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Old March 5, 2007, 11:51 AM   #1
Bigtrike
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Brommeland holsters

Ordered a holster from Brommeland in early October 2006. After several emails over the months, he stated there is a problem with acquiring the quality leather neccesary for the holsters. Although I've been waiting patiently, 5 months seems excessive. I decided on a Brommeland holster from posts on this website and from what the Brommeland website displayed. Is anyone else having problems with this company?
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Old March 7, 2007, 09:33 PM   #2
mwwile
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Brommeland wait

Head on over to the CombatCarry forum. Mr. Brommeland's supply problems, illness and etc. are discussed. Many folks are waiting for their holsters. They will arrive. From what all his customers say, it's worth the wait.
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Old March 7, 2007, 10:27 PM   #3
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Andrews Custom Leather. The best leather craftsmanship I've ever seen. His holsters should last two lifetimes.
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Old March 10, 2007, 09:10 AM   #4
HappyGunner
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You bet problems

I have ordered belts from Gary Brommeland and I can tell you his word on when he will ship your order is nothing but a guess. Get ready for a long long wait. Also I bet he hit your credit card quickly say in 3 t0 4 weeks after you placed order. Gary likes using his customers money while they wait. You can e-mail Gary call Gary it won't speed him up any. He has a million excuses I have heard them all. Like hes busy filling orders for our fighting men in Iraq, and hes still getting his shop setup after his last move. He can't get quality hides. on and on and on. Truth is Gary just works at his own pace. BIG problem is he charges your credit card and lives off your money. This I can't deal with so I won't ever again buy anything for Gary Brommeland. You just can't trust this guy his word is flat no good.


I highly recommend getting belts from Rafters Gun leather
http://www.raftersgunleather.com/Belts.htm
and holsters from Comp-Tac
http://www.comp-tac.com/
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Old March 10, 2007, 05:22 PM   #5
Bigtrike
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Thanks for the .02 worth. Checked the forum at ConcealCarry. May spend more time over there. Happy Gunner is right, except my card was tapped in just a few days. Seems like everyone eventually gets their holster and is happy when they do. I should like mine just fine.
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Old March 10, 2007, 05:54 PM   #6
HappyGunner
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His work is good

I am not saying anything about the quality of Gary's work. it's good. But I really don't like someone saying you will have what you ordered in 3 to 4 weeks and then 3 to 4 Months pass and still nothing. It took about a year the first time I ordered and 9 Months the second time. And each time my credit card was charged in about the first Month. Anyway I won't deal with anyone who lies and gives me a raw working over dealing. Most of the people I have del't with in past years have been honest and upfront If it's going to be 16 to 20 weeks like at Milt Sparks they say so. And they don't hit your credit card until they ship.
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Old March 14, 2007, 09:35 AM   #7
Sharp Phil
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I have a friend who's had a belt and holster on order with Brommeland for over a year. He's been repeatedly told it's going to be done. I can't remember what he told me the original estimate was, but it was not a year.

I have no problem with someone who says, "I have no idea how long this will take," or even, "I said it was going to be four months, but I'm just too bogged down," or "There's a reason for the delay, I'm doing what I can." This can only go on for so long, however, before I think the customer is entitled to a refund of any downpayment he made.

Over the years one hears of so many knife makers and holster makers and other custom manufacturers whose completed work is absolutely top rate (I've never heard anything but praise for Brommeland's craftsmanship, for example, and the infamous knifemaker Allen Blade was said to be a fine craftsman when he actually filled his orders) but who seem to have real problems filling orders when they estimate they will fill them. This does a disservice to the customer, who is owed a realistic assessment of how long he's going to have to wait for the product one presumes he thinks he needs.
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Old March 14, 2007, 03:37 PM   #8
Eric Larsen
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Well...like Ive said in other threads about Gary, give him a call and talk to either Remy or him and see what is up. He has had stuff thats out of his control and had no way of knowing it would further delay production of certain things.

I know....myself and 6 other makers I know of have all had problems with our Main Leather Supplier and had to return things at least 2 times in the past 6 weeks....that puts us around 8 weeks behind and have no way of predicting if and when that will happen.

Wmcc...Although I agree Andrews makes some great stuff...its recommended that you stick to the topic at hand when posting a reply to a specific subject.

My best advice to anyone who has a question with a certain maker is just keep in contact with them, thats what I tell my customers.

Shoot well and god bless
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Old March 14, 2007, 04:50 PM   #9
HappyGunner
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It's just not right

If you don't get the OK to do so from the buyer for the seller to collect money on his or hers credit card before having the product ready to ship. IMHO is just plain not right. Notice I am stopping short of saying it's stealing or using moneys the seller has not earned yet. But IMHO it really boils down to the the fact the seller is using someones money to live on before he earned it and thats just not right.

If you place your order with Gary Brommland or any other Belt and Holster maker and they tell you it will be six (6) to ten (10) weeks you will get your order and then quickly chargers your credit card the full amount of sale without ever asking you or telling you they are doing so. And then twelve (12) Months later you don't have your order. Something is really wrong and this is the main reason I and others are here posting what has happened to us so others in this Forum will know the real facts before they place their orders and give their credit card numbers out.
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Old March 14, 2007, 08:45 PM   #10
Eric Larsen
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Sharp Phil.... Ive talked to Gary about your friends order and he let me in on his side of this story.

It turns out your friend had a run of bad luck and got FUBAR'D in a car wreck. Laying him up for quite a while and Gary felt like giving him a break by substantially discounting his order..therefore helping him out. He told him that he would get worked in when he could.

He also ordered a rather large length belt, 54" inch, and was also notified at the time of order that this would take a very long time to get leather to accomidate the length needed to make it.

I can attest that hides that size, without brand marks, scratches and range marks are very few and far between....

On top of Gary's supplier problems, which myself and many other makers have encountered as of late and the situation with your friend....Ive been told by Gary personally that its getting done now and will ship very soon.

This is straight from Gary and am only repeating it...so dont shoot the messenger....

"Quote from Gary" "In my opinion, this is just one of the many instances in which Mr. Elmore shoots his mouth off without gathering all of the facts first! For those of you are familiar with his posts on the various forums, this should come as no surprise!"
End Quote....

Hope this clarifies things a tad.....

Anyway........

God bless and shoot well.
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Last edited by Eric Larsen; March 15, 2007 at 03:47 PM.
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Old March 19, 2007, 08:44 PM   #11
Sharp Phil
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So Brommeland's response to questions regarding his customer service is to insult me? I can't say I'm surprised. I'd never heard of the man until I got into an argument with him at CombatCarry, and it was pretty obvious he was too busy telling the world he was always right ever to actually hear anything to the contrary.

My friend never asked for pity and never asked Brommeland for a discount of any kind. He placed his order more than a year ago and was repeatedly promised delivery, in exactly the same way as other customers have reported. He's never been anything but patient with Gary. It's a shame Mr. Brommeland feels it's necessary to respond with vitriol when he could instead simply do his best to fill the order. That's not how I would treat an unhappy customer.

But then, does that really come as a surprise? This is not the first thread I've seen on this topic -- but I'm the problem?

I'm telling you, the firearms community does NOT need more custom and semi-custom makers (of holsters, knives, whatever) who act like they're doing their customers a favor when they complete an order. For the sake of argument, though, let's say I don't know what I'm talking about. Let's say in my friend's case, the delay is more than understandable.

That's just one customer. What about the others?

http://forums.1911forum.com/showthre...ght=brommeland
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Old March 19, 2007, 09:00 PM   #12
Sharp Phil
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Oh, and while we're quoting, Eric, I thought this post by T. Kanaley at the 1911forum was particularly worth repeating.

Quote:
Eric, you're more than welcome to defend the actions of your own business practices if you feel they need defending. If Gary doesn't mind you speaking for him, then you're more than welcome to act as his spokesman as well. However, you don't speak for my business and you apparently haven't a clue how others, who haven't had to endure the critism of excessive tardiness on their processing of customer orders, are running their business's. And I really don't think they appreciate you lumping them in with your own personal shortcomings, either!

Personally, I'm a little tired of you and a few other makers justifying what you do, with the excuse that "we all do" when in fact, most of us don't! A similar topic came up in a debate recently on another forum about charging customer cards up-front. I won't get into the nuts and bolts since it has nothing to do with this thread, but I will say that several of us had to take time from our busy schedules to clarify the matter. "Not all makers" indulge in charging cards up-front as had been suggested.

Business practices that are sound, shouldn't need any justification or reason to defend.
But, hey, I'm just the messenger. That's just a quote.
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Old April 3, 2007, 09:02 PM   #13
BobK
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I too have waited since Oct 2006 for a holster. I asked for my money back the other day. We'll see if I get it. From the previous posts, it looks as though there are more problems than just aquiring leather. A year for a holster!! No way. That's just wrong.
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Old April 5, 2007, 08:12 PM   #14
BobK
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After 23 weeks, several emails, a few insults aimed at me, I finally got a refund. This guy won't be getting any referals from me.
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Old April 6, 2007, 12:24 PM   #15
HappyGunner
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Combat Carry forum

Well when I would comment on anything in the famous or un-famous Combat Carry forum they ganged up on me quickly. Then I no longer was a member. 86ed So much for the Combat Carry forum never could understand the Combat Carry thing. Just a bunch of mall hunters IMHO.

If you want to see a really nice gun belt this is the one I picked up last Saturday from Rafters "S" when I was at their table in the Wanenmacher's Arms Show in Tulsa.
http://s168.photobucket.com/albums/u...rsElephant.jpg
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Old April 6, 2007, 03:08 PM   #16
bulbboy
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I live in Tulsa and missed the show last weekend. How was it?
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Old April 6, 2007, 03:17 PM   #17
HappyGunner
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BIG & FULL of people

The show was BIG and FULL of people as it always has been. There was plenty of everything I skipped last years so it was really great to have a go at it again. I was surprised that Comp-Tac skipped the show they have had lots of buyer in past shows and I wanted to try the fit of some Mag. holders. There was lots of boxs of Ammo. being sold bet the buyers had fun trucking it out to the parking lots. I parked in the old race track area and it's a good mile from there to the shows building. But even having to get around people just standing around the tables talking and dragging small children around. It was a good show.
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Old April 6, 2007, 07:45 PM   #18
BobK
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HappyGunner, that forum never impressed my anyway. If you look around at other forums, Brommeland himself has been banned from at least one forum for running his mouth. After doing some research, I was able to put together a picture of what he is really like. I feel lucky to have gotten my money back.
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Old April 16, 2007, 02:58 PM   #19
sequimgunz
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Me too!

I too have had a problem getting my holster from Brommeland, and find it pretty frustrating. I ordered it on 8/15/06, paying for it on the spot with PayPal. I sent him a note asking for confirmation of my order and received a courteous reply saying they were backed up about 16 weeks. Hearing this, I just said I hoped to receive it by Christmas.

On 12/17 I sent an inquiry, stating that it had been 16 weeks and asked if Christmas delivery looked likely. I received a reply saying "it is scheduled for delivery the first half of January".

On 1/24/07 I sent another note asking, "soon?" and received a reply saying "I should be shipping it out in 10-14 days".

on 3/15 I asked, "Are we coming close? I had really hoped to have this about three months ago." and was told the order was in a "hot stack" and would be going out in a week.

Today I sent another note asking for a realistic estimate, so I'll see what happens. More and more, I feel like Charlie Brown getting ready to kick the football. I'm sure that when my holster finally arrives, I will be very happy with it, but it's highly unlikely I will ever order from Brommeland again, as it's just not worth the looooooong wait and hassle. I really don't like being a PITA by asking all the time, but every time I asked, it was beyond the time they said it would be shipped. Guess I'll just have to hunker down and hope for the best.
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Old April 16, 2007, 08:30 PM   #20
BobK
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Demand a refund. Don't put up with being lied to. There are other holster makers out there.
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Old April 16, 2007, 09:14 PM   #21
sequimgunz
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Holster promises

I'm about two clicks away from doing just that - demanding a refund and an end to the frustration. But just a few minutes ago I received an email from Remy stating that Gary had finished my holster today and is just waiting for a shipment of snaps (for the belt loops) to arrive. I'm told I will have it in my hands next week.

OK, Lucy - I'm really going to get to kick it this time.
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Old April 17, 2007, 10:49 AM   #22
HappyGunner
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Many other really honest people

There are many other really quality holster and belt Mfg.s and Dealers selling their products. We must not paint all with the same brush.
You give someone a chance and in my case two chances. And then you just must move on and find someone who will get your order out in their time frame given to you.

Just hoping this and other posts have saved many from the same pitfalls as I and many other have fallen into when dealing with the wrong people.
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Old April 17, 2007, 09:07 PM   #23
martlet
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That's so true. There are numerous quality holster makers out there who not only give you a realistic ship date but also deliver in several weeks for equal or lesser cost. I long ago stopped giving my money to people like that.

Sure, people love his holsters, but I love mine too. The difference is mine were less money and I was able to "love" it in about 3 weeks, as opposed to 6 months.
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Old April 17, 2007, 09:54 PM   #24
Gideon46
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Wow, rough thread guys

I'm a member at Combat Carry and a few other similar threads. I enjoy them all and learn a lot from them all. And they're all like any group of people, some of the folks are nice, some know a lot, some know very little but think they do....

I just ordered a holster from Mr. Brommeland. I'll let you know how it turns out. I did a lot of research and feel his Max Con V will be an ideal IWB for my Kahr P9 but we'll see.

I think a sometimes guys get into small businesses like making holsters and find it's challenging making a quality custom product while also keeping up with the whole business side of things. I have a friend how makes custom leather tack for horses. He get's a lot of business and had to actually cut back becasue of how hard it is to meet the demand.

I will say that when some of the holster makers were talking about their leather problems, so was my friend. He's been doing this for over 40 years and says that the leather market is the worse he's ever seen it and is always complaining on how hard it is to get good quality leather at a good price.

If you're curious, when I placed my order with Brommeland he specifically asked me if I wanted my card charged now or when he "started" on my holster. He said he offered that because of how common it is for people to use debit cards and how they like their card to be charged right away. I actually apprecited that because I typically request that very thing although this time I used an actual credit card.

If a guy doesn't keep his word or give good customer service even to those who aren't very good customers, then that's not right but I think it's a shame that people get banned from forums or dog members of other forums in grand generalizations. By the way, I'm not a mall hunter

I'm a pastor and a retired AF NCO who loves his God, country, family and a good weapon. So we should only put the shoe where the shoe fits.

I know in my business (I work a secular job too), there are customers who think we're lousy because we messed up and everything went wrong at the wrong time and their perception was all bad. Can't blame them but our company is actually quite good, really I'm gonna give Mr. Brommeland the benefit of the doubt and see what happens.

Anyway, I enjoy this forum too and enjoy checking out the holsters of many of our good custom holster makers. I wish I'd learned how to do it as a young man as it seems like a fun way to make a living unless you get behind, mess up, loose your temper or have rude customers as I'm sure they do from time to time.

Anyway, God Bless and I'll let you know how my order turns out...
God Bless
Gideon
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Old April 20, 2007, 10:10 PM   #25
GoatBeans
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Brommeland doesn't deliver diddly

I placed my order back in April of 2006 with Brommeland and was promised a 6-week turnaround. After a years worth of bull-oney excuses and numerous promises that my order was ready, that Gary character was actually angry at me for wanting my order!!!!! What a dingleberry!!!! Over a year's worth of waiting and he was angry at ME as if it were MY fault that HE can't deliver within a YEAR ?!?!?!?! When he nastily offered to refund my money, his comment was that "getting me off his ass was well worth the refund". A year's worth of patience and he claims I was "on his ass"? This guy is a putz of monumental levels. I refuse to do business with someone who clearly has his head stuck up his butt....to be rather polite about it.
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