Rossi Rifleman

pricedo wrote:I've seen this guy speak in person and he is as slick & handy with the fourteen dollar words as a Philadelphia lawyer.
He could talk an Eskimo into handing over his parka and mukluks in the middle of an Arctic blizzard.
I didn't hop off a turnip truck with my straw hat in my hand this morning.
I'm city slicker cynical and I'll wait til the Braztech parts policy actually changes for the better before I become even the slightest bit impressed with Kressers flowery statement.
I hope it's for real but as they say time will tell.

Ahhh my pricedo, always predictably pessimistic! A person could never say you are not consistent!

I added my $0.02 to the discussion on the TaurusArmed forum. I'll wait and see what Taurus does to change their policy and if they do, then I'll return to the Taurus/Rossi fold!

BeerHunter wrote:I added my $0.02 to the discussion on the TaurusArmed forum. I'll wait and see what Taurus does to change their policy and if they do, then I'll return to the Taurus/Rossi fold!

DOES is the operative word........SAYS just moves a few air molecules around & changes nothing.
I read Kressers statement and like I said he isn't CEO because he's stupid with poor communication skills.
The man is obviously very bright & articulate.
I really hope his statement is not just window dressing and there is a concrete plan of action afoot to change the Braztech parts policy.
Despite the lawyer safety stuff the products are solid & sound & fill the market vacuum left by the closed New Haven Winchester plant in 2006.
Whether we like it or not Braztech is the new Winchester in regards to providing modestly resourced shooters (ranchers, farmers, country dwellers, people who live off the land) with budget priced, utility leverguns of respectable (if not great) quality.
Braztech needs to realize that the modestly resourced market sector they target with their products cannot afford to be sending guns back & forth to the Braztech factory at $50 or more a pop to have a screw, barrel band or sight replaced. In many of these households the Braztech levergun will be the only tool available for varmint & pest control and home & property protection so the gun being unavailable for weeks at a time is NOT an option.
If Braztech wants to hand their market share over to Remington/Marlin their ridiculous parts policy is exactly the way to accomplish that.

Well I look at this way. Before one can change they have to be able to admit there is a problem. The first step has been taken by Mr. Kressers admitting there is problem. I have a good feeling there will be some positive change on this issue.

I only half hearted tried to find the press release but I would swear up and down that there was something saying they would be updating the Taurus website to be able to input a model number and get a parts list of what parts your gun had for sale and they would be working on expanding the parts listing that you could buy. I'm dead serious that I remember this but I swear I remember reading it somewhere. I thought it was in the "No More Bull" speech but didn't see it there when I skimmed through that one. I will keep looking.

EDIT: There was an interview with Mark Kressler I think in G&A maybe last year some time and it may have been there that I read it. I will have to dig through the stack and see if I can find it.

I've sent Mr. Kresser a letter concerning Rossi's, everything is Taurus this and Taurus that. We have have been a bit of a stepchild since 2008 when Braztech acquired the company and I would like to insure that Rossi is included in the coming changes. I think it would make good sense to start with RossiUSA first. Here is why I say that:

• Since the Rossi line came under the Braztech parent, there has been no change to the products that represented the 2008 catalog. The Rossi line would not be the nightmare of the current and archived models and submodels of the Taurus line.
• There has only been three additions since 2008; the Wizard, the Rio Grande, and the Circuit Judge. These introductions have remained stable through the 2013 catalog.
• Rossi already has an ecommerce web site. You can order all kinds of stuff, except parts, and not have to talk to customer service. I've bought Wizard barrels, t-shirts, and scope bases from them.
• The ecommerce site could immediately be used to add parts. Categories could be added that are model specific and the various parts listed; everything from springs and screws to ejector collars for R92 and ejectors for the RG. If there isn't a serial number on this it really doesn't make sense that it is restricted.

I actually like using the Rossi Store. All items are shipped next day FedEx for the listed price, no additional shipping charge.

Ranch Dog wrote: If there isn't a serial number on this it really doesn't make sense that it is restricted list

I agree 100%...... Make it user friendly and keep it simple.

If the Braztech/Rossi brand doesn't sell replacement parts their market share will be swallowed by other companies selling budget "volksguns" ($300 plastic bolt gun packages (gun + scope) that shoot MOA groups out of the box, Marlins, etc. ) that do back and support their products.
It's as simple as that.
I am a modestly resourced consumer and there no way I am buying a gun that is going to cost me $50 in shipping costs plus the inconvenience of the firearm being unavailable for weeks at a time whenever I lose a screw, sight or other small part. I'll buy a $300 plastic bolt action package or a Marlin before I buy a Rossi with things as they are now. I'm sure there will be many more of like mind if Braztech obtuseness persists.
Braztech like any other company doesn't have a soul or a conscience. The bottom line is all that counts. That's also how Kresser thinks. He only answers to his board of directors who will be hauling his butt up onto the carpet if sales and profits plummet because he failed to fix a stupid policy.
Market forces will turn Braztech around on this issue or they will lose their customer base and sink into the Chapter 11 abyss like so many of their equally arrogant predecessors (Winchester, GM) who lost sight of the prime concept of marketing success which is that ultimately the customer is always right.

Couldn't agree with you more pricedo. Honestly and if I was in Mr. Kresser's shoes, I would outsource the heck out of the parts. I would contract with Brownell's or another outfit, and pump them full of inventory like Ruger and the other do. Why hassle with it? I would also take a good look at our sourcing the warranty work.

Braztech's complete control over a product is pretty strange. They say is is for quality control but I don't see it. I'm not trying to be mean but how many of you have purchased a Rossi without issue? Out of the 13 Rossi products I've purchased, 10 of them needed work of some kind. Again, I'm not trying to beat up on them and I solved all of the issues but one on my own except for a Wizard barrel I returned that would not fit. Under the present restricted parts policy, I could not have fixed a single one of the issues so I would have needed to return 10 firearms! So complete control of the product is not helping them, having parts available (at the time) resolved 9 of the 10 warranty issues. I did not even hassle them to send me parts, I just called and paid for them and went on about my business. Having parts available at reasonable prices (which includes fair shipping) will change the pressure placed on Customer Service!

As a comparison, I own 15 Taurus handguns which were purchased over the last five years. Only three of those had warranty issues that required the firearm be sent back for repair. So I ask you, between Rossi and Taurus, which needs product line needs the most attention?

Under the present restricted parts policy and warranty, it is more like you have been issued a service weapon be it a handgun or long gun. Just use it and keep it clean but you better not toy with it. It is like it is not really yours but that we have paid for the right to shoot a Braztech firearm that they completely control. I carried a M16 once under similar conditions. I didn't paid cash for it but the cost was just take out of my well being!

Ranch Dog wrote:Couldn't agree with you more pricedo. Honestly and if I was in Mr. Kresser's shoes, I would outsource the heck out of the parts. I would contract with Brownell's or another outfit, and pump them full of inventory like Ruger and the other do. Why hassle with it? I would also take a good look at our sourcing the warranty work.

Braztech's complete control over a product is pretty strange. They say is is for quality control but I don't see it. I'm not trying to be mean but how many of you have purchased a Rossi without issue? Out of the 13 Rossi products I've purchased, 10 of them needed work of some kind. Again, I'm not trying to beat up on them and I solved all of the issues but one on my own except for a Wizard barrel I returned that would not fit. Under the present restricted parts policy, I could not have fixed a single one of the issues so I would have needed to return 10 firearms! So complete control of the product is not helping them, having parts available (at the time) resolved 9 of the 10 warranty issues. I did not even hassle them to send me parts, I just called and paid for them and went on about my business. Having parts available at reasonable prices (which includes fair shipping) will change the pressure placed on Customer Service!

As a comparison, I own 15 Taurus handguns which were purchased over the last five years. Only three of those had warranty issues that required the firearm be sent back for repair. So I ask you, between Rossi and Taurus, which needs product line needs the most attention?

Under the present restricted parts policy and warranty, it is more like you have been issued a service weapon be it a handgun or long gun. Just use it and keep it clean but you better not toy with it. It is like it is not really yours but that we have paid for the right to shoot a Braztech firearm that they completely control. I carried a M16 once under similar conditions. I didn't paid cash for it but the cost was just take out of my well being!

I ordered a new recoil spring assembly from Taurus, when you still could, for a PT111 Pro my wife carries. That took me 4 months for them to actually get it to me. I actually bought that but for my PT92 I switched to the Beretta locking blocks as well as other small parts. My 92 I picked up and extra spring kit from Brownells and a pair of firing pins from Steve Gunz. I would like to replace a screw or two such as the loading gate screw on my Rio Grande but not sending it back to them for a single screw.