Is Midway USA the Best Online Store?

[GLOOB]

One thing to watch out for is when buying primer and powder. I understand Midway drop ships from separate locations, so you can get hit with two separate hazmat fees.

About 3-4 years ago, Powder Valley was amazing for selection and price. Nowadays, their name is a misnomer. They still stock a good variety of bullets and primers, though.

 

[cfullgraf]

I use Midway alot.

You do have to watch shipping rates. Sometimes it is outrageous, sometimes quite reasonable. I have assembled an order and then cancelled it before purchasing it because of excessive shipping rates.

I do not back order from them. Midway tends to charge extra shipping on the back ordered item. But, in these days of limited inventory, I tend to avoid back ordering from anybody. Shipping dates are just too variable. Midway's notification service is pretty good except you have to be quick on the draw many times.

If Midway, or anyone else these days, is out of stock, I go hunt for the item somewhere else.

Midway must hire for packing shipping boxes the FedEx guys that get fired for chucking boxes over the fence. Buying light and heavy items at the same time is an invitation to a bad packing job and your order scattered from Missouri to parts unknown.

I rarely use Amazon. My wife worked for a consumer goods production company that did not sell to Amazon but Amazon sold their products by purchasing them through unauthorized channels. Caused major headaches for warrantee service for both the customer and the company. To me, Amazon is the Chinese of the retail selling crowd. As an absolute last resort, I will use Amazon through the Amazon Smile program. This gets me a donation to our greyhound adoption group.

 

[oneounceload]

With that said I think midway usa is the best overall online store.

Your opinion and you are entitles to it, but many will disagree. Midway is a large operation, they have tens of thousands of SKUs, but they are still - first and foremost - a retail operation. They are like a Sam's Club or Costco - they have good deals on somethings, and not so good on others. With the explosion of the internet, some of these former catalog places now face some stiff competition for your business. It pays to shop around.

 

[Paul Kersey]

Midsouth for me. Order on Monday, receive on Wednesday. Good shipping rates, great people.

 

[Thermactor]

I think SG is the best ammo supplier at the moment. I've ordered from many.

 

[rbernie]

I think SG is the best ammo supplier at the moment. I've ordered from many

Right now - I agree with this.

 

[RustyShackelford]

Hit & miss ....

Smaller retail sites or vendors can really be hit & miss, .
I had orders for army surplus places that were nightmares while a few websites were fast, professional & low cost, .
For most things, Id stick with the major vendors/brands.
I never use EBay.com or Amazon. I rarely shop any local places.
Most retail shops and big stores(Dicks Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shop, Gander Mountain, etc) seem to cater to tourists, "weekend warriors" & casual shooters who might buy items 2/3 times a year.

Rusty

 

[jrdolall]

Midway is okay. They, like many other online retailers, really screwed up how they handled ammo sales over the past two years. Their shipping is not the best, price or speed, but their selection is extensive. I have gotten quite a bit of 22 LR ammo from them since SH so they are good in my book.
CTD has had a lot of mud thrown at them in the past two years (deservedly so) but I have had a lot of success dealing with them. You simply MUST make sure you are getting product from the correct warehouse or shipping will be high. I guess having multiple warehouses and charging different shipping from each makes sense to someone at CTD.
Grafs can be a good resource as well and I have been very happy when I have used them. The same goes for Brownells.

 

[RustyShackelford]

PoliceHQ.com ....

I just purchased some security stuff from www.policehq.com . They are offering free S/H and 17% off today(03/18/2015).
I saved about $11.00.

Rusty

 

[Da Yooper]

Dont use Midway anymore because I was burned on shipping. Mostly order from Grafs they have it together. Powder Valley lost my business because they cant find me in the UP & Widener's is loosing me because it takes forever to get what I order from them. Just look at their website 2 weeks behind in shipping REALLY get a clue Widener's. HIRE some folks to get the job done. You are making good coin on what is ordered.

 

[Bentonville]

Natchez Shooting Supplies

I don't see many references to Natchez Shooting Supplies in Tenn. They are excellent in my opinion. I don't buy a lot online but I get ammo from them are good prices and reasonable shipping. They are always prompt and up-front.

 

[jlr1962]

numrich

I don't buy online unless absolutely necessary. I have used all of the major gun parts on line retailers. I had one backorder that turned out to be a part that was no longer available.

 

[SW40]

It all depends on what firearm I am purchasing for. If for a Sig it is almost always TopGunSupply. If AR15, i usually just look on the equipment exchange at ar15.com. Never had a problem not finding what I need there and can get the stuff way cheaper than an online retailer. If for Glocks, there are online retailers that specialize in that firearm that sell a lot cheaper. If I am getting Magazines I always look at CDNNSPORTS.com first. Ive order two things from Midway over the years. They were ok.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I don't see many references to Natchez Shooting Supplies in Tenn.

There's a good reason for that. Natchez Shooting Supply wont ship to Tennessee.

Ordering/Shipping not available for Tennessee, Georgia or Alabama.

Quote copied and pasted directly
from Natchez's shipping policy.

 

[Dframe]

All of the suppliers are hit and miss. I rarely deal with midway for a number of reasons mostly because they've been chicagoized and seem to think everywhere in Illinois is Cook County. In other words they refuse to ship many products here. They once refused to ship a cap and ball revolver to my FFL, claiming it was illegal for them to do so.

 

[Aragon]

ANYWHERE but cheaper than dirt. I'd do without before I would give them any business.

 

[Elkins45]

Midway is the first place I ever bought brass from online. That was back in the 80's. I was customer number 001 for my zip code. Other than Brownell's, which was primarily a gunsmith supply company, there was no real competition for mail order reloading stuff. Back then they paid the shipping for everything.

When they stopped that back in the late 90's they went overboard in the other direction and I rarely ordered anything unless there was a shipping or deep discount code. I think they have figured out how much their shipping was hurting them and have tried to dial it back now.

Nowadays we are blessed with a plethora of riches when it comes to buying stuff, or at least stuff that isn't still being hoarded post-Sandy Hook. I buy from all of these guys:

Midway
Brownell's
Midsouth Shooters Supply
Graf's
Wideners

as my main sources, but there are a whole bunch of other places like Amazon or SWFA or Bud's (watch their shipping for non-gun stuff) I have used at least once.

Best company? Midway certainly seems to have the most expansive inventory, and I have never been anything buy 100% satisfied with their customer service. If they aren't the best they certainly are near the top. The NRA Round Up program doesn't hurt either.

 

[oneounceload]

Order powder and primers from them and when you get hit with two hazmat and shipping fees, you might change your view.

 

[RustyShackelford]

NatchezSS.com ....

I ordered a few times from both printed catalogs(mid 2000s) and the website with Natchez Shooting Supplies.
I mentioned them in a early post.
I have noticed they list items/products in the sale flyers-catalogs that are not in the main website or listed as in stock, .
Customers can't buy products or items if they aren't available.

Rusty
PS: I still did not get my T-shirt/product from www.Ninelineapparel.com in Georgia.
They posted a bunch of pics on Instagram.com of the staff at a St. Pats parade. I guess they'd rather party and go to parades then service orders or work, .

 

[alexander45]

Like alot of places do your shopping they are good on some stuff and bad on other things.
My only real complaint with midway is the fragging box it's very much so... hay here's a giant box of gun stuff sitting in front of this guy's apartment door... and it always ends up at the door as the office staff won't take them in the office... guess why?

 

[SSN Vet]

In my opinion.... yes

Least expensive... not always, but they are competitive.

Fastest shipping and best service.... without a doubt.

Least hassle on returns... without a doubt.

Breadth of inventory.... yup... that too.

Powder and Primers.... nope... use Powder Valley

Supports 2A rights and civilian access to all legal products? None better. Their NRA round up has funneled a huge (millions) amount of $ into protecting your rights.

Larry P. and his wife are the salt of the earth type folks.... and they use their money to do a lot of good.

OBTW... you get a discount the month of your BD and always Google MidwayUSA coupon codes to make sure there's not a discount available prior to ordering.

 

[flphotog]

You really have to watch the shipping and "Handling" at midway, sometimes they really sock it to ya big time.

9 times out of 10 I go with Brownells.

 

[OilyPablo]

What AR fan doesn't like the Brownells AR-15/308 type paper catalog. It may not have everything. But it is fun.

 

[oneounceload]

Powder and Primers.... nope... use Powder Valley

Guess who Midway uses to drop ship your powder from?
Which is why you get hit with two hazmat/shipping charges when ordering powder and primers

 

[Gun Master]

I bought from Midway for quite a while without problem. Then one time they mailed my package to the wrong address. I contacted them before it was even delivered, asking them to reroute it to the correct address. They said no, they wouldn't do that, and if the package wasn't returned they wouldn't reship it or give me a refund. They said it was up to me to make sure whoever got the package returned it to them. That was the last time I did business with them.

Did you finally get your stuff ?
If not, what did you do ?