[44and45]

I have had the best product related experiences with RCBS, Dillon and most of the time Lee.

First of all, I would want it to be known that Lyman makes excellent products but falls a bit short in standing behind their goods.

Case in point my 450 lubrisizer press handle broke off to what can only attributed to faulty design in the forward hex head bolt point of the handle attachment, this area does not have the thickness of metal to withstand constant bending and flexing and in the course of years will give way or break off. Which is what happen the other day.

Contacted Lyman and ask them if they could fix me up with a new handle, the answer was no. They don't make that kind of handle anymore they have a new design which is not free to their customers. It will cost me $17.50 plus $6.00 S&H...$23.50 total.

Now, I know for a fact if I called RCBS or Dillon there wouldn't be any parts charge for an item because of a poor design flaw causing the item to break. They must have more pride in their product as they usually say... we'll send it out to you...which they always have if its something they did wrong.

Guess I'm spoiled by those folks.

44and45

[bogie]

FWIW, the only piece of gear that I've had break was ONE of my Lee priming tools. Big deal. Bought another.

Remember that when a company offers a lifetime guarantee, that things break from normal use, and no design is perfect. And then when something breaks, and the company replaces it for "free," it gets paid for somehow.

I prefer to be self-insuring.

[Steve Smith]

I agree on Lyman, most of the equipment is great, but their CS is pretty poor. Of course, my opinion on Lee is even worse, and the equipment is crap and the CS is too. That's my opinion based on my own experiences with them. I say the more complicated the piece is, the more you should put into company name and reputation. If Lee made nails and hammers, they'd probably be ok...I won't buy anything much more comlpicated than that from them.

With Dillon and RCBS you definitely get what you pay for. If CS or things that pork properly are not important to you, then by all means, pay less.


This looks like it should be in Reloading. Moving it...

[WESHOOT2]

Of course, I'll gladly pay for anything I've broken; I'm funny that way.

I've had great (but perhaps not always free) service from: Dillon, RCBS, LEE, Redding, Lyman, Forster/Bonanza, Sierra, and a host of others.
In fact, the only crappy service I've EVER had in the guns-n-ammo industry was with EAA, but that was 1995, and I'm sure ;) they've improved since then.

Try dealing with Blue Cross some time:cuss:

[KP95DAO]

Knowledge is power. Let the buyer beware.

[mparris71]

Come on Steve tell us what you really think:D My dealings with Lee's CS has been great, I emailed them offering to pay for the part I was looking for but could not find the part number on thier website, and asked if they could email it to me. Insted they just asked for my snail mail and sent it to me, can't beat that. All of the Lee products I have tryed work, maybe have some qurks but after learning how to use them, they do what they are made to do. BTW, Dillion uses some of Lee's Patents and Lee uses some of Dillions.
MP

[Cherokee]

Over the years I have decided the service you get depends a lot on the person that takes your call. I have always had good service from Lyman, but never asked for something free that seemed to be broken from normal use. RCBS replaced a 9MM die the was out of spec, haven't had to complain to Dillon yet but when I called to get a small part, they did not offer or send it free. I just don't expect free replacement for things that have given me a good service life. GBA

[Standing Wolf]

Twenty-odd years after I bought my R.C.B.S. Rock Chucker, I called to ask whether I could buy any sort of attachment to use it with my left hand for the sake of my arthritis and computer wrist. The woman said no, there was no such thing, but her husband had arthritis, too, and liked to use the new handle with the round knob. I asked how much it was. She said it wouldn't cost me anything. I said that was way above and beyond the call of duty. She said it sure was, but the company liked to keep its customers instead of sharing them with other companies. She wouldn't even let me pay for the postage!

If it need be said, I've continued to buy R.C.B.S. products and mentioned the company's customer service attitude.

[HSMITH]

Dillon is beyond comparison, no one else can match up. They simply are supreme in customer service. Leave Dillon out of the comparisons if fairness is to be possible.

Lee is OK, RCBS is GOOD, Lyman not sure yet, but Dillon is SUPREME. I have not had a "bad" episode yet with a company in the shooting sports period, but some have been a lot better than others. Seems most companies are decent to deal with in our arena.

[444]

I had the same experience with RCBS. I called them a couple years ago and told them that I wanted to buy a priming system for my Rockchucker. I explained that around 20 years ago I had bought a floor display model from a chain sporting goods store. It never had the primer arm and I had been using a Lee hand priming tool that I already owned. She insisted that she would not take any money for it. No way, no how. I have used it no more than a couple times, but I just wanted it for just in case.

H, I agree. There is no point in telling any stories about Dillon, their parts are free, period. No questions asked.

[JollyWhiteGiant]

I have talked to RCBS a couple of times. I was having troubles meatering some of my powders and asked if there was anything I could do tostop it, they sent me out a small metering disk and told me if that didn't work to call them right back. When I first got my kit it was missing 2 small parts, had em in a couple of days with no question.

Any other problems, concerns, questions I have ever had about reloading, compnents, case forming, anything at all their CS and tech people have been more than helpful and sat their talking my ear off about different things I could try and what they have had good luck with. Basically every one of them I have ever talked to have seemed liek shooter/hunters themselves and that they enjoyed what they were doing and helping people.

I am sure they could charge alot lower prices for their stuff but CS would suffer. I am happy paying the extra for RCBS if for nothing more than to know that there is someone that is helpful and kind at the other end of the phone to help me figure out a solution when a problem arises.

I use RCBS almost exclusively so I haven't had much contact with other companies. As long as they make what I need and keep being helpful I keep buying.

[Quantrill]

Dillon is the absolute BEST when it comes to CS. Several times due to my own stupidity, I have ruined parts on my 2 Dillons. I have let that be known when I called to order the new parts and I have NEVER been charged. Quantrill

[oldfart]

Lee, R.C.B.S, Dillon, Lyman... None of them is in business to do anything but make money! All of them realize that they'll make more money if they treat their customers well so they do what they can to keep us coming back. But none of them give parts away free!

If you're paying $400 for a press, you can bet a good part of the money is going to be for replacement of parts you (or someone else) breaks. On the other hand, if you pay $100 for your press and subsequently break something, you can expect to pay for it when you do.

I buy equipment based on what I need and on what it does. The amount of polishing on exterior parts has no bearing on what a press can do, only on how it looks. For most reloaders, a Dillon is more of a status symbol than a neccesity. A staus symbol has been defined as 'something you can't afford, bought with money you don't have, to impress people you don't even like.'

Lee works fine for me.

[44and45]

I think what I'm hearing here is...people that stand behind their products with great CS are the companies that will truly be successful in the reloading industry.

Here here, I'll drink to that.


44and45

PS, I sent the extorsion money to Lyman, too cheap to buy another lubrisizer press like RCBS. Have many caliber lube dies for the Lyman, but expect they would probably fit in an RCBS unit as well. If I last that long my next one will be RCBS. :p

[Lloyd Smale]

no doubt lymans customer service sucks!! I found that your better off just packaging up the whole thing and sending it to them theyll usually fix it for free but if you want parts to do it yourself nothing is free with them.

[larryw]

My goodness, 44and45, I think you've just discovered one of the great secrets of business. MBA? Don't need it, just read your post. :D

Successful companies offer superior service that doesn't vary with the individual on the other end of the phone (although if my attitude as the customer is poor, I shouldn't be surprised by a chilly response on the other end of the phone). Recently, business schools have discovered how important customer service is, shifting the opinion from service is an expense to be minimized to service being a means to retain customers and increase revenue. Oh well, business schools always have been way behind the curve (few things in business are as dangerous as a recent biz-school grad).

I've had nothing but outstanding results from Dillon. I don't mind paying a small amount extra for their products because I know its the last penny I'll ever have to spend on the product, no questions asked (they wouldn't even take my money when I told them that I ham-fisted a part and its my fault it broke!). I've had similar experience with RCBS. These two companies are the first and second ones I check when I need something new.

My experience with Lee hasn't been as favorable. As a result, I only buy things from them that nobody else offers: Lee's full length resizing die. Not much can go wrong with that one, and if it does, just throw it out and start over (aggravation vs. money issue).

I'll shop around, but top service wins my business, every time.

[HSMITH]

I've had nothing but outstanding results from Dillon. I don't mind paying a small amount extra for their products because I know its the last penny I'll ever have to spend on the product, no questions asked (they wouldn't even take my money when I told them that I ham-fisted a part and its my fault it broke!). I've had similar experience with RCBS. These two companies are the first and second ones I check when I need something new.

EXACTLY the same as my experiences with them.