Ordering from Marstar

Sent wrong pistol

My dealings with Marstar on my recent Norinco NP-40 (CZ-85 .40 clone) purchase were fine, until they sent me the 9mm version instead! Of course, there are no 40's available right now. I have to wait for the next shipment.

I called them and was told to just send it back, though there was no "we're sorry" and no mention of them paying for my shipping.

I very clearly ordered the .40 version (by email) and had been told on the telephone the day I placed my order that they had the .40 in stock.

So, I'm a little peeved! The pistol itself seems not bad, though the trigger definitely needs work. Maybe I should just order a real CZ from Armco instead!
 
Just an update. I recieved the certificates for the stuff I bought but despite more email, phone calls, and even a fax, I have yet to hear from them regarding shipping (which is important now that I leave mid-next week). They were kind enough to charge my Visa though.
 
Guys, I really do sympathize with your frustration. Marstar's people are likely even busier than I am :) Not making excuses for their lack of communication, mind you, but I find as well that sometimes the email (and morning-to-night phone calls) gets a bit overwhelming and I am forced to skim through and look after the REALLY urgent ones until I can get to the rest after supper. You likely see a lot of communication from me in the wee hours....
I actually do prefer email dealings as phone calls to a gunsmith usually mean leaving a message or getting me away from my milling machine in the middle of installing YOUR rear sight. Hmmm, how did that one end up facing backwards... :)

My advice is to cut Marstar a little slack - this is an exceptionally busy time for all gun dealers and gunsmiths. On the other hand, be firm. If it is imperative that you have something in a certain time, spell that out, and don't hesitate to cancel orders that are mishandled. Receiving the wrong gun calls for an immediate apology, and a search by the dealer of other dealers across the country for the right one for you. An offer of a better gun, something....


Lastly, I really would encourage someone from Marstar to get on here and talk to you! The CGN shooters have enormous buying clout and dealers ignore you at their peril!

Best regards
Gunnar Christensen
www.armco-guns.com
 
Still waiting, I did though an email from them finally, I was told the paperwork or something like that is being processed?

Thing I dont understand is I ordered a High Power from Lever a week after I ordered the .22 from Marstar and the High Power is allready enroute?

I think if I dont hear from them by the end of next week I,m going to cancel the order.

I,m not sure what I should do to be honest. It was going to be a gift for my dad so he would have something to shoot when we went to the range.

His birthday was today, it would have been nice to have a gift for him.
 
MRCLARK said:
Still waiting, I did though an email from them finally, I was told the paperwork or something like that is being processed?

Thing I dont understand is I ordered a High Power from Lever a week after I ordered the .22 from Marstar and the High Power is allready enroute?

I think if I dont hear from them by the end of next week I,m going to cancel the order.

I,m not sure what I should do to be honest. It was going to be a gift for my dad so he would have something to shoot when we went to the range.

His birthday was today, it would have been nice to have a gift for him.

Thats the Ontario CFO for ya. Nothin much Marstar can do.
I don't understand why you haven't called them earlier to verify the status more closely. Even if they are busy, they will help you.

If you want an idea:

John, Cynthia and Mike are extremely busy running the business end to end with dealings, government compliance, export import permits, various schedules, solving various issues and researching new products accross the globe, not to mention attending to customers. They have two employees in the warehouse who assemble orders, answer phones, check emails, repair or replace warantee items, load and unload shipments and do mailouts twice a week and inventory on daily basis. And if that isn't enough, they have four other employees who, answer phones, register guns, maintain website, take pictures, invoice orders and troubleshoot service, shipping, invoicing and registry issues. ALL staff goes home exhausted like most of us. And yes, they always answer the phones during business hours... that means that any lack of communication is to be attributed by the different time zones, national holidays, weekends, lunch hour and closing time.

Still have problems getting through? Must say you are unlucky.

No feed back from them? No order confirmation?

Did you make sure to complete your original order with all information required? If not, they have to contact you to complete the information. Hello phone tag and spam filters! If they cannot get in touch with you within a reasonable delay or ammount of effort, orders get turfed, thats life, that's business, it's not personal.

- Still don't like 'em? Simply don't deal with 'em. Buyers market.
But keep your personal feelings to yourself, cause the rest of us really don't give a ****.

- Do I work for Marstar? NO, why would I want the stress?
- Who am I ? One of thousands of satisfied and regular customers.

Marstar flames are getting old folks, especially you did not take all steps available to rectify issues. Pretty darn sure John, Mike or Peter do not have time to repeat the same spiel to frequent CGN heat, when they could be talking to you on the phone to set things right.

MRCLARK, nothing personal on my behalf, you seem to be in an unfortunate spot. It's just that this kind of thread brings out the worst elements in this group and usually nobody ends up a winner. We just look bad. Good luck with your pistol anyhow.

Regards,

HB
 
I am a satisfied and regular Marstar customer too.
But what I see is Marstar losing considerable business and goodwill through firsthand reports of frustration that I don't see written about other firearms dealers.
 
I had my Amex ready to pull the trigger. I had the green light from "wifey" (pigs do fly ..I guess), money was in the account. I was frothing at the mouth to buy a VZ-58 from Marstar. I sent an email with a few questions....1 week no reply....2weeks no reply. I called Marstar in a panic as family meetings were starting to re-assess the need for a the fine reliable, durable, demonstration of eastern European craftsmanship.Finally, I got through after binging on hold for over 5min. The response I got from the reception was:

"Oh they're on lunch now..(9am my time) call back later." I mentioned how I had waited over 2 weeks for an email response. She mentioned again the obvious importance of lunch and that it was necessary for me to call back.....during my work time...when it was not convenient for me.....ME the customer that was obviously inconveniencing the SERVICE PEOPLE AT MARSTAR...You know..the guy who wants to give them MONEY. Against the receptionist's advice, I left my phone number with her to be passed onto the salesman so that he/she could call me when their lunch was over. Suprise...suprise no response! I ultimately used my "Jedi-mind-techniques" to convince "wifey" in the vast benefits in the AK-like CZ-858 and picked up a spanking new/used sport rifle that looks like it might be used to wipe out the local mob.

Advice to Marstar: get more staff! You are in INTERNET sales...busy is good! Too busy is not good if you can't handle the basic sales expectations of people. In my case, lack of customer service cost Marstar about 650 beans.

isn't she a killer ? :http://www.mts.net/~jhipwell/cz858_files/image002.jpg


stevr
 
I dunno. I've only ordered once (HP9-1) in Oct 2004. Ordered before the Thanksgiving weekend, came the next thursday IIRC. No probs, one phone call to make the order, done. Geez.. I better buy something else just to make sure! I'll clear it with the wife.. it's for the public good! :D
 
hardballer said:
Thats the Ontario CFO for ya. Nothin much Marstar can do.

The CFO controlls there ability to answer emails? Because all I have been asking them is for some feedback. They have provided email for contacting them and or ordering from them why not use it at first if it is convienient to me the customer. If there busy then fine. But I asked them what they needed to process an order. They replied right back, informed me of what they needed. I gave them that information, then did not hear back from them until the said time. Thus or hence the reason I asked how long it took. No flame a question. I cant help it if people have issues with them. The thread was not made to flame but to assist. The difference would be quite obvious.

hardballer said:
Did you make sure to complete your original order with all information required? If not, they have to contact you to complete the information. Hello phone tag and spam filters! If they cannot get in touch with you within a reasonable delay or ammount of effort, orders get turfed, thats life, that's business, it's not personal


When did I ever say I was taking it personal. Read the whole thread. It was started not as a flame but with a simple fu**ing question. How long does it take to order from them? As I have never dealt with them before I would assume that my questioning of people who have dealt with them was reasonable. The people on this site have a wealth of knowledge and I prefer to use it sometimes just as you chose not to read or understand my initial post. I am dissapointed though as they come highly recommended and would have liked the item on time for the birthday I mentioned.


hardballer said:
John, Cynthia and Mike are extremely busy running the business end to end with dealings, government compliance, export import permits, various schedules, solving various issues and researching new products accross the globe, not to mention attending to customers. They have two employees in the warehouse who assemble orders, answer phones, check emails, repair or replace warantee items, load and unload shipments and do mailouts twice a week and inventory on daily basis. And if that isn't enough, they have four other employees who, answer phones, register guns, maintain website, take pictures, invoice orders and troubleshoot service, shipping, invoicing and registry issues. ALL staff goes home exhausted like most of us. And yes, they always answer the phones during business hours... that means that any lack of communication is to be attributed by the different time zones, national holidays, weekends, lunch hour and closing time.

That actually helps and answers some of my questions

This ignorance doesnt.
hardballer said:
But keep your personal feelings to yourself, cause the rest of us really don't give a ****
So I chose not to take your advice. Now what? By the way the rest of us did give a ****, (hint have a look at the number of replies)

Seems odd to have this in the same reply doesnt it
hardballer said:
MRCLARK, nothing personal on my behalf

hardballer said:
Still don't like 'em? Simply don't deal with 'em. Buyers market

Wow thanks for the tip I had no idea.

hardballer said:
Do I work for Marstar? NO, why would I want the stress?- Who am I ? One of thousands of satisfied and regular customers.
Uh huh?

hardballer said:
Marstar flames are getting old folks, especially you did not take all steps available to rectify issues. Pretty darn sure John, Mike or Peter do not have time to repeat the same spiel to frequent CGN heat, when they could be talking to you on the phone to set things right

Now I know that the function they provided for contacting them via email does not work. I will continue to try other means if that is ok with you, please dont take it personally and my intentions were in no way meant to flame them.

hardballer said:
It's just that this kind of thread brings out the worst elements in this group and usually nobody ends up a winner. We just look bad.
Honestly nothing personal on my behalf the only one that looks bad is you.
 
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obviously there is a problem. No one replies to my emails that were sent out 1.5 months ago. Real easy to reply to, ie:
Q=Do you have the muzzle break that will work on the CZ-858 in stock, and any news on optics or mounts for this rifle. (yes, I know they sell the VZ, but the rail is the same for both, as should be the muzzle break).
A= ..................................................(no answer)

I did call once about ammunition, and there shipping price was too much. I fail to see why the same amount of ammunition coming from Marstar is more expensive to ship than coming from WildWest in edmonton, to my province. I ordered from Wild west because their shipping was actually shipping cost, and they gave me a better deal because I ordered in bulk. Either the quote was wrong, or Canpar is ripping Marstar off.
 
I called them once about Frontier bullets, I wanted to know how much the shipping would cost. I was just told to send like $40 more for shipping and they said that they will send me back if there'd be any money left. Later I called Higginson (sp?) asked the same question, he told me the exact cost over the phone (~$16 :eek:), so that's where my money went...

still afer what I said and read here I wouldn't have a problem buying a gun from them...
 
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hardballer said:
Thats the Ontario CFO for ya. Nothin much Marstar can do.
I don't understand why you haven't called them earlier to verify the status more closely. Even if they are busy, they will help you.

If you want an idea:

John, Cynthia and Mike are extremely busy running the business end to end with dealings, government compliance, export import permits, various schedules, solving various issues and researching new products accross the globe, not to mention attending to customers. They have two employees in the warehouse who assemble orders, answer phones, check emails, repair or replace warantee items, load and unload shipments and do mailouts twice a week and inventory on daily basis. And if that isn't enough, they have four other employees who, answer phones, register guns, maintain website, take pictures, invoice orders and troubleshoot service, shipping, invoicing and registry issues. ALL staff goes home exhausted like most of us. And yes, they always answer the phones during business hours... that means that any lack of communication is to be attributed by the different time zones, national holidays, weekends, lunch hour and closing time.

Still have problems getting through? Must say you are unlucky.

No feed back from them? No order confirmation?

Did you make sure to complete your original order with all information required? If not, they have to contact you to complete the information. Hello phone tag and spam filters! If they cannot get in touch with you within a reasonable delay or ammount of effort, orders get turfed, thats life, that's business, it's not personal.

- Still don't like 'em? Simply don't deal with 'em. Buyers market.
But keep your personal feelings to yourself, cause the rest of us really don't give a ****.

- Do I work for Marstar? NO, why would I want the stress?
- Who am I ? One of thousands of satisfied and regular customers.

Marstar flames are getting old folks, especially you did not take all steps available to rectify issues. Pretty darn sure John, Mike or Peter do not have time to repeat the same spiel to frequent CGN heat, when they could be talking to you on the phone to set things right.

MRCLARK, nothing personal on my behalf, you seem to be in an unfortunate spot. It's just that this kind of thread brings out the worst elements in this group and usually nobody ends up a winner. We just look bad. Good luck with your pistol anyhow.

Regards,

HB

Umm, are you serious ? Have you read the entire thread ?

I have phoned at various times of the day with no response.
I have sent a fax, no response.
I have emailed MANY times. They answered my emails when I was ordering. They quit answering emails when I wanted ANY information on the transfer, shipping, etc. Does a spam filter change its mind after I order ?

Pretty darn sure John, Mike or Peter do not have time to repeat the same spiel to frequent CGN heat, when they could be talking to you on the phone to set things right.
That could be, but I can't get ahold of them and I have yet to hear from them despite the fact that they have my phone #....

This goes back to my primary concern, that being that if Marstar wants us to use email to get information or order products, those emails should be answered. When products are orders, buyers have the right to know the status of their order and should not have to jump through phone, fax, and email hoops to get that information.

And with all respect, people on this forum are here for a few reasons, one of which being information on products and product providers. How many threads do you see asking " where can I buy ###XX ?" Many people are here to find out where to buy things and why to buy at one place instead of another. As such, people want to know who provides good service and who does not. MRCLARK and I are providing our experiences with Marstar and prospective buyers can act on our experiences as they see fit.
 
Okay. All this diatribe begs a question:

How is it that many of my emails are unanswered, and yet I'm still a happy customer? I continue to buy from Marstar.

But then again, I'm not overly constipated. :)D K that was a joke).
 
Deckard said:
Okay. All this diatribe begs a question:

How is it that many of my emails are unanswered, and yet I'm still a happy customer? I continue to buy from Marstar.

But then again, I'm not overly constipated. :)D K that was a joke).

I might have the answer for you...

Despite the sub-par follow-up service, I know I will be happy with the PRODUCTS that I bought (if/when they arrive). This will hold true regardless of where I would have purchased them. Hell, there is STILL stuff I would want to order from Marstar but I can never get someone to ask those questions of availability :( Even when I did get answers from Marstar early on, they would answer SOME of my questions but not all of them so now I don't know if they have the other products I want (and will buy once I get ahold of someone, somewhere, who can tell me that they have them and at what price). If I can find someone else beforehand who has them, I will not hesitate to buy from them because in this case, it is the product and not the provider that interests me.

That said, there are several companies that I have bought from and will continue to buy from based purely on that company's past service history, even if it means putting out a few extra bucks (and sometimes it doesnt even mean that...).
 
I think Marstar lacks internal organization. They definitely need a proper inventory system and more personnel. However I think they are trying to keep their overhead down to keep prices low. If they invest in more employees and inventory system to give us better CS, they will not be able to keep their prices this low.

At the same time if you are in tihis type of business with talk of gun bans, and an uncoporative government like the CFC has been would you make any new investment???
 
jwillmoore said:
I think Marstar lacks internal organization. They definitely need a proper inventory system and more personnel. However I think they are trying to keep their overhead down to keep prices low. If they invest in more employees and inventory system to give us better CS, they will not be able to keep their prices this low.

At the same time if you are in tihis type of business with talk of gun bans, and an uncoporative government like the CFC has been would you make any new investment???


bingo!

M14S for $799
1911A1 for $599
1911A1C for $649
and
Yugo SKS for $599
 
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