What's Going on with Boyd's?

[centershot]

I ordered a stock from Boyd's. They said that the factory is undergoing some additions. It has now been five weeks and nothing. I tried to log into their web site and they told me to reset my password. Put my email address in the reset password box and nothing ever came to my address. Tried calling them and got a recording telling about the expansion. Anyone else experiencing this?

[Poor Shot]

I wish I hadn't read this. I ordered a stock on 9/9/16 and had no problem signing in and ordering. Got email confirming order within 10 minutes.

[hereinaz]

I ordered one on Sept. 6, and just got an email that it is shipping. Pro Varmint in black...

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[Poor Shot]

Mine is a left-handed Classic in pepper color.........................I hope. The last two times I ordered, they seemed to have difficulty telling their left from their right.

[cttb]

Boyd's has been "expanding" for at least six months. I ordered a stock in mid-May this year and got it in mid-September. When the stock arrived, it did not have a slot for the bolt handle. I cut the slot myself rather than send it back.

The quality of the stock material and the inletting for the action is high. Boyd's would do themselves a big favor to quit lying about how long it takes them to send you a stock and making up dumb excuses for why it takes so long. Their stocks are about half the cost of their competitors'. Boyd's should just tell you that if you want to pay so little, it's going to take a really long time to get your stock.

I believe Boyd's sits on orders until they have a certain number of orders for a certain kind of stock, sets their tooling up for that run, and makes a bunch at once. I don't see any other way to explain how some people get their stocks shipped in 10 days or so and other people wait several months. It also explains why once you've placed your order, Boyd's refuses to give you an estimate on how long it will take for them to ship your stock.

While I'm surprising myself by saying it, I would order another Boyd's stock. I just would be prepared to wait six months and to do considerable work on it when it arrives.

[J.Baker]

Just got off the phone with a higher up at Boyds and got the skinny on why things have been lagging behind this year.

NEWS FLASH: It's kinda Savage's fault!

Basically Savage slammed them with a huge order for around 100,000 OEM stocks (my guess is it was for the new A17/A22 laminate stocks), and being a huge order for a major account Boyds put the focus on filling that order over filling individual customer orders. Around the same time the expansion project started and threw it's own monkey wrenches into the works that led to additional delays.

Sucks for those who ordered and are waiting, but any smart businessman would do the exact same thing in the same situation. The OEM market is always going to take priority over the aftermarket market simply due to the volume involved. Also realize that if it wasn't for the massive OEM orders allowing them to buy raw materials in such large quantities their stocks that you and I buy would cost quite a bit more.

So basically right now they're extremely backlogged as they play catch-up. The Savage market is just a tiny niche of what they offer, so when you look at all the different makes/models of guns they offer stocks for it's not hard to see that it's going to take them some time to get caught back up on everything. Good news is that the expansion project includes 7 new CNC machines which brings their total up to 17. Don't know if those new ones are up and running yet though.

[FW Conch]

Thanks Mr. "F" for the update. It's always good to get the straight scoop from the source :-)

Glad I got My Blue Thumbhole when I did!

[stomp442]

So what's the number you are using to talk to a real actual person over at Boyds? I have a client going on 6 months waiting for a stock that was supposedly a custom made stock for a customer that the order was cancelled on and the stock was ready to ship when the order was placed.

[cttb]

Just got off the phone with a higher up at Boyds and got the skinny on why things have been lagging behind this year.


Sucks for those who ordered and are waiting, but any smart businessman would do the exact same thing in the same situation.

I disagree. A smart or ethical business man would take the large order but also tell his prospective customers the truth about how long it will take to receive an item when they're ordering.

I have no problem with Boyd's saying up front it will take 4-6 months before they ship a stock. That way, a customer can decide whether to wait or pay more elsewhere. My problem is with Boyd's telling customers during the ordering process that it will take 1-2 weeks to ship when they know that's not true and then, after the order is placed, refusing to say how long it will take to ship.

[justinp61]

I disagree. A smart or ethical business man would take the large order but also tell his prospective customers the truth about how long it will take to receive an item when they're ordering.

I have no problem with Boyd's saying up front it will take 4-6 months before they ship a stock. That way, a customer can decide whether to wait or pay more elsewhere. My problem is with Boyd's telling customers during the ordering process that it will take 1-2 weeks to ship when they know that's not true and then, after the order is placed, refusing to say how long it will take to ship.

Exactly! Mine took five weeks, wish they would've been honest and up front when I called. Several years ago I ordered a stock from Stockade and was told five months. It was a stock I wanted so I waited. It took over seven months and I was given every excuse in the book. I think everyone in the shop had the flu at least twice. LOL

[WV1951]

I agree with cttb. Good business is defined by integrity and honesty. If it is going to be several months, then so state. Boyd's thinking is short term. Yes, the OEM business is great, albeit, I am sure it is at much lower margins. Business runs in cycles and the golden goose will not be around forever. Should Savage or any other OEM decide to change vendors, or even go to an in house setup(or go offshore), Boyd's will be begging for business. May never happen, or it could happen next year. I hope Boyd's has a long term contract and will be able to keep providing their product.
Don't tarnish your good name. It can, and many times will, come back to bite you.

[Lonewulf]

have never had a problem with Boyds shipping and always got my stock within 2 weeks, until this last one ( a A17 stock for my A22)
took six weeks and was never really told why except they shipped it free freight and at a discount also be cause I *****ed a little.

[J.Baker]

I disagree. A smart or ethical business man would take the large order but also tell his prospective customers the truth about how long it will take to receive an item when they're ordering.

I have no problem with Boyd's saying up front it will take 4-6 months before they ship a stock. That way, a customer can decide whether to wait or pay more elsewhere. My problem is with Boyd's telling customers during the ordering process that it will take 1-2 weeks to ship when they know that's not true and then, after the order is placed, refusing to say how long it will take to ship.

Yes, they should have been upfront about the delay when the orders were placed, but that's not the aspect I was referring to with that statement. I was referring to the decision to put the large volume order ahead of small individual orders.

[foxx]

I have several orders pending with them. Longest is currently 6 weeks out. I knew they were running slow when I ordered, but they just told one of my customers they are currently getting orders out in 2-3 weeks. Baloney.!!!! Just tell them the truth... We are running behind, will do the best we can... we could be

Makes me look bad when I tell the customer they are just slow due to plant expansion and large OEM orders, etc.

Anyhow, I also ordered one of those cheepies that are supposed to be ready to ship. Will see how long it takes to get that one to me.

[nobody]

I placed my order last month and got the stock before the end of the month. I am planning on another for my model 12 in .223 next week. I always get the adjustable cheek piece on all of mine, but I still didn't wait long. Maybe 3 weeks from purchase to on the rifle.

[foxx]

I suppose it depends on the stock. If you want an odd-ball or have 1 odd-ball in an order of other commons, you're gonna wait. Again, they could just say so. Makes it hard when trying to run a business, too. I have a lot of money tied up in these orders. :( And it doesn't matter that they say they won't actually charge you till it's shipped because you don't know when that might be. As a result, I have to earmark money in my account for whenever they decide to ship.

[WV1951]

I placed my order last month and got the stock before the end of the month. I am planning on another for my model 12 in .223 next week. I always get the adjustable cheek piece on all of mine, but I still didn't wait long. Maybe 3 weeks from purchase to on the rifle.

What model 12? If an FV, post some pics after you get it.

[Grandoug]

Here is my Boyds tale of woe...I bought a Savage .17WSM in June, and ordered a Boyds thumbhole target stock on June 14. 4 weeks later I tried contacting Boyds via phone, and was firewalled. Tried "Customer Service" e-mail...no response. Couple days later I got a cuppa and sat down for the battle...Waited until they gave up and turned me over to an answering machine.
Finally got to speak to a human, a pre-programmed female phone answering employee, and was told the plant had undergone a move and that put the orders two weeks behind. So I waited two weeks, and the plant had closed for a week over July 4th. In August, I suddenly got an e-mail that my stock was shipped...Halleluja! It arrived a week later, and off to the gunsmith. He called the next day with you need to come back...uh oh. The stock they shipped was defective in that the pillars did not match up with the action. The barrel was off to the left. A call to Boyds by the gunsmith with the resultng explaination sent the bad stock back to Boyds.
The next series of calls was the excuses that engineering had to evaluate the stock and determine the problem..."it might take a couple weeks"! I said it didn't matter what the problem was, I did not want that stock I wanted a new stock. So my order went back into production, and it would be "a while". On September 30, I went through the firewall phones and e-mail again, and was told it was "in production and could be a "couple weeks". So here it is October 10, and I have been waiting since June 14.

[The Coach]

I placed my order last month and got the stock before the end of the month. I am planning on another for my model 12 in .223 next week. I always get the adjustable cheek piece on all of mine, but I still didn't wait long. Maybe 3 weeks from purchase to on the rifle.
I ordered a custom Pro Varmint with the adjustable cheekpiece for my Model 12FCV .223 Sept. 19th.
Boyd's told me I would get by the end of October.
UPS tells me it will be here this Wednesday, Oct. 12th

[Texas10]

Boyds signing a contract with Savage (again) is a dream come true for them. Or a nightmare if it weren't bid well. One of my favorite jokes as a businessman was to tell someone who was poking their nose in my business and asking about the contract I just signed and if "I was going to a make any money" was this; I'd tell them I'd lose a little on each transaction, but make up for it in volume.

I always got a quizzical look from them. Either they didn't figure it out, or couldn't tell I was joking.

When you marry your business to one customer and the contract comes to its end, things can get a bit tense. I hope Boyds gives equal attention to it's traditional customers, for when that day arrives they'll need a good stream of single order customers to keep their doors open.