What you guys think of Brownelles EDGE???

[robbor]

Kind of tired of guess n gouge pricing, and paying to get exclusive deals and blah blah blah. I have to pay to not get ripped off as a customer is the way i look at it. Their prices have never been very good any way.

 

[BenPerfected]

If you buy frequently from Brownells/Sinclair the savings on freight will more than save you the cost of Edge. Just ordered a shell holder for about $6.00....no Frt.

 

[BigBlueandGoldie]

Brownells has discovered that they can charge everyone retail prices. To he!! with the working gunsmiths, that their business relied upon for so many years. Midway with a different name.....

They hardly sell anything at retail. I'm willing to bet margins aren't what they used to be now that the internet exists.

In my opinion, it's not worth it unless you are making multiple orders a month from them. There are often free shipping codes and coupon codes, so unless you're in a hurry, I would just hold out for one of those. Businesses wouldn't offer these membership clubs if they didn't come out ahead on them.

 

[snakepit]

I think the Brownells/Sinclair EDGE is good deal for me and I just renewed my annual membership. I don't necessarily use it for high dollar purchases where I do shop around for the best deal but for small items I probably use it at least twice a month or more. No matter how small the purchase is you get free shipping. Numerous times I have ordered something that cost only a few dollars, like a single shell holder or a single cleaning item and with no cost for shipping. Also if you need something immediately you get discounts on 2-day & overnight shipping. Also with their Forever Guarantee anything you buy can be returned at any time no matter how long since you purchased it and they pay for the return shipping with no questions asked. If it had not saved me money and been so convenient to order and return things I would not have renewed my annual membership.

 

[Cold Bore]

No matter how small the purchase is you get free shipping.

Not entirely accurate.

True in that you don't pay for shipping, per order.

However, you have already paid a good portion of the cost upfront, labeled instead as a "membership fee". They could rename it "prepaid shipping" in lieu of a membership fee and be pretty accurate, but buyers wouldn't like the sounds of that as much.

 

[jghoghunter]

Not entirely accurate.

True in that you don't pay for shipping, per order.

However, you have already paid a good portion of the cost upfront, labeled instead as a "membership fee". They could rename it "prepaid shipping" in lieu of a membership fee and be pretty accurate, but buyers wouldn't like the sounds of that as much.

I never bought anything from them that the shipping was not at least $7. I order one to two times a month. Maybe 3times. So I figure in the first five to seven orders it's paid for. The rest of the year is free shipping. It saves the guy that makes small orders a lot of money throughout the year on shipping. Plus I don't have to wait till I have a larger order. That makes some things get done in a more timely fashion. At least I'd like to think that.

 

[Blackthorn]

I like it. I make my membership fee back in a short time. Brownells carries most of the items I am looking for and with the Edge I don't worry about the small parts I want or need costing me a fortune to ship. Plus with the sales taxes added in around the metro area even at full price Brownells is less or equal....

 

[snakepit]

Not entirely accurate.

True in that you don't pay for shipping, per order.

However, you have already paid a good portion of the cost upfront, labeled instead as a "membership fee". They could rename it "prepaid shipping" in lieu of a membership fee and be pretty accurate, but buyers wouldn't like the sounds of that as much.

Let me put it this way, the first year I had my membership I recovered my membership fee after a little over 3 months which included one free return shipping. The rest of the year it was all free. Like I said before, if I had not saved money with my membership I would not have renewed it.

 

[chkunz]

For me and my usage it is a good deal for a lot of reasons noted in previous replies.

 

[Just Dave]

I dropped it after a year.. It DID save me some money, and they are located just South of me, so it was usually 2-day shipping MAX..
.
I ordered a bunch of small stuff, often 2x weekly, or as I remembered it.. Free returns worked out great, I sat on a scope for 4 months before deciding to upgrade to different one.
.
I would say that their shipping sucks,, or at least sucks OFTEN,, many times throwing a couple 2# boxes of bullets in the bottom of a hugely-over sized box, then throw some bubble wrap in with it, so that it has something to bounce against as it tumbles from one end of the box to the other, on the way to my house..
I received a scope once that somebody had bought and returned, and it wasn't even placed back in its box correctly, missing foam spacers and stuff,, But they cheerfully paid for new one, and return freight for bad one..
.
I just make a list on my phone now, and when I see free shipping deals I jump on them

 

[Just Dave]

I dropped it after a year.. It DID save me some money, and they are located just South of me, so it was usually 2-day shipping MAX..
.
I ordered a bunch of small stuff, often 2x weekly, or as I remembered it.. Free returns worked out great, I sat on a scope for 4 months before deciding to upgrade to different one.
.
I would say that their shipping sucks,, or at least sucks OFTEN,, many times throwing a couple 2# boxes of bullets in the bottom of a hugely-over sized box, then throw some bubble wrap in with it, so that it has something to bounce against as it tumbles from one end of the box to the other, on the way to my house..
I received a scope once that somebody had bought and returned, and it wasn't even placed back in its box correctly, missing foam spacers and stuff,, But they cheerfully paid for new one, and return freight for bad one..
.
I just make a list on my phone now, and when I see free shipping deals I jump on them

 

[swd]

If you order from them a lot it's a great deal. I'm in business and when I need it, I need now. All those shipping charges eat up profit fast. I broke even the first month. Plus it's gets you a decent discount on overnight or hazmat items.

 

[IdahoSharpshooter]

Since Fred Sinclair and Russ Hayden sold their businesses, it has been pretty downhill.

I pretty much use Bruno these days. Not the cheapest, but there are no B.S schemes or clubs to join. I call, order what I need, get a price shipped, they reference my CC, and my stuff gets shipped. I didn't even have to learn the secret handshake or use my Marvel decoder ring...
Rich

 

[waldo1979]

I think Sinclair is probably losing a lot of business to Midway which generally ships faster maybe even for less. The model is based on Amazon's prime model which is designed to keep customers locked in. you're more apt to order from a vendor that gives you free shipping.

In the grand scheme if you order more than 8 orders a year from Sinclair it makes sense. Otherwise no, it's a waste.