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Old January 4, 2007, 01:52 PM   #1
jsflagstad
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Hard to Beat Midway for Mail Order

So I didn't get everything I wanted for Christmas, so I jumped on Midway's site and ordered up a progressive press and a few other items the day after Christmas (Tues 12/26). There were a couple of accessories I wanted with the press that were out of stock, so I went to another well known mail order retailer (FM) who had it and ordered the accessories there within 10 minutes of completing my Midway order. My order from Midway showed up on that Thursday, wow that was quick. Midway is in Missouri and me in Minnesota. Well, I got my press set up and working well over the weekend and realized there were some more accessories I wanted so back to the Midway website I went on Tuesday of this week (1/2) and the order showed up today. Received both of these orders from Midway and haven't seen anything of my order from FM..... Anyone here ordered from FM before? Are they usually this slow? I guess I'd like to hear some opinions before I order from them again.

I have heard it's hard to beat Midway from others, but I guess I've now learned first hand. The worst part of it is that when I placed the order that I received today, I saw that Midway now had the items I needed instock and I would have had them today, but I had already ordered them a week prior from FM.

JSF
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Old January 4, 2007, 02:20 PM   #2
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Midway has very good order turnaround time if the items are in stock. It's the advantage of being a relatively small company I guess.
Some companies are a bit cheaper,but they're my go-to for online ordering because of their handy web interface. 3 of their competitors in TN,who I won't mention by name,have terrible websites that are annoying to navigate and show very little data.
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Old January 4, 2007, 04:59 PM   #3
skipjack
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I hate to sound dumb, but, who is FM?

Midway rocks! They usually have their order to me way ahead of schedule.
I also agree that their site is superb. I have been ordering from them since before al gore invented the internet, and they have always treated me well.


I am waiting on some goodies from them as I type.
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Old January 4, 2007, 05:52 PM   #4
rangermonroe
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I too am a fan of Midway.

I especially enjoy their 'wishlist' that others can access when they are searching for a present for you.

My wife has begun to hide their fliers from me. Little does she know that I get them by e-mail as well.
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Old January 4, 2007, 06:00 PM   #5
eldon519
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I always do alot of my technical shopping on Midway, but then I like to price check it on Midsouth Shooters Supply. Midsouth's website sucks, but alot of the time you can save money through them.
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Old January 4, 2007, 07:22 PM   #6
firechicken
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I've had good luck with Midway. I'm only about 175 miles from them, but if I order before 4PM, I have it the next day before Noon. That's with standard UPS ground shipping. Their website is kinda slow (dial-up here ), but it has a lot of good info. Sometimes I get a little carried away when adding stuff to my cart!
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Old January 4, 2007, 07:34 PM   #7
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I have never had any problems with Midway.All orders arrived quickly and well packed.I especially like their website and e-mail specials.The reviews on items are from actual customers and they are not afraid to recommend something else if that item is overpriced or doesn't live up to expectations.I have only returned one item(my error) with no problems at all.I must agree that some things can be bought cheaper through Midsouth and occasionally Natchez,but Midway is my go-to site.
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Old January 4, 2007, 07:40 PM   #8
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Always have great delivery time with midway
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Old January 4, 2007, 07:42 PM   #9
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I used to be a big Midway fan but I have been ordering from midsouth for the last year and they ship very quick also and also have a great customer service as well but a tad cheaper an most items and always in stock as well.
With that being said I also do a lot of business with my local gun shop as well because I want him to stay in business for my powder and primer needs!
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Old January 4, 2007, 07:48 PM   #10
DonR101395
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About the only two places I order gun stuff from are Midway and Natchez. Both are very good. Natchez actually beats Midway at getting things to my door by one day, but they are also closer.
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Old January 4, 2007, 08:19 PM   #11
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I've done a lot of business with Midway over the years & never had a bad experience, their service is hard to beat. I buy my primers 'n powder & some bullets from my local gunshop or at gunshows because of the hazmat hassle. I still buy a lot of bullets from midway & the rest of my gear. Berry Bullets on ebay are a good deal if buying in volume.
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Old January 4, 2007, 09:30 PM   #12
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I do quite a bit of business with Midway also. I like the fact that they contribute to the NRA. I also have had very good results with Natchez shooters supply. They also do a NRA round up.
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Old January 4, 2007, 09:42 PM   #13
bigautomatic
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I guess I'll ask too. Who is FM?
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Old January 4, 2007, 10:45 PM   #14
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I actually just ordered some reloading equipment and then received it today...a full day early. I ordered it on New Years Day, estimated arrival date was tomorrow, and the UPS guy was here today. Imagine my surprise! I've already got most of the stuff set up and cleaned up my first batch of brass.
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Old January 4, 2007, 10:55 PM   #15
jsflagstad
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FM = FM Reloading Supply

The FM I am referring to is FM Reloading supply they are at www.fmreloading.com. I have sent a couple of emails looking for my order now and no replies. I tried to call them numerous times today and their 800 number and their regular number was busy all day. I am trying to cancel my order, but how can I if they don't respond. I guess I'll give my credit card company a call in the morning. I hate to spread negative feedback like this, but this is rediculous:barf: . Has anyone ordered from them? Is this normal? I think I'll stick with Midway from now on.

JSF
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Old January 4, 2007, 10:57 PM   #16
jsflagstad
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Russel, who did you order from???

JSF
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Old January 4, 2007, 11:24 PM   #17
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Midway

I order a ton of stuff off the internet. I am proud to say I haven't been to a mall or anything but a grocery store or gas station in the last five years. I've ordered everything you can imagine...batteries, vacuum cleaners, sausage, string cheese...etc, etc.

Midway's website is nice but the response time from their system is painfully slow even on the fastest of connections. Delivery of product is as expeditious MidSouth, Amazon, Cabela's....no differentiation there as far as I can tell.

Midway needs to invest in some hardware and/or re-write their queries to serve up pages faster.

I shop at MidwayUSA ONLY if I can't find it anywhere else and when I do, I make sure I've got some other browsing to do while I wait for Midway to load the page.

Cabela's needs to rewrite their system so that, when an order is shipped in multiple segments, they accurately communicate what has been pulled and and what has been shipped. I got an order this week with a packing slip that had three items that were not included in the box. When I got on the phone with Cust Service, I learned that those three items had been pulled (i.e. an order to ship had been created) and were coming in a second box that was shipped after the first box.

My first choice these days is MidSouth. I have a .17 HMR and MidSouth seems to have the best prices on Hornady ammo. Prices on other items seem to be as good or better than other vendors.

One thing in particular that I like about MidSouth's website is their Advance Search function. I provides the ability to search based on the Manufacturer's Part Number. It makes it very easy to find things. All you need to do is first go to a manufacturer's website, look up a product ID and then flip back to MidSouth's advance search page and look for the product ID.

While I'm at it, I need to put in a plug for Possum Hollow Cleaning and Reloading Supplies.

http://www.possumhollowproducts.com/

The only thing I've ever ordered from them is a bore guide. You can't really order anything on their website but my experience with Eric (the owner) was memorable.

On a tip from an email inquiry to the J. Dewey Mfg. Co I called Possum Hollow to see if they had a bore guide for a Savage .17HMR. Eric answered. He rummaged around, confirmed he had one on the shelf, told me he'd ship it that day and he did. I asked him how I should pay him. He proceded to tell me when I received the item in a few days, I should try it out and if it worked, send him a check. Now I don't know if that's how he handles every transaction but I got the bore guide, had a question, called him, got an answer and sent him a check just as fast as I could. That kind of faith needs to be validated by a prompt remittance.

J. Dewey themselves deserve honorable mention here.

http://www.deweyrods.com/

I ordered a one piece, coated cleaning rod and some misc items from them a while back. Shipment was timely but what was notable to both my wife and me was the packaging. The cleaning rod was in a long box as you might imagine. What was impressive however, was the amount of newpaper he'd taken the time to stuff into the package and wrap around the contents. I think was probably most of one days edition of the local newpaper. My wife and I read every page.

Hope this helps.
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Old January 4, 2007, 11:31 PM   #18
jsflagstad
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Fritz,

Yeah I gotta agree with you on the speed of the Midway website. I have been on there when it has been "Oh my god!" slow. I did email them and asked why, and they actually replied saying that they had their "experts" working on it. Thanks for the tip on Midsouth, maybe I'll give them a try as well.

JSF
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Old January 4, 2007, 11:53 PM   #19
dgc940
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midway told me last year that they were working on there website!
When I started reloading I ordered my rcbs kit from midsouth and saved 20.00 over midway and had it in three days free shipping also and I'm way down in Texas. and as far as bullets they are much cheaper 2-3 dollars on average.
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Old January 5, 2007, 11:35 AM   #20
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+1 for Midway!!

I don't know how many years I've been ordering from them, but it's been long before they even had a web site.

I do know my customer number is #001 in my zip code.

Joe
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Old January 5, 2007, 12:19 PM   #21
jsflagstad
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Update from F&M Reloading Supply

Well, I finally got an answer in the phone calling the F&M Reloading 800 number this morning 11 days after I placed the order. I promptly inquired about my order and the rep put me on hold and went to check the status of my order. The rep returned to the line after a quick minute and told me that he had good news, and that was that my order was just processed and will ship out today! Great! I said now I want to cancel it! He asked why and I told him that 11 days for order processing was just a bit on the rediculous side. He told me that the holidays slowed them down and that some items I ordered were on back order, but offered no recourse or offered no admittance that yes they screwed up by not keeping me informed as to my order status, especially when I received an email the day after I placed my order telling me that it will ship in as soon as 1 day. To make a long story short, I got my one an only order that I will ever place with them cancelled and went on with my day.

I hate to leave negative feed back for anyone trying to make a buck, but at the same time I expect them to step up to the plate and give me the common respect to offer me the best possible service they can when I am handing over my hard earned money to them. Who knows, maybe they have came through for some of you in trouble free orders and maybe i'm just the exception, and if that's the case, hey that's cool I then recommend that you keep supporting them. I merely started this thread to see if anyone had any history with F&M Reloading Supply because it had been so long since I placed my order and it was not showing up and my concern was rising. I mean no harm to F&M, but I have to say that they struck out with me...

JSF
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Old January 5, 2007, 08:04 PM   #22
wild willy
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Just ordered from Midsouth less with shipping than Midway was just for the supplies
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Old January 5, 2007, 11:03 PM   #23
shooter chef
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I had the same prob with slow connection to midway, i actually called them on it about 3 weeks ago, they said they had just started on TV and the increases volume was why they were slow.
Since then, most times it seems a bit faster.
I agree that their customer service is great.
they had a problem with one of my orders of bullets that they said was in stock, they discovered 2 days later that it was not,. They had held the whole order over because of it, they called me to let me know of the mistake, then shipped the in stock items 2nd day air to make sure I had it the day that i ordered it for.
I have not looked into Midsouth much, but for Midways customer service and the ease of their site, I will probably stick there if only to spend 1 or 2 more dollars..... although i am going to look into them if it means saving more than that!
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Old January 8, 2007, 10:09 PM   #24
Deer Slayer 270
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Midway

I have been ordering a lot of stuff from Midway USA, but lately I have noticed that their shipping charges have increased significantly, to the point that it has caused me to change my mind from going thru with my order when I found out how much they wanted to charge me for shipping. couple of days ago I was going to put a small order to jut get couple of stuff I needed, totaling aroung $27, came to find out that shipping charges would have been almost $9 for UPS ground. Now that is getting a little too much, and I don't think it is all the actual charges from UPS.
My local sporting goods store has been getting alot more appealing to me lately.
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Old January 10, 2007, 01:17 AM   #25
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Hi

I ordered from Fm reloading I had the same experience
as you . Wasn't showing up I called them and some targets for
2 bucks were on backorder . Finally got the order
after about a month . Could of cared less about the targets
just thought I would add them on to the order .
Tried them again same thing .
I agree with everyone don't think I will stray from Midway .
Orders from them always in 2 or 3 days .

Bill
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