dig up a 3 year old post?

TRDFurgesson · March 6, 2015, 09:39 AM

Exposure, should I define it for you.

alan · March 22, 2015, 06:16 PM

It's been some years now, but I used to purchase primers from Wideners. This was before those wild extra HazMat, so called, charges came into play. Never had a problem that I can recall. Alas, mail order of some things got just plain ridiculous, not Widener's fault. Found that my local club ordered powder, primers and such things, no extra charges, and a better price too. Alas, primer prices, perhaps powder too, have gone through the ceiling, but that is another matter.

skizzums · April 3, 2015, 07:34 PM

that's pretty crazy because I bought my breech lock kit from fsreloading nearly two years ago and it only came with one breech lock. so I can only assume they have had the incorrect information for a really long time, so I am surprised you are the first to call and complain.

https://fsreloading.com/lee-precisio...kit-90050.html

been very happy with the kit overall btw. have never regretted the purchase or felt the need to upgrade. the anniversary kit comes with priming tool on the press rather than the hand prime like the regular challenger kit. both are same cost of 109$

I usually do all my loading in batches of different calibers, I have never used the breech-lock bushing, it just stays screwed into the press. but I can see if I was sticking with one bullet type and loading it all the time where it could be useful(maybe), but it's kind of a pain to remove the breech rather than just unscrewing the die. my setting don't get messed up when I take the die out, so I really don't get the benefit I guess.

but I understand your gripe regardless, widener's is usually okay to deal with though.

September 21, 2011, 06:45 PM	#1
lockmasteroz Junior Member Join Date: September 21, 2011 Location: Colorado Posts: 7	Widener's Reloading & Shooting supply Inc. review Warning to all consumers considering purchasing any product from Widener’s Reloading and Shooting Supply! My name is Mike and this is a review of my first and very last purchase from this company. On September 12 2011 I was shopping online for several things including a new Lee Challenger Breech Lock Reloading Kit. Widener’s was one of many companies that had this kit available at a good price. I ordered it along with some other items thinking the transaction was done. I then waited 7 days for it to get here via UPS. When it arrived I felt like a kid on Christmas morning opening his gifts. All was good, and I inspected every item in the box piece by piece. I then discovered that in the Lee box (numbered 90030) I received only 1 breech lock bushing. I then got on the computer and went back to their website because I believed that their listing of the Lee 90030 explained that you would receive 3 breech lock bushings. Now before you say to yourself well that was just a typing error and you can just buy the bushings from them separately for a minimal cost. Let me explain what happened next. I called Widener’s the next morning and spoke to a lovely sounding lady explaining that the ad stated that I was to receive 3 breech lock bushings. She placed me on hold, while I thought she was looking up my information. I expected her to come back on the phone to explain to me that she (Widener’s) would take care of the issue and send me out the bushings I did not receive as per their web page listing. Instead she got on the phone and explained to me that they do not open the boxes received from Lee and that it was Lee’s fault. I was then given the phone number to Lee’s customer service department and advised I would need to contact Lee to resolve the issue. I called Lee and another very polite lady answered the phone. I explained to her that I had purchased a 90030 from Widener’s Reloading Supply and it was missing 2 of the bushings. The Lee representative then explained to me that the packaging had been changed some time back and the newer 90030’s being shipped did not come with 3 bushings. She apologized to me and then told me that Widener’s was informed about this change via a letter so they could update their web site, and Widener’s was responsible for the missing bushings. Now before you blast me…..yes the cost of the bushing are minimal ($7.99 from many places). I called back to Widener’s and explained that I had called Lee as per their request., and was advised by Lee that Widener’s should have made corrections to their web page as Lee had advised them via a letter. The same lovely lady explained that it was not her fault, but it was the web page guy’s fault. She then transferred me to the web page guy. He then explained that he was sorry, and the web page would now reflect that you (the consumer) would only receive 1 breech lock bushing with the purchase of a 90030 Lee Challenger Breech Lock press kit. I asked if I could expect to receive the promised bushings from them, and he said that he would ship them to me if I paid for them freight free of course. Now before you say to yourself “What a complainer! He could pay for the bushings, and everyone would be happy.” Just think for a minute. If you owned a supply business that relied on repeat business, would you treat your customers this way? I’ve been in the retail business for 30 some odd years. I’ve worked for my self , independently owned companies and even corporations. Never would I have thought for one minute about not taking care of the consumer on the very first call. I would have stepped up, sent out those bushings, and apologized to the customer. After the customer was taken care of, I then would have found out what may have happened with the web site and corrected it before it could happen again. Now the cost on these bushings to a company such as Widener’s is less than the advertised price of $7.99. Isn’t it really worth the minor cost to send the bushings out or even possibly offer the consumer a discount on a future purchase in order to show they are a reputable company that will stand behind they mistakes. Ask yourself how would you handle this, and then you will see the kind of representation this company (Widener’s Reloading & Shooting Supply Inc.) has. I am just relaying to you my experience. You will have to judge for yourself if this is right or wrong, and if you wish to do business with this company. I have a copy of the web page in PDF form showing that I did not make this up. Thank you, Mike Last edited by lockmasteroz; September 24, 2011 at 10:30 PM.

September 26, 2011, 01:43 PM	#5
lockmasteroz Junior Member Join Date: September 21, 2011 Location: Colorado Posts: 7	Update........The web site guy I spoke with on 9-20-2011 contacted me on another message board today. He stated if Lee will reimburse them (Wideners) for the bushings, they (Wideners) will send them to me.I still have a bad feeling about this. Mike

October 17, 2011, 12:50 PM	#10
riverwalker76 Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2010 Location: Kentucky Posts: 993	I've ordered from them minimally over the past several years, but have never had a problem with their making an order right. On one occasion I had received a damaged package through UPS and there were 500 bullets floating around inside the box and packaging material. They didn't hesitate to send me another package of bullets, and, even though I insisted returning the 'loose' bullets .... they insisted that I keep them! So, in my case, in order to keep me happy they resent another package of 500 bullets, and told me to keep the 460 odd loose bullets that were inside the box when it was damaged. Even though it was a UPS mistake ... they ate the cost to keep me happy. __________________ *Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto* - “You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass.”

December 25, 2011, 12:56 PM	#11
hootey Senior Member Join Date: August 31, 2009 Location: Greater Northwest Posts: 244	Wideners Have ordered from wideners for years, never had a complaint. I have not bought any firearms from them. Always recieved orders in a timely fashion, always well packed, & what was ordered.

January 21, 2012, 07:28 AM	#15
Shane Tuttle Staff Join Date: November 28, 2005 Location: Montana Posts: 9,443	One should take note the member hasn't been online here since his last post. And with a grand total of 7, mostly in this thread, should give a pretty good indication the sole reason why he joined... __________________ If it were up to me, the word "got" would be deleted from the English language. Posting and YOU: http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/posting

September 22, 2011, 10:27 AM	#2
Sgt Pepper Senior Member Join Date: August 19, 2001 Location: Texas Posts: 811	Did you let Widener's know that their phone person did not handle your situation correctly? A customer never cares whose fault it is internally for the company. Why would she ever think that you would want/need/should talk to their website guy?!?!?! Ugh, and I like Widener's, too.

September 22, 2011, 02:06 PM	#3
lockmasteroz Junior Member Join Date: September 21, 2011 Location: Colorado Posts: 7	The reason I made the order was because a friend of mine recommended them to me cause my normal supplier was out. I was very disappointed with the passing of the buck and lack of compassion on their part. It's a very sad day for everyone when things like this happens. Thanks Mike

September 24, 2011, 10:32 PM	#4
lockmasteroz Junior Member Join Date: September 21, 2011 Location: Colorado Posts: 7	I reformatted the original post so it would be easier to read. Sorry about it being all one big sentance. Mike

September 27, 2011, 06:37 PM	#6
lockmasteroz Junior Member Join Date: September 21, 2011 Location: Colorado Posts: 7	The web site guy from Wideners contacted me today via another message board and said that Lee was going to reimburse them (Wideners) for the missing bushings and that they (Wideners) would be sending them out. Mike

September 29, 2011, 09:40 PM	#7
lockmasteroz Junior Member Join Date: September 21, 2011 Location: Colorado Posts: 7	Update......I recieved the bushings today with a suprise, they sent 2 boxes of 2 so I contacted the web site guy and asked him how he would like me to send the overage back. Mike

September 30, 2011, 03:38 PM	#8
Missionary Member Join Date: June 2, 2011 Posts: 78	Greetings Sounds like with a bit of communication Widners did you right. I have dealt with Widners for years buying powder & they have never goofed but I can see your perdicament was a bit unusual. Mike in Peru

September 30, 2011, 07:20 PM	#9
lockmasteroz Junior Member Join Date: September 21, 2011 Location: Colorado Posts: 7	Although I was upset and disappointed with my initial purchase, Wideners made it right and because of that and the loyal customer support that they have, I feel that they deserve to get my future business. Mike

January 20, 2012, 07:45 AM	#12
dave2 Member Join Date: July 5, 2011 Posts: 18	I ordered a Sig P6 from them and after not hearing anything from them or my FFL I called them after 10 days. The lady said the FFL had just then sent their info over to Wideners but without my name. My credit card had not been charged she also said. Anyway I should get my P6 sometime next week. I hope its a good pistol :-)

January 20, 2012, 03:49 PM	#13
mudlark Member Join Date: April 1, 2008 Posts: 39	Mike "they sent 2 boxes of 2 so I contacted the web site guy and asked him how he would like me to send the overage back. Mike" They finally fix their clusterfluff and you want to send the overage back? I would have assumed the 2 extra were included for my headache and left it at that. You were kinder than I would have been. They should have included a gift certificate also. The customer service person should have done all the footwork and left you out of it. Customer service must be better in today's economic climate. Just my .02 worth.

January 20, 2012, 08:01 PM	#14
BerettaTN Member Join Date: March 3, 2007 Posts: 18	Bought reloading supplies from them and would probably buy more if they ever had anything in stock.

March 6, 2015, 09:25 AM	#16
TRDFurgesson Senior Member Join Date: July 4, 2011 Location: Ohio Posts: 115	I was a happy customer until this M855 scare I ordered some projectiles on the 15th of last month, Unfortunately they are shipping orders from the 14th and have been for quite some time I suppose I'll just have to continue to wait and see what happens. __________________ Ohioans for conceal carry A Glock that is not maintained will last, a Glock that is maintained will last a long time, and a Glock that is well maintained will last longer than you will.

March 6, 2015, 09:29 AM	#17
gdvan01 Senior Member Join Date: November 15, 2006 Location: Home of the first First Lady Posts: 463	You already stated your case here: http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=559952 Why dig up a 3 year old post? __________________ NRA Endowment Life Member Proud Son of a former Tomb Guard

March 6, 2015, 09:39 AM	#18
TRDFurgesson Senior Member Join Date: July 4, 2011 Location: Ohio Posts: 115	Exposure, should I define it for you. __________________ Ohioans for conceal carry A Glock that is not maintained will last, a Glock that is maintained will last a long time, and a Glock that is well maintained will last longer than you will.

March 22, 2015, 06:16 PM	#19
alan Senior Member Join Date: June 7, 1999 Posts: 3,847	It's been some years now, but I used to purchase primers from Wideners. This was before those wild extra HazMat, so called, charges came into play. Never had a problem that I can recall. Alas, mail order of some things got just plain ridiculous, not Widener's fault. Found that my local club ordered powder, primers and such things, no extra charges, and a better price too. Alas, primer prices, perhaps powder too, have gone through the ceiling, but that is another matter.

April 3, 2015, 07:34 PM	#20
skizzums Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2013 Location: Douglasville, Ga Posts: 4,615	that's pretty crazy because I bought my breech lock kit from fsreloading nearly two years ago and it only came with one breech lock. so I can only assume they have had the incorrect information for a really long time, so I am surprised you are the first to call and complain. https://fsreloading.com/lee-precisio...kit-90050.html been very happy with the kit overall btw. have never regretted the purchase or felt the need to upgrade. the anniversary kit comes with priming tool on the press rather than the hand prime like the regular challenger kit. both are same cost of 109$ I usually do all my loading in batches of different calibers, I have never used the breech-lock bushing, it just stays screwed into the press. but I can see if I was sticking with one bullet type and loading it all the time where it could be useful(maybe), but it's kind of a pain to remove the breech rather than just unscrewing the die. my setting don't get messed up when I take the die out, so I really don't get the benefit I guess. but I understand your gripe regardless, widener's is usually okay to deal with though. __________________ My head is bloody, but unbowed Last edited by skizzums; April 3, 2015 at 07:41 PM.