^$@#ing Surefire

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Langenator

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Almost 2 months ago (21 Oct) I ordered a Surefire 918FA for my Remington 870 from Sableco. I still have not received it. Last night, after many, many phone calls to Sableco, I finally got what I think is a straight answer on why I haven't gotten my light yet.

The reason given to me, by the man who I believe is the owner of Sableco, is that Surefire, since it established their own direct sales from their website, is 'adjusting' the terms of their sales agreements with their retail distributors. Seems that Surefire is either not allowing other internet sales at all, or is not allowing internet sales that undercut their prices. And apparently, Surefire has been sitting on orders until they got all their new sales agreements in place and signed. My order apparently was one of those.

I remember hearing a rumor about this back around the time that I bought the light, which is why I believe what Sableco told me. If it's true, I sincerely hope Streamlight, Insight, or some other company moves into the gap Surefire is about to create very quickly.

Anyone out there who can confirm/deny this report?
 
When I caught wind of the Surefire deal and the internet, I placed and order for a couple 61s and a 60 via Sable about a month ago too. Order is still in the 'Processing' mode. I was hoping Sable would have some in stock and I would get in on the deal before Surefire's hammer finally came down but it looks like I missed out too.
 
Graveyards are littered with the bones of companies who tried to restrict and control their customers' buying habits. Unfortunately, it looks like SureFire is going to learn this Marketing 101 lesson the hard way.
 
I think your man at Sableco may be giving you a line of crap.

From what I know from another Surefire dealer, all these changes will not go into effect till January 1st 2004, so.............

sounds to me like Sableco may be just pissed at Surefire about impending changes and trying to pass the buck.

But I'm just a consumer what do I know.

Best of luck getting your light.
 
If SableCo is giving you the runaround, try CSGunWorks.Com. Mike Cecil is a great guy to do business with. He'll give you the straight dope and a good price.
 
According to Sableco, the 'delayed' lights are now on their way, except instead of being shipped directly to the buyer, they're going to Sableco first.

As I stated, according to Sableco, Surefire was sitting on the orders until they got their new agreements signed (or not, in Sableco's case). Surefire wouldn't give them a straight answer on the phone, until the local rep showed up to get the new agreements signed. Since they didn't sign, Sableco expects to be cut off at the end of the year.

Coupled with the message from AZ Gunrunners and hksw's similar situation, I think Sableco is probably on the level.
 
Sableco is full of crap. Any changes that affect him don't go into affect until 2004. Whatever the reason is, for him to hold your money while he sorts out his own little problems is BS. If he can't deliver as promised, REFUND!! Using Surefire as an excuse or scapegoat causes me to wonder about their business practices.

Contact Grant @ G&R Tactical for your Surefire needs. He'll tell you straight out if he has something in stock.
 
Yup, Roger That, Sableco IS full of crap. I have been hearing/reading about this impending "doom" for some months now, all the retailers I know are saying that it will affect them very little especially if they have the "brick" to go with the 'click".
I do know that there are alot of other folks who have in stock item, esp. Grant @ G&R, he will square you away, if you go to the FS board, you'll see he's got SG lights.
I would also attribute the slow delivery of lights to current world status.
 
Why not just cut the middle man and deal with Sure Fire directly. I do, and have experienced nothing but A+ customer service.
 
Why not just cut the middle man and deal with Sure Fire directly. I do, and have experienced nothing but A+ customer service.
Click to expand...
Uh... can you say 20% discount? Plus, unless it materialized at my doorstep in some StarTrek-like manner, it wouldn't be better than dealing with Grant. Seriously. I'm really not sure how Grant could provide better service than he already does (without a transporter.) My only gripe is that Grant doesn't carry every product line that I buy (although it's surprising how much he does carry.)
 
Kimber, Paraclete, HSGI, SOTech, Tactical Tailor, Kifaru (no dealers), Strider, Emerson, Nightforce, Black Hills, ARMS.

That's a list of most of the stuff that I've bought in the last 6 months that I would have rather gotten a good price from Grant on.

Now for the list of stuff he has that I still need: Trijicon TA11, Trijicon Tri-Power, EOtech 552, Surefire X200, Leupold 53672, Surefire L1, Surefire 6P, Surefire E1E, Surefire M3... I could keep typing for a while. There's definately a few grand worth of stuff that I can pick up from Grant, I just need to drum up the money (the story of my life.) My wife is the killjoy here, something about having to pay for the house and the bulletproof suburban. :D
 
I cannot help with your FFL or Ammo needs, but am working on the NightForce and Strider ones. I will look into the other companies...

G
 
The saga continues...and ends...

I received the following from SableCo yesterday

Dear Customers,

As some of you may have heard, Surefire has instituted a new policy
that effects nearly everyone, and not in a good way. Surefire has seen
fit to eliminate ALL internet dealers of their product, except for their
own website. This will mean that if you want to order Surefire
products on the internet, you will only be able to order direct from Surefire,
and pay their price. We will be eliminating all Surefire products from
our website in the next day or two, and will beef up our website with
the full line of Streamlight products. Streamlight has some GREAT new
lights out, such as the TL-3 Tactical light that sells for MUCH less
than a comparable Surefire product. We also have just added 3 Volt
Lithium batteries from another source that will only cost $1.50 per battery!
For all of you with pending Surefire orders from us, we will be filling
what we can, and advise you of what we can't. We will refund any paid
orders that can't be filled. This process could take 4-6 weeks to
complete. We apologize for the inconvience caused by this sudden change of
policy by Surefire. We will also advise you of special prices on all
in-stock Surefire products so that we can rid ourselves of any of these
products. We will also have for sale some used but still nice Surefire
items that we personally own, and will be getting rid of. Keep your
eye on the Streamlight products as we add more on a daily basis until we
have the full line listed. We are always open to any suggestions for
products that you want us to add to our website, so don't hesitate to
ask for something you want us to carry! Thank you in advance for your
understanding of this situation.

So, I called them, and they told me they were unable to get the 918FA that I ordered two months ago, and that they would refund my money,
in 4-6 weeks!!

I'm not buying anything from SableCo again.
 
Surefire has seen fit to eliminate ALL internet dealers of their product, except for their own website.
Click to expand...
DOOOOOT DOOOOOT DOOOOOT... BS ALERT!!! BS ALERT!!!

4-6 weeks? You'll get the money back quicker by calling your credit card and telling them that you never got the merchandise.
 
Langenator, I have called SF and a couple of other sources to find you a 918FA, but I could not. :banghead:

G
 
This was posted on the Island Security website:

Note: SureFire has decided to stop selling to internet dealers such as ourselves. Our stock is limited and updated daily. We are unable to special order products and once our quantities are gone you will need to contact SureFire to order.


Starting January 1 only SureFire will be authorized to sell via the internet.


What's still pissing me off is that my order sat it limbo for 2 damn months before they told me what was up.

If I have to settle for the 618, what's your price Grant?
 
Again, it's BS. Any of Surefire's authorized dealers can sell via the internet. What's happening is that they are eliminating dealers that don't have the brick to go with the click. IE Lightfighter Tactical will still be selling via the internet, but they have a storefront in Tennessee.
 
TB, how I understand the contract with SF, no dealer can post anything SF for sale on their web site. They can still sell it, but they can't advertise it via www. This is where word of mouth will come into play as to which dealers give discounts! :D


C4
 
There are still some places selling 618s at discount...I'm guessing they're selling off there on-hand stock. I've also seen a couple of sites selling 618s for around $340 :what:

So what I'm guessing is that Surefire is basically saying "If you want to sell it on the web, the (advertised) price better be our price." The sites that are listing at the high prices are the folks that are playing by Surefire's rules.

If I have to pay $340, I ain't gonna buy one.
 
$340 is out rageous to say the least. You might find some dealers dumping their inventory and get a great deal. I will always offer 20% off and accept Visa, MC, Discover, PP without fees...

G
 
What's your price on an SF618FA?

I think the $340 might have actually been for the 628FGA...amazing how much more that system kill switch costs.
 
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