www.paintballgateway.com sux

[Thim]

I just got off the phone with em. They are selling some orracles for 600 and the blue matte version for 525. Awesome price im thinking. so I give em a call. WTF these guys dont even have a toll free number what kinda stooge shop sells e-commerce without a freakin 800 number. Ok np im at work Ill let them foot the bill.

I order my 2 orracles np...or so I thought.

I get an email back saying my address was incorrect. wtf I know my own address so it must an issue with them but still I get on the horn with my bank and see if maybe my card has a wrong address in it. "No sir your address is in here correctly" they tell me. WTF! so I call these dummies back and their answer is, "Well we dont know what the problem is sir but Im afraid we sold your guns to someone else.."

Me: Are you serious?

Stooge: Yes we sold it and Im sorry but you can get a black one if you want.

Me: But the Black one is 75 dollars more.. will you guys drop the price of the black one to match the price of the blue one?

Stooge: Im afraid we cant do that...

Me: Are you aware that your system caused the problem and that those 2 guns should have been shipped to me?

Stooge: ...

Me: Are you aware that because your system caused the problem you will lose the order for my 2 guns totalling 1050 US Dollars?

Stooge: Well you can get a black one... or a green fade.

Me: For 75 dollars more you mean. Will you meet me half way then?

Stooge: Im sorry but our policies dont allow for price bargaining.

Me: Do your policies allow for your mistakes to cause problems for customers?... because from this side of the phone Id say they do.

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What I think happened is this. They had some kid in stock who wanted to buy the guns. He messed up my order so he could get them and the manager covered up. Either way Im heading to the Better Business Bureau after this place.


Im not gonna tell you dont buy from these guys. Im just gonna say watch out for bad customer service. These guys are as bad as I have seen.

I recommend www.paintballfirst.com they took care of me.

[Ryan314]

I happen to like paintballgateway :rolleyes: . They've got good prices but I do agree with you that there customer service in general is horrible. They have not once answered an e-mail from me, I would always have to call them, and like you said, that's BS that they don't have a 800 toll free number :laugh:

But I've had no problems ordering from them in the long run.

[Cuervo]

I don't blame them. They sold the guns. They're a business in a very competitive market and the fact that they can't get a guaranteed sale for one reason or other from your Credit Card is fair grounds for them to make a guaranteed sale to someone who did.

How do you know it was even their system? Are you absolutely, without a doubt, ocular-proof-available sure that you filled in your information correctly? A small typo will cause a problem with the automated system, in which case it was your fault--which is what I'm betting happened.

I wouldn't bargain down a price to you either... it was probably your mistake and they already moved the product. That's the way the cookie crumbles. At the prices they're selling, there are other people willing to buy them (I know atleast 5 people who have or plan to order one.)

[Six Feet Under]

I personally like www.paintballgear.com or BourneKiller's ebay store, paintball first.

[XtraBoy]

Originally posted by Cuervo
I don't blame them. They sold the guns. They're a business in a very competitive market and the fact that they can't get a guaranteed sale for one reason or other from your Credit Card is fair grounds for them to make a guaranteed sale to someone who did.

How do you know it was even their system? Are you absolutely, without a doubt, ocular-proof-available sure that you filled in your information correctly? A small typo will cause a problem with the automated system, in which case it was your fault--which is what I'm betting happened.

I wouldn't bargain down a price to you either... it was probably your mistake and they already moved the product. That's the way the cookie crumbles. At the prices they're selling, there are other people willing to buy them (I know atleast 5 people who have or plan to order one.)

Ditto, its on a first come first serve basis.

I was at the shop the other day when a guy called and asked if they could hold 2 dye jerseys for him till tuesday, during the holiday season, an xxl and an xl, because he didnt know which he would want... She said forget it, its on a first come first serve basis... especially during the holidays or on sales.

[xm65]

I agree.... do you really expect for the company to wait to hear from you before they sell the product to someone else?
Lets be real here.

[Thim]

Originally posted by xm65
I agree.... do you really expect for the company to wait to hear from you before they sell the product to someone else?
Lets be real here.

when I went to paintballfirst.com I couldnt authorize a transaction because gateway.com had already put a hold on the funds. I asked them if I could clear that up and call in the morning and they were happy to oblige.

The bottom line is that the strooges have bad service and paintballfirst.com doesnt.

Also I double and triple checked and my address was perfect. Besides that I program e-commerce websites. I understand the ins and outs of AVS verification. My address was flawless.

Something I failed to mention was that they emailed me at 5:44 pm CST I responded at 6:05pm CST and my guns were already sold. I believe that they didnt notify me when they actually had the problem. They put all the problems in a big stack and took care of them towards the end of the day.

My Point is if they are going to do that then they should reserve the products. Otherwise call me when you get the problem and tell me, "Hey theres a problem lets fix it or Im gonna have to sell to someone else" At which point I would have been very very understanding. Regardless this situation blows. I buy online all the time and I can tell you that their customer service is at best lazy, but leans heavily towards crude.

[Juvenile]

This happened to me once when I ordered a black CiP SureFit Feed Neck. The next day on my answering machine I checked and they called me about my order. Thinking, wtf?, I called 'em back and after dealing with a from "Check-It Products" I was re-directed to the guy who left the message.

He told me they were out of stock with the black SF FeedNecks, even though they were STILL listed as in-stock on the site, but I could have a chrome one. I said, ok, and then he told me that would be $5 more. I told him hell no and I ended up getting the Feed Neck on eBay.

Other than that one time, everything I've done with PBGateway has been great. My Xmas order of Halo B and Impulse SF Feed Neck got here fast :)

[Cuervo]

Originally posted by Thim


when I went to paintballfirst.com I couldnt authorize a transaction because gateway.com had already put a hold on the funds. I asked them if I could clear that up and call in the morning and they were happy to oblige.

The bottom line is that the strooges have bad service and paintballfirst.com doesnt.

Also I double and triple checked and my address was perfect. Besides that I program e-commerce websites. I understand the ins and outs of AVS verification. My address was flawless.

Something I failed to mention was that they emailed me at 5:44 pm CST I responded at 6:05pm CST and my guns were already sold. I believe that they didnt notify me when they actually had the problem. They put all the problems in a big stack and took care of them towards the end of the day.

My Point is if they are going to do that then they should reserve the products. Otherwise call me when you get the problem and tell me, "Hey theres a problem lets fix it or Im gonna have to sell to someone else" At which point I would have been very very understanding. Regardless this situation blows. I buy online all the time and I can tell you that their customer service is at best lazy, but leans heavily towards crude.
Putting a hold on your funds sounds like something I would do if a credit card holder's information turned up fraugilent. That's a courtesy to anyone you might try to use the card on if, in fact, you were using it fraugilently. I'd be surprised if that weren't a law.

It doesn't seem to me like bad service. It seems to me like they follow the policies they post and don't get pushed around by customers.

If you program e-commerce sites and understand AVS identification, then you know it wasn't "their system" at fault. It was something on your end. It doesn't just act up once every couple hundred transactions and harass a customer. If you're using a card like everyone else, and everyone else's works, it's not the system's fault. You weren't singled out.

And hang on here. PaintballGateway is located in California. I would hardly call 3:45 the "end of the day." And even so, are you complaining about customer service contacting you within a day of your order being placed? Are you really trying to pull this crap? Even if they won't bend their posted policies to suit your needs, they contact you pretty quick, all things considered.

They're customer service doesn't bend over backwards for you, a pushy customer who may be committing credit card fraud. Well who'd have thunk? The holidays are in full swing and you expect them to reserve 2 of their hottest sellers for someone who's credit card would have been chopped up in a retail store? Be reasonable. And if their policy is that they won't drop prices (which it apparently is, since they said the same to Juvenile, and they told you that), then you need to know as a consumer that it's a first-come, first-serve deal, and if it had been that important to you, you would've ordered sooner.

[Thim]

Whoa bruddha...

Im not using a fraudulent credit card. These guys reserved the money on my card. Then forgot to void the transaction even though more than an hour had passed. Yet another instance of BAD customer service.

If you wanna get into details then yah 3:45 isnt really end of day considered that they are in Cali but I ordered the stuff within a half an hour after they opened at 10:30am. So im afraid your wrong they werent pretty quick all things considered. As a matter of fact they were dirt slow.

And to call me a pushy customer is just wrong for the most part Im an easy going guy. I never send food back at the restaraunt because they put mustard on my burger... I just eat it and go on no biggie. I give great tips for mediocre service. I dont like giving anyone a hardtime. Like I said I have relatively LOW standards for customer service. If your standards are lower and your OK with that then fine with me.

It just seems that I was considered guilty before innocent considering there were no mistakes made on my part. They obviously dont value customers otherwise they would have givin me a chance to clear up what very obviously could have been fixed within five minutes without them having to do anything but call my Bank from a number that I provide them... BEFORE THEY SOLD THE GUNS TO SOMEONE ELSE. Is that really too much to ask?

First Come First Serve..... HAH! I called them first thing in the morning. As a matter of fact I had to redial their number 20 sumthin times to get through. They must have 1 line...another example of BAD customer service.

Anyways I have never said dont buy from them...All I can do is share my experience with you and the BBB.

[Six Feet Under]

I don't like them anyways because Paintball Gear normally has better prices. When they don't www.bradyspaintball.com will do, but since he's in Jacksonville I believe he has to charge me sales tax for florida which is either 6% or 7% on the dollar, which sucks. Thankfully most online paintball stores aren't in Florida (the ones I know of or shop at) and therefore they can't charge me sales tax and outrageous prices on shipping.

[Thim]

Im not attacking... Im done with this thread. Im too old to be involved in a "Flame War" Thats my experience with those guys take it with a grain of salt. Hope everyone has a Happy and Safe Holidays, especially the stooge from paintballgateway.com even though I wont be buying from them again.

[monkpaint]

Paintballgateway are scumbags they will list something in stock at a very low price and when you call them they say dont have any in stock(this has happened to many of my friends also who have tried to order from there).

[xm65]

Paintballgateway are scumbags they will list something in stock at a very low price and when you call them they say don't have any in stock
You should file a complaint with the state if this is true. That is against the law!

These guys reserved the money on my card. Then forgot to void the transaction even though more than an hour had passed. Yet another instance of BAD customer service.
I thought you said you new about e-commerce? If you did, you would know that when the card is run the money is reserved for about a week. Even if the transaction is voided. It is up to your credit card company to adjust your available credit. Not the retailer. I know because I have run a bus. before. I too had problems with customers maxing out there cards. The wanting an instant refund/credit. While issuing the credit or voiding the transaction is not a problem, they normally had to wait 2-3 bus. days before they were able to use their credit cards again. Not the merchants fault.

For whatever reason your card was declined. As such I would not hold the product for you either. The next order that comes in with valid and correct information gets that product. That simple. How are they supposed to know that you are actually going to buy that product. When or if you'll reply to them. Its not that big a deal... get over it. Calling the BBB for this is a waste of your time. As they too will laugh at you.

The guy posting about bait and switch, thats a very valid complaint, that is if its true.

[erickillebrew]

paintball gateways service sux that y i take the drive up there incase$h|+