F & M Reloading Equipment, Inc.

[Alan in WI]

I place an order with this company over a month ago and still havn't received it. I know that Lee is backed up on orders but when I placed the order nothing came up as back ordered. Has anyone else had dealings with this company. :confused:

Thanks,

Alan

[jonk]

I haven't ordered from them in awhile but when I have, it was all good.

[shepherddogs]

Thats what I thought too. Their website proceeds along with ordering with no mention of "Out of Stock". Then after you place the order, you get an email telling you it's backordered. My order is right at 2 weeks old. Midway has had this product come in since then and then sold out again. If I had waited and ordered from Midway, I'd have it by now.:confused:

[Maximilian225]

I have ceased doing business with them completely. All though there prices are incredible their customer service and lag time are horrible. I canceled the first order I placed with them back in early 08 due to "Back ordered Items". I obviously learned nothing from it.

I placed this order on 11-17-08


Code Name Quantity Price/Ea. Total
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
90289 Lee 452-230-TC Six Cavity Commercial Quality Mold 1 $32.48 $32.48
90256 Lee Double Cavity Mold .401 175 GR TC 1 $16.58 $16.58
90374 Lee Double Cavity Mold .457 405GR FN 1 $16.58 $16.58
40000 40/10mm 155 gr XTP 1 $16.99 $16.99
90799 Lee Carbide Pistol Dies 40 Caliber S&W 1 $23.75 $23.75
90056 Lee Lube & Size Kit .454 1 $11.75 $11.75
2766470 Lyman Sizing Die .266 1 $15.99 $15.99
2766502 Lyman Sizing Die .401 1 $15.99 $15.99
tp460 Lyman Top Punch # 460 1 $6.49 $6.49
tp641 Lyman Top Punch # 641 1 $6.49 $6.49
tp649 Lyman Top Punch # 649 1 $6.49 $6.49
7349052 Two-Step Neck-Expanding (M) Die 26 cal 1 $8.83 $8.83
90362 Lee Double Cavity Mold .309 113GR FN 1 $16.58 $16.58
Shipping: UPS: $10.35
Sales Tax: $0.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: $205.34

I received no email about any back ordered items. After two unanswered emails as to the status of this order I called on The Wed before Thanksgiving.

At this point I was informed that they no longer carried Lyman products because their supplier had dropped Lyman. Strangely all the Lyman items were still listed on their website and available for order. :veryconfu They were waiting on " a few things to come in from Lee" should ship in 5 days or less.

I called again on the 5th of Dec and asked them to just ship whatever they had in stock and cancel the rest of the order and I would order from Midway. After some discussion I canceled the XTP's and picked them up locally after they offered to just have all the Lee items dropped shipped from Lee. Should be at my door in about 5 days. They would forward me the tracking number from Lee as soon as they got it.

I called Lee on the 12th to try to track the order and they said I would need to call F&M. Upon calling F&M they informed me Lee was approx 20 days behind. I should expect my stuff right after the 1st of Jan due to the holidays.(They charged my card on the 8th of Dec.) [smilie=b:

I Gave up and bought a set of Hornady dies locally for the 40 on Jan 16th.

When I came home from work on Wed Jan 21st there was a box From Lee at my house. I never received a tracking number in my email. :x

Order placed 11/17/08 Arrived 01/21/09. Total elapsed time 65 days.

I will never order from them again. If I had not of initiated contact they would never have called me.:evil:

[870TC]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=34610

[Recluse]

I place an order with this company over a month ago and still havn't received it. . . Has anyone else had dealings with this company. :confused:

Thanks,

Alan

To quote Ted Knight in Caddyshack, they s-s-s-s-s-s-s-suck!

Had the exact same experience just about a year ago that you're having now. I called them up and was polite--at first. The dufus I talked to basically had a "who gives a damn?" attitude. Hem-hawed around about refunding me. Called the bank up (issuer of the credit card) and the bank simply enacted a chargeback on them. I got my money back; they got the shaft and the fee to go with it.

If they were the last gun-related shop left on the planet, I'd rather make nookie with Sarah Brady than deal with them.

:coffee:

[tonyb]

Took 2 months to get my stuff. BUT, I would order again because their prices are good.

[Patrick L]

All the above is right on the money. When you are a bottom dollar outfit, there's a reason. I will concede their prices are the best.

I agree their biggest problem is being all too willing to take your money without letting you know up front if something is out of stock. If you call the 800 number and ask, they'll tell you if it's in stock. If so, then and only then I will order it.

The last three times I called, the items in question were out of stock. So Midway or Midsouth got the order.

[Shiloh]

My curiosity with F&M was piqued by the prices, and because of that I have purchased molds from them. I always employed the old caveat of " If it sounds to good to be true, it is"
I would always call and see if it was in stock. If most of the items were, I would be order.
They lost several orders from out-of-stock problems. Midway got them instead.

My take on F&M is that it is a small time proprietary type business with a limited stock.
The draw for them is there low prices. Unfortunately, mediocre service goes along with it.
The case histories on this thread in not helping them either.

The forums associated with the shooting community are such that bad news travels fast.

Shiloh

[bfox]

I ordered a mold took 63 days to get it .
Ordered a bullet feed to try on a Loadmaster and it is getting around a month and
nothing yet .
If you want it fast they sure aint the place to get stuff from .

Even before all the panic buying they sucked .
Thought I would give them a few chances .
At least for me they have been terrible.

Bill

[Big Tom]

Darn... I should have read this thread before I ordered there. It was not even the price, but I needed a bullet feeder finger for my Lee loadmaster and it was sold out everywhere else.
Good thing is that this "company" is right around the corner from here, so I may just stop by and say hello...

Tom

[hedgehorn]

I have only ordered from them once. I didn't see anything for a month so I called and they said that their distributor wasn't selling the Lyman mold that I ordered anymore, I would think that I would get an email or something. I would love to order from some of the smaller dealers but I would think that if its in stock on their website it would be in fact in stock and if not some notification of the delay would be in order. I will stick to Midsouth and midway from now on. ;)

[TC66]

Those guys are based about 12 miles from me. When I need something I go over there directly. Always good service face to face but never dealt with them online. Pick it up the same day if they have it. Cuts out shipping too.

Tom

[cstarsoft2000]

All I ever got from them was an email thanking me for my order and for my money. That was 2 weeks ago and I haven't been able to get an email response from them regarding the status of my order. Of course, no merchandise has been received from them. I will try to call them and see what excuse they offer. It would probably be a good idea to notify Lee in some official capacity to let them know that these folks (F&M) are definitely *not* the kind of outfit that Lee should want representing them as dealers.

[RobS]

F&M is a poor company and there are times when they have things in stock and people get what they ordered quickly.......................although in my case it ended with me a disgruntle customer due to their poor communication and them not having my order in stock even though they charged my card of course. I struggled like you to contact them and then when I did make contact (1 week later via phone) they told me they didn't have my order in stock and it would be another week or so; I told them to cancel my order.

[machinisttx]

IIRC, it's illegal for a company to charge your card and not ship your product. Check into it....

[45nut]

Anyone think certain companies ought to be listed in the Deadbeat area?

[Trey45]

Anyone think certain companies ought to be listed in the Deadbeat area?

YES! I've often wondered about this myself, as to why there isn't a deadbeat company feedback listing. Might be a good idea to start one, I know of a few I'd put in there right now.

[RobS]

Anyone think certain companies ought to be listed in the Deadbeat area?

Yes, and YES, YES!!!!

Good idea!!!!

[deerslayer]

I have bought almost all my reloading equipment from them and they have treated me great. BUT i also deal with them face to face. Call them they answer their phone and they are good people from my experiences. I believe they will take care of you and if they do not keep us informed.

[DLCTEX]

I ordered from them in Jan. and finally received my order on Mar. 12 after no response to repeat emails. Their website showed nothing about being out of stock. I ordered some dies three weeks ago by phone as their web did not state whether in stock. Was told it was not in stock but should be in in a week. They charged my card a week ago. I have been much more satisfied with Grafs, who's price may be slightly higher but the $4.50 shipping and handling brought me a size die to my door todat in quick fashion. Guess which will get my business in the future?

[deerslayer]

I just sent F and M an Email On Ya'alls behalf that reads as follows

Hello, my name is Nathan and I have made several purchases from you over $500 in the last year and I have never experienced a problem. BUT I have always delt face to face with you I recently recomended you on cast boolits.com and many people have placed orders with you. Now there is athread going about your service or lack of and the speed at which cards are charged but orders are not filled and shipped. I suggest you get on cast boolits imediately and explain yourself and make these folks feel at ease. They are good people to do business with if you treat them right but do not misunderstand there is about 3,000 reloaders on that forum which is quite a market to be black balled in.


I will be honest I am agravated about this especially after i recomended them on here, I hope they resolve it for you folks. Thanks Nate

[deerslayer]

Well no response, I reckon they either are having computer issues or they do not care enough to even reply. Has any one called them??

[RobS]

deerslayer:

I'm glad that you have had good face to face transactions with F&M and for the rest of us who have already been there and done that with their online BS (emails, phone calls, repeat phone calls, follow up emails etc.) I don't reckon any of us are going to give any more of our time to them.

Some people who run companies just do not do a very good job and should a company advertise as being an online business then such a company should produce services that are respectful to those who order from them. It takes more book keeping, computer software programs to show in stock items, and in addition the shipping process as an online company which is more difficult than having a store and sell things over the counter. It sounds like this company should simply forget about online business. Do a Google search "F&M reloading poor service" as there are many others who don't think much of their online business either.

[deerslayer]

Well said Rob if it has been done then by all means they deserve dead beat status!!

[Trey45]

there is about 3,000 reloaders on that forum which is quite a market to be black balled in.

Add 10 thousand six hundred and forty five to that and you have it right. As of this posting, we have 13,645 members.

[deerslayer]

My bad I completely under estimated I thought I seen 3,000 some where but it may have been an old post. They obviously do not care anyway.

[canebreaker]

I did an online order with F&M years ago. After waiting about a month, I called. Was told that they guy that handles the online orders would do so many orders per day and that was his limit. The guy I talked to, took down my info and my order was at the house in 4 days. With some added stuff to the order. I haven't used them since.

[Alan in WI]

If you are in no big rush they have the best prices I could find. Your order will show up. It's just a matter of when.

:killingpc:killingpc:killingpc

Alan

[Bill*]

I'm liking the deadbeat dealer idea. I would hope no-one uses it for personal vendettas. Maybe start it off with a header title from Dragnet..."just the facts Maam" :mrgreen: HeHeHe

[deerslayer]

I am just curious if people got their orders???

[DLCTEX]

I gave them a second chance by ordering a set of dies that I really wasn't in a hurry for. This time I called and asked if it was in stock, as the online catalog didn't show it back ordered. It was not in stock, but should take about a week to get it. After three weeks they charged my card for it and delivered it a month later. I'm done.

[deerslayer]

OK I will no longer do business with them if that is the way they treat people on here.

[The10mmKid]

Well, let me throw some support for Ben & Mark from F&M Reloading.

I've been doing business with these two gentlemen (and their family) at numerous Gun Shows here in Ohio for the past two years.

I am completely happy with the personal and friendly service and prices I have received. They are my go-to reloading source. Have I been lucky . . . well, yes and I work within their 'Mode Operandi'

Some examples of the service I've received:
If I call a couple days before a local show, ask for an item, they will bring it and hold it for me until I arrive.

They will match (and often beat) any other dealers price . . . no questions asked.

They will order an item and bring it to the show. Yes, many things were hard to acquire this past year ('09). And yes, I've been told, "Bill, I only received 1 of the blah-blah-blah I ordered and I had to sell it to someone who ordered earlier online" Understandable.

They've even replaced a die I chipped to avoid me dealing with LEE directly.

Not to speak for them, but I understand they both have regular jobs and reloading sales support their (and our) hobby. They don't strike me as out to make 'a buck' off fellow reloaders/shooters.

Could they do better with their online service? . . . . sounds like it.
Should they change their service at Gun Shows . . . . god, I hope not.

I am the type that I'd rather get a great deal, than be in any hurry and F&M meets these requirements perfectly.

They will continue to get the first chance for my hard earned cash. Period.

Hope this helps with those whose been happy with F&M, yet didn't have much experience to relate.

'da Kid

[evan price]

I've ordered a couple times from F&M.

They do not carry a ton of inventory like Midway or Nachez. The past 18 months reloading went from a sleepy hobby to a holy-cripes obsession and nobody had anything in stock. F&M aren't as big as Midway or the other big dogs so their orders are lower in priority. I can't fault them for not getting restocked.

That said, they really ought to do better about returning emails- but it's a tiny business and internet is not their primary deal- gunshows are.

Every order I sent to them was received in full. I was not billed until the order shipped. When they didn't have what I needed in one case, they built it for me out of stuff they had in stock.

Today, everyone is so focused on wanting it right now they forgot the way it used to be- please allow 8-10 weeks for delivery, on almost anything "mail ordered".

If you're one of those people that wants to order on Monday and have it in your hand before Friday, F&M is probably not the company you should order from. If you need your hand held and want updates every few days, buy from Midway.

If you can afford to be patient and want to deal with a small company at the best price around, they can help you. Let me add again- they do not bill until they ship. There's lots of companies that take your money and then spend weeks getting your stuff, using your cash to float their overhead. Not F&M.

I can't say that everyone is going to be happy, but I've got no reason to complain.

[dangerranger]

Ive always gotten good service from them. shipping time from order to delivery usally runs 3 to 4 weeks. all my orders have been complete. I guess I just live right. DR

[trapper300RUM]

I have a order placed with F&M Reloading INC. The site states that "depending on items ordered " it may take 3-6 weeks for the order to ship out . I placed my order on 03/05/13 & its 04/26/13 & my order hasn't shipped out yet giving the amount of backorders on most every site in the industry I am going to wait on F&M . My guess is the F&M is more than likely waiting on the MFG's to send the products to thier distributors & then to F&M themselves . I have had several emails with Mark & he seems to be a honest guy & if i even thought that F&M is trying to rip me off i would cancel my order in a second & never give F&M another thought . As i said just about every site that sells reloading supplies are backup & its hard on them. My card hasn't been charged yet either

[dbosman]

Anyone think certain companies ought to be listed in the Deadbeat area?

NO!
The site can be sued out of existence. Truth is no defense.

[wlc]

I've ordered from F&M on several occasions over the years. Never had any heartburn with them. The last time was when I got my Classic cast turret press and some other stuff. Had to wait, but knew that up front as I called on the phone to place the order and they told me the lag time. They weren't off more than a week on an expected delivery date.

Everywhere is experiencing extreme lag times due to overwhelming sales volume right now. If you need it tomorrow, you should've ordered it three months ago...