Disappointed and done with Brownells

I have no recent experience with Brownell's but notice track of the Wolf shipping charges skyrocketed about a year ago so phoned them. I was told they could no longer ship el cheapo to Canada but had to use Priority Post and the minimum is $30. Just recently ordered a set of aperature sights from Montana Vintage Arms - same thing. Had to be Priority Post and would be $30. None of these packages would have been as big as a shoe box or more than a kilogram.

That seems to be the new reality with US Postal Service. If you think that is bad - just try using a courier service!!
 
most of the US companies are shipping expedited air or priority post as they say that is the only way that they are allowed to ship to Canada. Boyd's, EGW. I ordered a base for $35 and shipping cost that then had a custom's brokerage

Sad to say, but this is the new reality as what other option is there?
 
I have bought several things from Brownells over the years. Probably four or five dozen things. Of all of those items, I have gotten two or three individual items which were obviously "returns" from a prior unsatisfied customer. Those items were in opened packages, or were scratched or marked up. Nothing terrible, but clearly not "brand new" items. If I wanted to buy "used" items, I'd look on e-bay first. Those few items really changed my opinion of Brownells - and not in a good way!
 
I ordered and paid for a firing pin assembly. Email from Brownell's said there would be no concerns with shipping the item into Canada so I placed the order. No luck, never arrived, no response from Brownell's other than processing my payment.
 
Duncan Idaho said:
I ordered and paid for a firing pin assembly. Email from Brownell's said there would be no concerns with shipping the item into Canada so I placed the order. No luck, never arrived, no response from Brownell's other than processing my payment.
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I had the same experience with Brownell's. I placed two separate orders to keep the value under $100 each. I was told that orders under that price would not be looked at by customs. I did receive the first item, a quick detach picatinny riser for my AR but never received the Apex trigger for my pistol.
 
Paper Tango said:
I had the same experience with Brownell's. I placed two separate orders to keep the value under $100 each. I was told that orders under that price would not be looked at by customs. I did receive the first item, a quick detach picatinny riser for my AR but never received the Apex trigger for my pistol.
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IIRC, Triggers are a controlled item and require export permits to be legally shipped out of the U.S.......On controlled items price is irrelevant............This would be why you never received the trigger.......
 
Skullboy said:
IIRC, Triggers are a controlled item and require export permits to be legally shipped out of the U.S.......On controlled items price is irrelevant............This would be why you never received the trigger.......
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Brownell's and myself were aware of this fact, that's why they suggested the two separate orders keeping each under the $100 mark.

I guess who ever I spoke too on the phone was not so well informed.

It was a gamble and I knew it as I could not find one in Canada at the time.
 
Got item today. As usual it was way over packaged.






I also requested to speak with a customer service rep and never heard anything back. Like I said earlier, if I can find it elsewhere, then that's where I will go.
 
I ordered an extractor and it's pin for a Remington 22 semi. They were shipped a day apart in 6 inch square boxes for $21.00 postage EACH! Both parts could be completely covered by a nickel. When I asked why they weren't shipped in a bubble envelope they refunded one of the $21.00 charges.
 
kandress said:
I've ordered several times from brownells with great results. However my last two orders I got hammered with huge shipping costs (about 50%) of the cost of the order itself. I phoned and asked why and they said it was the only way they could ship such large items....

I ordered a safety button and forestock for a mossberg 590. Both times could easily fit in a box 1/4 that of a shoe box. But instead they packed it in an enormous box 12" x 24" x 36". Then charged me over $40 for shipping.

This time I ordered the matching stock. I ordered it from there as $90 was cheaper then anywhere local. I specified "cheapest shipping possible" and even sent an email to customer service asking to ensure they packed it properly. Then I got my bill $40 in shipping again, sent priority air mail. I called customer service and they couldn't refund me part of the order nor were they willing to do anything to help. Needless to say this is my last order from brownells.
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You can always request a quote to be sent BEFORE shipping. You could also place the order over the phone so there are no suprises. I have had this happen to me before. I called and and complained to customer service. Not only did they reduce the cost of shipping they removed it entirely. I have felt their customer service to be excellent. If you are polite and explain the situation you may be suprised at the results. If not, feel free to use another company in Canada or US. Shipping stuff over the border is never easy or cheap. Good luck.
 
My most recent order from Brownells I again requested INTFC shipping (International First Class US Postal Service), but they shipped it by air. $30 shipping charge for $20 worth of parts.

All it took was a phone call to their order desk. I explained that I had explicitly requested INTFC in the comments of the order. Once they checked, they refunded me $20 back to my credit card and apologized.

Excellent service.

OverKill
 
Hmmm...didn't know about ordering items over the phone and getting the shipping costs on the spot.........good to know because the main reason I’ve never ordered from Brownells is because the site doesn’t give you shipping costs and states it will be added when the item is shipped. That was unnerving not knowing what shipping was going to be until they charge you. Now that I know, I might have to do some telephone shopping :)
 
Even though I told them not to back order they did and I paid about $30 shipping for a $5 tool. I have often ordered tools that they have said they could not even ship to my broker in the US (they said my broker may not ship properly after they received it?? WTF?) and then other times there was no problem. I can't figure it out, as usual. It's probably okay if you can walk into their store and pay cash, but maybe not.
 
Shipping used to be cheap out of the USA but not anymore, that is why I put items I want in my "Wish List" on Brownells site. Once I get enough items in my list and then something I need right away I can have a few items in the order to keep the shipping less than buying each item separately. My order this week has 13 items and $31.60 in shipping, there is still no denying that the shipping is expensive but there is not much you can do about it.
 
Its still cheaper then buying up here. Im at 50+ orders so far, And the only ones that were over 10.55 are the ones that were either too big to fit in the box or more than 100$....

The best part about Brownells is the Mil discount they offer. :p
 
Silverback said:
Shipping used to be cheap out of the USA but not anymore, that is why I put items I want in my "Wish List" on Brownells site. Once I get enough items in my list and then something I need right away I can have a few items in the order to keep the shipping less than buying each item separately. My order this week has 13 items and $31.60 in shipping, there is still no denying that the shipping is expensive but there is not much you can do about it.
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If you can be patient enough that's the best way to do it.. but it's hard to not just press the button.. kind of like shooting :)
 
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