MidwayUSA's Comments on the Panic from Larry Potterfield

[warthog]

Got this email from MidwayUSA this morning and thought I would share it to see if there were any comments.

Dear Valued Customer,
In the spring of ‘77, I left the Air Force and moved to Columbia, MO to pursue my dream of running a gun shop. You see, I’d always loved the outdoors; especially shooting and hunting. Some of my fondest childhood memories involve shooting and hunting with my dad and brothers. Then, as an adult, some of my greatest joys have come while shooting and hunting with my wife, my kids, my friends and now my grandkids. I love this industry, I love our way of life and I love serving Customers.

Now, our way of life is being challenged like never before and our Customers are responding with a flood of orders. In the 35 years I’ve been in business, I’ve never seen anything like this.
We’re monitoring the political environment, our industry’s capabilities and our business on a daily basis and making policy and process changes to better serve Customers. But please understand, while we’re still able to get most orders out the same day they’re placed, you may experience longer than normal wait times on the phone or when you chat with us on the web. Also, it’s taking us a few extra days to respond to emails. Finally, we’re out of a bunch of products I know you want which breaks my heart. And when we do get them in, they rarely spend the night in the building because they’re ordered almost immediately. We’re tirelessly working to get products in the door and out to Customers as fast as we can. But, until supply catches up with demand, we’re having to limit quantities and backorders on certain products.

One thing we haven’t done is change our prices because of this surge in demand. Prices do change from time to time as they always have, but we’d never change prices because of something like this. Our pricing strategy is one of the reasons we’ve put quantity limits on certain products. We’ve all seen certain products selling two or three times higher than normal, and MidwayUSA doesn’t want to enable that type of activity. Also, we want to serve as many Customers as possible when we receive high-demand products. If it’s any consolation, none of our Employees can order products with quantity limits (myself included). We’ve all agreed to put Customers first. And that’s the way it’ll always be at MidwayUSA.
As always, everything we do is intended to be in the best interest of our Customers and we’re eternally grateful for your patience and loyalty.
Thanks for Your Business!

Larry Potterfield

 

[hoosierdoc]

Good to hear!

 

[Hohn]

Good man, that Larry Potterfield.

 

[warthog]

I like the part where he says that neither he nor his employees are even allowed to purchase items on the limited list. That really says something to me. That tells me they really are trying to spread the wealth and keep the "Flippers" from being able to clean them out of everything as it arrives. I have a lot of things that I really need to get some reloads to happen on a notification of arrival email system there, another great thing they do for their customers.

Has anyone ever contacted them to see if they might consider becoming one of out backer/sponsors?
They are one of the first places I look for things since Terre Haute isn't really rife with reloading shops.
It would be even nicer if I knew I was patronizing an INGO Sponsor as well.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I got that email today too. There's a thread here from yesterday, I believe, about this too.

 

[nm0369]

Well written and seems sincere. I've only ordered from Midway once, but it was a pleasant transaction.

 

[kyotekilr]

I have never minded giving Larry my money. An email like this just reenforces my thought

 

[worddoer]

+1 for Midway. I have ordered from them many times. From the interactions I have had with them, they seem to be good people.

 

[cosermann]

+1 on Midway.

 

[sgreen3]

An thats why i like buying stuff from Midway

 

[Josh Ward]

+1 for Midway!!! If its an item I need to order, I ALWAYS use midway if I can. Brownells, is my backup, and grafs after that. Although I doubt Grafs will be getting anymore of my business after this last one I made, what a joke of a company.

 

[TopDog]

You can always nit pick and find something negative to say about any business. But overall I have been very happy with ordering from Midway. Their policy on not price gouging (what the new generation has condoned as free market) plus the limits on quantities to help thwart flippers means Midway is going to be my first stop always for what I need.

 

[straight-shooter]

I placed a order for .223 projectiles and received them in only 3 days. That tells me they are geared towards their customers and have done what it takes to keep their customer base happy. +1 for Midwayusa!

 

[Broom_jm]

Aside from Midway's policy of storing powder and primers at different warehouses, which means you'll get hit with 2 hazmat fees if you purchase both on 1 order, they are a great company to deal with. They're still the first place I check for just about anything to do with reloading, although I greatly prefer to buy in person, at a local shop, when possible.

 

[Nodnarb]

I picked up 2 mags for my XD9 from Midway and got them last week. They were nearly 50% cheaper than everywhere else I found them online and one of the few places to have them in stock. Some places were asking $60 a mag. Midway had them for $24. Not only did they have them priced well, but shipping charges were reasonable and my order shipped the day after I placed my order. It seems so many others have jacked up their prices and have inflated shipping costs to boot.

 

[Indy60]

I have a few back orders waiting at Midway but have to say, they do get them out as soon as stock allows. Never been disappointed with the service from Midway. Great place to do business and fair prices to boot. Although I did not receive the apology email, still a loyal customer.

 

[warthog]

You may yet get it if you have an account there, they do it in waves. I got mine perhaps early due to my account having been a dealer account at one time. I have since let my FFL's lapse due to no longer being willing to take the crap I took from my inspectors, some of which didn't know the difference between a bolt action rifle and a machinegun. Really.

Currently all I have on backorder is a bullet mold. It was instock when I put the thing in my=y cart but when I hit submit the order it moved to backorder. I actually screamed in frustration.

 

[Slawburger]

Good e-mail. Sounded sincere and said the right things. I have ordered from them before and been happy with the transaction.

 

[Indy60]

Not a dealer here, but I do business on a regular basis with a credit card secured account.

 

[mac45]

Always had great service from Midway. In fact, my last order got here 2 days earlier than they said it would.