I just completed a 3 week ordeal after stupidly ordering powder from brownells. I had my 2 week vacation coming up so ordered powder on a Wednesday or Thursday.. It was expected to ship and arrive within the next 2 weeks easily, expected date was the end of the first week I had off.
Then brownells took 2 weeks to ship it..when it had said it would ship within 3 days. Ok..im back at work.. I'll just have the package held at the hub.. I do this all the time with UPS..firearms..etc. Log into my ups account..digitally sign or hold or delay or pick another address to receive at... Easy. My shipping was originally quoted as UPS. So I figure no problem... Ups has held powder or delayed it for me before in years past from hodgdon. Then I get a fed ex notice..ok..bad.... They have mis-delivered a firearm a couple times to people other than me that caused a storm of phone calls and threats to call the atf and report the guns as missing and give the atf their supervisors name and let them sort it out... So..i already had 0 confidence with them.
Then, as expected.. The problems start. I call FedEx to get the package held. " sorry we cant, the shipper has to request this". Ok.. Ups doesn't make you jump thru hoops..but ok. Call brownells back.. Talk to various people over the course of 2.5 hours.. No problem..we will have it held. This goes on for about 4 days.. Each hold gets turned down..package starts going out for delivery..getting missed. Each day I call FedEx and brownells.. Brownells average call time is about an hour to get handed off from phone answered to shipping to support to support confirmation... Each time they tell me..oh yeah..we got it held..its at their ground location. FedEx tells me that they will not hold hazmat packages at any of their locations now.. There was no where within 4 hours drive that I could have it held. I keep telling brownells thos..they keep assuring me it's held. Final/3rd delivery day arrives.. I call fed ex to see if it's held or on the truck.. Told its out for delivery. ..so I take a precious unpaid vacation day that I have to borrow from next month because mine are used already..from my real vacation using up all my accrued time... Loose a 10 hour day of work... Truck never comes... Tracking says out for delivery AND delayed. Now it's the 4th day and I decode to be at the ground facility at 8m when they open to try and get this box that's in limbo.. Luckily didn't have to be in early today. Jumped thru an hour of fire burning hoops because their ground facility is still under covid controls... Paper on their door says You have to call in and make an appt to get held boxes. Their hours are abbreviated 8-10am and 4-6pm m-f. I call in.. Lots of explaining..hold for half an hour. Box was on a truck..marked ok to load.. Driving around..but not deliverable..stuck in some sort of purgatory of un applied holds, fake delivery attempts.. Fake out for delivery tracking..and me out a days work.. Finally got my package in hand.
Never will I do business with either party again. Brownells should have a good understanding and clear interaction and procedures in place with fed ex to handle hazmat packages. Neither company acted like it had any idea how to handle it...
If you are thinking of doing business with the. And can't set at home 24/7 for 3 weeks... Don't do it!!!