[Bruz]

Hope I am not stepping on any toe's here but as I had posted earlier my P99 came without a "indent and spring" that holds the rear site in place. Was told by the helpful people here what the part number was and called up Earls to order. They said the part was $15. plus shipping, but they had a $25. minimum charge for parts, plus shipping.

That "service" does not sit well with me, especially since the part probably only costs a few cents, so I found

Walther America
2100 Roosevelt Avenue
Springfield, MA 01102-2208
Phone: 800 - 372 - 6454
Fax: 413 - 747 - 3682
Internet:http://www.waltheramerica.com
E-mail: [email protected]

and called them. He said the part would be mailed today. When asked how much he said that he would not bother charging me for such a cheap part! I ask about shipping and he said for me not to worry about it! I know Earls is mentioned here alot but I am not impressed...I now have someone that I will buy anything associated with Walther from, and will gladly refer them to everyone.

 

[/dev/null]

Earl may be mentioned a lot but I have yet to read anything positive...

 

[CKW]

I just received my "Earls" night sights for my P99. After reading allot of reviews and looking at Jim's web sight a thousand times I figured I would lay down the extra coin for the "best" sights.

Upon installing my rear sight I noticed how loose it fit. I mean loose- like rattle around loose, like it was made a couple thou to small. Bummer. I installed the front sight and it was a fine fit, although I was not to fond of how tall it was on the slide. It looked like a shark dorsal fin, something I could overlook though. Then upon closer inspection I noticed that the color of the front sight is a different color than that of the rear sight. Then upon even closer inspection I realized Earl is using Trigicon front sights with his rear sight (not just Trigicon inserts.) Really not a big deal. I did not however like the sight picture.

The factory sight picture is perfect… at least for me.

1. They are lower profile than the night sights
2. When lining up the tops of the sights (front and rears) the front dot sits right on top of the notch in the rear sight, and all dots line up at he same time being flat on top. Very symmetrical.

The Earls dots do not line up when the tops are flat. Not really a big deal but for me I like the symmetry of the factory sights.

I called Earl to talk about the ill fitting rear sight. He was very nice and asked me to send the sights back with the slide and he will fit some oversized ones for me. I declined. I was not happy with the sight picture to begin with and didn't want to have to pay for shipping. $135 dollar sights would end up costing me over $150.00.

I told him I just want to return the sights. He then informed me he would have to charge me a restocking fee. WTF? Maybe I'll just pick up a Walther T-shirt and call it good.

That’s my experience with Earls.

 

[srfmstr00]

Thanks for site Bruz
Surfmaster
Maybe if Earl read this site he would change his buisnessss practice.greedy bastard ey!!

 

[BreakerMorant]

I've been reading the various posts regarding Earl's. While I will not defend his policies regarding minimum orders, I have to state my experience with him was positive.

I bought the the fitted screwdriver for sight adjustment and Earl's custom night sights, the ones that CKW complained of. The night sights fit snugly. -It is my understanding that the inserts, front and rear, are both from Trijicon, hence the twelve year guarantee. My inserts are the same color. The tops line up flat. I have had no problem hitting anything with them. -Same tight groups. The only reason I can think of for the complaint regarding this stuff is not accounting for the fact that the rear sights are closer to the eye than the front sight, and, as a consequence, may appear larger and brighter.

It seems unreasonable to complain about poor customer service because of having to incur shipping charges after Earl offered to make custom, over-sized rear sights and fit them to the slide. Earl would be doing a custom job at no added cost for the product. Why should he have to eat the shipping charges to do it?

As far as restocking fees go, if the sights were installed with "loctite" or some other threadlock glue was applied to the front sight screw, the product can no longer be sold as new because it was used. CKW admitted that a replacement was offered with additional custom service to correct the problem. It was rejected. This begs the question of whether the complaint is an actual problem or an excuse to facilitate a refund.

-No offense CKW, but where it's a case of buyer's remorse, it is not unreasonable to ask for a restocking fee. I'm not saying he wouldn't be a cooler individual if he waived the fee, but it is not completely out of line.

 

[NM_P99]

Earls Repair is the WORST place to go for Walther P99 parts and accessories.
He is rude and extremely over-priced.
S&W/Walther USA has exceptional customer service, and fair prices (if they charge anything at all).
I'm a disgruntled former ERS customer.

 

[BreakerMorant]

Anyone can have a bad experience. -I'm still waiting for the allen wrench and yellow punch that were missing from my P99QA. I was charged for them by from S&W / WaltherUSA, even though they were not there to begin with. (I didn't realize that the gun was supposed to come with them when I bought it.) -I know I'm not alone with this, there's some guy on the forum who experienced a lengthy delay in receiving his replacement magazines, with the right color followers and in the right caliber from S&W / WaltherUSA.

 

[CKW]

Actually let me correct you.

The Front sight is a Trigicon sight. Had you read my post you would have understood that I was not talking about the inserts. I know the inserts are Trigicon's- and fine inserts they are. I was talking about the actual sight itself. It is a completely different bluing color than the rear and matches my friends Trigicons front P99 sight to a "T". Yes, the insert in the front sight was less bright than the rear. Must have been because the front sight was made in 2000 as stamped on the top and the rear sight 2002. I would have overlooked that also. This is mute anyway because of the 12-year guarantee.

As for buyer’s remorse, I think not. I probably would have kept them to save the hassle of explaining the return, had the rear sight fit. The sight picture was just the deciding factor. I was appreciative that Earl offered to try an oversized sight- not a custom file and fit sight job like the one you are referring to.

If it were just a matter of buyers remorse than I would not return them. Since I have to return them anyway (no sense in keeping sights that don't fit my gun) I asked for a refund. Call it what you will but I was/am not willing to spend over $150.00 on night sights, plus the down time.

" CKW admitted that a replacement was offered with additional custom service to correct the problem."
Yes, at my expense.

"This begs the question of whether the complaint is an actual problem or an excuse to facilitate a refund."
Nice assumption. An excuse? Why would I need an excuse?

The sights have no threadlock on the them, I test fit things before I make them permanent, this was also explained to Earl, besides they were scratched when they arrived, (something else I would have overlooked if they had fit) maybe mine were used and I was paying for new ones?

Here are the cliff notes:

1. Sights arrived, did not fit, sight picture not to my liking, sights removed, sights unused, gun not fired.

2. Called Earl, Earl was courteous about sights, wants me to send slide in for oversized sights at my cost. I politely refused, not satisfied with product, no more cash spent on sights, no down time, asked for refund, grateful for his help in a remedy (besides the shipping/restocking fee)

3. I felt bad about returning the sights (even though they did not fit) and offered to buy some other items in return. I will buy a Walther T-shirt from Earls and call it a day.

 

[Catbird]

FWIW:

Anyone seeking night sights (Meprolights & Trijicons) should contact either www.arizonagunrunners.com or www.brownells.com.  I find that their prices are very good and their customer service is excellent.

The last set of Meprolights (green front/yellow rear) that I bought from Brownell's were $65 plus $3.50 shipping.

 

[P88]

I've had a great experience with Earl and a really bad experience with Walther America (as they are called now). Walther America told me they would get me a custom order and that they would need half down to do it. So I put my half down and a month later I hadn't heard from them. I called them up only to find out that the President has nixed the deal the same day I had put the money down, however no one bothered to tell me this until I called a month later. I was so mad that I wrote some major nasty e-mails to the President of Walther America.

Well, somehow Walther Germany got ahold of these e-mails and called up Earl. Earl then called me and the first words out of his mouth were "Walther Germany is extremely sorry for the way you have been treated" He then went on to tell me he would be happy to fill my special order for me, which he did!

Now all of this happened before Walther Germany decided to "pull the Plug" from Earl and not allow him to import P99's or P22's anymore. And from what I've seen Earl has gotten a lot "grumpier" since Walther Germany pulled this plug. So I think we may be seeing some bitterness towards Walther Germany.

As for me, I'm a bargain hunter. I don't mind paying more if I know what I'm getting will be great service or a better product, however I will still "shop around" so to speak. I will still purchase from Earl in the future, but if it is just basic parts I'll probably got to Walther America (or whatever their name will be next year)

 

[P88]

Oh by the way. Be carefull when dealing with Walther America they are more interested in Smith and Wesson products then they are Walther Products. It took them three tries to get me a Walther catalog. I kept getting S&W catalogs instead.

And recently I ordered some spare parts from them, however when the operator was almost done taking my order, she suddenly stopped and said "are these parts for the Walther P99" I said yes and then we had to start the whole process all over again!!!!

Be carefull!!!

 

[BreakerMorant]

CKW,

Actually, I had read your post otherwise I wouldn't have replied. At first glance, I thought you meant something else. Obviously I was in error in regards to that interpretation.

My post was not an attempt to flame you for your position. It was simply to explain that in my eyes, and possibly others, your position was not one beyond reproach. If Earl did sell you a product that merely did not work or were someone else's previously used sights, as you postulated, then clearly you would be entitled to a refund without a restocking fee. However, it seemed that you were saying something a little different. With the Cliff Notes you provided, I have a better understanding of your actions and issues. Enjoy your T-shirt.

 

[CKW]

BreakerMorant, this post is not meant as a slam on Earl. I’m sure he does great work to Walther's and I might possibly send him my P99 for his trigger job. (the trigger bar seems to be rubbing on the trigger return spring making for a gritty/noisy trigger on my P99.) It was just simply my experience with the night sights and the way it was handled, good/bad , you make the call. I think overall the service was reasonably good besides the restocking fee.

I described the sight picture of the night sights to possibly help someone understand what there are getting compared to the factory sights before they order. Again, it is my personal opinion but they were not to my fancy, others may love them.

It sounds like people can have good/bad experiences anywhere, anytime. I however am not going to have one bad experience keep me from ordering from Earls- if the price is reasonable and the product meets my expectations.


Long live the P99

 

[SVRider]

I'll chime in on my one (and only) experience with Earl's.

I was installing a set of Meprolights and chewed up the sight adjustment screw while doing it. It was all my fault because of impatience and carelessness.

So I figured I'd check to see if Earl's had them despite reading all the negatives about his attitude and service. I emailed them asking if they had the screws in stock, what they cost, and mentioned that I intended to order the sight adjustment screwdriver they listed on their website. Four days later I get a response back telling me that they had a $25 minimum order. That was it, I still didn't know if they carried them, or how much they were.

I replied back to him and told him that I'd order a t-shirt, 3 of the screws, and the screwdriver. I asked again if they had them in stock and how much they were. I got another reply 3 days later asking me for shipping/billing information and my credit card number.

I replied again and told him I was uncomfortable with emailing my credit card number so I would split it up into 2 messages. The first with my address and the first 8 digits of the CC number and the second would have the last 8 digits with the exp. date. I asked again about the cost of the screws and if they actually had any to send out. I also asked them not to ship anything until I could get a full price quote for all the items and the shipping cost.

That was the last I heard from them until a UPS package showed up on my doorstep 8 days later. Luckily they screws were cheap and the shipping was reasonable for UPS ground. Overall it was a 2 week process and I didn't feel totally ripped off, but I won't be ordering from them again. In hindsight I probably should have held out with the CC information until I could get my questions answered but at the time I had a gun with only a front tritium sight on it and didn't want to drag it out.

At least I have an embroidered Walther t-shirt now...

 

[vertriebkaehny]

Parte for Walther P99 !
We are a gun selling company in Germany. We get our stuff directly from the factory.
We can deliver all spare sparts, ofcourse all are new and unused!
Example:
- Orginal threaded barrel for Walther P99 9mm.
this barrel fits for the real P99
complete with the spring (48 newton). 220 US$
- Orginal Walther Rear Sight
European style for P99 7 US$
-Clip f. Walther P 99 Pre Ban
Cal. 9mm, Pre Ban ,15 shot 49 US$
all plus shipping.
Mail us your needs: [email protected]

 

[sigmundsauer]

CKW,

JMO, I agree with BreakerMorant, there is some buyer beware risks involved. However, ERS has always been a little on the rude side when I speak with them and it certainly doesn't help their reputation to be less than considerate of people and standing behind their products to make the customer pleased. Otherwise, you get a bunch of people who'll never come back to them for business.

I have both Trijicon and ERS sights. The Trijicon's fit very loosely and I had to Loctite them down to my satisfaction. ERS's sights fit tight and I prefer the sight picture. My beef with ERS is that I recently ordered them and specifically requested at least 2002 dated sights. Got the sights...the rears were dtd 2002 and the front was 2000. I noticed the front sight after I had Loctite'd down. I was burned. Noticeable difference in brightness. I wouldn't have been so mad if the dates were reversed on the sights, but a weak front sight against strong rear sight sucks. What sucks worst? The $125 I paid for premium sights and getting a front sight that is 3 years into its half life.

I chose to bite my tongue...buyer beware.

Tim

 

[CKW]

Sigmundsauer,

Had you not put the loctite on the front sight it would have been perfectly acceptable to return that sight, especially if you specified (new) the year 2002. Not only did my rear sight fit loose, I mean rattle around loose, but my front sight was also a 2000 with a 2002 rear.

I just received my Meps and absolutely love them. Nice sight picture, nice fit, all dots are the same color, color finish of rear sight matches the tennifer on slide- the Earls had a brown hue. It wasn't like I put the sights on with Loctite and said "eww, I don’t like these,” they didn't fit and one was older than the other, then to get attitude just topped it off.

It's funny how I had a bad gut feeling with Earl when I was returning the sights and getting the trigger job. I did it in part so he wouldn't lose a sale and so I wouldn't get charged a huge restocking fee for inferior products.

I really took it in the shorts. That'll teach me to listen to my gut.

Yes, buyer risk, but also getting what you pay for would be nice.