I have a C&R FFL and used to get dealer pricing from midway, then several years ago they canceled it. Lately it seems like everything they sell is always too expensive. They have nothing that is a very good deal. So today I blocked and deleted all the junk mail promos they send to my email. I haven't ordered anything from them in a couple years anyways. I used to spend a couple thousand a year with them. anyone else find themselves not doing business with them anymore?

I haven't ordered anything from Midway in quite a while either. I usually find what I'm looking for cheaper elsewhere.

NYH1.

Midway was great in the 80's and early 90's. Last 15 years or so they are my second or third source for things. Sometimes they are the only one with stock, and sometimes they are the cheapest, but not often.

I am a fan of Midway for my needs.

No issues with midway here

I still shop Midway. I have noticed they aren't as competitive as they once were but I often find things on sale that are a good buy.

I used to be able to find things at Midway for people who need to reload because they had unusual calibers. They have become like all other big-box enterprises and are now offering far less to us and are concentrating more on fast moving merchandise. I'm also finding this to be a trend with Graf & Sons.

I don't think I've ordered anything from Midway for three years now.

Haven't had many projects going recently to need to place an order from them or their competition. But HO-LEE-[bleep], am I glad I finally got a smart phone so I can erase all the gawd damn emails! Brownell's is worse. MF'rs, I bought some [bleep] from you last year..does not mean I want an email from you every 1/2 hour. Little less painful now that I can erase the amazing offers as they show up, rather than 50 at the end of day.

I can't complain about Midway.

I don't do business with them anymore either. Their shipping policies to Alaska suck. Plenty of options to choose from elsewhere.

Jeff

See above post...

This^^^^^

They are not always the lowest, but sometimes they are; you just have to pick & choose.

I use them when they are or if they have something that no one else has that I need at that time.

MM

Over the years I have bought a few things from Midway, always been happy with price and service.

If I pulled my business from them I seriously doubt they could keep the doors open.

MidwayUSA has more relevant chit than anywhere BY FAR and an absolutely superb e-commerce site. They will not have the lowest price on every item. They will have a selection of items very hard to impossible to find elsewhere and very clear policies and excellent service. Haters have generally proven themselves to be dumb [bleep]...

Midway gets much of my business. Sure I shop and buy elsewhere based on availability and price. No complaints when Midway wins my money. Have been a customer for 20+ years.

I am with ED, they work great for what I need. But I have needed them way less the last few years.

The latest was questionable pricing. Was going to buy a scope, but when I got to the billing page, somehow by pure magic the price increased by $50. With the disclaimer that prices may change suddenly. Thought about sending them email, but they knew exactly what they were doing.

Simply deleted the item, logged out and went on with my day.

I still buy from them. You just have to know what's a good deal and what's not.

I still get stuff from them on occasion.

Mostly I'm mad at them for doing away with that wonderful reading material for the "little room".

Geno

I dropped them a few years ago when powder was in short supply. They did not have my first choice in stock. That was IMR 4350 and 4064. So I ordered Accurate brand 4350 and 4064 which was listed in stock.I believe this order was placed in February. By the next fall the powder still hadn't arrived. I had called a couple of times and been assured it was coming. I had trouble understanding this since it was "in stock". Finally I wrote a real letter and asked that the powder be shipped or my money returned with interest. Well, somebody named Larry called and told me that I should check with my bank because they had credited my account the month before and the powder wasn't available. I told him I thought my order had been diverted to a more favored customer and he didn't deny it. I told him that was a heck of a CS way of doing business and after he thanked me for my business the call terminated and I have had no trouble finding other places to order the supplies I need. Natchez, Midsouth, and Third generation mostly furnish what we need. If he would have just apologized and told me a plausible story of how his supplier had shafted him and sold the powder to some huge ammo company I would have been OK.

We jumped back in to handloading and shooting in Nov and shopped all the almost identical equipment and components on three sites. Midway, Natchez, and Brownells. I guess it was around $2k total, though we are still ordering small items. Midway earned most of that exchange. Mostly because of the ease of placing the orders and available inventory, but some on price.

No complaints here

Edit.. pretty sure I blocked their emails before they sent them

Yeah they only charge an additional $10 bucks to ship to Alaska.. Since it’s being shipped outside continental United States. We don’t have post offices here in Alaska.. insert a lot of sarcasm with this post. I won’t order from them after trying order brass and they were going charging 18 bucks to ship here to Alaska. No thank you...

Try living down here with the rest of the lunatics. $10 is cheap!

I do most of my ordering from them and Brownells.

May not be the cheapest, but they have a lot in stock.

Lol i guess the issue is where is this 10 bucks going when midway is putting these items in a flat rate shipping box.. Good ol Larry
getting money to make his fireside chat videos lol..

Right on. Seems like the same old song and dance from Larry, no matter what you need or where it’s going. At least he takes a chit in the box and marks it guaranteed. Lol

Yep. They quit giving dealer discounts and then tried to me that I was somehow getting a better deal. I haven't ordered anything from them since.

^^^This^^^

1) They have their eCommerce site down pat. Flows smoothly. Works well. Makes it EASY to order from them.

2) They have a wide variety of material listed on their eComm site. While they are not always the cheapest, frequently, they will have items in stock when others do not.

3) Their Customer Service SUCKS when you have a problem. Polite, but not customer oriented.

Back when primers were in short supply, I put Federal 205 GMM on my Midway "In Stock" notification list. First In Stock Notification, tried to order about 27 minutes after the notification email. Already sold out. One month later, second notification, logged in again 15 to 18 minutes after the email arrived. Sold out, again . Frustrating, because Midway would not allow back orders on primers like they did everything else. Third notification, I logged in immediately, and managed to snag two cases.

A week later, no shipping info. I called. "Oh, your primers are sitting in the Customer Pick Up location here at our shop waiting for you to pick them up..." Living in Kentucky, I have NEVER ordered anything form Midway for customer pickup. Asked them to ship them to me. "O.K." Several days later, still no shipping info. Called again. Supposedly, while the two cases were being moved from the Customer Pickup area back to Shipping, they were set down long enough to be picked up to fulfill another order. Arggghhh.... My credit card was charged at the original transaction. No amount of reasoning would convince them to simply "Back Order" the primers so that two cases, that I had already paid for, would be set aside out of the next shipment. Cancelled my order. They did promptly refund my credit card.

Immediately, went to Cabela's website. The primers were back ordered. Placed a back order. A month later, the two cases of (unobtanium) Federal 205 GMM primers showed up on my door step. Cabela's had some type of promotion at that time. Total Delivered Cost from Cabela's was less than the list price at Midway BEFORE tax, shipping, and handling were added on. Three to four months of frustration with Midway, and no primers. One month of "fire and forget" with Cabela's, primers are in hand, with zero drama...

I still do a fair amount of business with Midway. However, they are no longer my preferred vendor. They only get my business when they are the lowest cost, or, the only eComm site that has the desired product in stock.

This pretty well sums up how I feel. I like to look around the Midway site or flyers once in a while and have no problem with there customer service but unless they're the only company with something I'm looking for in stock there's, nothing about Midway to separate them from their competitors and I can usually find it cheaper some place else.

Wow complaining about Midway USA is kind of a reach,

I could beleive complaining about prices at Cabelas, but midway has good pricing on a bunch of stuff, the site is killer, and they ship fast.

I look at them first because of the shipping is quick, but to expect them to be the cheapest on everything all the time is just naive


I find customers to be a bigger pain in the Arse at a store than the employee’s - so if some uber picky people don’t want to use them - all good... At least the employee’’s won’t have to deal with customers who are more time consuming.

I.E. - Unless they screwed you over (not) I don’t see any loss for them, or me if some guys don’t use them.

Cup half full ?

I use Midway quite a bit

I haven't seen where anyone is bashing Midway so much as stating that there are usually better prices to be had on other sites and equal customer service. Pre internet Midway and Brownell's were two of a small number of big suppliers with hard to find items in stock. In today's market nothing really distinguishes Midway from the pack and price wise they tend to run a little high

I've been a customer of Midway for forty years. Not ordered much the last few years cause there just isn't much I need now.

I would strongly disagree that, "nothing distinguished Midway from the pack." They have the best eCommerce site in the industry, that I'm aware of, by far. And in my experience, their customer service is first rate.

Furthermore, I'd much rather give my money to an ardent NRA supporter in Larry Potterfield than say Jeff Bezos at Amazon. I'll even pay a couple bucks more to buy from Midway than some of the competitors.

Their shipping is the fastest in the business. It does cost a little more, but they almost always offer free shipping on orders over $99 bucks.

I just purchased from Midway a Choate stock set for my model 37 Ithaca...It was actually cheaper than if purchased directly from the manufacturer. I generally do a search and will deal with whatever reputable company pops up with the product in stock at a fair net price (shipping ,tax).

I have no problems with them. I buy from them and others, depending on price and availability. Bought some on sale dies from them recently at a very good price b

I buy occasionally from them, but have no loyalty there. I'd probably buy more if every TV ad didn't have to have that dork Potterfield's face on it. Same goes with eharmony, having that geriatric old fart giving advice to some twenty something on dating. He can disappear too.

Ordering dies from PSA that I needed relatively soon made me appreciate the great service I receive from Midway.

I use them. Convenient

I like Midway. Great website, fast shipping and I have no beef with them being a little more expensive on occasion.
And, given the way they gave the OP the grumpy-grumps, I'd say they're also a pretty good judge of character.

I buy some from them. Since I am just over 100 miles from them shipping is very fast. Also order from Brownells, Natchez, Midsouth, Grafs and others.

Also buy from a couple little shops just down the road. They aren't any higher than mail order and 1 has a hell of a powder selection.

I do shop around and also find myself ordering some stuff from all of them that is a killer deal at the time.

Right now Fiocchi 410 shells from Midway are cheaper with shipping than I can get any of the Big 3 ammo companies 410 ammo locally.

Actually when needing dies for a new cartridge or wanting to try new bullets I have been posting a WTB ad here. Only thing I didn't buy from here for my new 280 purchase was brushes and a jag. Dies, brass and quite a few bullets came from members on here.

I got mad at them a few years ago regarding a promotion in Eastman's Journal. Eastman's had a notice that Eastman subscribers could get a 10% discount from Midway for a limited time. I ordered an item but the discount did not show up when I used the discount code. I called Midway and was informed the discount only applied to clearance items. The ad did not specify that. I then called Eastman's and they told me that Midway had not mentioned that restriction when they made the offer to the magazine. I prompty removed my name from Midway's email notices and quit doing business with them for a few years. I started doing business again when they had some scarce primers in stock.

They only get my business when they are the lowest cost, or, the only eComm site that has the desired product in stock.


This is how I try to buy everything: Who's the cheapest, fastest shipper, or as a last resort, who's the only one that's got what I want. Sometimes, Midway is all three, sometimes just one or two. LGSs around here stock very little in the line of components (except powder and primers) because they don't have the money to maintain stock, or often knowledgable staff to manage it all. Midway is a reliable source for all kinds of stuff and sometimes that's the most important thing.

They also ship quickly.

so, forgiveness is possible! I like that.

Midway is my go to first choice with a multiple item order. They usually have everything in stock and end up cheaper than ordering from several different places when shipping cost is factored in. Even if they are slightly more expensive I prefer the convenience of one source and receiving one shipment.

If ordering one item I will price shop.

I use them pretty regularly. They are sometimes the only company who has something I need in stock.

MIdsouth, better prices and reasonable shipping.

I use Midway when I can't find an item in stock elsewhere, but their prices and especially shipping to AK make them non competitive. Yes they do have a well setup web commerce site, no to me it's not worth paying an additions 10% for that convenience.

I still buy things from Midway on occasion. Always had good service from them.

I routinely buy from Midway and think they are one of the better online retailers. They do lose out sometimes because their shipping on ammo is high and others often offer free shipping.

Service & selection is always good with Midway......pricing may not be so good.......

Brownells..Graf's.......seem to offer more discounts more often..

I use all three......best price gets my vote.......

Midway’s always treated me well. I usually only concern myself with prices on significant items....customer service and having what I want when I want it and having a smooth, easy to use e-commerce site costs a few bucks to maintain. That gets passed on to me...it’s worth it IMO.

If I don’t want a lot of promotional emails I unsubscribe. Takes about 5 seconds.

I’ve found I’m using Brownells more and more. Love the deals especially free shipping. Put stuff in my cart, wait for deal and shipping.

Or you can simply unsubscribe.

I know....you shouldn't have to in the first place but it sounds like it'll lower your blood pressure.

Midway has always done good on my orders. No complaints.

15 years ago it was primarily Graf’s and Midway. About 5 years ago I saw Graf’s prices going up and deals going down.
I now surf between Midway, Powder Valley, Midsouth, Brownell’s and Natchez. Graf’s hasn’t seen and won’t see any of my money until they figure out that they arent selling gold.

Any other dealers that I should have on my list?

Funny, when Midway started, they had free shipping on everything in the catalog. When they decided to start charging for shipping , good 'ol Larry claimed they were lowering prices across the board to make it sound like it was saving us money.

I saved the last "free shipping" catalog to compare with the new "fair shipping" bible. Majority of the prices didn't change......

Like Cabelas, I buy there when it's on sale, or the last place that has it in stock.

No, although over the last 2-3 years, Midway has done very well on quick shipping, I think the fastest is Primary Arms............but they don't have all the products that Midway does.

MM

I shop around a lot online before I buy something. I will use Midway if they are the only source or they have a good sale price. They have really made me mad regarding some back orders and it was not a one time issue. I believe it takes some concern for the customer to develop brand loyalty an they have fallen flat on that. I have had Cabala's honor back orders after an 18 months wait. Back order something from Cabala's, if they can get it, you will get it.

No complaints about Midway, I only order what I can't find local. Midway has always been top notch for my needs!

I've dealt with Natchez & Midsouth Shooters supply for decades, & 90% of the time their prices are better than Midway. I have ordered from Midway when they have a sale, but unless you're quick, most of the sale items will be out of stock.

In less words; Midway is a second to last resort for me, or if I'm needing something really, really bad or it's on sale I order from Cabela's.

I'm still pretty happy with Midway.

I got nothing against Midway or Grafs but I haven't shopped with them for a couple years. Most of the time I just need reloading supplies that I buy at the local gun shop. I've reached the point where I've acquired enough stuff that I need to use what I've bought before I get too old to use it.

I do most of my buying from the local guys too.


To me, Midway is kind of like WalMart.

When you actually look around, WalMart does not have the lowest prices, but they sure have the inventory. No need to go to 10 different places to find what you need.


You pay extra for the convenience. If you are cool with that fine. If it pisses you off, fine.

Thankfully we still have options.


When Amazon finally buys ouf Midway then we will be screwed!

What a lot of people miss is the fact that it is cheaper to stock up in advance. When you need something, go to the closet and get what you bought 6 months ago.

When the next "ammo/gun scare" happens (and it will), people will cry loud and long about prices. They will sob how their grandson needs 50 rounds of .22 ammo and there is none to be found. They will want to buy a stripped AR lower, 2 pounds of powder, some primers, some brass, and some magazines for their pistol or AR--and they are going to lose their minds about prices and non-availability.

LISTEN UP: Buy stuff now. Continuously surf websites (Midway, Powder Valley, Midsouth, Brownells, Cabelas, everywhere!) for best prices and free shipping when you can get it. (I haven't paid for shipping in forever; I keep adding stuff to my carts at various websites and buy when there's a promotion.)

In the wake of the last election, by now everybody should have a half dozen stripped lowers, ten thousand rounds (or more) of .22lr ammo, a bunch of AR mags, and enough reloading components for the next decade. If you shoot factory ammo, you should be buying by the case from TargetSportsUSA.com (low prices and free shipping every time). As of 2 minutes ago, you can get brass cased 9mm shipped to your door for $0.19 per round, .45 ACP for $0.26 per round, and .22lr for $0.05 per round.

At my range, people don't even care about 9mm or .40 brass anymore. It's all in the bin. I even get .45 ACP brass about every other trip. That NEVER used to happen. Right now is the time to prepare for the next shortage. Yeah you have to part with your hard-earned money, but you will feel like a genius later.

OK, rant over. Best wishes to us all!

I had a FFL and bought a lot of things from Midway.

It really made me upset when they discontinued the dealer discount.

Still buy from them from time to time but there are other players that want my money as well.

I've used Midway often in the past and still do, on occasion. It's best to shop around before you push the send button. You will save yourself money and frustration. ALL stores change their MO from time to time.

If you're ordering something from Midway that doesn't ship free, click on the free shipping tab at the top. I can usually find something there for little cost, and some value, that when added to the other items in my cart greatly reduces or eliminates the shipping charge. At least to my zip code.

I don't buy from them often

But I bet they are cutting "dealer discounts" because their overall margin has dropped with the net and they don't have as much to give

Ironically I ordered from them today clearance clothes are a barging

Hank

I still order from Midway USA.

Midway is overpriced on a lot of their stuff.
However, every now and then (probably too often for my budget ), I get a screaming deal on bullets from them. For instance, I picked up a bunch of Nosler RDFs for ~$0.14ea and some Speer 125gr TNTs for about the same. Man, it's been years since I saw those Speer's that cheap.

I'm kicking myself right now for passing on some .311" 125gr Nosler plastic tip bullets for about 15 cents each.
Bet they'd kill the deers 110% dead.

I've never had any problems with them, and have no complaints. I hope they continue to flourish.

Blocked them years ago

Love their site! THEE model e-commerce experience, near perfect. Want discount prices, register your birthday....

Still use them from time to time. I do shop for best prices, free shipping...etc.

Love Midway, they are quick and usually have what I need.
And they give back to shooting and youth organizations.
.

Buy some harder to find suff from em every once in awhile. Opted out of their email after a week of getting bombarded constantly by them.

I've been a midway customer for 25 years. I'm another one that thinks they were better in the 90's. They had better prices when they offered free shipping. Living in Missouri, I also get to pay sales tax on my orders. Shipping plus sales tax is usually a deal killer for me- their prices are not that low to start with. I only buy from them now when I have a code for free shipping or I will be driving by on I-70 and can pick up my order. When I know I will be going that way I will look through their clearance section and usually find some good deals. I'm wearing an El Paso Saddlery belt that I got for $46 from their clearance section just before Christmas.

Dealer discounts went away a few years ago....i use brownells exclusively...the 2 companies are not even in the same class for costumer service....I actually stopped at midway to ask about the dealer thing in person...they said dealers were such a small percentage of buesness it wasn't worth the extra effort....and just didn't care.....whelk screw me....
A few months later I went to brownells.....had a good conversation with the girl at the counter.....we talked midway...she said dealers and gunsmiths were the cornerstone of the buesness and that's not changing....100% money back on all products no matter what....

Bit not everything at Brownell's gets a dealer discount, and many of the items that do have the discount are more expensive before adding the deal, so no real savings is actually happening.

And yes I will buy reloading stuff at: Midway, Brownelsl, Natchez, Graf, Powder Valley, Bruno's; and in the "old days" Gander Mountain & Cabelas.

What dates/years are you comparing prices to/from? Heck Midway used to (25 years ago) offer 2-3 day UPS shipping for only a couple bucks......but they stopped that due to high shipping costs as well

I was comparing the last "free shipping" catalog to the following year's "fair shipping" catalog.

I havent done any business with them in almost 3 years. Their CS, in my opinion, sucks. They will never get another dime from me. YMMV

Wouldn't buy anything from them, and not because of price or shipping!

I don't get people getting their panties in a wad, just because some of us aren't enamored with, and choose not to patronize Midway. They charge $10 extra just because the package is going to Alaska. A flat rate box is a flat rate box. Doesn't make a [bleep] of difference what state it's being mailed to. Pretty simple choice when there are other companies don't have such idiotic policies. How that gets construed as being a "hater" etc.. is beyond me. If you enjoy lighting $10 bills on fire for no good reason, go for it.

Jeff

We finally got a decent LGS here a couple years ago and I buy all my loading supplies from them, even if they have to order it for me.

But.... a couple months ago I needed some 350 gr RNFP Hornady 458 bullets and could not find any and my store couldn’t find any either. I surfed the net and the only ones I found were at Midway so I bought a couple hundred.

I didn’t know Midway stopped dealer discounts but that explains why my local guy couldn’t find any.

I used to have to drive ninety miles one way to get powder so I’m sure as hell gonna do my part to keep the local guys open.

But I appreciate Midway also and I don’t get their emails.

Cabelas is the one that’s gone to hell.

I won't order from Midway or Graffs unless they are at least 8% cheaper then everyone else out of the state of Missouri

As far as Midway USA.......it's not hard at all to find a better price then what they offer

Larry lost me with the $10 surcharge to ship to AK. My last few purchases have been on Amazon.

I'll comparison shop and the final decision will be what the shipping cost is.

For chits and giggles I looked at shipping for an item to Yakutat. No surcharge via USPS, $4.99 actually. Note said some carriers do charge a surcharge. Down south I noticed more shipping options since awhile back, maybe a year ago. Awesome e-commerce site.

Be honest - at the end of the day, you’ll buy from whoever has what you need or else go without which, being “one guy”, hurts them not.

Midway has a pretty good search function and stocks a good bit of the arcane stuff i like. That said, they’re third, fourth on my list soley because they’ve some shady practices. They’re inventory numbers are clearly low or modest - so they’ll gladly take your backorder, fill it if/when it ever suits them, and overcharge you not once, but now twice, for separate shipping.

For big-box, Brownells is my go-to. Search is a little shaky, but Stellar CS and save a ton with the Edge program. Last night i needed a spring. No problem; 2min online and it’ll be at my door in a few business days. With Brownells I feels like a customer; with midway i feel like a potential mark.

Quite the opposite. They're my go-to. I only look for stuff elsewhere when Midway doesn't carry it or doesn't have it in stock. I would say if I combined all other sources together, Midway orders would outnumber them at least 5:1. Sportsman's Warehouse used to get most of my gun and ammo money but since they quit taking checks, and I won't use plastic in a physical store because I can't review their card security measures, the reloading component purchases go to Midway now and the gun purchases go to one of the local dealers.

Tom

Probably because the item you selected weighed less than a pound. The surcharge kicks in on shipments over one pound to Alaska and Hawaii.

Jeff

I've never had an issue with Midway and order from them frequently (and Graf's as well). Midway seems to process orders quicker than any others and the few returns I've had were processed quickly with no questions asked. I agree that shopping around will usually yield better prices but more often than not, the other places don't have everything I need where Midway often does. I don't mind paying a little more to get what I need in one order rather than paying shipping for multiple orders just to get the lowest price.

The other day I ordered steel bases direct from Talley, and Talley rings from Midway. The shipping from Midway was 1/2 the shipping from Talley and is a larger/heavier package. The rings from Midway shipped the same day ordered - can't imagine better service than that...

Down right maddening at times.

the problem with what they did was now I don't buy anything from them anymore. like I said I probably spend 2 grand a year with them. I also would do an order and figure lets throw some other purchases on there while I am at it. grafs right now still has the best dealer program but as time goes by high ticket optics items seemed to be more and more removed from the dealer site. although I still didn't take advantage of that much. Doug , euro optic or used was normally still always the better deal. brownells does seem to be a cut above in service.

It was a light item.


I see that is their policy. Cheers, stay warm, happy new year and all that.

Brownells website is and has been a pita

It's like going back in time!

Midway has a lot of their items with free shipping.They give a good discount for your birthday.I seldom have to wait more than 2 to 3 days to get my order.I do not live in Alaska,but when I do have to pay shipping it is pretty cheap to Wisconsin.I have been buying from them since they started.I still shop around on big ticket items.

I feel like I'm in the minority , but Midway never has anything I want in stock. Maybe all those old metric calibers do have a downside .

I'm class 07 with SOT and we are exempt from Colorado's magazine ban. I ordered some Mag Pul high cap mags from them and the website blocked the order. I called CS and was told they don't send any thing like that to anybody in Colorado period. Rep had a nasty attitude about it so I blocked their email and have not ordered anything from them since July of 2013. I have talked to them at Shot Show and they confirmed the same. I told them other suppliers do after I sign a disclaimer form. Still wouldn't budge. So they can GFY!

Cheers and a happy new year to you too! We're doing pretty good in the stay warm department.....26 above today, I'll take it!

Jeff

I buy from them most of the time because of their easy website and good shipping service. I'll buy most of my powder and primers from a local supplier to avoid the shipping of hazardous material fees.They are great in my mind.

Yes, they can. Their customer service is what made me quit them.

I did complain once & Mr. Potterfield came around to my way of thinking. I was impressed. I still buy from them. Sometimes the convenience is worth paying a few more dollars.