I'm a cheap skate

[yovinny]

I use Midsouth first and formost, others only if it's something they dont carry.
I alwaysrecieve my order within a day or two and their customer service is outstanding.
If you can ship to a business address, they also have a cheaper Fedex business rate.

[BoolitSchuuter]

May I suggest the very best prices I have found for Lee equipment:

http://www.titanreloading.com/lube-sizing-kit

+1 on Titan. Very helpful dealing with warranty issues also.

[captaint]

I haven't bought from Midway in a couple of years. After they went nuts with the shipping, I decided enough was enough. Graf's and Natchez get all my money now. You listening, Larry?? enjoy Mike

[rsrocket1]

Absolutley hate the UPS "inovations" deal. An order from Barnes and Noble that should have taken 3 days UPS or 3 days priority mail took 11 days when the two geniuses merged.

It took 2 days to go across the country to the UPS regional warehouse, then disappeared in the USPS system for 9 more days until it arrived at my doorstep and showed up on their tracking system as "delivered" the day after.

[trixter]

So there is not a good place to buy reloading stuff near the west coast???

[Lizard333]

I use opticsplanet. They offer free shipping in orders of 29.99. Word of advice if you end up using them, call and check availability. They do not carry a running inventory of their products. Drives me nuts. But, they are usually the cheapest I find.

[Virginian]

I recently sent an email concerning Midway's shipping charges. Here's their response to me:

Dear Eric,

Thank you for the email concerning shipping charges. We appreciate the feedback that every one of our customers provides. Unfortunately many have yet to realize that use a "Fair and Honest Shipping" system and only charge our customers what it costs us to ship their order. We do not receive any profits from increased shipping rates.

As I mentioned earlier, we greatly value all of our customers feedback and I will be sure to make note of your comments and concerns so they may be reviewed. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance in the future as well!

If you have any additional questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-243-3220. Our hours of operation are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT; Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. CT. You may also email us at customerservice@midwayusa.com.

Thanks for Your Business!

Larry G.

[1Shirt]

Before I order any thing, I let my fingers do the walking for comparison between, Midway, Midsouth, GRAF, & Natchez, inclusive of shipping. Availability is also an issue, as one outfit may have the item(s) and the rest may not. My last order was to GRAF, for a mold and some J blts. Saving over the others was in the neighboorhood of $5.00. For $5.00, I will go to the extra effort of a bit of computer time.
1Shirt!

[HangFireW8]

Sanity check- I just put together a MidwayUSA order with 4 Lee size dies, a Lee 6-cavity mold and a really expensive Redding reloading die from my Wish List. The order total was $197.44 plus $14.12 S&H. While maybe not the cheapest S&H around it is certainly within the realm of reason. It doesn't match the assertion that S&H is almost as much as the die(s)... unless you were ordering only one.

If you were ordering only one, you may have been running into the minimum order charge as well. My only reply to that is- don't do that. Wait until you have more to order, or go elsewhere.

As for the rest of the topic, I long ago began comparing FINAL charges including S&H before firing off an order. I'll even spend the time to mix and match between the major sites (Midway, Natchez, MidSouth, etc) to see if splitting up the order helps.

Midway has become like Sears- only buy during sales and closeouts.

HF

[Fly-guy]

Sanity check- I just put together a MidwayUSA order with 4 Lee size dies, a Lee 6-cavity mold and a really expensive Redding reloading die from my Wish List. The order total was $197.44 plus $14.12 S&H. .

Midway has become like Sears- only buy during sales and closeouts.

HF

It's quite obvious that all of the items you ordered weighed less than the two lube sizing dies that I didn't order from them! I don't remember what the charges would have been but I do remember that it was over $16.00.

[geargnasher]

Midway also uses the cheapest shipping possible while charging you premium price. I had an order last week that did not come in on my Big Brown Dog. I called and inquired and was told that the package was handed off from UPS to USPS according to their economy shipping policies. This threw the package a full day late. Why if they are charging the same for shipping are they doing economy shipping procedures? I was not a happy camper.

I made the mistake of selecting the "UPS Basic" shipping once, had a bad feeling after I hit "submit" and did some searching to find out what it was. What it means is UPS delivers to the PO of the destination zip code and contracts with the PO to final deliver to the address, since they're running the route every day anyway. That mistake saved me like three bucks, but added three days to the delivery and royally screwed up the tracking, since it could only be tracked to my local PO.

UPS and their union don't-give-a-damn attitude is bad enough, but combine that with the same thing at the PO and if anything goes wrong, good luck getting resolution. Neither company feels obligated to do their job, so if your order gets lost or damaged imagine the finger pointing that will stalemate the whole situation. I prefer to use FedEx, they aren't perfect but at least they sort of CARE. FedEx is too expensive to even be an option with Midway, I recall it being a much cheaper option with other mail-order warehouses.

Gear

[HangFireW8]

It's quite obvious that all of the items you ordered weighed less than the two lube sizing dies that I didn't order from them!

I thought I was clear... I ordered 4 Lee lead bullet sizing dies... each one comes with a bottle of LLA... plus other stuff... can't see how that all weighs less than your order.

Give me your Midway product #'s and I'll try again!

HF

[DIRT Farmer]

Sometimes Midway is the only game in town. Each time I have to ask for USPS, every time it is cheaper,, I have made an order on Thursday, recieved it on Saturday.
Yes my wife is getting her retirement check from the USPS, but I still can't wast my through away money.

[Fly-guy]

I thought I was clear... I ordered 4 Lee lead bullet sizing dies... each one comes with a bottle of LLA... plus other stuff... can't see how that all weighs less than your order.

Give me your Midway product #'s and I'll try again!

HF

I was being facetious about your order weighing less! Not only am I a cheap skate, I also have a warped sense of humor.

[nwellons]

Also, remember that shipping charges depend on what you are receiving as well as the weight. I try to order a large stockpile of solvent and oil at the same time because many chemicals (and of course primers and powder) will run up the shipping charge.

I have an order coming now with a $4.01 shipping and handling fee.

[dbarnhart]

I try to keep a 'wish list'. Instead of placing individual orders, I wait for the wish list to grow to several items then order them all at once. The shipping charge gets spread over multiple items that way.

[1Shirt]

I took Sunnypies (what a handle) advice, and looked at Titan for Lee stuff. Wanted just the collet die only for 6.5x55 and 7.5x55. They were about a buck cheaper than Midway, and postage was only about $6.00. They were about 3.00 cheaper than GRAF, but better than $5.00 cheaper than Midway. In addition, they had the single dies that I wanted rather than buying complete sets from other outfits. Might not be the best deal in town for a lot of things, but if I am only looking for lee products, will from now on be checking out their site
1Shirt!

[jandbn]

If your time spent looking for a better deal isn't worth anything, then by all means, shop around. I've been known to search for an hour just to save a couple bucks. And like Sonnypie, I ended up buying at www.titanreloading.com.

[Fly-guy]

I'm a self confessed cheap skate with a warped sense of humor and just discovered that I may also have a touch of senioritis. The lube sizing die that I thought I "needed" wasn't the correct one so it looks like I'm going to have to return it and order the correct one.

I wonder how much that "opps" is gonna cost me!

[skeet1]

I've been doing all of my Lee business with Titan and have not been sorry. Very low prices and quick service.

Ken