BullsEye LLC - [fail] (this is for those of you who do not want to read the entire post)
I wanted to share my experience with Brandon at The Bullseye LLC in Aurora (http://www.thebullseye.net/). I will try to keep the details as accurate as possible but a lot of time has passed and I don't have all the messages saved anymore. I also might do some timeline editing once I get home and check the actual approval dates. First off, he is a very nice guy and I got some pretty decent deals from him (Ruger 22/45, AAC TiRant 45M and a SiCo Spectre II). He was able to get very close to Silencershops pricing, so to me, the extra money was worth supporting a local business. He is a home based FFL out of Aurora.
It started in November 2015 when I purchased the Spectre II and the 22/45. I drove down to Aurora and purchased both items with cash. After mailing him my paper work the next day; I asked if he received it a week later and he said nothing has shown up. I waited a few more days and he still said nothing came in. After about two weeks he finally says he has it and its going out that day. Snail mail from CO to CO is no more than a few days, at the latest. After checking my account periodically, I see the check has not been cashed. I asked him numerous times what was going on and it felt like I was getting the run around. He finally tells me they are backlogged and processing forms slow. One thing I've learned about the ATF is they are very quick to get their money and slow to return it. After about six weeks, he finally gets back to me and says the ATF did not like that my check and form had different dates? Maybe true, maybe not. So I redo the form, write another check, stop payment on the other check and resubmit my paper work to him. A week later it gets cashed.
That should have been a red flag but fast forward another month and he offers me a TiRant 45M for a good price. I accept and purchase it. He says he will have the serial number in a few days once paid for and we can start paper work that week. I pay the very instant he bills me and it's the same story all over again. Not returning messages and no communication. After about 4 weeks, he gets back to me and says he is ready to get the paper work going. I fill out the paper work and submit.
March 23rd, I ask him if anything has been approved. He responds and says "checking now." A few minutes later he says "nope no approval yet." March 29th he contacts me and says both forms have been approved and are ready to be picked up. Seems kind of odd that both are approved with different submission dates but the ATF is strange like that right? I ask when I can pick them up and no response. I ask him again on the 31st if I can setup a time to pick them up, no response. I send him a few more messages as days pass with no responses or very short replies. I would ask him "Can I get those picked up this week" and instantly he would reply "yes." Then I would ask what day works for him, no response. Long story short, this goes on for about two weeks with no replies to any of my messages or short replies but never committing to when I can get them. Finally he calls me April 16th and tells me I can pick them up that day and I leave from work to get them. Finally in my possession at last!
I get home and review my forms to find out my Spectre was approved February 2nd and my TiRant was approved March 21st (dates might be off a few days off as I am doing them by memory). He blatantly lied to me when I asked if either of my forms had been approved and he said no after 'checking' them. I was going to call the ATF myself when I had time to check status but he got back to me before then telling me they were approved so I never followed up. All and all, none of this was a 'huge' deal but the lack of communication and respect has cost him my business. After getting the run around in the middle of all this I asked a friend who purchased a suppressor from and BIG SURPRISE! Same story of not returning messages, form being approved for a month or two and him not being notified and difficult time in getting it picked up. I understand that he is a home based FFL and may not have the time that the brick and mortar stores do but there is no reason you cannot communicate with someone. Had he said he was going to be busy the next couple of weeks after they were approved, I wouldn't have been bugged by it. In my eyes, the dealer is supposed to handle this entire process; I pay for the said item, give him my paperwork, he calls when it is approved and I pick it up. Never again will I purchase an item from a dealer that is not recommended from this board or a vendor. That or I will just keep shopping online because my first suppressor for Silencer Shop was completely painless. In closing, I received my items so I am happy in the end. It just sucked that I had to babysit the process and keep following up to pick up my items that paid for and I was at his mercy.
