Has Dillon Slipped a Bit?

[solman]

I have a Dillon 650 I bought new about 2 years ago. With the bells and whistles I must have around $1200 -1300 invested. I have had a Dillon RL550 for 30 years it has served me well and I love it. Also in the past I always got good customer service from Dillon when I needed it. Recently I was having some issues with the 650 with which I don't have a lot of experience yet. I went to the Dillon website and find there is hardly any mention of the 650 at all. They did come out with a new 750 I understand, and it's good to see them develop and upgrade their products. However the XL650 which some would consider their flagship machine is now just a footnote on the bottom of the webpage. They sold this machine (XL650) for decades and still have parts for it yes, but I was disappointed to find it just about gone from the catalog and the website support. The video for the dillon 650 on their site actually brings up an RL 550 . I called and mentioned this they said they are aware but still have not taken down the video. customer service seemed a bit less friendly than in years past. Frequent price increases seem to be almost monthly on their products across the board. Perhaps I am just a bit off track or had a off day, what do some of you think?

 

[Rule3]

Making popcorn

 

[PlumRotten]

 

[whughett]

Last month while changing the powder bar on my oldest powder measure, from 1982, the small square white nylon washer that engages the slot on the bar fell off. I could not find it. I called Dillon and within four days a new one arrive. No charge.

Two years ago my 550, from 1982 was completely, rebuilt, cost to me, shipping to them.

Perhaps you just got a employee having a bad day that wasn’t as cheerful as we’d like.
It’s an ever changing world, I can see products being dropped , perhaps the 650 was a bridge between the 550 and the 750 that was no longer needed.

 

[jmorris]

The prices on new machines do keep going up. Heck the old machines are worth more now, after decades of use, than they cost when purchased brand new.

That’s because this one.



Is still under the same warranty as this one.



If you have loved the 550, you might like the 750 too as they use quite similar priming systems. Personally I think the 650 has the most reliable primer feed system ever put on a progressive press.

What problems are you having or were you just wanting to let off steam?

 

[joed]

I wouldn't worry too much about the 650 not being supported anymore. I have a 650 with all the bells and whistles that I spent about $1100 for. I'm not worried about support.

Right after I purchased the 650 I stumbled into someone selling a Dillon 1050. This is a press that pre-dates the Super 1050. I picked it up for the price of $900. That was one amazing press built like a tank. Dillon still supported it and I had no trouble getting replacement parts.

 

[Typetwelve]

At least Dillon isn't like other industries/manufacturers...in the electronics world, when support for something is dropped or they come out with a new model, the existing items might as well be DOA once their labeled "end of life". Sadly, that happens to items that are often on a few years old.

 

[MikeInOr]

I have owned a 650 for 30+ years now. When I want to see a 650 I goto my reloading room not the Dillon website.

I am hoping the gear bug will hit some 650 owners and they upgrade to 750's so I can pickup a second 650 for cheap... A 650 is really a ho-hum press compared to the exciting new 750!!!!!

 

[nettlle]

Dillon is not perfect. No one is. But If I were to fault Dillon for something it certainly wouldn't be their support of their product.

 

[Texas10mm]

If they no longer produce or sell the 650 why would you expect it to be in the catalog?

Manual is still there, the 650 is still listed in the knowledge base. Parts are available and you can order almost anything you need for a 650 from the website.

Prices on the products they make normally only go up in price once a year.

I'm not seeing the problem.

 

[9mmepiphany]

They sold this machine (XL650) for decades and still have parts for it yes, but I was disappointed to find it just about gone from the catalog and the website support.

I'm surprised it is in the catalog at all...since they've discontinued production of them.

The big moves this year have been replacing the 650 with the 750 and replacing the Super 1050 with the 1100. It is nice that they have doubled the length of the warranty on the 1100 over that of the Super 1050...it is now two years

 

[rfwobbly]

It's called Marketing.

• You can't go on the Hornady web page and find mention of the machine that preceded the LNL AP
• You can't go on the Pontiac web page and find mention of the GTO
• You can't go on the Coke web page and find any mention of the 6oz recyclable glass bottle

 

[solman]

OK then I guess it must be me. I don't expect them to be advertising and featuring the 650 any longer. I expected to be able to get on their website and easily find troubleshooting tips and video. After all they did sell a few of these machines over the years. Again it must be that I was not realistic in my expectations.

 

[higgite]

Wondering what all the fuss was about and having some time on my hands, I perused the Dillon website. I found video overviews of XL750, XL650, Square Deal B and RL550. Also operation and maintenance videos for the same machines.

Also found what Dillon calls “Knowledge Base”, which includes “XL650 Common Problems” , among other models.

There is also a “Manuals” section, which needs no further explanation.

You just gotta look around for stuff. It wasn’t that hard to find and I don’t even own a Dillon press. ymmv

 

[Texas10mm]

OK then I guess it must be me. I don't expect them to be advertising and featuring the 650 any longer. I expected to be able to get on their website and easily find troubleshooting tips and video. After all they did sell a few of these machines over the years. Again it must be that I was not realistic in my expectations.

Go to the Dillon website.

Scroll to the bottom of the page.

From there you can choose, Knowledge Base, Manuals, or Video Library.

It's all there if you take 10 seconds to look.

 

[solman]

Yes the video library shows a 650 video in the choices in the listing. If you click on it it's for the 550 not the 650.
I was combining this statement with my customer service experience which seemed a little unfriendly. Again perhaps it was a bad day for this fellow.
I asked do you think they slipped a bit, never said they are an awful company to deal with!
Don't take me wrong Dillon is still my reloading press top choice and I love my Dillon machines and would buy again if needed. .It used to be that the SDB was much cheaper then the RL550 machine and I was thinking about one dedicated to 9mm. The price is so close now that since I have a 550 I will pass.
If no one else agrees than perhaps I got the wrong impression that's all.

 

[9mmepiphany]

It used to be that the SDB was much cheaper then the RL550 machine and I was thinking about one dedicated to 9mm. The price is so close now that since I have a 550 I will pass.

When the SDB was first introduced, it was seen as a entry level machine and geared toward a very specific market...that is why it has proprietary dies and not designed to accept a case feeder. I was once told, at the SHOT show that the design life of the SDB was 65k rounds. The 550 (well, the 450) was designed as the foundational machine for the line and has certain qualities (consistency) which better suit it in the role as an all around machine. They really aren't meant to compete with each other for the same market share

As the use of the SDB has changed, it would only make sense that the price would increase