Revolting experience with airgunsbbguns.com

I've never bothered to post something critical of anyone in my life. Even when something might get mixed up and it takes a month to straighten out, I'm happy and I move on. I'm sorry that it came to this but I feel compelled to raise the awareness of others.

In August of 2006 I ordered a rifle case from this company, aka Cobra Air Guns. It is now January 2007 and apparently I will not be receiving it from this company. After the order and payment in August '06, they shipped me the wrong case, but they shipped it 4 months later in November '06. I had to leave on a trip without a case for my air rifles. Then, in December, they shipped me the wrong case, again. Not just some other case, they sent the exact same identical shipping box, twice. When I ordered from them I told them that I am physically handicapped and I needed to be sure that the wheels on the case worked properly. It can be hard to find a short rifle case with wheels and this was the model I needed. It has been nothing but lies and runarounds and passing the buck from them. They have made up statements that I never said and that they never said. The small problem with online transactions is it's all documented, every single word. I have 6 months of every email correspondence with them as black and white and time stamped proof. There is now a discrimination lawsuit in the works for this. After they found out that I had every single email of theirs because my mailbox saves it by default, and after they found about a possible lawsuit, and after I told them that I was making a fraud complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, they opted out and refunded my money in December after 5 months. The owner is David Foltman of Neconset, NY. The customer service rep is Christine.




Paul

[Black Mamba]

Wow.

That sounds like a real cluster.  I've never dealt with Cobra Air Guns but I'm sure gonna keep this in mind when I go surfing for prices on stuff.




Thanks for the post.

[vinceb]

....the prices are nothin' special. Wasn't planning on shopping there anyway...

You're right about that!  I've only dealt with them once, last month a matter of fact, and I had no problems at all.  After reading that, I feel very fortunate.  Then again maybe the customer service gods were cutting me some slack since I'm still in the midst of a mess with Gamo c/s..LOL

I also have had a bad experience with Cobra  Airguns. Last year I purchased an airgun, recieved it and shot it for 1 week, returned it in mint condition the same way they sent it to me and I was charged a restocking fee because Christine said I packaged it poorly. I sent it in its exact cardboard box my airgun box was inside of, a box within a box. Anyways, I was charged 20% for the restocking fee and that was the last time I or my friends would purchase from that company.

If you got 80% of the purchase price for a second hand gun (shot for 1 week) don't you think you got a good deal?  I doubt you would get 80% for a car that you had driven for a week.

[Black Mamba]

Actually Derekm, I'd say no he didn't get a good deal.

Here in the US we have large stores called Kmart, Walmart and the like that give you a 90 day return policy on air rifles and related sporting equipment. (At least they do here in my neck of the woods.)  If during that time you aren't satisfied with your purchase you can return it for a replacement or a full refund assuming you did no obvious damage to the item and still retain the reciept.

While online ordering is usually a bit different and many companies do indeed have a "restocking fee", it is far more common to find 15% as the fee.  If he returned the item proplerly boxed, in mint condition I'd feel they weren't fair on their end.

A good example:  I recently purchased a muzzle break for my RWS350.  It was supposed to fit on the gun while doing no damage to the gun.  When I got it and tried to put it on I realized that it would indeed damage the front site grooves and after calling Straight Shooters, returned it.   I was charged nothing and my credit card was refunded the complete amount of the purchase.  The muzzle break was undamaged, properly packed and in complete working order when returned.

I dunno, I guess I feel that I can understand SOME return fee in this case if pressed but 20% certainly seems excessive to me.

[-=ed]

.

I think the point would be that no mattere whether you considered Cobra justified or not, there are MUCH better people to deal with out there.

Don't judge a dealer by a smooth transaction, judge him by how he handles something that has to be "handled."

The good guys may cost a bit more, but just one problem, and you'll see why they're worth it.