Ever dealt with Hinterland Outfitters? Would love to get some feedback if so.

[Dannix]

Ever dealt with Hinterland Outfitters? Would love to get some feedback if so.
http://www.hinterlandoutfitters.com/

They have a firearm in stock that I haven't been able to find in stock anywhere, but I can't seem to find any buyer experience with them.

I did a whois and got:

Creation Date: 27-jul-2009
Expiration Date: 27-jul-2010
Not sure how well that bodes...

[AZ-Stew]

I had to do some detective work to find out where they were located, and this is only a guess. Their fax number area code shows it to be in the Houston/Katy, Texas area, but that doesn't mean much. They have no local phone number listed and no street address. They do have a toll-free phone number. You might call them and ask where they're located. Then check the Better Business Bureau. Buyer beware.

Regards,

Stew

[Dannix]

I gave them a ring at their toll free number. It rang a few times and then I got voicemail. ... that was it. No 'please stay on the line, your call is important to us', 'you're 3rd in line', or 'press 1 for blah department, press 2 for blah' et al. Just sounded like I was calling someone's home phone.

I left a message saying how I noticed they had something I was looking for in stock, but I couldn't find anything about their company online by way of user experience et al.

They gave me a call back, but I didn't pick up because I didn't recognize the number. It was 281-298-8858.

Did find this: http://yellowpages.click2houston.com/hinterland+outfitters.9.108045471p.home.html

Oh, and this thread is already on the first page of Google when you google Hinterland Outfitters. Yeah. Doesn't inspire confidence does it.

[Dannix]

http://yellowpages.click2houston.com/hinterland+outfitters.9.108045471p.home.html

Hinterland Outfitters
# (281) 298-8858
# 25301 Borough Park Dr
# Spring, TX 77380

That 'Sunglass Hut' location appears to be a corporate office area. Farther down the road about though is a warehouse. Perhaps this is where they are located.


Oh, check out their review page (http://www.hinterlandoutfitters.com/reviews.php)...they got 9 product review. Yup, a whopping 9.

Maybe they are just a new startup. Maybe. Not sure why they are letting their domain getting so close to expiring though. Going to give them a call again.

[Geraldo]

If you get to the point where you think you're going to deal, use this link to check their FFL status:

https://www.atfonline.gov/fflezcheck/

I don't do business with any FFL without looking it up first.

I'm not sure if a thread making the first page of a google search is a big deal or not. I've had castboolits come up at the top of a google search before. I've got a friend who does a large amount of net business (not guns) and has no walk in store. If you tried to find his location via the net it would be very difficult but he's 100% straight up, doing business with LE and the military.

[Dannix]

Good call. When I give them another call, I'll be sure to ask for their FFL number. My point about the ranking on Google is the dearth of commentary out there concerning this company. Do a search for, say, Buds Guns, and you'll find a ton of relevant results.


Actually, what I was looking for is now in stock at www.budsgunshop.com. Now I need to look up how good they are. Heard some bad things about them cooking review of banned accounts, and heard some bad things about their retail store service. Heard some good things about Buds Police Supply, their retail store anyway. Is budsgunshop.com run by same guys as budspolicesupply.com?

Will still be looking into Hinterland -- they got prices that rival Buds, though that doesn't do you any good if the company is no good.

[Hinterland Outfitters]

Hi,

I'm a customer service representative with Hinterland Outfitters. I just ran across your post here, and thought I would answer a few of your questions about us.

Yes, we are a relatively new company, which is why you might not find a lot of customer-experience information out there yet about us. Yes, we are a legitimate business located in the Houston area. We are primarily web-based, and currently do not have a retail store, which is why our physical address is not prominently displayed on our website.

We do hold an FFL license, and we have a wide range of guns for sale, ammo, optics, knives, and tons of hunting and shooting accessories from all of the top brands.

If you have any questions or concerns, you can always call us at the toll-free number listed on our website (http://www.hinterlandoutfitters.com) or send us an e-mail from our 'Contact Us' page.

One of our previous customers has posted about us on his blog at the link below, if you're interested in reading about his experience purchasing a gun:

http://armaborealis.blogspot.com/2010/05/review-buying-online-from-hinterland.html

Thanks for your interest!

[Dannix]

Hey, thanks for your post and welcome to the CastBoolits forum!

Hope I didn't stir up too much of a hornets nest for you guys. Free publicity though, yeah? You may want to make sure you renew your domain though. ;)

I'll give you guys another ring tomorrow. Great to have another online seller.

[Wayne Smith]

Thank you for posting. You stumbled onto a great group here, almost 15,000 of us who are serious enough about shooting to at least seriously consider casting our own boolits if we haven't been doing it for years. Might ge a good resource for a startup group selling guns and gear at competitive prices.

Keep in touch.

[Dannix]

After a little telephone-tag, I had a great phone conversation with Brett. Apparently they are a small group with a really well done website and are scrambling to keep up with their growth. They've been around for a couple of years, but only in the last six months have they been selling firearms, and they are planning on expanding even more to hiking equipment, canoes, et al. Getting a lot of former Bud's customers I'm told. Oh, and a ton via Froogle/Google's shopping, which is how I first found them.

Their FFL is checking out OK, and over the phone they seem like some good straight shooters. :)

I did recommend an 'our team' or "About Us" page, which I'm told is already on their to-do list. I don't mind a mom-and-pop operation, just want to know who I'm dealing with. Kind of like summitgunbroker.com or classicarms.us.
I also mentioned GunPal, but only tentatively as I haven't looked into it myself. If I recall correctly though, there are at least one or two vendor/sponsors here using GunPal now.

They said they try to be competitive with Buds, and one thing they don't do is charge extra for credit card orders, which is probably wise as new customers are probably going to want the safety of a credit card purchase (that they can contest if need be) rather than just mailing off a money order and hoping for the best.


I'm planing on picking up a sidearm from them. Will cost me ~$10-15 more than Buds, but I think it will be worth it. Will update once I have some experiential knowledge.


Edit: And Brett, looks like we got a banner spot open. ;)

[82nd airborne]

thats pretty straight up, getting an account just to answer a guys questions... good stuff.

[Dannix]

Well I ended up putting in an order with them. The item was as described, and I got it fast. They're my go-to place for new buys now.

Thanks Brett and co.

[DCP]

I ordered some 1885 scope bases

Super fast shipping

[tvtv]

I bought a gun from them. It had a problem. They took care of it immediately. Great people.

[Dannix]

I bought a gun from them. It had a problem. They took care of it immediately. Great people.
Glad to hear it, and welcome to the forum! Careful though -- you'll find yourself casting and learning way to much about firearms in general if you stick around too long. Whatever you do, make sure you don't check out the group buy subforum. Yeah, don't go there. :)

I was so impressed with Hinterland, they'll be my go-to place for future purchases.

[oakley6272@yahoo.com]

I received some items my wife purchased from Hinterland Outfitters for me for Christmas When I got the items they were not quite right. I noticed that Hinterland had a 30 Day return policy and my wife had purchased the items in Oct. However, I figured that since the items still packaged, were a gift and that I only needed an exchange not a refund of any money they might be able to assist. I sent an email to their customer service outlining my situation, waited two weeks and no response. I called the company directly and was told that there was no way they could help me.

[Dannix]

With all due respect, your reputation here, i.e. lack thereof, does not lend credence to your post.

Welcome to the forum, indeed, but we need to get to know you before we consider mud slinging justified. Otherwise the target simply looks like the victim of forum trolling.

Now a word of warning: If you stick around here too long, you may find yourself signing up for many a group buy. :mrgreen:


I received some items my wife purchased from Hinterland Outfitters for me for Christmas When I got the items they were not quite right. I noticed that Hinterland had a 30 Day return policy and my wife had purchased the items in Oct. However, I figured that since the items still packaged, were a gift and that I only needed an exchange not a refund of any money they might be able to assist. I sent an email to their customer service outlining my situation, waited two weeks and no response. I called the company directly and was told that there was no way they could help me.

[waksupi]

Wayne, you need to catch up! We are over 22,000 members now.

For the new guy complaining, thirty days, is thirty days. I wouldn't have refunded either.

[msta999]

I'm glad I found this on a forum I trust! They have a 877 barrel I have been looking for and was checking reviews, when I found this thread on a forum I frequent. Not only did they have it in stock, but it was the best price I have seen on the net! If these guys are good enough for the guys here, they are good enough for me! I just ordered it.
Thanks for starting this thread.

[jmburd]

OK, this is my first post, so some of you guys will want to step all over what i have to say. Step away brothers, but i have all the emails, and all the phone conversations (my cell records) to backup what i have to say. I am in the middle of 2 week worth of netherlands with hinterlands. I order what they list on the net, their lack of inventory control prohibits delivery. I finally get a delivery yesterday, but it is not even close to what i ordered. I tried to call today, but voice mail says their phone system is down (got the same message 2 weeks ago). Emailed but no reply. They have 2 orders worth of my cash, (the first of 3 orders was refunded after a week) and all i have is 200 rounds of .223 when i should be holding 1500 rounds of 9mm. This is the 3rd no interest loan i've floated them in 2.5 weeks (yes, i am the fool !). u can s**t all over me cause i'm not a vet here, but come monday and i dont have a satisfactory response from the netherlands, i'll post the emails and find a way to post the phone attempts somewhere on the net.
Good Luck Brothers !!!

[altheating]

Bought from them last year. No problems at all.

[DCP]

OK, this is my first post, so some of you guys will want to step all over what i have to say. Step away brothers, but i have all the emails, and all the phone conversations (my cell records) to backup what i have to say. I am in the middle of 2 week worth of netherlands with hinterlands. I order what they list on the net, their lack of inventory control prohibits delivery. I finally get a delivery yesterday, but it is not even close to what i ordered. I tried to call today, but voice mail says their phone system is down (got the same message 2 weeks ago). Emailed but no reply. They have 2 orders worth of my cash, (the first of 3 orders was refunded after a week) and all i have is 200 rounds of .223 when i should be holding 1500 rounds of 9mm. This is the 3rd no interest loan i've floated them in 2.5 weeks (yes, i am the fool !). u can s**t all over me cause i'm not a vet here, but come monday and i dont have a satisfactory response from the netherlands, i'll post the emails and find a way to post the phone attempts somewhere on the net.
Good Luck Brothers !!!


Phone: 1-877-446-8370 (Toll-Free, M-F 10AM - 5PM)

Phone works now you can leave a message.

[mikeym1a]

OK, this is my first post, so some of you guys will want to step all over what i have to say. Step away brothers, but i have all the emails, and all the phone conversations (my cell records) to backup what i have to say. I am in the middle of 2 week worth of netherlands with hinterlands. I order what they list on the net, their lack of inventory control prohibits delivery. I finally get a delivery yesterday, but it is not even close to what i ordered. I tried to call today, but voice mail says their phone system is down (got the same message 2 weeks ago). Emailed but no reply. They have 2 orders worth of my cash, (the first of 3 orders was refunded after a week) and all i have is 200 rounds of .223 when i should be holding 1500 rounds of 9mm. This is the 3rd no interest loan i've floated them in 2.5 weeks (yes, i am the fool !). u can s**t all over me cause i'm not a vet here, but come monday and i dont have a satisfactory response from the netherlands, i'll post the emails and find a way to post the phone attempts somewhere on the net.
Good Luck Brothers !!!

Somewhere, sometime, somehow, something it not going to go your way. It's called life. Any transaction over the net takes approx 2 weeks. If there is a problem with the transaction, then don't be surprised that it takes another 2 weeks to for it to be investigated and rectified. Note: at this point, approx 4 wks have passed. Since they don't have a walk-in store, you have to wait. Patience is in order. From what I've read, they are a reputable company. If you are short of ammo that you ordered, have you heard that there is a scarcity of ammo across the country? Perhaps the supplies they expected to receive did not arrive, either. That embarrasses them, and aggravates you, and does your blood pressure no good. And sometimes, s**t does happen. So, you can be polite, and ask for their help, or cancel your orders and ask for a refund, which will arrive in due time. From Wiki '....Patience (or forbearing) is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances....'. Patience.

[SharpDog]

I just ordered my 4th gun from them. The last 3 were shipped within 2 days and arrived in a couple more. Very low price, reasonable shipping, prompt response to emails and everything arrived as expected. Don't see how it could be any better. I plan to order a few more from them over the next few months.

[NavyVet1959]

Hmmm... A lot of one-post-wonders here... I'm always suspect of people giving good reviews if that is their only post. I've seen it too many times on the reviews on Google Plus. It's pretty obvious when a person gives a company 5 stars, a glowing review, and that is the ONLY review that they have ever made.,

I'm also curious how Hinterland discovered this thread and replied to it after just 9 hours since the original post.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

Hmmm... A lot of one-post-wonders here... I'm always suspect of people giving good reviews if that is their only post. I've seen it too many times on the reviews on Google Plus. It's pretty obvious when a person gives a company 5 stars, a glowing review, and that is the ONLY review that they have ever made.,

I'm also curious how Hinterland discovered this thread and replied to it after just 9 hours since the original post.

not at all uncommon for a web based company to search their name daily when something new comes up they check into it

yeah this is an old post the company has been around more than 3 years there should be plenty of reviews by now

when eBay got big some years the company I work for set it up to get email warnings every time one of our products were listed for sale , we had leased equipment that companies would go out of business and stuff would get sold but it wasn't their's to sell , we could dispute the sale before the auction ended.

[MaryB]

There web design is identical to a dozen other gun shops online... sorry but that scares me off instantly! And I do mean identical!

[grumman581]

There web design is identical to a dozen other gun shops online... sorry but that scares me off instantly! And I do mean identical!

I saw that they were located locally, so I tried to contact them to see if I could purchase directly from them instead of having to have the firearm transferred to yet another FFL holder and having to pay a transfer fee and shipping. I figured that if I could do that, it would offset the sales tax and shipping and be competitive with other online gun stores that offer free shipping and no sales tax, but have a slightly higher price on the items that I was wanting. No such luck. They said that they do not have a "physical retail storefront" and are internet only.

[Hinterland Outfitters]

Hinterland Outfitters Rep here,

Just wanted to post and clear up some misconceptions in this thread.

1) We have absolutely no knowledge of a customer with the 'jmburd' poster's story. This customer has never contacted us either by phone or by email about lost or incorrect orders. If the customer's order had in fact been lost or incorrect, we would have worked with him to resolve the issue, up to and including refunding his money. Email support is available 24/7, and phone support is available M-F during business hours. We do answer all emails and voicemails, and if this customer had contacted us, we certainly would have replied.

Our customers are very important to us, and we do try our best to resolve any issues that may arise.

2) We absolutely do not invent reviews about ourselves. Any reviews or comments about us that are posted on third-party sites were written by customers (or non-customers) entirely of their own volition.

3) Our web site is certainly not "identical to a dozen other gun shops online". While many websites do of course use similar shopping cart software, there is certainly nothing wrong with this or anything to fear. All website shopping-cart software does have the same general built-in concepts and similar features.

4) Yes, we do try to keep an eye on what's being said about our company online, and we do respond when we feel that it's necessary. Posters are always welcome to contact us directly with any questions or concerns.

Thanks,

Mark
Hinterland Outfitters

[Dannix]

Hard to believe this thread is from 5 years ago. I don't even own anymore what I had bought from them (sold it to someone here). I guess this is how you old timers feel all too often.

Mark, no worries. I suppose you do have to think of the Google traffic should this still be a top Google search result for your company, but for the guys here, were going to use a whole peck of salt should any new-to-the-forum parties post any glowing or contrariwise comments with regard to any company.

Best regards

[NavyVet1959]

I looked at their site and the page banner photo kind of makes you think that they might be located in one of the Rocky Mountain bordering states -- large snow covered mountain in the background. Since they are located in the Houston area, I guess that is where they wish they were located since we don't have any such weather or mountains around here that look like that. :)

[DCP]

Hard to believe this thread is from 5 years ago. I don't even own anymore what I had bought from them (sold it to someone here). I guess this is how you old timers feel all too often.

Mark, no worries. I suppose you do have to think of the Google traffic should this still be a top Google search result for your company, but for the guys here, were going to use a whole peck of salt should any new-to-the-forum parties post any glowing or contrariwise comments with regard to any company.

Best regards


I would imagine he has the thread book marked.

[quickdraw66]

I looked at their site and the page banner photo kind of makes you think that they might be located in one of the Rocky Mountain bordering states -- large snow covered mountain in the background. Since they are located in the Houston area, I guess that is where they wish they were located since we don't have any such weather or mountains around here that look like that. :)

Ouch, that was a serious burn! :D

I've been down around Houston before, and I can't say your wrong. I went to see the USS Texas a while back (GREAT historical site BTW, I got to play with the AA guns :o) and went through La Porte and that area was especially gloomy. I believe that area and the beach there used to be a great tourist spot a LONG time ago. Now it's nothing but one big industrial park.

[ajuan]

I am not concise

After searching around online for the best prices I decided to place an order for a 2500 dollar gun on a random Friday around 4:00 PM. Shortly after getting off the phone I realized I had made the payment on the wrong card. i figured i just placed the order there shouldnt be a problem stopping the first payment; So i give them a call around 430-445 pm and their phone lines are shut down. I proceed to email the sales team to request the stop payment so I could use a different card. After an hour or so, around 6:30, I get a reply back. The rep was courteous and answered my question but denied my request?!? I understand you have processing fees etc but I just placed the order. It still shows pending on my account so surely theres a way to stop the payment. After just one email to them they flat out said no, at least make it seem like you tried or will look into it(Im not spending an amazing amount of money but 2500 bucks isnt chump change either). The rep told me they would charge me an extra 6% on top of the order to switch payments. Thats 137 bucks just to switch payment methods on an order I placed 3 hours ago... Btw their policy is 48 hours to refund a gun purchase with no restocking fee or any fee charged (THE FOLLOWING WEEK I SPOKE TO A REP AND THEY SAID THIS IS BECAUSE THAT IS THE AMOUNT OF TIME THEY HAVE TO AVOID PROCESSING FEES), At this point I am well within the 48 hours but for some reason a different set of policies applies to me. I could just cancel the order and re order on a different card. Very bad taste in my mouth at this point. I bit the bullet (when i should have cancelled the order) and decided to keep going.

What really confuses me is not the fact they denied my request but their response- "no we can't do it you have to pay 6%". No alternatives they werent even following their own policy [Insert hand slow clapping jpeg here]. Now me being a sucker I figure I didnt want to be a jerk- Cancel my order and re-order on the right card- so forward we go. Where as they clearly did not care about me. The emails and replies I got all had the same theme. Their goal was to keep my order open past the point of no return (as evidenced by them not following their own policies and "threatening" me with bs fees) so whether I bought the item or not worst case they would be able to charge me 137 bucks.

A day passes and I realize that the rifle I ordered did not have the rail I wanted. I had given the sales rep the wrong item # when I placed the order. This is my fault and I realize I am making some request they normally don't get- but I was not going to spend 2500 on the wrong rifle. This was 2 days(Sunday) after I placed the order. They advertise price matching so I think to myself- it shouldnt be a problem just give them a call get the item # updated and have them match the price. Well, they are closed on Sunday so I gave them a call on Monday. Come Monday... they had some phone issues but when I did get through to a rep they proceeded to tell me "The sales team is out of the office all week for training no one can help you here but you can reach them by e-mail" What? i guess that's ok...

I e-mail the sales team immediately to make the change and request the price match. After a day waiting for a response I finally get a reply. The site Im price matching quoted me a price of 2289 shipped. Hinterland comes back to me with a price of 2549 best offer; thats nowhere near a match. Business is business and I want to cancel at this point(tell me what you do for a living if you wouldn't do the same). They say they are a master dealer for the manufacture and cant match another master dealers price... thats fine theyve got their margins. The whole "nobody here to assist you but you can reach them by e-mail" was I would say unacceptable. The delay in response time resulted in delays in my decision making... I understand that (with their "training" class etc) they could not assist me during most of their regular hours. I sent the request for a price match and item change on Monday morning... finally received the response on Tuesday afternoon and that's when I cancelled my order. No reply email to my cancellation email. Just a generic refund e-mail less my 137 dollars of course.

Weekends counting towards the 48 hour policy is bs they are not even open on Saturday and Sunday. I can already hear their response... "We were available by e-mail". My opinion is again beside the point. I know I am outside "48 hour return policy with no fees" at this point but me, believing in good customer service and considering this strange(to say the least) customer service experience so far; I believed that hinterland would try to at least work with me on the ridiculous 137 dollar charge for cancelling the order. They did not. They flat out told me no... again, no alternative solution no offer to meet halfway(get the feeling they dont care about the customer... just the money). I email them trying to plead my case or see if they would give me an alternative. No response. I called to talk to one of their "customer service reps" to try to get the sales team to reply and at least respond to my message.. nothing. Last email i got stated my refund amount with the 137 dollars taken out... no response no attempt to provide some semblance of customer service. If they tried, my review would be uncalled for but the lack of service really threw me off. Obviously they don't care about my business and who's to say they will care about yours. They are very good at quoting prices and somewhat ok at responding to product questions but other than that the service was... cant think of anything professional/appropriate to say. THIS WAS A BACKORDER. The item was gonna take 2-3 weeks to get. They didn't even have the item in stock and they still wouldnt give me a full refund.

I think what separates good customer service/good company from a **** customer service/**** company is how they handle these one off situations.
Just my two cents.

Hey you made it to the end. Thanks for reading my rant.

[Rol007]

I have ordered a POF 308 from them recently 01/15/16. The guys (including Brett)were great were very helpful and on top of my order. Although it took a little longer than anticipated to receive my rifle, (Factory Issues and huge demand) they delivered as promised. Would definitely recommend them and would purchase again from them.

[jonp]

I picked up steel and pipe in Houston several times and all I could think of was "what a humid swamp". I'm always curious when a bunch of posters with 1 or 2 posts show up on a thread anywhere. My antenna perk up at that

[hylander]

I realize this thread is old, but getting ready to possibly order a Lyman 50 cal. Great Plains rifle from them.
Any current input ?

[HickFromTheSticks]

I tried to access the blog you listed in your post and I'm not able to view it. I get the message below in BOLD...and there is no way for me to ask for an invite to view the blog. I'd like to verify your Federal Firearms License. Would you mind posting or emailing me the first 3 digits and the last 5 digits of your FFL? I'd like to purchase from you, but won't do so until I verify your business is legit. Thank you.

It doesn't look like you have been invited to read this blog. If you think this is a mistake, you might want to contact the blog author and request an invitation.


Hi,

I'm a customer service representative with Hinterland Outfitters. I just ran across your post here, and thought I would answer a few of your questions about us.

Yes, we are a relatively new company, which is why you might not find a lot of customer-experience information out there yet about us. Yes, we are a legitimate business located in the Houston area. We are primarily web-based, and currently do not have a retail store, which is why our physical address is not prominently displayed on our website.

We do hold an FFL license, and we have a wide range of guns for sale, ammo, optics, knives, and tons of hunting and shooting accessories from all of the top brands.

If you have any questions or concerns, you can always call us at the toll-free number listed on our website (http://www.hinterlandoutfitters.com) or send us an e-mail from our 'Contact Us' page.

One of our previous customers has posted about us on his blog at the link below, if you're interested in reading about his experience purchasing a gun:

http://armaborealis.blogspot.com/2010/05/review-buying-online-from-hinterland.html

Thanks for your interest!