Thumbs down of National Archery supply

[willyqbc]

I'm wondering if Jason might ber able to work with/thru the U.S. company and therby get around some of his stocking issues?
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I don't have all the specifics as I'm sure the legal logistics of it are complicated, but I believe that is the intent of their now having a facility in the US...they can deal direct with the actual companies to get stock, rather than go through a distributor. Last time I talked to Colin they were up over $40,000 in stock and climbing. It appears they are doing what they can to get their stock levels up. I know anything we order from a local dealer right now is also taking forever, I think the problem with the online ordering as compared to the local shop, is a place like NAS allready has your money while you wait while the local guy does not.....doesn't change the wait time but it sure changes how we feel about the wait!!

Chris

[Deadeye]

There are definately problems right now and...

I don't post much but sh*t like this really burns me so I had to say something...

It sounds to me like they are taking payment for inventory they don't have. If the customers aren't informed of that before they pay, I believe that's actually illegal, at least in BC. If I ever had an order that I couldn't cover from my own stock on hand, I'd be out of business. Drop-shipping is fine for eBay, but it's no substitute for having the operating capital to keep stock on hand. That just goes to credibility and professionalism.

Just because you are reducing your overhead vs a brick-and-mortar store by having an e-business doesn't mean that your overall operating costs go down, they need to be re-allocated to inventory.

I mean, seriously: if they had the stuff you actually ordered sent to you within a couple days with some (manufacturer supplied) freebie thrown in to sweeten the deal, your impression would be completely reversed, inspite of the initial flub.

From the customer's side, I'd look at that and see that if they have long delays and ship the wrong items...well, that's all the nails the coffin needs to keep it shut from this guy...it sounds like a couple guys trying to make it fly from their basement or garage and not a reputable supplier.
I realize that's how most mail order outfits got started (MEC, REI, LLBean, etc) but what they had in common in that they actually had inventory in the basement to ship out...

they were up over $40,000 in stock and climbing

Is that stock that's bought and paid for, or is it just the inventory they have access to ?
You can post anything on a website, but if it's only 'potentially available' and you don't say so?
That's just plain BAD BUSINESS (if not criminal)

[willyqbc]

Deadeye, I don't know the answers to the questions you have posed but I can post up this email to me from Colin expalining what is has gone on and whit is currently going on

"We do have a shipping location over the border now. It’s not so much a warehouse, but the advantage is that, between being able to order direct from US companies and our ever-increasing stock, that yes things are getting out much faster. We basically had our hands tied into doing it, because a lot of the Canadian distributors were getting worried about ordering at 1.25 then only selling at 1.12 so they just froze stock. So if something was backordered, it ended up being backordered for weeks, sometimes even months, as you’ve seen and heard. Since I started here in November, our stock has increased by a solid $40,000 and a decent percentage of our orders are leaving here within 48 hours. Those that don’t are usually leaving within 10 days, if we have to go external. It’s better, but not really good enough for us yet. We’re still setting up some accounts over the border, and we still hit the occasional roadblock, but communication is getting better, our stock is increasing every day, and it’s not going to be long before the same people who are grumbling at shoots and posting on forums will have no choice but to admit that things have really turned a corner. I know I speak for Jason when I say that we appreciate your support and your patience during the last few months. We’ve certainly not been oblivious to the comments and the concerns"

Personally I think what should have happened was to have the website have the capability to track their inventory and then show an "out of stock" warning for items that are not in inventory so that customers did not end up paying for backordered items. They should have had the option to keep the backordered item in their order or remove it...I believe that is what Cabelas does for out of stock items. That would eliminate customers paying for an item that they may end up waiting a long time to get.

Chris

[35 Whelen]

Having an OUT OF STOCK listing sure would have made me a lot happier.

Instead I got the run around and pass the buck....no return to phone calls or e-mails until I made LOTS of noise.

But I have to say this......2 months to wait for feathers is TOOO long. Had that been my store. I would have gone out and bought the feathers myself from some other store to keep a customer happy. Now I only have 3 weeks to tune and fletch my arrow shafts, before opening day. That is going to be tough. I had planned on it in May....when I ordered the feathers.

At any rate....that is my rant and it's time to move ahead.....HUNTING SEASON is just about here !!!!!!

[Jagermeister]

Maybe NAS is doing drop shipping. You order from NAS and NAS places and pays for the order with the manufacturer who ships it directly to you. There are two problems that can arise from this; 1. Every other drop shipper on the continent decided to order the same thing on the same day and depleted the stock at the manufacturer's warehouse and; 2. the manufacturer, if stateside will fill the orders of those south of the 49th because the is no cross border has with several US gov't agencies.
With so many items now on the restricted export list, shipping beyond US borders are becoming more and more difficult.

[Mountain Man]

All you guy's that own and operate any kind of customer service business know how hard it can be. I have tried desperately for the past 3 years to purchase at a dealer level from NAS and I do believe they have bit of more then they can chew. I refuse to order from them anymore with the ongoing disappointment’s I have received from them. Supply and price is one thing. But most of us are willing to pay a little more to insure the service we demand. If we can be of some help let us know.

Hardcore Archery Shop
Kelowna BC.

[happygilmore]

They still havent got their sh%^ in order showed buddy a bow on their site good deal, till they sent him the wrong one, they said sorry and sent the right one. fine .
I order some stuff from them it comes 7 days later great. I order a rest from them 20 days later I email no responce, I call, get told will get a call back...no call, write a pissed off email finally get a responce, "don't know what happened to your order I'll ship out another" 10 days later I email, no responce it's now been 32 days since my original order!
I'm done, calling visa

[Bowzone_Mikey]

They still havent got their sh%^ in order showed buddy a bow on their site good deal, till they sent him the wrong one, they said sorry and sent the right one. fine .
I order some stuff from them it comes 7 days later great. I order a rest from them 20 days later I email no responce, I call, get told will get a call back...no call, write a pissed off email finally get a responce, "don't know what happened to your order I'll ship out another" 10 days later I email, no responce it's now been 32 days since my original order!
I'm done, calling visa

PM me your order Number and I will talk to Jason

[zedex]

Interesting.I had problems with NAS a long time before any recession excuses. I will never order from NAS again for reasons already discussed.
These guys are great and recommend them for very fast trouble free service.

http://www.bowhunterssuperstore.com/

[dave*]

I wish I had found this thread 10 weeks ago!! It could have saved me a lot of headache in dealing with the excuses, Incompetence, and shady business practices coming from NAS

I am ticked off enough at NAS that I went to the effort of registering on this website to do my public service duty and warn people about National Archery Supply

I placed and order in June, waited 2 weeks and began inquiring only to discover that some of my items were discontinued and no longer available, no effort made to contact me, this really irritated me.

Since then it has been lies and half truths, excuses, phones not answered, promised call backs in an hour not happening, getting hung up on with the transfer to shipping then refusing to pick the phone up for the rest of the day, changing their stories once they are proven to be idiots on another internet forum, failing to follow very specific instructions from my co-orderer... etc the list goes on. if you want the tamed down details go to the canadian section on Archerytalk.com and see the ever morphing story that comes from Jason of NAS

As it sits right now I have a partially completed order in my hands at the 10 week mark, and have a sneaking suspicion they will continue to screw around with the rest of my order..

After talking with the guys at my range ( should have done that before ordering I guess) it turns out I am not the first local in my area to have had the royal runaround from NAS.

Dave* from Vancouver