Dillon now charging shipping on warranty parts

[Badlands Bob #61228]

I broke a ring indexer on my Dillon XL650 press.  Not unusual.  I break about 2 a year since they changed over to a cheaper black ring indexer.  In the past, I have just sent them a message on their website requesting the part I need and they send it out in a few days.  This time I get an email telling me that they now charge $4.99 for shipping plus tax for a total of $5.34.  I had to call Dillon Precision, wait about 10 minutes and pay the charge by credit card.  The customer service guy, "Steve" told me that the shipping charges were killing them and they had to start charging shipping.  

 

From their website:

As of June 1st 2025, all warranty orders are subject to a $4.99 Shipping & Handling fee. The cost of replacement parts aforementioned above are still covered 100% under the warranty. (Note: Certain states require us to collect taxes on the shipping cost which will be applied to your order.)

Edited September 8 by Badlands Bob #61228

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Shipping costs have gone nutz....

[Boggus Deal #64218]

I’m surprised it’s taken this long for it to happen. I try to always order stuff from them when I need stuff to at least help with shipping.

or I pick it up when I’m in town.

[El Chapo]

I don't even know how to express how much this bums me out.  I don't even care about the 5 bucks, but spending time on the phone every time I need some tiny part is something I really despise doing.

[Subdeacon Joe]

2 hours ago, Boggus Deal #64218 said:

I’m surprised it’s taken this long for it to happen

 

Yep.  And figure that the $5 probably doesn't cover all the actual cost of shipping a replacement part.

Someone has to read the request. 

Enter the request into the system.

Generate the pick ticket. 

Print the shipping label and invoice. 

Pull the part.

Package the part.

Add in the cost of the packaging and shipping. 

[Rye Miles #13621]

I’ll happily pay the shipping. Dillon is a great company. 

[Boggus Deal #64218]

17 minutes ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

Yep.  And figure that the $5 probably doesn't cover all the actual cost of shipping a replacement part.

Someone has to read the request. 

Enter the request into the system.

Generate the pick ticket. 

Print the shipping label and invoice. 

Pull the part.

Package the part.

Add in the cost of the packaging and shipping. 

I mail a lot of stuff in small bubble mailers. About the cheapest I can get by with on my USPS.com account is $5.75. Not including the packaging, labels and time. 

[Cypress Sun]

54 minutes ago, Boggus Deal #64218 said:

I mail a lot of stuff in small bubble mailers. About the cheapest I can get by with on my USPS.com account is $5.75. Not including the packaging, labels and time. 

 

Pirate Ship is slightly less expensive. Worth it if you do a moderate amount of shipping.

[Mild Bill #2326]

Shipping charges are also making it more difficult to buy and sell items. I used to go to the local UPS shipping depot. They closed it, and now I have to go to a sub-station at Staple’s. Recently, I shipped a  $7 coffee cup from there, to a town 70 miles away. The charge was $14.

[Eyesa Horg]

17 hours ago, Boggus Deal #64218 said:

I mail a lot of stuff in small bubble mailers. About the cheapest I can get by with on my USPS.com account is $5.75. Not including the packaging, labels and time. 

Check out "Pirate Ship". I've been saving 45-60+% on USPS & UPS. Very easy to setup and use.

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

The price of Flat Rate boxes has gone up dramatically.

[Stump Water]

Having worked 30 years for an outfit whose business was shipping, I completely understand Dillon's position.  And I'm surprised they've been eating that cost this long.

 

Wait until you have to ship something that's dimensionally rated, which is pretty much anything over a cubic foot.  🫤

 

What the USPS needs to do is start charging $2-3 to mail a letter and similarly increase the per-piece cost for bulk mailings.  There would be a lot less junk in the mailbox and they wouldn't have to try to cover the money they're losing handling "mail" with high package rates.

 

.

 

 

Edited September 9 by Stump Water

[El Chapo]

4 hours ago, Stump Water said:

Having worked 30 years for an outfit whose business was shipping, I completely understand Dillon's position.  And I'm surprised they've been eating that cost this long.

 

Their warranty is the reason I became a customer of theirs over 20 years ago.  It wasn't just a gift to all of us--it's the reason they absolutely dominate all competitive shooting.  It was a deliberate business decision that many people considered before deciding to buy a press.

 

That said, I've become somewhat convinced that there is no meaningful competition to their product that I'm interested in, so as frustrated as I am, I'm probably not going anywhere anytime soon.  Both of my Dillons have had their little quirks and design faults, but they act up far less than their competitors' from what I understand.

[Eyesa Horg]

The first part I needed was the primer tube & tip for my SDB. I bought it used and setup for large primers. I needed a small primer setup.

Called Dillon and they said it would be on its way at no charge along with a few of several other small parts/springs.

I asked "how much for shipping?". Still no charge so I ordered an Maintenance Kit and a few cartridge boxes so they would charge the shipping!

Edited September 10 by Eyesa Horg
Mega otto