The Sportsman's Guide

[evan price]

In November 2006 The Sportsman's Guide advertised .308 Indian NATO surplus rifle ammo for $59.97 for 400 rounds in bandoleers in ammo cans. This price was available from 11/24 through 11/29 2006 on their web site.

A lot of people (including me) ordered this ammo. They found out it was on backorder for 30-45 days. No problem. We received electronic and postcard confirmation of the order and price.

On 11/30/06 Sportsman's Guide increased the price of the ammo to $94.97 per can, no explanation, nothing.

Those of use with confirmed orders for $59.97 received messages that the price would not be honored. If we wished to still receive the ammo we had ordered, and had confirmed orders from SG for, we would have to pay the new price of $94.97 per can for it. No exceptions, no further discount.

Calls to SG customer service, asking to speak to supervisors, etc. got nothing. SG refuses to honor their sale price even though they took and confirmed those orders. SG's excuse at first was, it was an error. Later, they retracted that and said that their cost for the ammo had increased.

The truth of the matter is, Sportsman's Guide has done this before with other types of ammunition and other products. And not just once or twice. Why do business with and/or support a vendor like that?

Mistakes happen. Costs keep going up. But if you accept an order for a product, confirm that order, take a deposit, and then later demand more money for the product, that's dishonest business practices. In many states, this sort of bait-and-switch is illegal and so far there have been complaints filed with the Minnesota Better Business Bureau and the Minnesota Attorney General's office.

Please consider this when thinking about dealing with The Sportsman's Guide.

[Logs]

I have never been a fan of the Sportsman's Guide. It is suppose to be a site or catalog for deals, but most of the stuff is either junk or you can find it cheaper at most sporting good stores.

[Musketeer]

I have had good luck with them for several items, although I have never bought ammo from them. Your story troubles me though and I will be emailing them regarding my concern and linking directly back to this thread.

[shaggy]

Be thankful, the Indian stuff is crap. I've got about 600rds of it in a can but its so crappy looking I wouldn't even try to shoot it in anything short of a Browning 1919 or MAG58/M240 - or some other very heavy duty weapon than can withstand the force of a KB without endangering the shooter. What SG did, however, sucks. FWIW, I've got 7000rds of Wolf 308 & 5.56 on order with them right now, so hopefully this bait & switch isn't indicative of how they're dealing with all ammo orders, but I fear it may be; there were similar problems reported on ARFCOM with large orders (>10,000 rds) of 5.56.

[VUPDblue]

Damn! I should have read this thread last night! I just ordered 5k of 9mm and 1k of .40 and 3k of 5.56!

FWIW, though I have placed this exact same order in the past and never had any problems.

[Socrates]

WELL, I've ordered from them before. I did have one order that said the ammunition was in stock, and, it was not. I got two of the 5 boxes I ordered, and canceled the back order.
Just ordered from them again, on .475 ammo, and, probably should have ordered it from midway....



S

[Logs]

I have bought many items from Midway and they are great to deal with. If you are looking for magazines I have had great luck with CDNN. The sportsmen's guide seem to stock a lot of USA brand mags and don't think they hold up as well.

[Mike1951]

I can't understand your problem with Sportsmans Guide.

Just last week, I received the last of my 7.62x39 Wolf at $123/1000.

They love to send out notices that you must respond to or they will cancel the backorder, but they have always honored the price at the time the order was placed, no matter how much it had increased.

I have noticed that they have fixed one flaw in their system.

Many times, I have gone back and pasted in an old item number (different prefix) that posted at a cheaper price than the current price.

Seems like that no longer works.

Mike

[hoghunting]

Sportsman's Guide is a French owned company. Do you really expect the French to have ethics?

[Tom2]

Well that is a dirty trick and since it sounds like they do it repeatedly, I will remember them and remember not to buy from them. If they don't have the goods they should not advertise it. Or there should be a disclaimer in the ad, like we are expecting a shipment of this, etc.

[bennnn]

I had something similar happen with SG,,, when I got the 2006 spring SHOOTERS catalog,, on page 76 they had sealed cans of 640 7.62x39 HP listed for $69.97.. I called to order a can of it about a three weeks later (definetly still "spring") and it was on backorder,, for two months.... AND it was $89.97....

Funny,,, anyone who still has one laying around,,, look on the front and back,, under "2006 Spring Shooting Supplies",, it says,, "SAVE THIS CATALOG... For all your shooting needs!" And on the bottom, under their contact info, it says "100% Satisfaction Guarantee... FAST SERVICE..."

[grimjaw]

There are numerous "I got burned by Sportman's Guide" threads on the forums. I personally won't deal with them again because I their advertising is intentionally misleading.

jm

[evan price]

Mike: SG has specifically refused to honor the previous price as ordered for anyone who ordered it. Check this thread out:

http://www.falfiles.com/forums/showt...hreadid=187311

December 13, 2006 03:09 Post #89

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That was fast. I just checked the BBB complaint I filed yesterday, and SG has alreayd responded. Talk about not getting it???? They offer $10? I can tell you what I would do with that coupon if it were paper.... And, I love the last line. Please keep your customer number for rapid ordering???? Where is that hell cartoon when I need it? I edited the complaint below to remove the coupon numbers and personal info.




Consumer's Original Complaint :

BBB Processing

12/11/2006 web BBB Complaint Received by BBB
12/12/2006 AS BBB Member Complaint Validated by BBB Operator
12/12/2006 Otto BBB Member Send acknowledgement to Consumer
12/12/2006 Otto BBB Member Send acknowledgement to Business
12/12/2006 BBB MORE INFO RECEIVED FROM THE BUSINESS : December 12, 2006Dear Mr.XXX, Thank you for your letter. In regards to your complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau, we have looked into this matter. Unfortunately there was an error on the price of item number 96533 on our web site. We do state the following information on our web site, "I do my best to make sure the correct photo, price and copy are shown. But...sometimes I make a mistake. In the event of any such mistake, I reserve the right to charge the correct price, to ship the correct item, or to correct the mistake." We did contact you on 12/9/06 to inform you of this error. The price of item number 96533 is $94.97. To purchase this item you would need to pay the price of $94.97 plus the shipping and handling. Below is a coupon for $10.00 due to this error. The coupon is valid for one full year and had no minim merchandise purchase to use.With Our Compliments: ##################################################
#### Date: 12/12/06 Coupon No.: XXXXXXX Reference NoXXXXXXX Good Thru: XXXXXXX------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Here's How to redeem your Guide Discount Coupon: * By mail: send in your Coupon along with your completed order form. * By phone: give the Coupon Number in the upper right hand corner of your Coupon to the phone Representative taking your order. Call 1-800-888-30.06. * By Internet: at checkout screen, enter coupon number from upper right hand corner of coupon. Coupon must be redeemed in full, cannot be redeemed for cash, and must be redeemed within one year from date of issue. Not valid with other offers. Only one coupon may be used on an order. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.Sincerely, XXXXX Special Assistant to Gary OlenVisit our Website at www.sportsmansguide.com or e-mail us at [email protected]lease retain your Customer ID Number XXXXXXX for Order Status and Fast Express Internet Checkout.411 Farwell Avenue * So. St. Paul, MN. 55075-0239 * fax: (651) 552-5305 Customer Service: 1-800-888-5222

[Mike1951]

I think we're talking about two different issues.

I'm saying that they have never failed to honor a price that was in effect when I successfully placed the order. You caused me to go check the invoioce for the Wolf 7.62x39 that arrived last week. It was 123.47/1000.

You seem to be talking about forcing them to honor an incorrect price, either on the website or in a printed catalog. I agree that happens, but many other companies have the same policy.

I tried to take advantage of it once, but I don't blame them when it didn't work out. Their website had switched item numbers for a Knight Revolution muzzleloader and an inexpensive black powder scope. I ordered five of them, but they caught the error and I got five scopes. They immediately sent me a return UPS label to send them back at no cost to me. That's great service even when I was trying to screw them.

Mike

[jcims]

OT, but

Originally Posted by Mike1951

I'm saying that they have never failed to honor a price that was in effect when I successfully placed the order. You caused me to go check the invoioce for the Wolf 7.62x39 that arrived last week. It was 123.47/1000.

Is that deal still up? Best i can find is 147.00/1000

[Mike1951]

That's exactly my point. I continued to place backorders last June and July at the lower price. They honored the original price even with the recent increases.

Mike

[Eghad]

I have ordered ammo and non ammo items from the Sportsman's Guide. If the ammo wasnt in stock a popup came up and notified me that it would be backordered. I also received cards from them also notifying me of the status . I have no complaints at all with SG.

[Old Retailer]

My biggest complaint with them is they won't ship ammo to Reno. Everybody else does.
and so it goes.............

o.r.

[GASCHECK]

I used to order lots of stuff from SG.
What finally got me mad was that every time I got a catalog, I would try to order things the same day and half the items were no longer available. I finally told them to remove my name from their list.
Also, used to be, maybe still is. . .the shipping was based on price. So you could pay a fortune for a $200 watch shipped next door while a cheap but heavy item would go across country for much less.

Gaschceck

[M14fan]

I have ordered from SG many times and never had a problem. So long as you choose products with reputable brands (I have ordered several pair of boots from them) you should not have a problem. The price has never been changed on me, my deliveries are timely, no complaints. I am sorry to hear that others are having problems.

[Mike1951]

And I've tried a Barska scope and a Guide Gear scope that I decided I didn't like. They took them back and issued credit, no questions.

Mike

[OBIWAN]

I never had them charge me a higher price for a backorder

But I did have them send me the wrong type of 7.62x54r once

Their picture in the ad was for some high quality russian ammo

What I got was cheap albanian

I sent it back and they shipped me .....more albanian

It took me 6 months to finally get my money back

Buyer beware!

[45Marlin carbine]

I've had mixed luck with them, some very good, and some not-so-good. I have returned items with no problem but had bad luck with some 'specials' they had. jury is still out I suppose.

[oldbillthundercheif]

SG always has some nifty stuff for decent prices. Every once in a while they will have an ammo deal that blows every other retailer away... so what if every once in a while they can't meet the demand with their limited supply of product and have to hike up the price a little. I'm sure there is some fine-print somewhere in the catalog or website that says something like "prices may be changed without notice".

It's capitalism. Get used to it, it ain't going anywhere.

I've ordered from SG hundreds of times with no problems. I think you complainers are definitely the exception rather than the rule.

[Eghad]

I ordered some flip up sights for my AR15 flattop at about 40% of the regular price. I was informed when they were ordered of the due date. They e-mailed me and sent me a card that the delivery date would be pushed back 30days. They have always kept me well informed. I even joined the Buyers Club. The discounts have more than payed for the yearly price.