Powder Valley called me this morning.

[Down South]

Powder Valley surprised me this morning with a call saying my powder was in but some bullets that I wanted were still on back order. They wanted to know if it was alright to ship the powder now.
I had ordered 8# of Titegroup and 8# of H335.
I said forget the bullets, I didn't really need them and ship the powder. I got my emailed invoice this afternoon.
I figured it would have been a longer wait. I ordered the powder on the 25th of last month. I thought that they were wayyyyyyy behind plus what I ordered was a back order.
i wasn't in a bind for the powder, just adding to my stock plus I've been hitting the Titegroup pretty hard lately.
I figured the AR shooters would have the H335 back ordered so far back it would take months to catch up.

[km101]

Yeah, Powder Valley called me about a typo on my order. Got it straight about 2:00pm on a Wed. Got the invoice by 4:30, and got the package by 4:00 the next day! Great people, Great service! They are my favorite place to shop online. And they have NOT raised prices during the crunch. I really admire them for that. I have noticed several places that have gone up a lot, but not PV.

[xacex]

I just made my first order with them at the end of the month for some powder and primers that were in stock. I noticed last week there is something on there about sending in a copy of my DL? They ship signature required I am sure, but you guys send in your drivers licence too? I have always got my supplies locally to avoid the hazmat fee so I am new to this ammunition component over the internet thing.

[garym1a2]

Got 10K of small rifle primers last month at $26 per k and 3000 69gr match bullets at decent price plus 4lbs of wst and 2 lbs of wsf. Glad they did not raise prices.

[Down South]

I just made my first order with them at the end of the month for some powder and primers that were in stock. I noticed last week there is something on there about sending in a copy of my DL? They ship signature required I am sure, but you guys send in your drivers licence too? I have always got my supplies locally to avoid the hazmat fee so I am new to this ammunition component over the internet thing.

Yes I did. Several years ago now but they require a copy of your DL on file to ship primers or powder.

[cbrick]

Just went to Powder Valley & they had 4759 so I ordered 8 pounds. Price is up but not as bad as I've seen it at other places. I printed the reciept & they charged $27.50 hazmat but no shipping charges so that helped. They are out of most all other powders that I use.

Not a primer in stock but I'm not yet hurting for primers, about a year and a half ago I went to an estate sale and the poor fellow that no longer needed them seems to have been quite the hoarder & I picked up a nice supply of my two most used primers at less than retail at that time. :mrgreen: With things as they are today I wish I had bought them all at that price, could have been a life time supply for me but . . .

Rick

[ga41]

Just went to Powder Valley & they had 4759 so I ordered 8 pounds. Price is up but not as bad as I've seen it at other places. I printed the reciept & they charged $27.50 hazmat but no shipping charges so that helped. They are out of most all other powders that I use.

Not a primer in stock but I'm not yet hurting for primers, about a year and a half ago I went to an estate sale and the poor fellow that no longer needed them seems to have been quite the hoarder & I picked up a nice supply of my two most used primers at less than retail at that time. :mrgreen: With things as they are today I wish I had bought them all at that price, could have been a life time supply for me but . . .

Rick

Freight is not quoted until it ships fwiw

[Down South]

I got my invoice last week. Got shipping info with a tracking number today. They are running behind but at least I got it.

[geargnasher]

Freight is not quoted until it ships fwiw

Correct. They will add the actual freight charge to the order after it ships and they actually bill you, so expect another $20 or more on the quote.

I have ordered from PV on a couple of occasions and don't remember having to fax or mail a copy of my DL, nor was the order shipped "signature required", although both practices have my support considering how indiscreet the delivery guys are.

Gear

[cbrick]

I have ordered from PV on a couple of occasions and don't remember having to fax or mail a copy of my DL, nor was the order shipped "signature required", although both practices have my support considering how indiscreet the delivery guys are. Gear

Agree, I also wouldn't mind a couple of bucks extra for insurance.

I'm waiting on a PV order right now. Was in stock when I ordered, out of stock now. I don't know why it would take 2 weeks plus to ship an order that was in stock, do they have that much stock that they are that far behind in just shipping? It never used to. Anyway, over two weeks now, I got an order reciept but haven't heard from them since.

Also waiting on a couple of molds from Miha that were going to be shipped in February. I just keep repeating over and over. . . Anticipation is fun. Anticipation is fun. :mrgreen:

Rick

[xacex]

Well, I sent of my DL info, and got my invoice last week so hopefully I will have some additional primers and powder soon. I did not get to take a vacation around Christmas this year because all of the parts and mags I order pre-Lanza that were delayed. 1000$ became 5000$ that would have just been left at my doorstep without a signature that was supposed to be delivered before Christmas. All that mess really screwed up my holiday. It is still screwing with deliveries to my LGS so I had to go into the abyss of the internet to get powder and primers. Maybe I am just being paranoid, but I have always been a cash, and carry kind of guy when it comes to reloading consumables. Oh well, looks like I'm all in now.

[Down South]

Was in stock when I ordered, out of stock now. I don't know why it would take 2 weeks plus to ship an order that was in stock, do they have that much stock that they are that far behind in just shipping? It never used to. Anyway, over two weeks now, I got an order reciept but haven't heard from them since.


Rick
I believe that it says on their home page that they are at least two weeks behind on shipping due to all of the orders they are filling.
As long as you can get it, the wait is not bad.

Back when I first started ordering from them several years ago, they requested a copy of your DL. Things may have changed now.

[oneokie]

Back when I first started ordering from them several years ago, they requested a copy of your DL. Things may have changed now.

For the last 20 yrs., every mail order place that I have ordered powder, primers, or loaded ammunition from has required a copy of my DL.

[Case Stuffer]

Ordered 8lbs. HS-6 from PV on Jan.28 which was in stock. . According to thier web site they are now processing orders placed on Jan.26 so I guess with luck I will receive it in another week or two. I am down to my last few hundred rounds worth of WW-231.

The copy of DL being rquired is amusing in some way as it is required for powder and primers however not required for amunation which contains both. Same deal with signature being required for powder and primers but not for ammo.

[xacex]

Case stuffer, that is interesting. Maybe they should require a DL for that too. The individuals who never load there own, and order ammo on the interweb have been prominent in the news these days. If whoever thinks I need to be monitored for purchasing reloading supplies doesn't think someone ordering 2000 round of 223 to an apartment is weird something is up. I cant say I have even bought a box of anything but .22lr from the lgs in over 6 years let alone ever on the internet. well, except for primers anyway.
The hazmat fee has kept me away, and I like to try things a pound at a time.

[xacex]

Also waiting on a couple of molds from Miha that were going to be shipped in February. I just keep repeating over and over. . . Anticipation is fun. Anticipation is fun. :mrgreen:

Rick

You and me both. Thanks for getting that mold going btw. I cant wait to cast it up! That was the primary motivator to order up some Lil gun from PV.

[turmech]

I have ordered power and primers over the years from Grafs, PV, Midway, and Cabeals. The orders have always require a delivery signature. I don't remember ever giving my DL. I am not doubting you guys at all. Could it be state laws where they are shipping to requiring them to take a copy of the DL?

[Case Stuffer]

SHipping regulations are a PITA it seems. This one confuses me.

http://www.natchezss.com/customerService.cfm?contentID=shippingInfo


Shipping is not available for Tennessee, Georgia or Alabama.


Perhaps it is one of those old fueding things.

[Down South]

I made an online order from Graf & Son a while back. All they required was an adult signature upon delivery.

[alamogunr]

SHipping regulations are a PITA it seems. This one confuses me.

http://www.natchezss.com/customerService.cfm?contentID=shippingInfo

.


Perhaps it is one of those old fueding things.

Natchez is located in Chattanooga TN which is within a few miles of both Georgia and Alabama. Since they are also a wholesale concern, they are protecting their retail customers. Many times I would have liked to place an order but that restriction prevented me from taking advantage of a particularly good price.

Based on what I have read on another thread on gauging, there will be some who will take Natchez to task for not selling to these states.

[JIMinPHX]

March is normally about the time of year when the supply chain starts to fill back up again. I had expected it to take a little longer this time around because of all the increased buying, but it's good to hear that things are loosening up a little already.

Every year it's the same thing - Big customers place big orders at the shot show, then the manufacturers get busy & it takes a little time for them to fill the orders. The shelves usually start to fill back up again in early spring.

[dudits]

powder valley sent my order out thursday :)

[Case Stuffer]

I understand Natchez and other wholesale / retail stores protecting thier retailer customers. I used to deal with a sporting good store which had both a retail and wholesale operation. Thier reloading componets sales were simple enough. Retail in the retail store and wholesale sales to FFL holders only. Many years ago I held a ammunation manufactures FFL and enjoyed having a few local wholesale sources but then insurance went thrugh the roof and it seemed like everyone went law suit crazy and wanted to sue the pearson who pulled the trigger,the firearm and the ammo producers and even shooters were sueing ammo producers for causing their hearing loss.

No big deal with Natchez but it would be nice if they listed no sellls to ..... more prominate on thier site. I even requeted a notify when available and di not notice the no sshipping to GA until aweek or so later.

[cbrick]

According to the Power Valley web site, today March 5th they are processing orders placed on January 28th for which invoices went out on Feb 19.

If you look over what they list in stock they have nearly nothing to sell, with nothing to sell how can their shipping be 5 weeks behind? Very confusing. :veryconfu

Rick

[RydForLyf]

According to the Power Valley web site, today March 5th they are processing orders placed on January 28th for which invoices went out on Feb 19.

If you look over what they list in stock they have nearly nothing to sell, with nothing to sell how can their shipping be 5 weeks behind? Very confusing. :veryconfu

Rick

I believe their stock levels shown on their web site are based on their on-hand inventory and allocated inventory. When allocated = on-hand, you are "Out of Stock".

-RFL

[Case Stuffer]

My order placed on Jan. 28 for HS6 which was in stock was shipped yesterday. They are not the only ones with in stock reloading supplies being 3 to 5 weeks being in processing and shipping. If a company stocks a normal 3 month inventory but then gets orders for all of in 2 weeks then maintains the same personal then they can hardly be expected to do six times as much work.

In a couple of days I will have powder to last me for awhile,now if I can find primers at a reasonable price in the next few months I will be a happy shooter, well that is as long as the HS6 works out for me. This will be my first time using it. This is the first time I have had to order powder based on what is available not what I normaly purchase. I am mostly loading 9MM currently and HS6 data looks OK as long as it is loaded fairly warm. I have mostly used WW-231 for years so a change may do me good.

[Down South]

My powder came in yesterday. 8# Titegroup, 8# H335.
I recieved a phone call 2/18 that the powder was in stock after a few weeks back order. "You could still place backorders at the time that I ordered." The powder was waiting for me yesterday so that's about 2 weeks to fill the order and get it to me.

[Down South]

PV is updating their site daily. Looks like weather is now factored in.

Orders placed today for in stock items will ship approximately March 29.
We are currently processing orders with powder placed on Jan 28 (Invoiced Feb 19) and orders that do not contain powder from Feb 8! Weather delays have further impacted shipments. Therefore we have had to push shipment dates back further.
You will receive an invoice when your order is processed
and receive tracking information when the order ships.

BACKORDERS: (Effective 01/29/13 at 8 AM ET)
Due to the overwhelming number of orders and the extreme supply shortages we are temporarily discontinuing our policy of accepting backorders. Orders that are placed for items listed as "Out of Stock" on the website will be immediately canceled. All customers who have backorders in our system currently will not be affected and these orders will be processed as soon as the items become available. We are extremely sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. We hope to return to accepting backorders once we have obtained a manageable level of orders to be shipped.

Bryan Richardson

[Jay561]

Its only a matter of time before things go back to normal.

[cbrick]

Its only a matter of time before things go back to normal.

Must be nice to still be an optimist, I used to be but that started fading 4 years ago and has completely disappeared in the past few months.

Rick

[edler7]

PV is updating their site daily. Looks like weather is now factored in.

They had 20+ inches of snow there a couple weeks ago. They are located out of town, about a half mile off the highway. I imagine it was kind of tough for the trucks to get in and out for a while- still might be.

[Down South]

Its only a matter of time before things go back to normal.
I doubt it, but "A matter of time" can consist of anything short of eternity. I don't foresee anything getting any better until Obummer is gone or at least the gun ban talk goes away.

[LeSellers]

I've tried "powdervalley.com" and a couple of other URLs, but don't get what you're talking about. Could you post an internet address for us newbees?

Le

[LeSellers]

Must be nice to still be an optimist, I used to be but that started fading 4 years ago and has completely disappeared in the past few months.
That total disappearance wasn't the night of the first Tuesday of November, was it?

Le

[cbrick]

It's powdervalleyinc.com

Powder Valley (http://www.powdervalleyinc.com/index.html)

Rick

[LeSellers]

It's powdervalleyinc.com
Thanks so much.

Le

[cbrick]

So much for updating the site every day. The following from the Powder valley web site hasn't changed in several days now so in reality there is no way to know what's going on or when/if your going to get your powder.

Orders placed today for in stock items will ship approximately March 29.
We are currently processing orders with powder placed on Jan 28 (Invoiced Feb 19) and orders that do not contain powder from Feb 8!

The wait would make perfect sense if we were waiting for them to get stock in but waiting week after week for them to put what they say they have in stock into the big brown truck . . . well, frustrating at best.

Rick

[alamogunr]

I've got a feeling that when you are busting your hump to fill orders and try to replenish stock, that updating the web site is not your first priority. I think they do better than most and a lot of suppliers are in that boat.

[Reload3006]

I have no complaints with PV I will keep doing business with them.

[Case Stuffer]

My 8 pound jug of HS6 ordered on Ja, 28 showed up this afternoon. Went down to shop and tried a few powder bushings for the CH Auto Champ and found on that throws 6.0 grains which seemed like a decent statrting load for a few mixed weights and lengths cast boolits. Loaded up a few rounds of each, stepped out of my shop and unleashed them on a still standing pine stump. All rounds functioned fine, the Lee 125LRN is a bit weak ,the 135 SWC which is long in the case a bit warn and the 122 LFN from Mid Atlantic seemed to be about in the middle.

Will load up a short run of 20 or so of each and walk down to my range tomorrow and see how they print. XD Sub Compact 9 is not exactly a tack diver but most loads it manages to keep them in a 2" sq. at 20 feet and that is plenty good for its' intended purpose.

Now if I can only latch onto a decent supply of primers I will be feelling all better.

[smokeywolf]

Graf's is showing 1 and 8 pound containers of IMR 4759 in stock. Front page says 3 to 4 week ship times on in-stock items.

[cbrick]

4759 is what I ordered from PV three weeks ago, looks like it will be at least another 3 weeks yet before I see it.

Rick

[cbrick]

Just checked Powder Valley's web site. It's been over 4 weeks since I ordered an "in stock" item and it looks like it will be at least 2 more weeks before they even invoice it and another 2-3 weeks after that before they ship it.

All this for an "in stock" item. Something is seriously wrong here, 8 to 9 weeks to ship something they have sitting on the shelf? Ridiculous is such a weak word.

Rick

[dragon813gt]

Just checked Powder Valley's web site. It's been over 4 weeks since I ordered an "in stock" item and it looks like it will be at least 2 more weeks before they even invoice it and another 2-3 weeks after that before they ship it.

All this for an "in stock" item. Something is seriously wrong here, 8 to 9 weeks to ship something they have sitting on the shelf? Ridiculous is such a weak word.

Rick

It's because they were accepting backorders for a long time. When the item shows up as in stock it means that the backorders placed already have been accounted for, not shipped out yet. I know it's frustrating but there are a lot of orders placed before yours.

They are a great company and very easy to deal with. I happened to place an order right after Sandy Hook. It was just a normal buy and not one of panic. When the guy on the phone asked "is that all" I should have realized the run had already started. They also usually take a few days to ship under normal circumstances.

[JWFilips]

They Were taking back orders on everything up until the first or second week of February. Then they announced back orders would not be taken ( as did many other internet dealers) So first they take care of the orders they have in stock. As the new stuff comes in this is all earmarked for the back ordered items place January through the first part of February. Once they catch up on those orders you will see items start appearing on their site. They had some 8 lb containers of 2400 show up early last week ( but were all gone in 2 hours).
Once everybody fills their backorders I think we will start seeing items showing up on these suppliers sites. However since there are so many chomping on the bit to get an order in...... I doubt if it will get to normal any time soon.

[cbrick]

This wasn't a back order. According to PV it is and has been sitting on the shelf.

They haven't been accepting back orders for over a month and a half. They have no stock to sell or ship except what they had a month ago and they aren't accepting back orders and no new orders to process. When I placed the order I received an email that said I would have it in two weeks, the two weeks was up over two weeks ago and I'm still looking at another 4-5 weeks?

I used to think they were a great company too, the vast majority of powder I've bought for several years has come from there. The place simply isn't that big that they couldn't ship everything in the place in over a month. What I think they are doing is with nothing else to sell they are spreading out the orders to keep money coming in over time as opposed to laying off people that have nothing to do once everything is shipped. Great for the employees, pretty sh*tty for the customers.

No company can justify 8-9 weeks shipping time for an in stock item except they know they have ya by the short hairs with the current situation.

Rick

[dragon813gt]

I think you're misunderstanding In Stock. Lets say they have 10 backorders for an item. It will show out of stock if they only have nine of that item. Now if they have eleven it will show in stock. So you place an order since it's in stock. But they still have to process the backorders before they get to the "In Stock" item. There is just a line in front of you.

The email saying you will get it in two weeks and you didn't is odd. That's the only thing that seems off to me. They've been very up front on their website on how they're processing orders.

I also would not speculate as to how they're running their business. You have no way of knowing how much and when they are receiving product. No store has stopped receiving items ordered. And with the volume PV does they're higher up the food chain than small stores so they most likely have more product coming in more often.

The only odd thing to me is the email. Have you tried contacting them about the delay? Unfortunately the only way to absolutely get an item is to physically pick it up in a store.

[archmaker]

From the powder valley front page . . .

Orders placed today for in stock items will ship approximately April 20.
We are currently processing orders with powder placed on Feb 10 and orders that do not contain powder from Feb 20! Weather delays have further impacted shipments. Therefore we have had to push shipment dates back further.
You will receive an invoice when your order is processed
and receive tracking information when tracking information when the order ships.

I wonder with the snow storms Kansas has been having, and the fact that they have not had an inventory in a while that they are running short staffed. Even if demand is high, it makes no sense to staff people if all they are going to do is sit around because there is no supplies to ship out.

[cbrick]

Well, from the front page of PV at 5 weeks I am now only about 1 week from getting an invoice for my order. On the bright side this morning they are listing a few IMR powders back in stock. Doubt they will last long, check to see if there are any you can use just don't expect to see it for a couple of months.

Powder Valley (http://www.powdervalleyinc.com/index.html)

Rick

EDIT to add: Also listing some VIHTAVUORI powders back in stock.