[Juker]

Thought I'd submit an all-in-one report on various purchases I've made this year from six different dealers online. An important note is that all these items were shown as being in stock.

IMPACT GUNS - (Posted as a reply in another thread) After paying for a Remington 700 .30-06 on January 10, I stumbled into a forum where no one had anything good to say about Impact. Some claimed they'd been waiting for months. This was my first purchase from Impact, and the pucker factor went from 0-60 in 1.3 seconds. I called 'em up after seeing no activity on my order after 4 days, and was told that 4 of them were inbound from Remington. When I inquired what "in stock/available" meant on their website, I was told that their inventory was always backed up. But it all has a happy ending - the 700 indeed arrived from Remington, shipped from Utah on January 21, and is now in my happy hands in Illinois. So best advice - place your orders over the phone and confirm inventory status/availability. Their price was about $150 less than what I found locally, and I plan to buy from them again. AMENDMENT: I called Impact last week to inquire about a Ruger P95 shown as "in stock" on their website. Sure enough, it wasn't in stock and would be 3-4 weeks out.

NATCHEZ SHOOTERS SUPPLIES - Ordered a BSA scope, a pair of Butler Creek scope covers, and a sling on Jan. 28. Order received on Feb. 3. Wasn't thrilled with the Butler Creek covers, called Natchez and they said send 'em back, no problem. Highest marks.

MIDWAY USA - Ordered six 1911 mags and .38 holster on Feb. 3. Order received on Feb. 8. Highest marks. Ordered a 9mm mag and holster and a 1911 barrel bushing from them last night. By the way, thru Feb. 28, use Promotion Code 1021171 and get $10 off a $50+ order - in-stock, non-sale items only.

AREA 51 TACTICAL - Ordered 2 Marlin mags from them on Feb. 3. After not receiving any shipping info, I called them several times on Feb. 10. Got a strange recording that said call back. Sent email with my concerns. Received an email later that day stating my order was shipped, that day, with tracking number. Tracking says it should be here today. Jury's still out.

CHEAPER THAN DIRT - Ordered a Triple K mag for my trusty '64 High Standard .22 Dura-Matic on Feb. 3. Order received on Feb. 12. Seemed a bit slow to me and it was shipped in a plastic bag, but I'm delighted with the mag.

BUD'S GUN SHOP - Bud's rocks, and everybody knows it. Ordered a S&W 442 .38 on Jan. 24. Paid with a credit card, shipping to a preferred FFL. Order shipped on Jan. 31, just as the Big Blizzard hit the midwest. UPS routed it 'round and 'round and it arrived at my FFL two weeks after shipping, on Feb. 7. My FFL is a high-speed guy who travels around training various agencies in various high-speed things, so due to his schedule, I finally picked up the .38 yesterday, Feb. 13. Did a live online chat with Bud's last Thursday to express my less than warm & fuzzy feelings. Turns out the .38 had to be shipped from a different warehouse, thus the initial 7-day wait before shipping. Online guy was FANTASTIC. Told him I was looking at a Ruger P95 (same gun that Impact had in stock, but not really) and didn't care to repeat the .38 episode. He said send a cashier's check, avoid the credit card upcharge, he'd pull the gun that day, and it would ship as soon as the payment arrived in the mail, which should be today. Hoo-ah.

Several good lessons here. Call before ordering. Don't trust website inventory status - we all know there are plenty of companies of all types who wait until the customer orders something before THEY order it. If you're buying from an online source for the first time, google their website URL plus the word 'scam' or 'complaint', and you might just get an eyeful. I've avoided several mistakes in recent years by checking first.