We have it in stock, please wait 2 weeks for shipping

[Ed Ames]

This isn't unique to the firearms biz.

I have lost track of the times I have ordered "in stock" items, watched the on-line inventory (quite a few sites show this) go down, and waited, and waited, and waited, a week, two weeks, sometimes longer for my order to ship.

Usually it is smaller vendors, and drop shipping or just in time manufacturing, but I strongly suspect some merchants count inventory as soon as their supplier confirms thier orders, vs. when received. i.e. they order 10 widgets. They get an email saying, "10 widgets comin' your way." They update inventory based on that email. Most items don't sell right away so it usually just shortens the time between inventory coming in and going out (a win for the vendor's cash flow). However, if the supplier screws up (sends the wrong product, shorts the order, etc.) or anything else goes wrong....

The record was a guitar I ordered, shown as in stock mind you, with a promised delivery date of March of 2010. After several times contacting the vendor, I finally had to change the shipping address because I was moving. 9 months, plus a story about how they went to set up the guitar I ordered but the neck was warped so they had to build a new one, which meant being put on the backlog. Not sure I buy the story. Nice guitar though....

 

[brickeyee]

If they take a CC they cannot charge till the item is shipped.
Watch your cards and file a complaint with the CC company if they do.
Anyone that needs two weeks to ship an 'in stock' item is lying through their teeth or incompetent.

 

[Warp]

If they take a CC they cannot charge till the item is shipped.
Watch your cards and file a complaint with the CC company if they do.
Anyone that needs two weeks to ship an 'in stock' item is lying through their teeth or incompetent.

Plenty of companies tell you right up front that they charge your card at the time you hit the button to submit your order.

 

[usurp31]

I just dealt with this issue with Big Daddy Guns out of Gainesville, Florida. Their website says "Real-time inventory; in stock ready to shop".

They showed 2 Ruger Alaskans in stock for $899.00 with free shipping so I purchased one and they charged my card (On a Sunday).

On Monday, I get an email saying the item is out of stock and I can expect a refund. On Thursday, my card starts getting hit with all kinds of fraudulent activity across a bunch of crazy websites. I get it cancelled and the thieves got nothing shipped.

On Friday, my refund from Big Daddy's went through. My bank noticed (as I already did) that the card had only been used in the past month at Big Daddy's so it was obvious where the fraud occurred.

Then, the funny thing is, I see the next day they have the same item listed on Gunbroker for $999.00. Fishy if you ask me.

Watch your accounts my friends.

 

[barnbwt]

"Yes, we have no bananas today..."

 

[alternety]

It can get more annoying. I spent almost $500 on an item. Showed stock. receipt said can take 2 - 5 days to ship. OK range. Two days later they sent an email telling me they did not have one and were canceling the order.

Within minutes of completing the order with them a query I had made earlier came back and said I could purchase one at a better price from another source and it was mine to pay for.

Arrrgh.

 

[ds76]

My goodness! I didn't expect such a wide variety of responses. It occurred to me that I may have caused some confusion with the title of my original post. The company in question didn't tell me it would be 2 weeks before they shipped. The "Please wait 2 weeks for shipping" part was my (apparently not so obvious) attempt at humor. I didn't want to mention the name of the company because I didn't want to vilify some specific company for doing something that I think a lot of companies are doing. I did receive my part 13 days after the order (2 days transit time), and if I have to live with this new definition of "in stock", so be it. I may even order from them again if they have something I want and can't find it at a place that ships faster. My original post was meant to raise a fairly simple question: Is the practice of stretching the definition of "in stock" more prevalent in the gun and gun parts business than in other businesses that sell on line? It seems to me that it is and I wanted to get the benefit of others' experiences. I work in a field where I have to order odd pieces and parts of equipment fairly often. If they say they have it in stock, we pay large amounts of money to get things shipped overnight, early delivery. If those businesses used a stretched definition of "in stock", they would be out of business very soon! Maybe my experience is different than most other people. I've been buying guns and gun parts since the seventies, mostly face to face and only in the last few years on line. Some of you seem to have had experiences similar to mine and I thank you for your responses.

 

[rdhood]

In this day and age, "in stock" has come to imply (MOST of the time) shipping very shortly after purchase.


I admit to being caught once or twice. The most recent with Futerlec, which claims "7-10" day shipping but really means "whenever our third world workers drop ship it from Malaysia"... so it really takes 35 days.

Caveat emptor!

 

[rodregier]

Some of the information technology distributors (not retailers) I deal with in Canada have two tiers of direct availability. There is actual stock, and other items clearly flagged as drop-shipped. They provide a definition of drop-shipped, so it's all up front.

Too bad firearm industry retailers don't have the same approach for drop shipments.

 

[JRH6856]

UPS commercials call it "Logistics."

 

[wally]

Some companies say the product will ship within thirty days. I believe this to prevent disputation with credit card companies. Tyler?

Nope its 60 days for credit cards, if you don't have your stuff and the order has been charged, call your credit card and dispute the charge, otherwise you have no recourse with them.

Federal law requires "back order approval" for orders not shipped in 30 days, independent of if the credit card has been charged or not.