New gun buyer unhappy with purchase.

[15567]

OP, please provide pictures of the shotgun and everything you received with it. Being computer saavy you might choose to highlight on the pictures what the problem areas are and what is wrong and missing.

Personally, I was taken once really well, and subsequently a few times afterwards but by then I should have known better. The major screw was back in the mid 70s when I dearly overpaid for a premium shotgun at a store in downtown Toronto aptly called "Skinners" and by nobody else but by Skinner himself.

 

[onurb]

This posting is why I dislike internet forums, I was behind this man at Epps and had to wait my turn behind this "wronged" customer. The people at Epps should have been commended for their patience with this man. First he wanted to return it because the bore was damaged, which the staff took time to explain was gas ports. Then he complained to the staff that the "bubble wrap was different" as a reason for return.
Then it was the dirt (the gun was clean I was right there). They took time to get another gun to show that each of these make believe issues were not a problem and gave a direct number to call if he had anymore issues. This poster then AGREED to take his gun home. After he left I was shown over a dozen pistols, great advice and great service was given from the same fellow who was the owner and was there on a Sunday morning to help. I could not believe this post when my husband read it to me, this fellow should be ashamed.

This post is fishy. Just joined the site and just happened to be at epps at the time lol.

EPPS seems to have seen the post, and is trying some damage control. Give the man his money back or a new firearm. That's the only way I would ever spend any money there. As of right now I will never buy from them.

 

[scuba52]

This posting is why I dislike internet forums, I was behind this man at Epps and had to wait my turn behind this "wronged" customer. The people at Epps should have been commended for their patience with this man. First he wanted to return it because the bore was damaged, which the staff took time to explain was gas ports. Then he complained to the staff that the "bubble wrap was different" as a reason for return.
Then it was the dirt (the gun was clean I was right there). They took time to get another gun to show that each of these make believe issues were not a problem and gave a direct number to call if he had anymore issues. This poster then AGREED to take his gun home. After he left I was shown over a dozen pistols, great advice and great service was given from the same fellow who was the owner and was there on a Sunday morning to help. I could not believe this post when my husband read it to me, this fellow should be ashamed.

This sounds more like the truth. I am in there all of the time and almost always get above average service. Who in there right mind doesnt look at a gun when it is opened right in front of them , obviously if this was an internet deal then you get what you get. Buyers remorse sounds more like it.

 

[gdrew]

This posting is why I dislike internet forums, I was behind this man at Epps and had to wait my turn behind this "wronged" customer. The people at Epps should have been commended for their patience with this man. First he wanted to return it because the bore was damaged, which the staff took time to explain was gas ports. Then he complained to the staff that the "bubble wrap was different" as a reason for return.
Then it was the dirt (the gun was clean I was right there). They took time to get another gun to show that each of these make believe issues were not a problem and gave a direct number to call if he had anymore issues. This poster then AGREED to take his gun home. After he left I was shown over a dozen pistols, great advice and great service was given from the same fellow who was the owner and was there on a Sunday morning to help. I could not believe this post when my husband read it to me, this fellow should be ashamed.

gungal30 I like your story...but...this is your first post on this site. You happen to be at the store at the same time as the OP...I smell something fishy...

Disclaimer: I have never met and I do not know the OP. I never have had any dealings with Epps either.

 

[CBR600]

Tagged for interest.

 

[remyltr]

This posting is why I dislike internet forums, I was behind this man at Epps and had to wait my turn behind this "wronged" customer. The people at Epps should have been commended for their patience with this man. First he wanted to return it because the bore was damaged, which the staff took time to explain was gas ports. Then he complained to the staff that the "bubble wrap was different" as a reason for return.
Then it was the dirt (the gun was clean I was right there). They took time to get another gun to show that each of these make believe issues were not a problem and gave a direct number to call if he had anymore issues. This poster then AGREED to take his gun home. After he left I was shown over a dozen pistols, great advice and great service was given from the same fellow who was the owner and was there on a Sunday morning to help. I could not believe this post when my husband read it to me, this fellow should be ashamed.

This should be interesting now

 

[Daeo]

This posting is why I dislike internet forums, I was behind this man at Epps and had to wait my turn behind this "wronged" customer. The people at Epps should have been commended for their patience with this man. First he wanted to return it because the bore was damaged, which the staff took time to explain was gas ports. Then he complained to the staff that the "bubble wrap was different" as a reason for return.
Then it was the dirt (the gun was clean I was right there). They took time to get another gun to show that each of these make believe issues were not a problem and gave a direct number to call if he had anymore issues. This poster then AGREED to take his gun home. After he left I was shown over a dozen pistols, great advice and great service was given from the same fellow who was the owner and was there on a Sunday morning to help. I could not believe this post when my husband read it to me, this fellow should be ashamed.

I don't post often but read a lot of stuff on this forum. This looks so fishy its not even funny. Speculation for sure but if someone created this account just to try and make the OP look bad or discredit them and the store knows about it or has something to do with it...I am just blown away. What are the chances?

 

[Arclight]

This can be interesting .

All my Sigs come new and appear as such . But when I get them home and white glove clean them . I often find carbon and crap in them. From factory firing.

So my take on this is odd.

Yes some guns are super clean and some seem dirty.
I have purchased over ten guns from Epps.
My Beretta 90-2 dirty , 2 Glocks clean , Ruger 1022 appeared clean but found carbon in the guts . M14 clean . SKS packed with crap.

You'll notice one thing there. You purchase lets say a Mossberg 590a1. They bring the box down open it .

This is your opportunity to inspect it, take another one , decline it .... whatever.

They give you a slip to pay for it at the cash . You return paid its yours .

This happens a Al flarities , Epps , Al simmons. Fishing World .

When that box opens and they look at you for your acceptance.

This is your quality control step .

If this happened and you bought it anyway its basically your fault .

BUT having said that. I have opened the box on a Mossberg 590a1 with the wacky trigger reset on it and I couldn't get it to fire at all and had to take another gun. It was broken in the box . I generally don't dry fire guns but this time I did. Finding this out at home. I would have been pissed off too.

If you buy a Ruger 1022 for pinking whom cares about this stuff youll mark it soon enough.
But if you buy a brand new ACR NR enhanced in black and are planing on collecting it. These cosmetic issues matter a lot .

Ordering stuff over the phone I ask them to pull it from stock , open the box , does it work ?
Then I say, "lets pretend we are family" , and for a moment "you care". Do you see anything wrong with it ? because I'm collecting it and I will send it back .

This is who I protect myself . I suggest you do the same. And wish you the best .

This is it - Once they get the box open for your inspection, it is up to you to check it out and see if you like it. Most the firearms I have bought, have had fouling from when the factory test fired them. Online or over the phone is a different animal, but if you are there in person you can check it out before deciding to buy it.

 

[Aries-]

Any body surprised that Epps is saying nothing about this ? I'm not ......

Lets see. Its monday. Anyone that can read will see epps is CLOSED on monday. Who do you think is going to answer you today?

 

[90vette]

gungal30 I like your story...but...this is your first post on this site. You happen to be at the store at the same time as the OP...I smell something fishy...

Disclaimer: I have never met and I do not know the OP. I never have had any dealings with Epps either.

Fishy is a little bit of an understatment.

 

[Aries-]

Why don't these stores just have a guy clean the guns real quick and shine them up?
Car dealerships always wash the cars. Computer stores dust off the computers.
I too have seen dirty dirty guns come right off the rack in stores, and I always wonder why they don't go that extra step to make a customer feel good and proud of their purchase.
Hell, I've bought guns off the EE and that pretty much are all IMMACULATE clean.

It don't take more than 5-10 minutes for a quick barrel swab and wipe down.

How much do you expect to pay ontop of the gun? $45 for clean and testfire. Dont expect the store to eat that on a new gun, the profit margin is far from high enough to eat that.

New guns are testfired, some manufacturers clean them sone don't.

 

[grand778]

This whole episode gets under my skin. The store in question had an opportunity to take someone new to the sport (as well as our country) and help them along. I have found that just about every gun owner I know or have met are people with integrity and are loyal to their friends and families. They are also loyal to the stores and the people behind the counter who have provided them assistance and customer service when making a purchase, or even a non-purchase. I own a garage full of hunting and fishing equipment and it was bought from the people and stores that went the extra distance to earn both my trust and my money. There are a dozen other places you can go to that will not treat you like this or mention BS restocking fees.

I have lived in the UK and have purchased shotguns there on occasion. It was my experience that customer service in the UK was awesome at the worst of times. You can find it here as well but you have to get out there and either visit or call around. Yes some of the vendors on this board are A++ but there are many who do not advertise here that are also top notch.

I hope it all works out for you.

Cheers,

Gotta say i never had a problem with SFRC when my chiappa m1-9mm's barrel starting threading out due to a manufacturer error. Chiappa did nothing for me but SFRC took care of it.

 

[onurb]

I don't post often but read a lot of stuff on this forum. This looks so fishy its not even funny. Speculation for sure but if someone created this account just to try and make the OP look bad or discredit them and the store knows about it or has something to do with it...I am just blown away. What are the chances?

I think the chances are good that they know gungal30. In today's world one post can kill a store, and one would do anything to try to make things better. Its all about how they try to make things better. Good people take the hit and feel bad for the guy and give him his money back. Shady people resort to other thing.

 

[Harrier .45]

This posting is why I dislike internet forums, I was behind this man at Epps and had to wait my turn behind this "wronged" customer. The people at Epps should have been commended for their patience with this man. First he wanted to return it because the bore was damaged, which the staff took time to explain was gas ports. Then he complained to the staff that the "bubble wrap was different" as a reason for return.
Then it was the dirt (the gun was clean I was right there). They took time to get another gun to show that each of these make believe issues were not a problem and gave a direct number to call if he had anymore issues. This poster then AGREED to take his gun home. After he left I was shown over a dozen pistols, great advice and great service was given from the same fellow who was the owner and was there on a Sunday morning to help. I could not believe this post when my husband read it to me, this fellow should be ashamed.

And this right here is probably why no response has been forwarded by Ellwood Epps. As soon as one customer posts a reply to the OP's complaint that counters the original claim, suddenly the whole of this message board lights up with conspiracy theories about whether or not Epps is somehow in collusion with Gungal30 to throw out a bone to salvage the situation. Or the legitimacy of this poster's comments is questioned because this is their first post in these forums. Heaven forbid Gungal30 just happens to be a new member to CGN (not the Join Date of February 2015?!?!), and felt compelled to express her opinion of the events relating to the OP's claims as she saw them -- an opinion that differs noticeably from the OP's account of those same events.

Does it matter that the OP himself has only 7 posts to his credit, including this thread? Does it matter that he, too, has a Join Date of February 2015? Does that information somehow make his claims more or less valid? No. The OP had an opinion to share about an event that occurred. Period. His number of posts or length of tenure on these boards makes no difference to his perception of the events of that day. Why, then, should those factors come into regard for Gungal30 to make her own statement on those same events?

What good would it do for anyone at Epps to respond to this situation? None whatsoever. If you feel otherwise, take a look at some of the other posts on these forums where customers have complained about service from Ellwood Epps. Read the company's responses. Then read on and on and on to see just how belligerent and detracting the counter replies from other posters become simply because Epps did not conform to Customer X's interpretation of what they expect a business to do on their behalf.

I was not at Epps when the event in question occurred, therefore I will restrain from offering an opinion on the matter. Perhaps some of you should consider indulging in that same measure of restraint instead of jumping on the lynching wagon with only the version of events provided by an impassioned customer who has determined that the service they received was somehow less than they deserved.

 

[15567]

And this right here is probably why no response has been forwarded by Ellwood Epps. As soon as one customer posts a reply to the OP's complaint that counters the original claim, suddenly the whole of this message board lights up with conspiracy theories about whether or not Epps is somehow in collusion with this poster to throw out a bone to salvage the situation. Or the legitimacy of this poster's comments is questioned because this is their first post in these forums. Heaven forbid Gungal30 just happens to be a new member to CGN (not the Join Date of February 2015?!?!), and felt compelled to express her opinion of the events relating to the OP's claims as she saw them -- an opinion that differs noticeably from the OP's account of those same events.

What good would it do for any of us at Epps to respond to this situation? None whatsoever. If you feel otherwise, take a look at some of the other posts on these forums where customers have complained about our service. Read our responses. Then read on and on and on to see just how belligerent and detracting the responses become simply because Epps did not conform to Customer X's interpretation of what they expect a business to do on their behalf.

I was not at Epps when the event in question occurred, therefore I will restrain from offering an opinion on the matter. Perhaps some of you should consider indulging in that same measure of restraint instead of jumping on the lynching wagon with only the version of events provided by an impassioned customer who clearly PERCEIVED that the service they received was somehow less than they deserved.

But of course it's much simpler to join the gang mentality, isn't it?

Disagree and I suppose all are waiting for Epps response.

Simple, customer bought what he thought was a new shotgun, perceived/identified it to be used and missing proper factory packaging. Brought it back to Epps for corrective action which they did not do using the excuse that the shotgun is used ... which clearly means they themselves admitted to selling him a used shotgun ...

 

[kodiakjack]

I think the chances are good that they know gungal30. In today's world one post can kill a store, and one would do anything to try to make things better. Its all about how they try to make things better. Good people take the hit and feel bad for the guy and give him his money back. Shady people resort to other thing.

I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I agree. That post has red flags all over it.

 

[Hang1]

This sounds more like the truth. I am in there all of the time and almost always get above average service. Who in there right mind doesnt look at a gun when it is opened right in front of them , obviously if this was an internet deal then you get what you get. Buyers remorse sounds more like it.

What kind of shady business doesn't stand behind their product they sell. Every retailer I have ever encountered from firearms to whatever else I purchase has an exchange policy or stands behind the product they sell and tries to make it right. When I first bought my browning bps from my local gun shop I didn't strip it down in the store and inspect it. It was pulled out was covered in grease and oil wrapped up. As a matter of fact they gave me a lesson on how to strip it and clean in by using one of their floor models. And the sales staff said if I had any problems when I took it home and cleaned it and wasn't able to put it back together to bring it back and they would help me with it. It was my first gun purchase and the store was shooters choice in Waterloo.
How about you read other sponsor forums and see what good service is. I just read a thread in canAms forum where someone posted in response to the quality of ammo question they were having problems and canAm posted for this user to contact them and they will try to make it right.
Any quality business puts customers first. He didn't come back a few days later, it's a 1000$ purchase from a quality firearm maker like Baretta, and from the op's post its not what he agreed to purchased. They had a new one that was new packed and should have brought that out to begin with, or the very least instead of trying to pawn that gun off on him they should have made him aware of its new but not in factory box type of thing if that was the case. My opinion based off his post is the gun is used, I have fired hundreds of rounds through my bps and even when I first got it I never needed that many patches to clean it, I highly doubt 60 would make it that dirty.
they should have just exchanged it 120$ isn't going to put epps out of business. But I'm sure it's gonna cost them more in lost business.

 

[Harrier .45]

Disagree and I suppose all are waiting for Epps response.

Simple, customer bought what he thought was a new shotgun, perceived/identified it to be used and missing proper factory packaging. Brought it back to Epps for corrective action which they did not do using the excuse that the shotgun is used ... which clearly means they themselves admitted to selling him a used shotgun ...

Equally simple: Beretta A300 shotguns are shipped in plain cardboard boxes, without hard cases. They are wrapped in waxed/grease paper. That is all. Frequently, when a new firearm is shown over the counter, that paper gets torn or otherwise damaged and is discarded. Even more expensive guns, such as the A400s, come wrapped in tissue paper that is routinely torn and discarded the first time one of those guns is shown to a potential buyer to be handled and examined. This alone does not indicate that the firearm in question was a used gun, but simply one that had been viewed by another customer at some previous date.

Equally simple: The fact that the firearm was test fired by the factory does not in any way infer that Epps "admitted" to the firearm being used. When a new car rolls off the dealer's lot with 10-12 kilometers on it due to test driving, rolling on and off the transport truck that delivered it to the dealer's lot, and being moved about the lot itself, is that car now to be considered a used automobile?

Equally simple: By the OP's own admission he is new to the firearms world. How then, with his admittedly limited familiarity with the gun in question, could he rightfully determine that the firearm that is the cause of this situation was used rather than new, based upon observations about which by his own admission he knew very little?

Could the situation have been handled better? Perhaps. But again, I was not there, so I will leave any judgement on this case out of my response, and continue to suggest that there might be more to this story than meets the eye, and that perhaps Ellwood Epps is not the evil empire some posters here on GunNutz try to make it out to be. Take note that in this thread alone there are several customers who report that they have had no grand issues with the service received from Epps. And if you think we've paid every one of them off to make those claims, well I guess we'd better sell more than 10,000 guns this year to keep those bribes a-flowing.