I am done with LEE and their poor Customer Service! Rant, Vent

Rule3 said:

The tiny o ring is $1.00 (their price) shipping would be $10.50!!!

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I had a similar experience with them a while back. Bought their 4 die set for reloading .380 for my two boys. Because it was going to be a low volume scenario, I figured the Lee's would be just fine. Wasn't so. Regardless of what brass I used(some of it was brand new starline) I couldn't get enough neck tension to hold the bullets(used various ones of those too). Called Lee and they said "yeah, we know we have an issue with our .380 sizing die and "some" brass. You need to buy our undersized die for $30 and it will cost you $10.50 to have it shipped. Their only answer More than the original 4 die set to start with and more than what I would have paid for a quality set with no sizing issues. I aam done with Lee.

I had to reinforce the plastic linkage arm on my auto drum. It would bend when the drum was cutting some powders. The bulky powders. I put epoxy in the cut out channel of the linkage.

I think the apparently high repair cost is because building things in China (or here) is much, much cheaper than fixing things in the US now. And if you are not in a business that has to do that you would probably be amazed at how much it actually costs to inventory a few parts and keep a trained repair person. At their current low prices Lee may not be able to afford what they used to do.

Yes, there is essentially no economic warranty in this case. It might be appealing to some to get the old style they liked fixed instead of having to go to the new style.

Move on however you want. If you do/don't buy another Lee product that is fine with me either way. Rants add a little spice to the board sometimes.

My Lee Auto Drum and my Lee Auto Disc both work fine. But both are in a box going to the storage unit because I find that I like using the M style expander and dropping the charges with a hand operated powder measure better. I do not know if it is actually more accurate but the shells look nice and it takes away that nagging worry about the linkage and enough travel with the auto measures. I am loading on a single stage. I might or might not set one of the Auto's back up for 9 mm sometime. Not loading that caliber right now.

The triangle used to be "price, service, quality". Now the slogan is " pick one". Lees pick is price.

So I was told to send it back to them(I pay shipping) and they would fix of replace it for HALF PRICE so 1/2 of $55 is $27.50 and $10 to ship it USPS=$37.50! (this is just the drum part)

I then asked about 2 tiny O rings that go in the rotors and another tiny plastic part. She says they are free if I order them and just pay shipping. The tiny o ring is $1.00 (their price) shipping would be $10.50!!!

I guess maybe im just an old school guy ( with the new math) but I could probably get an O ring at the local hardware store and forget the shipping, as far as lifetime warranty some say that means the lifespan of the product.
The thing about putting your complaints on an internet chat room is you may get a favorable response and build support for your cause or maybe someone uses the like button and makes you feel good or option B which you may not like however it is your complaint that was posted.

It’s all feedback either way.

Let get along folks! I like this thread. Nothing like talking smack about Lee and being a fanboy

I like Lee dippers’

As far as the Auto Prime primer disks, If i see any used in the hock shop i buy it for $2.00

I live pretty close to Titan Reloading. I don't pay shipping on anything related to reloading.

Rule3 said:

…plus shipping of $10…

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This is a subject I have thought about for decades. More so in recent years as US companies have sent production to China so they make a lot better knock-offs, some actually identical, just sold out the back door.

That is one matter but who is subsidizing the shipping? I can buy this switch,

https://www.ebay.com/itm/313791684562?hash=item490f711fd2:g:-EgAAOSwb7Rhi-Fj

For $0.99 and they will ship it to me on a boat from China, who knows drives it from port but USPS puts it in my mailbox.

If I took that switch from my mail box and drove to the nearest post office and told them I wanted to ship it back to the mail box I just retrieved it from it would cost significantly more than the switch and shipping did from China.

Are our stamp prices going up and post office going bust because we are shipping Chinese goods around our Country for nothing?

After I had a issue with a Lee item I called their customer service and explained what the issue was. They did send me their catalog. That is when I started getting rid of a lot of Lee items and replaced them with RCBS & Hornady products.
I'm not a big Lee supporter any more. Low price, bottom of the barrel products and lousy customer service. They can keep their Chinese made equipment.

Mark_Mark said:

RCBS and Hornady feels quality

Lee, feels rough and adventurous, like taking a awd lifted Prius though Moab

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And yet I have had concentricity problems with RCBS dies. Everybody can screw it up every now and then.

HowieG said:

And yet I have had concentricity problems with RCBS dies. Everybody can screw it up every now and then.

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agree man! just smile, load, shoot, and count your blessings

Considering a starting salary for someone with half a brain is now ~40k…. Not that long ago someone with the equivalent skills was making ~25k. Flat rate shipping may seem petty, but it still takes a fair amount of time to find that 99 cent oring, put it in an envelope, and create a label. I agree it is frustrating but I can’t blame them too much considering the low price of their stuff (which I appreciate.)

I have used Lee customer support several times, once about 2 weeks ago. I have nothing but good things to say.

I bought one of these:
https://www.titanreloading.com/product/lee-832-threaded-cutter-adapter/
Which is a new product that lets you use Lee trimming products on RCBS/Frankfort case prep centers. It had an issue and they sent a replacement unit out for free. No shipping. I bought it from Titan.

Sorry your experience was not as good.

I too have had positive experiences with Lee CS in the past. In today's environment, it's no surprise that the CS experience is left wanting. When I purchase a Lee product, I'm prepared to have to tweak on it to get it to work properly. It's worth the cost savings to me. My RCBS equipment OTOH, is outstanding, and their CS is unbelievably superior...but that support comes at a price. These are considerations one must make when deciding to go Red, or Green, or Orange, or Red, or Blue...

deadeye dick said:

Why order from Lee direct? Just go to Midway. It's cheaper than Lee anyway. I like Lee and have no problems with any of the products. Maybe it's your attatude, just sayun.

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Yea, that's what I did. I ordered online at lee site and for some reason the order didn't go through and it said to call them. But didn't want to deal with it so went to midway, even though 1 part was $1 at midway but free on lee, the extra turret which I also wanted was actually $3 cheaper, so I actually saved money.

An example of good customer service, I had a screw that wouldn't hold my trigger guard on with my Bond Arms Derringer, I emailed them about it, they had a part to me in a few days, no charge. The screw came in a regular postal envelope with a stamp on it. So they ate the cost of the stamp. I would think an o-ring could be shipped the same way. Just different companies I guess.

Rule3 said:

Well, if you think the the customer paying $27.50 plus shipping of $10(the original) to fix a item under so called warranty that costs $39.00 new is a good deal, then so be it.

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Again, pretty much the great "deal" that was offered to me. Even tho the tech admitted there was a "known" issue with their .380 sizing die, I could send it in(on my dime) and they would look at it and see if it was within spec. If it was they would send the old die back to me(on my dime). If it wasn't, they would send me a replacement die. That die would also fall under the "known issue" and would be shipped to me on my dime. The other options given to me were to only use brass that would work with the die with "issues" or to purchase their "undersized" die which when you figured in the cost of shipping, was more than the whole original die set, and more than a quality set like RCBS/Hornady/Lyman etc. This was half a dozen years ago and their policy is still the same. What really bothered me was the fact they knew they had an issue and did not inform anyone. IOWs, they didn't care if folks were producing sub-standard and dangerous ammo. I believe they were counting on the fact that folks looking for the cheapest were satisfied with producing poor quality ammo or were just to ignorant/inexperienced to know the difference. Those that did notice the difference had to pony up and pay thru the nose. It seems Lee does not care about repeat customers, probably because they are not used to having that many anyway. If you have had a good experience with your Lee products, good for you. I did once too, back in the 60s with their "whack-a-mole- loader for 16ga. But the fact that Lee knows they have issues and put profit over the safety of their customers, is pretty telling to me. Why don't they replace the bad dies with the undersize die and move on? Why don;t they inform potential buyers of the "known" issue with their dies? Why is it that Lee is about the only one that produces "undersized" handgun dies? Is it because there are issues with other brands? Probably not.

If Lee is so much trouble, why buy at all.

sparkyv said:

I too have had positive experiences with Lee CS in the past. In today's environment, it's no surprise that the CS experience is left wanting. When I purchase a Lee product, I'm prepared to have to tweak on it to get it to work properly. It's worth the cost savings to me. My RCBS equipment OTOH, is outstanding, and their CS is unbelievably superior...but that support comes at a price. These are considerations one must make when deciding to go Red, or Green, or Orange, or Red, or Blue...

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I believe customer service is out the door. Everything is robots now, as a person who remembers not having the internet a real
person on the phone is Nice!

Not everywhere Mark’ I shop at places like Le Wilson, Harrel’s precision, K&M, PMA tools, Bat machining, 21st century, Krieger, and many more that answer the phone and produce outstanding products along with great customer service and tech support.

South Prairie Jim said:

Not everywhere Mark’ I shop at places like Le Wilson, Harrel’s precision, K&M, PMA tools, Bat machining, 21st century, Krieger, and many more that answer the phone and produce outstanding products along with great customer service and tech support.

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agree! that’s why I like doing business with small companies. But large companies like Amazon or Lee… they make you wait to talk with a human

Lee has 85 employees, per a quick google search. Not large by any means but big enough that they definitely have to hire someone for customer service…. Which means they’re at the mercy of the guy or gal getting paid by the hour. I’m surprised they offer a warranty at all. (Ok I’m not, but you know what I mean.)