Well, for all those marstar haters and lovers, here is an account of my first, and only, dealing with Marstar from December 2013. I promised myself I would not post this for months but watching the forums and responses from Marstar since then has prompted me to speak up for all those that have not.
In the first week of December, 2013, I was restoring a 1936 Kar98k with the last two parts required being a band spring and a front barrel band. I was able to locate the band spring on ebay but browsing the CGN EE along with my friends had not turned up an early style "H" barrel band that I wished to have for my Kar98k. Long and behold, Marstar had (and still has) listed the early style barrel band for $22 plus tax and shipping (
https://www.marstar.ca/dynamic/product.jsp?productid=83457 here is the exact ad I bought from).
The barrel band does not show any real wear or rust and looks to be in good, usable condition in the picture. No where in the advertisement page is there any mention of current stock being fair or poor condition, neither at the original time of viewing or currently. I made the choice to order from Marstar, being full aware of their "Ironclad Guarantee" that is boasted to be the standard by which other firearm retailers are to be judged.
Knowing that Christmas was right around the corner, I was not expecting a quick response for order processing and shipping. On December 2nd, 2013, I placed my order for the barrel band and on December 9th, I had received e-mail confirmation that my order had been processed and was shipping. At the time, this band was costing my close to $50 when all the costs had been factored in.
On December 13th, I came home from work to see that my package from Marstar had arrived. It came in a brown bubble wrap envelope and inside was a paper copy of the "Ironclad Guarantee" and my barrel band in a plastic bag. Here is the point where I became disappointed but not completely as the barrel band I received was not usable on my rifle (nor dare I would considering it's poor condition). After realizing what I had received, I read over the "Ironclad Guarantee" again and noticed that I would be entitled to either a replacement or a complete refund. I checked the webpage again detailing my upper band that I had ordered and noticed, again, that there was no mention of poor quality bands only in stock and that the image on the website was completely mis-leading to the actual condition. I figured it was due to what was left in the bottom of the inventory box. Thinking about this, I decided a complete refund would be in order as at this time, I had located a very good condition early style "H" band on the CGN EE for half the price.
Here are actual pictures of the Marstar barrel band that I received:
Within an hour of opening my package, I had launched an RMA request, as per Marstar's instructions on their website and paper copy of the "Ironclad Guarantee". Three days later, on December 16th, I had received an e-mail back from the Marstar service department with an RMA number. On December 17th, I wrapped up the barrel band in it's original packaging and sent it back for a complete refund. I waited for any changes and figured nothing would happen with Christmas a week away. By mid January, 2014, I noticed that a credit had been put on my credit card and promptly noticed that it was not for the full amount and that I was charged a 25% restocking fee. I was certainly not pleased as the "Ironclad Guarantee" had failed in what was clearly written in fine print, both on paper and online. By this time, my Kar98k was restored and I wasn't willing to fight for $12 over a re-stocking fee. I did, however, promise myself never to conduct business with Marstar again based on this first time experience. I can say, that if any other business (no matter what they were selling), did something similar that I would not do business with them again either.
As a reference, I have been dealing with Ellwood Epps for close to six years now and the level of service I have received has been outstanding, and at times, above and beyond, considering my business may come as a minor contribution to the bottom line at the end of the year. I have read of other CGNers having the opposite experience with Ellwood epps and swearing by the same code of avoidance that I have come to use with Marstar. As I say, it is just the way the ball rolls down the hill.
I know my experience, once posted, will be torn apart, both by Marstar lovers and possibly Marstar themselves, and I have done my best to present my experience as neutral as possible and I trust this can be acknowledged and respected.
