Buying gear on the Internet

[Mushi]

Hey,
I'm considering buying a paintball marker package sometime in the near future and I was wondering if buying on the net would be the best option for getting started. Basically, the concern I have is customer support. If I buy a package and something goes wrong with my marker, how do I get it fixed? I have no qualms about fixing it or modifying it myself, but if its beyond my (limited) comprehension, then what? Would local fields or other paintball places take care of my marker w/o charge, or does the manufacturer handle problems, what? I assume if I buy something from a store I'll be able to take it back and they'll fix it for me, free of charge. Online places might have customer service, but if that involves me mailing my stuff back and having to wait a week or more to get something simple fixed on my gun...I think not.

Keep in mind I'm new to the sport (other than renting a couple times) and I know nothing about the equipment. So basically maintainance is going to be trouble enough, and someone to talk to would be invaluable. I just don't want to be left out to dry if something goes wrong with my stuff. If that means paying $30 or more for tax and whatnot at the local store, so be it. Otherwise, if I can save the money and local airsmiths would help me out, I'm all for saving cash.

So...for a newbie, better idea to buy from a store or save cash on the net?

[SH4YD33]

buy from paintballgear.com they'll take care of you. and if you buy a marker from pmi they'll REALLY take care of you.

[warchild1s1k]

yeah i love paintballgear.com i know somtimes they dont have the very best prices but jesus there stuff is high quality. i havent been disapointed yet!!!!!! and since i live in WI it takes a maximum of 3 days to get here

woot woot

[orryn]

Check with your local proshop to see what their policy is when markers and stuff you buy from them breaks. My local proshop gives a lifetime warranty on anything you buy from them. Sometimes it is worth the extra money to go through the proshop.

http://www.shop4paintball.com and http://www.firstcallpaintball.com are also good stores.

[SIGSays]

actionvillage.com same as paintballgear.com i think
countypaintball.com

both have great service and decent prices and good prices on some things i will probably never order from anyone else...... yet to determine a few other sites

like bbpaintball.com

[CountyPaintball]

Most guns and other products carry manufacturer warranty. Where you buy it wont matter too much if you're using the manufacturer for any repair work.

If you buy a product from us and it doesn't work out of the box, we'll replace it for you. However, if you've used it a bunch of times and it starts having trouble, you'd have to go through the manufacturer for that. I think most places work under similar policy.

Mike

[cranberynvodka]

all paintball sites are reliable u should learn that its not that hard

[SH4YD33]

order count from pbgear: 6
times backorderd: 0
times order wrong: 0

and all my shipments were sent the same day. i love pbgear.

[paintballer56]

ya i dont like shop4paintball.com my gun got backordered

[FirstCallPaintb]

We have a similar policy as Mike at County does. If you get it and it doenst work, we will swap it out for ya.

We also pride ourselves in being very accessible via phone, email and AOL Instant Messenger. If you have a problem, you won't be left in the dark. Not to mention that our prices are some of the best around!!!

[Mushi]

First, I guess I kinda asked on the wrong media. An internet question would probably undoubtedly get an pro-internet ordering response. :) I don't doubt that internet sites have great, reliable customer service. They don't get a good reputation without it.

My issue is that I don't want to be mailing my gun back and forth, letting someone else fix what might be a simple problem on my stuff. If I was at a local airsmith, he might be able to fix it, and explain to me how to fix it myself if it happens again, _after_ a few weeks of use. Mailing it back to the manufacturer to get a new one is a pain in the *** (I've had to do it with baseball bats from easton. They send new bats but in the meanwhile two weeks go by.) and usually I'm out some cash (for shipping or whatnot).

I guess the real question I'm asking here is, do local airsmiths help fix people's markers no matter where they're from, or only store bought stuff? What are the chances I'll NEED help from a local airsmith?

[Edited by Mushi on 08-03-2001 at 04:26 PM]