Brownells

Author: Kalicia Bateman

Brownells is a large retailer for ammo and gun accessories. This company has been family owned for nearly a century and has been integrated in more recent days as one of the more prominent online retailers. Their impressive selection of parts and ammunition is difficult to find elsewhere, even in-store at other major competing retailers.

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The Good

• Broad Selection of Products
• Time in Business
• Great Return Policy

Broad Selection of Products

The selection afforded via Brownell's online store is extremely broad. Though they don't sell firearms, they have nearly every type of ammo available for purchase and plenty of handy accessories, reloading equipment, and other sought-after tools. They also carry these items from plenty of competing brands and range between all manner of price levels. Their online search tool makes it easy to sift through all the many options and narrow their vast selection down to exactly what you're looking for.

Time in Business

The fact that the company has been around for so long adds to its credibility and trustworthiness as an accessory and ammo dealer. They have longstanding connections with major brands and have had time to evolve with changing laws, cultural norms, and standards.

Great Return Policy

Brownell's also offers a very attractive return policy. They provide a limited lifetime warranty on all parts and accessories with no restocking fees charged. All items are also subject to a lifetime return policy- a deal you'd be hard-pressed to find offered by other gun and ammo retailers.

 

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The Bad

• No Price Matching
• Lack of Customer Support
• Many Out-of-Stock Items

No Price Matching

Though many of their ammo boxes and accessories are decently priced, Brownell's does not offer any sort of price matching or flexibility when it comes to product pricing. This kind of stubbornness is typical from such longstanding companies, and certainly can detract from the overall purchasing experience. It can also be difficult to get leeway on guaranteed returns - even acting on one's Brownell's warranty has been known to be overly troublesome through customer support channels.

Lack of Customer Support

Overall, the company does not offer much in the way of support. They list a toll-free number for complaints and concerns at all hours, but reaching staff has been known to be difficult. The customer service agents themselves do not excel in the way of overreaching helpfulness. Acting on the warranty aside, even small tasks as checking on the availability of a product can be difficult. There is no form of email or chat support to serve as an alternate avenue, either.

Many Out-of-Stock Items

There are consistently many out-of-stock items in their online store. This is in part because they have so many products to list and maintain, but it mainly comes down to poor management of data. This makes it complicated to find what you're looking for at times, and equally tricky to discern what's available and what isn't. Pair this with occasionally faulty filters and you have a potentially frustrating shopping experience through Brownell's.

 

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The Bottom Line

Not many other retailers can compete with Brownell's experience and selection. If you're having trouble locating a specific type of ammo, accessory, or tool, you can most likely trust that Brownell's has it and will deliver it with the best returns policy available. However, as far as customer support goes, they certainly aren't the most hassle-free option out there. Prepare to struggle your way through any technical problems you may face with your purchases.

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