Dillon Precision and Customer Service?

The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Northeast

Member Benefits:

  • No ad networks!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • lkenefic

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    3,778
    I'm recently getting back into reloading after a bit of a hiatus. I still have my Dillon 550B (from back in the 1990's) and placed an order for a bunch of gauges (223 and 308), powder scale, replacement parts kit for the 550, and a caliber conversion kit for 9mm. The order went through and I got an email with the total that matched my shopping cart ~$550. I received an update email today that some of my items had shipped, and some were "pending"... so far so good... Much to my surprise, when I logged into my bank account to verify the charges, I have three separate charges totaling more than $830. I immediately called customer service at Dillon and was able to get a support person on the line. He was trying to explain to me how they needed to "pre-authorize" my card... WTF?? I can understand a backorder... then they have my money and I get the item once it becomes available... or I get my money back. None of the other vendors I've worked with recently seem to do this. I asked the guy if I can expect a refund from Dillon, and he assured me I would. So, my next question was "when?"... The excuses and "I wish they wouldn't do it like that" were forthcoming.

    Has anyone ever heard of such a thing from any reloading supply vendor? I do MidwayUSA a bunch, Champions Choice, Brownell's... I've never been billed for more than the charges invoiced! This seems a bit shady...
     

    lkenefic

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    3,778
    Dillon support is fantastic. Maybe you need to bump it up a level. Something sounds off there.

    That's the thing. .. Dillon Customer Service is legendary. I bought my 550 back in the mid-80's. I needed a part over a decade later and they shipped one out, free of charge and no questions asked. That's why I'm more inclined to work it out with Dillon... it does look like (as of this morning) 2 of the 3 charges have dropped of my account, but it's unclear what items are shipping.
     

    lkenefic

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    3,778
    That's the thing. .. Dillon Customer Service is legendary. I bought my 550 back in the mid-80's. I needed a part over a decade later and they shipped one out, free of charge and no questions asked. That's why I'm more inclined to work it out with Dillon... it does look like (as of this morning) 2 of the 3 charges have dropped of my account, but it's unclear what items are shipping.

    Update: As of yesterday, two charges to my bank account and I received one of those items (actually a box of items) today. Now the transaction is running more like your typical "back order". I'm anticipating the scale to ship next. Although, I'm told by Dillon that they will again "pre-authorize" my account for the last amount on back order before it ships.

    This just seems like an odd way of doing things... in the meantime, I have toys put away...
     

    Attachments

    • Dillon Order_20200820_140437.jpg
      Dillon Order_20200820_140437.jpg
      50.9 KB · Views: 214

    GunBum

    Active Member
    Feb 21, 2018
    751
    SW Missouri
    That’s normal for Dillon. They charge you and ship what they have in stock. Then when the back ordered items come in stock, they charge again, and ship. I’ve had charges and shipments show up months after ordering stuff from them when it was back ordered. Brownells does the same thing. I find it annoying, and wish they would keep better track of their stock.
     

    lkenefic

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    3,778
    I've had back orders from damn near everyone at one time or another. What I've never had is $830 worth of pre-authorizations all at once on $550 worth of stuff... Bottom line is they made it right... although my blood pressure was a bit high for a couple of days...
     

    glueru

    Lead em to bleed em
    Aug 18, 2020
    160
    Columbus, Ohio
    Lol. You’re out of your mind


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    I don't mean it IS junk, it's just every yuppie with a flannel shirt thinks he has to have a Dillon and only that. these are the same clowns who only wear flannel when driving their truck, but never in the Lexus.
    Half of Dillon owners never reload a single shell, well maybe not half.. lol
    I know a couple Dillon owners who bought one, with every accessory they could and have never used them!
    Like the guy with the $5000 engraved shotgun, its too nice to actually take into the bush and they wouldn't be caught dead with a 870 because of status.
    We all know that guy
     

    lkenefic

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    3,778
    Buy once, cry once... yes, there were cheaper alternatives, but I'm still servicing the same progressive press for the past 30 years and I just now spent money on replacement parts. And not because I needed them, but because I wanted them..
     

    rseymorejr

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 28, 2011
    26,002
    Harford County
    I bought a Lyman turret press from Valley Gun Shop in '82 or '83. I'm still using it and haven't had a bit of trouble out of it. It will outlive me.
     

    glueru

    Lead em to bleed em
    Aug 18, 2020
    160
    Columbus, Ohio
    Buy once, cry once... yes, there were cheaper alternatives, but I'm still servicing the same progressive press for the past 30 years and I just now spent money on replacement parts. And not because I needed them, but because I wanted them..

    I bought a Lee Pro 1000, 45acp, back in 94, had it factory serviced once in 2004, my fault, let the center shaft get rusted while in storage. (shipping cost only)
    Consistent loads, using a chronograph, about +/- 5 fps variance. I've pumped at least 2000 rounds out of it, works like a charm. I bought it for $130 then with an employee discount at the gun shop I worked at. The bullet feeder I added on later isn't so great, but that's ok, I prefer to seat by hand and do a visual inspection for powder in the case.
    Now that I'm older, and richer, a Dillon is looking kinda nice, but why.
     

    lkenefic

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    3,778
    I think at the time I bought the Dillon, I was also looking at the Lyman Turret Press and (I think) Lee had a progressive press too that had just come out (mid-late 80's). All were built to last, but I liked the quick caliber change feature on the Dillon enough to justify spending more. That, the customer service, and that I was living in AZ at the time and could just drive to the showroom sealed the deal for me.
     

    glueru

    Lead em to bleed em
    Aug 18, 2020
    160
    Columbus, Ohio
    I think at the time I bought the Dillon, I was also looking at the Lyman Turret Press and (I think) Lee had a progressive press too that had just come out (mid-late 80's). All were built to last, but I liked the quick caliber change feature on the Dillon enough to justify spending more. That, the customer service, and that I was living in AZ at the time and could just drive to the showroom sealed the deal for me.

    I like the Dillon setup to change calibers for sure.
    With the Lee 1000, you might as well buy another press for each, but room is a premium on the bench for that luxury.
     

    lkenefic

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    3,778
    I like the Dillon setup to change calibers for sure.
    With the Lee 1000, you might as well buy another press for each, but room is a premium on the bench for that luxury.

    ...and that's exactly what pushed me over to the Dillon. I was reloading a bunch of 45ACP, but I also wanted to start up on .223 to shoot Highpower. The Dillon tool head allowed me to save all of the die settings for each caliber so I didn't have to mess with recalibrating die settings every time I switched. I also figured I'd be reloading other pistol calibers on down the line. (I have a 9mm caliber conversion kit on order.)

    These days, I did end up buying another press on down the line... a single stage RCBS Rockchucker. I'll have it set up for .308 once I get everything put together.

    So, in the beginning I was trying to avoid buying more than one press to shoot multiple calibers, but in the end... I did end up with more than one press..
     

    rbird7282

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 6, 2012
    18,530
    Columbia
    I don't mean it IS junk, it's just every yuppie with a flannel shirt thinks he has to have a Dillon and only that. these are the same clowns who only wear flannel when driving their truck, but never in the Lexus.
    Half of Dillon owners never reload a single shell, well maybe not half.. lol
    I know a couple Dillon owners who bought one, with every accessory they could and have never used them!
    Like the guy with the $5000 engraved shotgun, its too nice to actually take into the bush and they wouldn't be caught dead with a 870 because of status.
    We all know that guy


    Nope, don’t hang out with those people


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    glueru

    Lead em to bleed em
    Aug 18, 2020
    160
    Columbus, Ohio
    based on this discussion i was doing some searches and came across the website "realthecn.com" offering really good deals, way too good.
    Avoid them, a "whois" on the website shows it Malaysia based and up for 3 days. They offer Lee 1000's for $86 and LoadMasters for $99. crazy prices.
    Website is hosted out of Vietnam.
    Just saying, if its too good to be true, its probably not.
     

    Users who are viewing this thread

    Forum statistics

    Threads
    274,916
    Messages
    7,258,514
    Members
    33,348
    Latest member
    Eric_Hehl

    Latest threads

    Top Bottom