Ripped off by a gunsmith in Dallas on a Night site install.

[ParChaser]

I was charged $75.00 to have a set of night sites I supplied, put on my gun on Friday. Should I call back and complain?

The full story below....
I bought a used set of Night Sites ($42 landed) that had been taken off a HK USP 45 full size. I took them to a local gun shop on Monday and asked to have put them on my USP 45f without asking how much they would charge. He said his gunsmith was off and could I leave it. I said no problem as long as I could get it by the weekend. I called around noon on Friday (5 days later) and he was at lunch and it wasn't started yet but would be done in an hour. I called back an hour later and they just started it. He said the sites were loose and he would have to put dimples on the sites and use locktite. I said ok as long as it didn't alter the gun in anyway. I proceeded to the gun shop since it is less than 5 minutes away and he informed me it would be $75.00 and it took him almost an hour. I felt violated. The last night sites I had put on were last year at a different dealer and were $95 installed including the cost of the sites. Should I just suck it up and call it a learning experience never to do any business with this shop again? Should I call him Monday and give him the opportunity to redeem himself? Also the rear site wasn't even centered. I had to drift it almost 2mm's.

I feel violated to say the least. :cuss: What does everyone think?

[WinchesterAA]

Incentive to learn how to DIY in the future? Aint all that hard really =)

[Harry Paget Flashman]

Maybe you should have nailed down the price beforehand. $75 sounds pretty stiff. It sounds like you were overcharged, not cheated. I'd shop elsewhere in the future. IMO the time to signal your displeasure with the price was the moment you got the bill. Chalk it up to a learning experience and move on.

That's what I think. Living a good life is the best revenge. :)

[PotatoJudge]

I proceeded to the gun shop since it is less than 5 minutes away and he informed me it would be $75.00 and it took him almost an hour.

That doesn't sound right. Feel free to give us the guy's name so we can avoid him. It's not unfair to the smith, it's the only way the free market works.

[Abner]

I don't know what your local area smiths charge for an hour's work. $75 seems high for an install. I'd call him, be civil, and talk to him about it.

If he isn't willing to give some money back, maybe he will give you some ammo or other item from his stock. If he isn't willing to move, don't ever use him again and don't recommend him to anyone.

And don't show or tell him about all the guns you have in your signature line 'cause then he'll know $75 ain't nuthin. ;)

Adam

[xMetal]

well, on the one hand that does seem kind of high just to install sights.

On the other hand, he told you it would be $75 and you went ahead and did it anyways. He didn't point the gun at you and demand that you pay his fee, you did ultimately choose to go ahead with it.

Don't really see how you can complain, per se, but you probably don't need their smithing services again if you feel they gouged you.

[CWL]

Unfortunately, you didn't ask for a quote up front.
This is like walking into a restaurant and ordering their steak without knowing the price...You still owe the bill when it comes.

Perhaps you can ask him for a discount, but it would be up for the smith to give you one. He did do fair work in setting the sight for you, you just are not happy with his "minimum 1-hour" charge to you.

[alucard0822]

A little high?? sure, were you cheated? hard to say. For any service that charges labor by the hour you should get a quote before authorizing anything. Most of the smiths around here have a few set prices for services, but even for something they don't they should at least give you a max cost. There is a good possibility that at $75 an hour he can do great work, but the used sights may have needed extensive "fitting" that ended up costing nearly the same amount in labor as a new set of sights. I would call it a $75 learning experience.

[LeonCarr]

What is the name of the gunsmith?

[Bob R]

Unfortunately, you didn't ask for a quote up front.

Actually, 75 dollars is a pretty cheap lesson in the proper way to approach things. It could have been a lot more if you had something else done.

Chalk it up to experience and move on, IMO.

bob

[Hawk]

"Normal and Customary" for the area seems around 30.00 for drifting in OEM sights, often waived if the sights were purchased from the shop.

Cutting dovetails will run it to 150.00 and up in a hurry. However, yours wasn't milled, it was dimpled, whatever that is.

75.00 for an hour doesn't seem outlandish. It's the hour itself that seems a little strange. If he wasn't watching "Days of Our Lives" the whole time it sounds like there was something funky involved.

[denfoote]

It's about $50 more than what my smith charges for a sight install!!

[mlandman]

I just had P-T night sights (http://www.ptnightsights.com/) (Green front dot and blue twin dot rear) installed on my M&P9 for $10.62, tax included!:what:

[jeepmor]

You were had, no doubt about it. Either talk to him and ask for a discount on some future work, if you have any in mind. Or disagree with him and liken him to a dishonest car mechanic and warn any of your friends and THR members to avoid him.

Posting his name here will have an impact on his business, no doubt. I had to resolve a vendor issue through THR once when repeated calls and communication only got me undelivered promises. Posting in here got me results, very quickly mind you. And being that it did bring about results, I apologized to the vendor for the inconvenience and for having to take this route. However, it worked, and worked well.

[Mortech]

$75 seems only a little high , did you compare it to the rates other gunsmiths charge in your area ?

[skinnyguy]

While I agree that $75 is high, could be that is an hourly charge. Many people, including my step-dad (a welder), charge a minimum 1 hour on ANY services rendered, even if it's a 10 minute job. I would think that's what happened, you were charged a MINIMUM, not an actual.

[aaronrkelly]

Its your responsibility to ask for a quote or estimate if you want one, not his to force it down your throat.

If anyone cheated you, it was you......next time get an estimate if you want one.

[saltydog452]

I think the 'flat rate minimum' that was mentioned a couple of posts ago is what happened.

If you're talking about SPS in Carrollton, thats what they charged me to remove a buggered-up roll pin in a BHP Mk2 and replace it with the correct size pin. Well, actually it 75.00 and three weeks wait. It was a slide only thus there was no need to log it in.

I now have correct size punches for the BHP.:D

A couple of other replys to your post asked the name of the 'smith who did the work for you, and you haven't responded. I'm curious as to why?

salty.

[Geno]

**Did the gunsmith sight it in? The extra cost may have been for time and ammunition to verify and adjust the point of aim/point of impact. CHeck that first. If that is not the case, consider this:

1) Settle prices before leaving your firearm.
2) **Challenge the 1-hour-to-install assertion.
3) **Request price deduction based on the other ($95.00 install).
4) Post the gunsmith (businesses) name, address, telephone if they don't cooperate.

[Onmilo]

Tell you what.
Take a used set of brake pads to any shop front mechanic and ask him to install them.
If he agrees, don't be suprised if the labor costs are on par with your sight install.

As a working gunsmith I politely refuse requests for what you asked for, I don't install used anything on a firearm.
I would try to sell you, the customer, a brand new set of night sights which I charge $15.00 to install if you buy them from the store.
If you bring in a brand new set of night sights you bought somewhere else and ask to have them installed I charge a flat $50.00
Simple business, honest and understandable, if you look at it from the other side of the counter, my time isn't free neither is your gunsmith's.

You did not get ripped off because you accepted the work order.
Chalk this one up to experience and don't blame the gunsmith.

[ParChaser]

SPS in Carrollton. He said he didn't charge me for a full hour even though it took an hour. He charged me $6.00 to process paperwork what ever that means. It didn't take an hour, he had 8 customers in the store he was telling jokes with and couldn't do 2 things at once. He didn't even clean the locktite off the top of my gun and the rear site still is not centered. It needs to move another mm to the right. These are really nice guys and it is the closest gunshop to my house but overpriced to say the least. Bachmans charge me $10.00 plus the night sites $80.

[Texfire]

Buyer beware, you should have asked for an estimate before authorizing the work. That said, if you feel cheated and that the work was substandard then take your business elsewhere. Do them a favor and tell them why, without getting confrontational if possible. They may offer to make it up to you in order to earn back your goodwill and keep your business, but maybe not. Either way it won't eat at you, no one likes feeling like a sucker.

Tex

[ArchAngelCD]

Go to any Car Dealership and look at the posted labor costs. Depending upon where you are in the country they will range between $65 and $95 per hour.

Auto and truck mechanics, plumbers, electricians and all other professionals deserve to be paid for their time. $75 sound like it's on the upper end of the scale but in no way a "rip-off" Remember, he didn't make anything on the part since you brought it to him.

[Sistema1927]

Chalk it up to experience. Just make sure that you don't pay for the same lesson twice.

[plexreticle]

Cheap lesson, expensive install.

[SkiLune]

My local dealer said it would cost $175 to have new Trijicons installed on my HK USP Comp. I told him that seemed a bit high, but he said the sights (new were about $100), so it would be $75 for labor.

Sounds like I should look elsewhere???

[Mainsail]

Maybe the smith thought you got the sights at the gun shop and charged you accordingly?

[full metal]

Maybe you should have told the gunsmith that you are only paying for the labor and not the sight's,sound's like he charged you for part's and labor.
Well live and learn,i'll remember to keep you'r bad expierence in mind next time i go see a gunsmith.
happy shooting.

[Ex-MA Hole]

You didn't ask for a quote, you lost.

My wife made a similar mistake once- She saw a swanky new hair saloon and went in for a hair cut. She walked in the door, and asked for a cut and dry. Never asked for the price.

Yeah, $150.00 later, she was pissed. I laughed at her for not asking first. What are you going to do?

She was pissed at getting ripeed off. The salon was full, so obviously other people didn't mind.

Same thing. He did what you asked him to do. You never asked for a price.

Chalk it up as a learning experience.

Just my opinion.

M

[sanson1]

tell the gunsmith (politely) you feel the fee is too high. I'll bet he comes down

[Exmasonite]

i don't know the specifics of these laws but my impression from michigan (only dealing with automotive) is that the onus is on the service provider to make the consumer aware of their labor costs. every time i've dropped my car off for work, they always tell me the labor rate (55-60/hr, i think) and that it will take X amount of hours.

might have to check TX law, etc... threaten to report him to BBB. lastly, ask him to just remove the sights, return everything to you like before and take it on down the road.

[Milkmaster]

A local gunsmith here charges $60 per hour with a one hour minimum. Cost me $65 to get a mid bead put on my trap gun. It may be high, but I understood it before I left the gun with him. I did the next one myself.

[jfruser]

ParChaser:

I used SPS twice for gunsmithing.

The first time, they performed the work at a reasonable cost and completed it in the time they estimated. 100% satisfaction on my part.

The second time, my neighbor wanted a Pachmyr Decelerator pad put on his Mossy 12ga and he wanted to get tritium sights on my SW1911 in recompense for squaring him away in his hour of need. He had not had smith work done in decades & asked me about local smiths. I recommended SPS due to my good experience.

BIG mistake. They lost interest mid-transaction when another customer asked to see a high-dollar gun and had to be prompted to finish up with my neighbor after ignoring him for 15 minutes. Time to complete was 4X the estimate. They put the wrong recoil pad on my buddy's shotgun and gave it to beavers to chew off the excess pad around the edges. My tritium sights were no where near sighted in...and the new sights made it shoot low at 10-25yds.

I felt like a knucklehead for recommending them to my neighbor and apologized profusely to him.

Thing is, the owner, employees, and shop dog are quite personable & likable. Just inconsistent performers, smith-wise. I have not been back since.

Did I mention I feel like a knucklehead for touting them to my neighbor?

[jfruser]

Oh, about the $75? Think of it as incentive to go to Elliot's Hardware & buy one of every brass punch in stock, a bench vise, and a thick rawhide & brass inserts to pad the jaws.

For $25 more, they SPS would have put in NEW tritium sights. You would have had new sights installed for what it cost for used sights & an install job. My neighbor paid something in that neighborhood for mine.

[diesel_furry]

i geuss im getting a good deal to have the sights on my kimbers installed. there getting put on for $20.00 a gun.

[aaronrkelly]

I had some night sights put on my Kimber Pro Carry.....and at the same time had the hammer bobbed on my Browning High Power.

Total bill was $62 for both jobs.

[jlh26oo]

Maybe the shop here in houston that swapped my rear sight for "free" actually wanted money. I thought it was free.