so tired of quality issues.

[mickb]

Just finding it frustrating dealing with equipment, always seem to have a warranty action on the go these days, or even multiple items at once.

In the last year, 2 x problems with a chiappa double badger, a higher end pentax spotting scope turns up with eyepiece lock ring seized( quality item, $900, replacement issued), a $300 red dot, less than year old, I was actually looking to sell to another member on this site has just failed( dot appears for only some of the power settings). 2 x Norinco lever actions, factory sights askew, 30-30 winchester( $2k gun), barrel damaged( probably transit)


Suddenly hit me how much 'quality managing' I am doing over my equipment these days. Im playing returns manager like a busy department store! I don't seem to recall having to juggle equipment like this back in the the 2000's. In the 90's I didnt take care of my gear at all, young dumb army guy used to treat everything like crap, but still cant remember many issues. Incidentally more and more these days I find myself dragging my 90's and 2000's gear out of the cupboard because its actually still bloody working.

its impacting purchase choices in some of the remote northern stores here too, some are dropping entire gun and equipment brands(wont name the stores or the brands as per the sites policy) because of the return costs a nd hassles.

Cue the millenials now telling me its all in my imagination or a clever trick by the evil patriarchy . Nope sorry kids, I'm standing firm on this one, gear is just way too junky, especially the last 10 years. And Im just not interested in 'good customer service' posing as warranty returns for crap quality control. Thats a new thing as well , 'Customer service' used to mean the salesman smiles politely while he cashes your sale, that was the first and last time you had to deal with him as the item worked as promised.

I might have to bite the bullet and upgrade to primo level gear before I have a stroke lol. I was such a happy mid range budget shopper for decades, but its becoming less and less worth the hassle now.

[Noisydad]

You’re not imagining it. I used to say “ there’s a lot of old and busted stuff I don’t own yet”. Perhaps it should be changed to “There’s a lot of NEW and busted stuff I don’t own yet” lol. Although I’ve had some surprises with the excellent quality of cheaper gear too. A Chinese, heavy built, super stable, easy to use 1.5m tripod for my spotting scope bought off eBay for $130 comes to mind.
Mostly I just buy old gear or make my stuff where I can because it’s better built and has already stood the rest of time.

[Sergeant Hartman]

Mate it's not guns... it's everything. Look at cheap kmart clothes lucky to last 2 months. Good quality Australian work boots like redback.... They only have 6 month warranty... if you are lucky.

Then look at cars, look at phones the list goes on.....it's a consumer society they want you to keep buying things every couple of years at the most

[Oldbloke]

Mate it's not guns... it's everything. Look at cheap kmart clothes lucky to last 2 months. Good quality

Yep everything. Its a joke. Its just a case of compaies stealing your money. Then they fight you if you expect someting to actually "do what they say it does"

Try caravans, you wouldnt believe what Ive been through for the past 3 years. The industry is a joke.

Quality assurance has been tossed out the window in favour of the quick buck.

[Bill]

Maybe buy better quality brands.....

[straightshooter]

Have you noticed that in many cases goods are sold that come from a one off production run and that exact same style is discontinued thereafter. Unlike in the past where, for example, a line of exact same (as distinct from a label) riflescopes from a name brand may be in production over a span of 10 or 15 years.
I think we as a group are less demanding of quality in the prepurchase stages and less able to discern deficiencies in goods we buy at the time of purchase.
While at the same time over the last 30+ years marketers have become more adept at selling the sizzle instead of the steak.

[Member-Deleted]

Yes Mickb it's everything even high end stuff although not as much as the cheap stuff a lot of high end stuff is contracted out to people wanting to make a quick buck and corners are cut in manufacture and then the old saying ''you get what you pay for'' people swarmed to buy the cheaper brands which mostly had issues with quality and doing this the upper brand couldn't compete so either they contracted to inferior manufacturers or went out of business as far as guns go I never heard of a bad quality sako but the last two I have bought in the last 8yrs have had issues the first back 8yrs was a sako 85 laminated stock within 2weeks after seeing sunlight the clear started peeling off the stock ''remedy'' 6mths without a rifle had to be sent back to manufacturer second 2yrs ago sako ''roughtech''long range the stock was damaged in transit then the bolt will not pick up the first bullet from the magazine when cycling bullet to chamber I find now this is a common problem with that rifle both if to be fixed sent back to manufacturer plus freight costs one way so for me I will be refurbishing and rebarreling the older and better built rifles even if the cost is similar to the new rifle in the finish

[bigrich]

For the some of the above reasons already given, and the fact I spent most of my life restoring/ hot rodding old 60’s and 70’s cars, I prefer to rebarrel older qaulity guns like model 70 Winchester’s . I owned a ruger stainless gunsight scout, and I got rid of it mainly because of the loose bolt and gritty feel to the action. I’ve just started a new project, a slick as , German made Turk Mauser. It was made between 1903-1905 , and feels more quality than some newer made rifles. I remember when I was younger most people had sporterized milsurps because they couldn’t afford quality guns back then like sako, Remington 700, Winchester’s 70 and the like. A 98 or 96 Mauser made for a very accurate reliable rifle after a gun Smith had done his thing. Now you can buy a synthetic rifle for less than the cost of a rebarrel. That doesn’t make logical sense to me . It’s all about profit. As another forum member has posted in the past ,even sako aren’t immune
JMHO

[bigrich]

Geez GDB, I was thinking of your sako issues as I was typing my post and ya beat me to it by a minute

[bigrich]

Thinking about the older custom guns , the p14 and m17’s were awesome guns too after a revamp

[bigfellascott]

No such thing as quality really anymore, it's all designed to last a certain period (ie end of warranty) and after that it's a lucky dip really (good old consumerism) everyone want's cheap stuff (ie chinese s**t) and aren't willing to really buy quality stuff anymore so to keep up with the cheaper end of town the expensive stuff isn't as good as it used to be and has come down in price (relatively speaking) manufacturers are only required to keep spare parts for 7yrs now apparently so no point building something that will last longer than that when you can't get spares for it.

The worlds literally gone mad I reckon!

I know quite a few people who bought "quality brand rifles and scopes" and had issues with them right out of the box, I just buy cheaper end of the market stuff and it's been fine as a rule, price ain't no g'tee of quality anymore, you see that more and more as the years go by.

[Patriot]

I inherited my grandfathers fridge when he died in 1991, he bought it in the 70’s. The only thing ever done to it is door seal replacement ,it’s still going strong.

[bigrich]

I inherited my grandfathers fridge when he died in 1991, he bought it in the 70’s. The only thing ever done to it is door seal replacement ,it’s still going strong.

i remember porcelin jugs for boiling water . the porcelin jug body would last for ever , you would replace the element in the jug for $1.50 when it needed it . stuff used to last . i remember a GE open faced stainless toaster that lasted 20 years , as well as the old twin tub washing machines that could easily be repaired and kept running indefinately . not to mention steel cars..... and they bang on about dwindling resources whilst everything made these days is designed to be throw away after the waranty period more or less . at work my boss replaced a old made in the 70's aussie made sheet metal folder with a new chinese made junk one that's had a lot of major repairs in the last two years. we have a lockformer machine , made in the USA , that's about 40 years old and just won't die . the steel qaulity in a modern one we also have means it's had lots of faliures and wear . we used to make a lot of stuff here also , including electronics in the 60's and 70's . anyone remember" leader" trucks ? a local gyrock company still has one going strong . as i remember things , it all changed when john howard introduced free trade agreements and undermined local manfacturing . i've also seen unions get into big manufacturing and push wages that high it's no longer profitable to make stuff here , not to mention the health and safety monster that makes it that hard to get anything done cause their trying to "idiot proof" everything . most big businesses just worry about returns for the stockholders and directors bonuses . stuff the customer . it's a changing world i guess , i'm gunna go and finish bedding my 1903 mauser now, with it's beautiful wood stock that came from a forest that's long gone .........

[bigfellascott]

I inherited my grandfathers fridge when he died in 1991, he bought it in the 70’s. The only thing ever done to it is door seal replacement ,it’s still going strong.

Back when quality was the name of the game, shame our kids won't know what quality is, anything that lasts more than a yr now is thought to be something out of the ordinary.

[TassieTiger]

The thing that really pissed me off with this topic is the returns process - IF there was some means to allow for compensation for not only the faulty item but all the $ associated indirectly - it would stop a lot of this crap.

I’ve literally just taken hardly normal to court over a brand new, faulty washing machine - it damaged hundreds of dollars worth of clothes...pay me for the clothes and the machine? Nope - just the machine...so they still push the same floor model as a great machine.

I’ve got a brand new 2000w inverter from jaycar...it has failed in side 2 months of normal use. But - it’s installed at the Bush shack...so pay me for going and getting it, returning it and reinstalling another one?...- nope. Just the inverter replaces....

Installed a CCTV system for a friend and the remote access app is no longer valid...complain that the system can’t be remotely viewed...they tell me to uninstall the 8 cameras and return it...um - how about paying me for the 12 hours to install?? I don’t have the bloody time to uninstall it!

It’s bulldust. Quality is a myth and like you Mick, I seem to have warranty headaches just non stop...drives me absolutely mad.

[Member-Deleted]

That's about the argument TT especially when you live out of town like me then distance and time becomes a burden when having to return stuff for warranty maybe if more people like you took companies to task more often then it might do some good for us but I can't see companies changing the way they do business unless they stand to loose dollars if they don't change but the governments are too gutless to stand and be counted on the matter or for any other matter so I think change is a long way away unfortunately

[Bill]

mickb I was curious to see what this double badger thingo was, interesting but straightway Im think holy crap 243 on that smallish frame.

How did the 243 shoot ?

[Oldbloke]

My wife reakons im a winger. But when i buy something i expect to get what i was told i was getting. I nearly always return faulty items. Bugger em.

[SckSqzBngBlo]

First post, hey guys I've been reading a lot but thought I'd chime in and also ask a question.

As an electrician, I find the dwindling quality of most light fittings unacceptable for me to supply and install, so much so that I greatly prefer to lose the revenue stream from markup on wholesale pricing and instead ask my customers to buy their own junk for me to install. I even pass up on ceiling fan jobs completely and just tell them to buy a Dyson air blade or similar.

So, for my first rifle I was really wanting a Lithgow Arms LA102. Do you guys know if the quality control issues have been resolved? I'd love to support local manufacturing.

[mickb]

mickb I was curious to see what this double badger thingo was, interesting but straightway Im think holy crap 243 on that smallish frame.

How did the 243 shoot ?

Hi mate, I dont think the chiappa does 243, mine was a 22LR over 410. The issue was oversized firing pin at an angle. As usual chiappa has some novel and attractive designs. It has decent wood, folds completely in half so its main advantages over the other combo guns aka Savage, is it need no dissassembley and can fit into a 25litre day pack. Just unfold when needed and fire. Chiappp are the masters of oddball or hard to find stuff, folding guns, spencer carbines, takedown lever actions, they do a triple barrel shotgun and also were one of the companies who had an early chop at 1887 lever action shotguns when they first became popular.

The problem is the quality control. I don't want to get sued online but the issues I have had and the fact some gunstores aren't dealing with them is enough for me now. One classic example is the 56-50 spencer carbine which is a 50+ cal lever gun from the 1860's that has the 7 shot magazine running through the buttstock.. Absolute drool material if you are a civil war buff or just like big lever guns. I looked into it and thankfully found an entire subforum on a large international site dedicated just to these guns. The amount of problem threads on feeding, barrel rifling, bore variations, chambering, its sometimes a gunsmith rebuild to get the guns working out of the box. These are 2.7-3k guns btw new. The original guns on the site bring up less problems lol, in fact I was advised by Aussies on the site its better to import a 150year old original if I want less problems.

Slightly separate rant but part of the same overall issue

[Bill]

thanks mate sounds like they just didnt get the design right from the get go

[wanneroo]

There are still quality brands and items out there but I find you have to do a lot of research to find the "pro" tool that will hold up to use.

Here in the US the gun market is so competitive and since no one has an attention span anymore, gun manufacturers are constantly looking for the next trick, so the customer is now the research and development team, so recalls and warranty work are often common.