For clarification:
All firearms purchased as new items carry a manufacturer's warranty that must be handled by the authorized repair depot. Guns, unlike cell phones, toaster ovens, vacuum cleaners, and the like, are registered to the individual owner. Once a firearm has been registered to one person,
the warranty is not transferrable to another buyer unless the distributor permits the firearm to be returned for inspection, and it is found to be un-repairable.
While we most definitely agree with and understand your frustration in this matter, buyers must understand that part of our agreements in place with distributors and manufacturers is that
warrantied items must be returned to the authorized depot for assessment. It is then the distributor who determines whether the firearm should be repaired or replaced, and whether they will send the original item back to the manufacturer as a defective product.
We have dealt with these issues on many occasions. As a customer myself, I would certainly be concerned if a defective item could not be repaired or exchanged, but perhaps if you had asked the salesperson with whom you dealt to explain the situation you might have had a better understanding of the problem.
We cannot simply exchange new firearms. It is just not that simple. Any firearms dealer will confirm this with regard to new guns only. With used guns, we do offer a 30-day no-questions-asked return policy for defects or problems, but that warranty is offered through our store, and not from the manufacturer.
To the OP: Please contact Kevin at
info@ellwoodepps.com, and we will discuss this matter. We can take the gun back into our store and negotiate the shipping to and from Wortner's, which is the authorized S&W warranty depot. If Wortner's and S&W agree that the firearm is beyond repair, we can then provide you with a new model. Otherwise, we will have your firearm repaired as quickly as Wortner's is able.
The suggestions that Ellwood Epps has become 'lazy' or 'does not care about their customers' could not be farther from the truth! We routinely do all that we can -- and in many cases, more than we are permitted to do by our distributors -- to correct issues such as this. I believe you will find many postings on GunNutz confirming the lengths we routinely go to in order to satisfy our customers as we are able.
Of course there will always be those individual who are unsatisfied no matter what efforts we make, but this particular issue is one that has been discussed on many occasions, and is not unique to the firearms industry.
Try to exchange a new automobile because of a manufacturer's defect, or try to return opened software with a defect. These are the procedures that the manufacturers and distributors have outlined for retailers such as ourselves, and it is these guidelines that we must follow if we are to continue to carry the products from these companies.
