Lyman Customer Service

[94Doug]

OK, I'm probably not going to say anything that you haven't heard before. BUT. A while back I sent a mold with a missing plug, and another mould with an issue, and Lyman was kind enough to fit a new plug and fix up the other mould for me, and sent me a bill to pay for it. So, in recent history, I picked up a 401043 DC that was out of round, same with a 410459, along with a 311359 undersized, and another hollow base mould missing the pin. I had emailed about the undersized mould, and was told to send it in. Two or three weeks later, I received a call from Customer Service, (snicker) to discuss my moulds. The lady said that the hollow base mould was no longer made, "obsolete" so they could not help me. Fine I said. She then went on to say that the other moulds were all single cavity and that they no longer make single cavity moulds, but would be happy to replace them with brand new double cavity moulds. This would cost me $65 each, or $240. I giggled to myself, and told her I was sure that at least the 311359 was a two cavity, but that I would rather not replace them, and they could send them back to me. Not sure how $65 times 3 or even 4 = $240...or what kind of person would bite on the offer.

A week earlier, I emailed RCBS, and asked about parts for their moulds, as I have been buying and selling, and had some moulds with missing parts. Various screws, pins, bolts, etc., showed up in the mail in a few days for nothing.

It's wild how in the current market how two Companies can opperate in totally different ways.

Doug

[Ben]

Doug,

Your experience with Lyman doesn't sound so good.

I called RCBS for a decapping rod , expander ball, etc for a .243 RCBS neck sizing die. I had the die body by nothing else. ( By the way, my die was made in 1961, according to the RCBS tech that I walked with.) 5 days later I'm holding what looks like a brand new die. My die is 53 years old. How is that for standing by your products with solid service ?

N/C for the parts I needed and RCBS paid the shipping.

Yes, there is quite a difference Doug in the way customers are treated today.

When I buy new reloading gear, I try to keep this kind of thing in mind. " I lean toward the GREEN whenever possible."

Ben

[saguaro]

Found the same thing with both companies. I'll go RCBS totally from now on.

[osteodoc08]

Hmmm. I sent in a 410459 mold and they rehabbed it and sent it back with nary an issue. Only cost to me was $5.80 for a SFRB to get it to them. Go figure.

[Muskyhunter1]

Last January after I got a 270 mold from Santa, I realized whoever countersunk the sprue plate didn't make a sharp edge. I had to pry the spruces off the plate. I called Lyman and the lady gave me a bit of a hard time at first and wanted me to pay and mail the mold to them. I wasn't happy because of their screw up she wanted to me pay to ship it to them and go without my mold twice as long. I told her I could email her a pic of the poorly machined part. After she talked to someone in the background and told her the name of the person who made the mold they shipped me a new sprue plate no problem.

A buddy of mine bought another Lyman mold a couple of weeks ago and had the same problem. Apparently a new plate is in the mail to him too. Appears like they were/are having some quality control issues. At the end of the day Lyman was fair with me and I do like their products.

[Ben]

Hmmm. I sent in a 410459 mold and they rehabbed it and sent it back with nary an issue. Only cost to me was $5.80 for a SFRB to get it to them. Go figure.

Glad it worked well for you. Some get wonderful customer service from Lyman, others seem not to be able to get that level of service.

??????????

[enfieldphile]

Hmmm. I sent in a 410459 mold and they rehabbed it and sent it back with nary an issue. Only cost to me was $5.80 for a SFRB to get it to them. Go figure.

They did me a solid also. i had a Lyman Orange Crusher that was @ least (back then) 16 y/o. The die station had never been properly aligned w/ the ram. I called Lyman C S. The fellow told me to send it in. a few weeks later, it was returned. A new powder-coated Crusher frame had been fitted w/ all my old linkage, ram, etc. No charge.

This seems to be the way of it w/ Lyman C.S. Some guys get treated right. Some guys get a hard time from them. It almost seems it depends who you get hold of in their CS dept?

BTW, I sold the rebuilt Lyman Crusher and bought a Redding Ultramag 700. I doubt I would buy any more Lyman products. They do still have some very good designs. I just don't see enough QA in their stuff recently.

That said, my 23 Y/O Lyman Mag 20 furnace still works perfect. Until I switched to a Star luber/sizer (love the Star), I preferred Lyman sizer dies for a RCBS LAM.

[tja6435]

I have a RCBS vibratory tumbler for cleaning brass. The motor crapped out after about a year of what I'd consider light to moderate use. I spent 2 wks digging for the receipt, but didn't find it. I called RCBS and they sent the motor out and I had it in a few days. They didn't ask for the receipt or how old the unit was (the paperwork said it had a 2 yr warranty).

It seems they changed motors at some point and these current ones don't hold up like they used to. The replacement motor looked, externally, the exact same as the one I pulled out. Same markings, numbers, etc. So, I doubt it'll last a year either , especially since it's being used a lot more these days

[beezapilot]

I hate to put myself in the shadow of dips**t, but I called Midway to order a RCBS Pro-melt. In chatting with the sales rep at MW- I asked her about the 220V pot, as my shop is wired with plenty of 220V outlets, she transfered me to a tech who said the plug was different but I could replace the plug and be good to go. (Here I am in the shadow). When I cut off the plug, I noted the gauge of the wire was about 20... seemed light.... so called RCBS. The rep laughed a bit and said no-go, different electrical package, but they were happy to send a new heating element, cord, and switch- No Charge. I called Midway and asked about that- (just curiosity as the problem had been solved) they said that as I had cut off the plug that it voided any return or exchange for the pot. I'm an RCBS fan forever.

[TXGunNut]

Only had one reason to contact Lyman so far, new 4500 was missing the push-up rod. One e-mail with the pertinent info and the correct part was in the mail before I needed it. Ordering a new Lyman mould tonight, good company to deal with IMHO.