Fun with gunshops looking for brass

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Fun with gunshops looking for brass

Post by juststarting » 07 Feb 2017, 8:29 pm

I must have rang 10 shops today looking for 7.5x55Swiss brass, probably more. I don't trust them with Internet anymore. Site says one thing, but stock levels say the other. Seems to have dried up for now. But then it hit me, Clearmont! The defecto distributors of everything from s**ty tea sipping 303s to glorious Vodka pissing fire breathing Mosins. Anyway, I figured, they seem to specialise in this stuff, so maybe… Also tried Lawrence, but they were out too. Anyway, Clearmont didn’t let me down. It’s proving to be a little gem of a shop.

I also had a lot of shops respond with, well, no, but we have 6.5x55, would you like that? You dumb morons, I am not buying 3kg of apples or 4kg of apples. Facepalm was strong today.

But just before I stocked up, I rang this other shop in Melbourne and this is where it got a bit out of hand.


So, I call up, “hello, do you have any 7.5x55Swiss brass or factory ammo in stock?”.

Shop: oh this is a very uncommon calibre, nothing here. I don’t know if anyone would sell it. I think you are out of luck.

And on and on it went how uncommon it is. I just let them finish, quietly.

Me: it's not that uncommon.

I don’t know what made me engage. Just had to say it. Don’t know…

Shop: well, I’ve been doing this for a very long time and I've never heard of it!
Me: it doesn't mean it's uncommon.
Shop: I’ve been here for 30 years and we’ve never had it here.

At this stage, the tone changed and I was being spoken to like I am a 3yo (my wife is the only person who is allowed to do that)! I am thinking, f*ck it, lets play.

Me: Lots of other shops I rang today had it. I am surprised you don’t. It seems that all of them are out of stock and they are not sure when OSA is going to resupply.

Shop: ***weird uh oh um er noises*** (I feel like the penny is about to drop)

Me: You know, it’s for old Swiss army rifles, K11, K31? They are not uncommon, as far as mlisurp goes.

Shop: OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO hold on – I will call OSA and call you back.

I am thinking, WTF just happened, did you just see some coin you could take away from your competitors, so you changed your tune. Like, hey I will out smart everyone and this dude will now shop with us forever. Alright, whatever… I am thinking, hey, tone changed to being nice again, that’s nice, they are not as c*nty as I thought they were, cool, I say thank you and hang up.

…10 minutes later…


Shop: so I rang the wholesaler and they said they need to be at 10,000 rounds backorder, they don’t order below that and they are on 2,600 now.

Me: uh, alright, well thank you.

And we had some chit chat and it was all very friendly, until they decided to take initiative again, because it worked out well the last time.

Shop: so you know, people like you (what am I like, you dumb f*ck?), and I quote, “should put your mouth where your money is (am I not doing this now?), go to the store and put down payment for it”.

I am thinking, you f*cking fud of a c*nt are you kidding me? You can't possibly have negative business acumen, never mind the complete lack of customer service and communication skills. Are you expecting me to go to a shop and provide financial support for your complete lack of risk appetite and f#cked backyard logistics?

Me: so what's the ETA if I do that (now I am just baiting, I am not buying 7,400 rounds - well, not yet)?
Shop: well, could be a month, could be 6 months.

Me: why would I do that? If you don’t sock something and don't have a date, why would I pay you for something you don't have and don't know when it's going to arrive? I am sure someone else will have it, I’ll just call around.

Shop: ***silence***

Me: alright, well, thank you, bye.


And this is why I prefer to shop online. Buying from people who actually provide customer service and understand who is standing on which side of the counter and where money comes from. Like, bitch, please, I am the one doing you a favour, because there are other shops who will be glad to take my money without being a tool to me. You just happen to be on my to-call list. And this is why I think that a bunch of prehistoric gun shops that try to skin their customers rather than sell at reasonable margin or at least cheap at volume (and yes, we do buy in volume, there is buying power in AU with guns) should go out of business and let the industry fix itself through natural selection. Not all, I would gladly (and I often do) pay premium for service, but I am not seeing any service.

Alright, rant is over. I feel better now. And they lost 2 customers, told my friend about my experience, we had a laugh.

Rest of you jokers, you may now make fun of me for ranting.
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Re: Fun with gunshops looking for brass

Post by pete1 » 07 Feb 2017, 9:44 pm

I've been finding that a bit lately, people just want to sell you the easy items otherwise they don't want your money. I don't expect them to go searching to the end of the earth, i get time is money and if they don't want to look for it or can't get it in just be polite there's no need for shops to be rude cause i won't come back.
Some one i know spending $150,000 on a new trailer for a truck, got the money sitting there, but the dealer just calls them back trying to sell them completely different trailer again and again. They just want to make mega $$$ quick and not work for it, don't know about you but never being that easy for me.
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Re: Fun with gunshops looking for brass

Post by bladeracer » 07 Feb 2017, 9:55 pm

juststarting wrote:…10 minutes later…[/i]



I'm impressed they rang you back :-)
I have left requests in person, over the phone, email, even on sites' own feedback forms. Getting any response at all is just about unheard of. Getting a response within a week or two is astonishing.
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Re: Fun with gunshops looking for brass

Post by brett1868 » 07 Feb 2017, 10:00 pm

Did you try Bertram? They make all kinds of weird and wonderful cases and they're Mexico based, close to you. As for paying up front and waiting an undisclosed amount of time, I've done that and generally it's not the dealers fault if importers require a certain sized order before importing. International shipping cost on dangerous goods are horrendous and need to be aggregated across the order so there's definitely a sell price point that dictates the minimum order quantity. One joy of ordering and paying up front is having the price locked in, I've had items arrive 6 months after ordering and saved money due to price increases.
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Re: Fun with gunshops looking for brass

Post by juststarting » 07 Feb 2017, 10:00 pm

Ye, emails are a lost cause
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Re: Fun with gunshops looking for brass

Post by juststarting » 07 Feb 2017, 11:12 pm

brett1868 wrote:Did you try Bertram?

No, I didn't know about them, but I am sorted now.

brett1868 wrote:As for paying up front and waiting an undisclosed amount of time...


I agree to a point, perhaps for some unique or uncommon items. But to tell this to a customer simply looking for, really, reasonably common ammo is pretty bad customer service in my books. Especially, when the first part of conversation was them trying to convince me that it doesn't exist.

Look, there are gun shops that I absolutely love going to, just for the heck of it. I'll buy something, because, you know, it's not polite to leave empty handed. Ammo box, 22 ammo, something... :D And I can certainly buy that cheaper elsewhere, but they were honest, polite and provided great service and advice when I needed it. And I would much rather pay a premium on that than to some a-hole with a sense of entitlement. One dude, took something out of my hand and just went, no, you don't need this. Me: say what now?! Dude: here's how you DIY this for free. Saved me $50 right there - customer for life. But I am finding those shops to be few and far between; and I just don't have the tolerance for people who theoretically should be fighting for my business, but treat me like a chore.
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Re: Fun with gunshops looking for brass

Post by No1Mk3 » 08 Feb 2017, 4:23 am

G'day All,
Bruce doesn't usually make common or modern brass unless it is a special order, say 5000 at a time. 7.5x55 is not in his catalogue. If you can't wait, you can make the cases out of .284 Winchester, if your really desperate I'll spot you fifty cases and you give them back when you get your supply, but you have to travel to Eagle Park. I assume you've rang Centreway? Cheers.
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Re: Fun with gunshops looking for brass

Post by Supaduke » 08 Feb 2017, 5:52 am

Did you end up finding a K31 JS?, or is brass procurement just in preparation?
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Re: Fun with gunshops looking for brass

Post by No1Mk3 » 08 Feb 2017, 8:44 am

G'day juststarting,
New PPU 7.5x55 brass on Firearmsales.com.au, not too cheap though, $60/50, Cheers
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Re: Fun with gunshops looking for brass

Post by juststarting » 08 Feb 2017, 9:14 am

No1Mk3, thank you, I really appreciate it but I have managed to find brass, so I am set. There's of course room for more. But at this stage I am alright to start.
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Re: Fun with gunshops looking for brass

Post by juststarting » 08 Feb 2017, 9:17 am

Supaduke wrote:Did you end up finding a K31 JS?, or is brass procurement just in preparation?


After doing a bit of research, as I always do, I actually decided on K11, instead of K31. Yes, I have purchased one. Now waiting for the ol'girl to come home.

I wouldn't mind a K31 because I wouldn't mind more funs :) but out of the series, K11 appealed more to me. I'll post more on that when I have it in my possession.
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Re: Fun with gunshops looking for brass

Post by No1Mk3 » 08 Feb 2017, 4:45 pm

G'day juststarting,
Congratulations on joining the "Fondue Set". Apart from the longer bolt travel the K11 is in all other regards the same handling as the K31, just a bit slower in rapid fire.
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Re: Fun with gunshops looking for brass

Post by Bark » 10 Feb 2017, 9:18 am

juststarting wrote:Alright, rant is over. I feel better now. And they lost 2 customers, told my friend about my experience, we had a laugh.


Vote with your money mate, take it elsewhere :thumbsup:
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