Midway complaints

[charlie b]

Way back (80's?) I turned to Midsouth and Brownell's for mail order stuff. Midway was usually more expensive so I avoided them. When they went online I continued, but, Midsouth had some 'growing pains' with their web service. They got most of the kinks out, but, there are still some quirky things there, like they still have an address for me from 20 years ago

I did try to buy some stuff from Midway last year, bullets and cleaning supplies. Got the order set up and went to place it. The site would not let me pay for it unless I registered with them. I refused so I guess I won't order from them.

 

[David Milisock]

I ordered a butt pad from Midway and that is what happened to me. Tracking showed it bouncing around Kansas City Kansas to Kansas City Missouri back and forth so many times it was ridiculous. I finally contacted Midway and they sent a replacement right away. Two days after the replacement arrived, the original order showed up. USPS is a complete disaster, they lost an envelope that was only going 2 counties away back in September! In December, I ordered some decals from Military Graphics and they still have not showed up! Kudos to Military Graphics for sending a replacement order with tracking! The tracking on that one showed it was making the rounds instead of being delivered! I filed a complaint at my local Post Office and voila, it was sent back to my local P.O. in Maryland from near Pittsburg the second time around the tour de east coast and delivered the next day. No wonder the USPS is constantly losing money! Shipping services have become a disaster over the past couple of years.

USPS, there's a surprise!

 

[jlshaw]

Pretty sure Brownells is large volume. Never had a packaging issue with them.

Seems to me there isn't an emphasis on packaging.

I work for a Class 1 Railroad. I work in the materials/shipping department. Some of the packages we get from UPS/Fed-Ex look like they fell out of the truck at highway speed. Stuff missing, broken, damaged.

The underlying cause? VERY poor packaging. Some of it is handling. But the majority is simply poor packaging.

You can't put glass in a 75 pound box with large, heavy steel parts and a few plastic 'bubble spacers' and not expect problems.

But. That's the situation nearly every day.

Just dumb.

I retired from UPS a few years ago and have some insight from that experience. A huge amount of damage to items is on account of poor packaging. Poorly packaged items are a regular fact of life. I used to repackage a huge number of items each day. That doesn't say that the Company doesn't kill its fair share of parcels. Handle tens of millions of items each day and that's going to happen. Stalin is said to say "a single death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic."
The matter of routing is something I know a lot more about. A single package, whether moved by UPS, USPS, or FEDEX, almost never moves along the shortest route. We move packages by the truckload, planeload, or railcar load. The lowest cost movement for the entire container or vehicle dominates the lowest cost for any single package.
I don't often say good things about our competitors, but I will in this case. Nobody intentionally mishandles your package; and nobody intentionally gets it there slowly. Just as not every transportation company is the same, not every shipper is alike. Some just do better than others.
Having said that, I like to buy from Midsouth and Champion's Choice. And even they get things mixed up from time to time.
Good luck!

 

[George Foster]

I use a lot of Pro Shot products and have come to order directly from them. I do the same with Bore tech, may cost me a little more but I haven't had any problems with either one.

 

[capitol]

People are weird. Why would someone blame Midway about how long it takes for an item to arrive to them?

For example I bought this item from Midway and then it went to this city and then it went to that city, blaa blaa blaaaaa. How is that Midways fault?

 

[Lone Hunter]

People are weird. Why would someone blame Midway about how long it takes for an item to arrive to them?

For example I bought this item from Midway and then it went to this city and then it went to that city, blaa blaa blaaaaa. How is that Midways fault?

Heck of a first post from the op. Comes on here bashing and doesn’t come back. Some folks make me wonder about their intentions. JMO…

 

[Bucks&Bulls]

I have spent a ton of money over the years from Midway and always received my packages in 3 days. Never had a problem until a month ago and that had to do with shipping. Tracking said it was delivered but when I got home no package was delivered. Instead, I found a slip on the door that said I need to pay a shipping fee of $7. I went down to the post office and paid the $7 to get my package. I looked at my order and I was charged for shipping originally. I called Midway and asked about it and they couldn’t give me any answer why I had to pay upon delivery.

 

[Timon]

Over the years I have bought a lot from Midway, but as of late, I find their prices to be a bit high. I do buy from them, but I will usually check everywhere else to see if I can get it cheaper, before I’ll buy from Midway. For powder and primers, I usually just wait until Natchez has a sale for those. I do a lot of buying from Brownell’s, but they always seem to be out of stock, on many things I want. I never buy from Optics Planet, their whole sales system is just bizarre and they rarely ever have anything in stock. I wonder if they are actually a drop and ship type operation. Overall, price and stock status, pretty much determine where I spend money at. I don’t have any sort of elegance to any one store.

 

[M60A3TTS]

My issues with shipping weren't so much USPS as it will take up to a week to process order, then sit for 3 days, waiting for , "package to delivered to the shipper." Although USPS service has gotten so bad I pay UPS to ship faster and cheaper.

 

[MrOctober]

I've never had any issues with Midway and have ordered a lot of stuff from them.

 

[distinguished]

I retired from UPS a few years ago and have some insight from that experience. A huge amount of damage to items is on account of poor packaging. Poorly packaged items are a regular fact of life. I used to repackage a huge number of items each day. That doesn't say that the Company doesn't kill its fair share of parcels. Handle tens of millions of items each day and that's going to happen. Stalin is said to say "a single death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic."
The matter of routing is something I know a lot more about. A single package, whether moved by UPS, USPS, or FEDEX, almost never moves along the shortest route. We move packages by the truckload, planeload, or railcar load. The lowest cost movement for the entire container or vehicle dominates the lowest cost for any single package.
I don't often say good things about our competitors, but I will in this case. Nobody intentionally mishandles your package; and nobody intentionally gets it there slowly. Just as not every transportation company is the same, not every shipper is alike. Some just do better than others.
Having said that, I like to buy from Midsouth and Champion's Choice. And even they get things mixed up from time to time.
Good luck!

Seems strange to me that issues almost invariable happen at a few select facilities. It is almost to the point of being a certainty when tracking shows anything at any of those places. While I was at our local P.O., I paid attention to the employees and how they acted. There is a big difference from the way it used to be. The following is not racist, it is simply what I observed. There was a black woman behind the counter that was loudly complaining about a customer that objected to the almost $100 shipping that she told the woman trying to ship something and had gone to the UPS store and saved almost $40! This coincidentally happened to be the same employee that told me it costs $11 to track an ordinary envelope. Strange that is not what the sign said. Then there was an Hispanic guy that could hardly speak English and was glued to his personal cell phone, while the line for service was backed up almost to the door. Our local delivery person has changed and they can't even seem to put the mail in the right mail box. It is to the point that I began checking our mail and the next couple of our neighbor's boxes for mistakes and putting the mail where it actually belongs. It seems to me that there are no consequences for not doing the job correctly anymore and that is why this sort of stuff continues.

 

[Paul's Black Rifles]

People are weird. Why would someone blame Midway about how long it takes for an item to arrive to them?

For example I bought this item from Midway and then it went to this city and then it went to that city, blaa blaa blaaaaa. How is that Midways fault?

Who picked the shipper?
If it was Midway, it is their issue. They are going with the cheapest shipper, apparently.
Paul

 

[Kracken McGraw]

I have got several scopes at bargain clearance prices from them.
Those days are probably over now though.

 

[rich44]

I've never had any bad experiences with Midway and I've been buying stuff there for years.
Sometimes there shipping is a little high but they use to take care of you.
I bought a Leupold 3x9 rimfire scope there one time and tracking showed it was delivered but I never found it.
I called Midway and they sent me a new 3x9 with the balistic reticle which was more expensive than the one I ordered that was lost, and it wasn't really there problem it was either delivered to the wrong address or porch pirates got it.

 

[Minshooter]

Waaay back, Midway had a dealer pricing program. Not as good as true jobbers, but it did help.
They dropped that, announcing that "Everyone could now enjoy the same Midway prices" -meaning no
discounts for dealers; everyone gets to pay the higher prices.
Back then, I had also returned several Midway plastic ammo boxes with broken lid hinges, which they
replaced under their "lifetime guarantee", until they decided that their lifetime guarantee was no longer in effect,
no matter when you bought the product.
I'll still use Midway when essential, but will shop elsewhere when possible.

 

[LuvDog]

I will always seek out the smaller online shops. Even if they charge shipping it is sometimes the same price or cheaper because I can avoid paying sales tax.

 

[divingin]

Your first post here is a complaint. Only issue ive had with them is a shipping label is generated when you order and they consider it shipped. It may not actually move for days. This is a minor gripe and no place is perfect

I ordered a non-shooting related item from a random company (US-based); Got a same-day notice that it had shipped with a link to track (some weird shipper I'd never heard of.) Tracking said "Awaiting receipt of package" for two and a half weeks, at which point it showed up in my mailbox.

 

[john 800]

I have purchased from them quite regularly for years, a couple shipping mix ups that were made right after contacting customer service. They could ship a little quicker but there certainly are slower companies to deal with.

 

[HuntClub]

People are weird. Why would someone blame Midway about how long it takes for an item to arrive to them?

For example I bought this item from Midway and then it went to this city and then it went to that city, blaa blaa blaaaaa. How is that Midways fault?

Midway is a "stickler" about shipping an order out fast. Well, I'm a "stickler" about receiving an order in a [timely] manner. If a company can ship an order within 24 hours, then they should be able to get the order to its destination in less than 3-5 weeks. It is just that simple.

I would add this for consideration; the delivery function is an extension of the whole [company] process. It is also the last interaction one has, by extension, with the company they purchased from. The finishing touch should never be the worst part of the interaction.

 

[DShortt]

Midway is a "stickler" about shipping an order out fast. Well, I'm a "stickler" about receiving an order in a [timely] manner. If a company can ship an order within 24 hours, then they should be able to get the order to its destination in less than 3-5 weeks. It is just that simple.

I would add this for consideration; the delivery function is an extension of the whole [company] process. It is also the last interaction one has, by extension, with the company they purchased from. The finishing touch should never be the worst part of the interaction.

My thoughts exactly.

If they insist on using a shipper with well known timely delivery problems, that's their choice.

Make it worse by not packaging things well? Again. Their choice.

My choice? Another business.