One, I don't have a problem with their decision to renew sales of AR15 style rifles; the halt on sales was only a "suspension" and was never meant to be a permanent policy.
Two, I disagree with their decision to cow to the anti-2nd amendment crowd and Newtown exploiters by suspending sales in the first place. For that decision alone, I refuse to conduct any business with them.
Three, their decision to suspend sales of AR15's was contemptible enough, but in the process they royally screwed over paying customers and Troy Industries (a predominant manufacturer of AR style rifles :
After offering a screaming Black Friday deal on Troy’s newly introduced 16″ complete carbine, Dick’s Sporting Goods has canceled all backorders placed for the carbine. The sporting goods retailer decided to turn away from the AR market after the mass murder in Newtown, Conn.
The rifles were sold for $799, a mark down of $300. Stores quickly sold through their existing stock and took customers’ money for backordered rifles with delivery estimates ranging from weeks to months. But, instead of getting calls from local stores telling customers to come pick up their rifles, customers have begun receiving letters from Dick’s informing them of its inability to fulfill orders with no specific reason. The letter promises a refund and includes a $100 Dick’s Sporting Goods gift card.
Not only are customers upset, but so is Troy Industries. Troy and DSG debuted the company’s first complete carbine offering in an exclusive sales agreement. Troy says it understands customers’ anger: “you got a great price from DSG. However, Troy, itself, cannot come anywhere close to offering the Carbine at the price DSG was offering it. DSG devalued and diluted Troy’s brand when it offered for sale the Carbine at a steeply discounted price during Thanksgiving week.”
Steve Troy’s 12/26/2012 statement:
Troy Defense (Troy), a division of Troy Industries, Inc., was deeply dismayed and shocked to hear through national media outlets that Dick’s Sporting Goods (DSG) made the decision to stop selling the Troy Carbine along with other modern sporting rifles. DSG did not contact or inform Troy of this decision prior to notifying the public. Nor was Troy informed by DSG that cancellation letters were being sent to customers, set to arrive on Christmas Eve (a day Troy was closed).
Troy has invested millions of dollars in its facility and operations to bring its first ever modern sporting rifle to the market under an exclusive contract with DSG. In selecting DSG as the sole distributor of the Troy Carbine, Troy relied on DSG’s high sales forecasts and sales potential prior to undertaking the significant financial and corporate commitment necessary to design, develop, manufacture and bring a new modern sporting rifle to the marketplace. Based on DSG’s press release, DSG’s anti-gun stance is clear – DSG will not continue modern sporting rifle sales and Troy will sadly not see its Carbine readily available — despite the outlay of millions of dollars by Troy and its commitment to support DSG in its distribution efforts.
Troy is currently researching other channels to ensure continuous and consistent distribution for its rifles. But please note, Troy’s pricing to DSG was based upon volume sales. It is unlikely that pricing to any other outlet in the future will support the pricing granted to DSG. Troy understands the anger of certain DSG customers whose purchases have been cancelled – you got a great price from DSG. However, Troy, itself, cannot come anywhere close to offering the Carbine at the price DSG was offering it. DSG devalued and diluted Troy’s brand when it offered for sale the Carbine at a steeply discounted price during Thanksgiving week. As a result of the sale price set by DSG, DSG oversold and overpromised its inventory. Nonetheless, the current ill-will could have been avoided had DSG not terminated modern sporting rifle sales, promptly canceled overpromised orders, and forthrightly communicated with Troy.
Troy is hopeful that it will soon identify a new distribution channel for its Carbine. We ask for your patience and support during this difficult and transitory time.
http://blogs.militarytimes.com/gearscout/2012/12/27/troy-issues-statement-on-dicks-sporting-goods/
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Dick's is a friend to $$$ and doesn't care about either side of the issue
That's probably very much true, but seeing as they're a multimillion dollar operation, it's not unexpected. Whether they're boycotted or condemned by one side of the gun control issue, or the other comes as part of the cost of doing business. No matter what decisions they made, they weren't going to please everyone. In this particular situation, they managed to piss of both sides.
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