CheaperThanDirt
reviews and complaints

I'm totally done with Cheaper Than Dirt. They had a .22 semi-auto listed as on sale and when I placed my order, it showed available at a few of their warehouses. Waited a couple weeks and didn't hear anything from them, so I decided to call and check in. Turns out they went ahead and cancelled my order without even a heads up. From what I've heard, this isn't unusual for them, just cancelling orders and not bothering to tell the customer. All I wanted was for them to stick to the deal and send me the gun when it was back in stock, but they wouldn't do it. I tried calling a bunch of times, even got through to some of the management team, but it was no use. And to think, I've been buying from them for over a year. There's loads of other decent shops out there. Save yourself the hassle and go with someone else. That's what I ended up doing.

Bought a 9mm from CheaperThanDirt and had it sent over to my local FFL dealer. Turns out, they couldn't transfer the firearm to me cause there was something off with the tracing. After a bunch of calls to CTD, they finally agreed to give me a refund. But then I noticed they'd taken out a restocking fee. I got back to them asking why I'm paying a fee for a gun that's got issues. They hit me with this line about how I was apparently trying to pull off an illegal straw purchase, and that's why they're charging me the restocking fee. They send me a faulty product, make me pay for it, and then try to pin some illegal activity on me without any proof. Seriously, save yourself the trouble and steer clear of CheaperThanDirt.

So I tried ordering from CheaperThanDirt for the first time and after waiting over a week, all I got was an empty package. It was stuffed with a bunch of ads and a sticker, but the magazine for my SIG P290rs was missing. It showed up on a Saturday, which means I'm stuck until Monday before I can even get ahold of someone to sort this out. Honestly, I wouldn't suggest using them to anyone. You always hear about how important first impressions are, and this was just a letdown. I can't wrap my head around how you forget to send the main thing someone bought. They really need to focus on sending out the actual products instead of just filling the envelope with ads for stuff nobody asked for. I mean, a BLAIR men's catalog, some GrowBox thing, and a couple of Corvette sweepstakes entries – I'm not interested in any of that. And a Cheaper Than Dirt sticker? Straight to the trash. They really messed up big time. It's just shocking how they could be this bad at getting an order right.

I've seen a bunch of bad reviews about Cheaper Than Dirt but decided to give it a shot anyway. I figured using my American Express card would have my back if things went south like some of the complaints mentioned. Turns out, I had a pretty good experience with them. I bought four different things on a Tuesday and got three of them the very next day. The last item showed up on Thursday, just two days after I placed the order. They sent the stuff from two separate warehouses, which is why there was a bit of a time difference. Everything I got was exactly what I ordered, it all came faster than I thought it would, and it was all brand new. Plus, I paid less for each item than what other places were charging. Honestly, I got no issues at all with my order. If I had to ring up American Express, it'd just be to tell them how good my experience with this seller was.

I picked CheaperThanDirt for some shopping cause I needed a few things like ammo and a new sling for my gear. I grabbed three boxes of 223 ammo, a bungee sling, a mag coupler, and a stock with a pistol grip. My cart hit about $174, but then I saw the shipping cost – $47! That seemed way too high, so I hopped on a live chat to see if I could use my own UPS account to cut down on the cost, cause I was pretty sure they were marking up the shipping by a ton.

The customer service rep shot me down, said I couldn't use my own account. As someone who runs their own business, I know a thing or two about shipping costs. I told them straight up that if I can ship for 70% less, and they're sending out way more stuff than I ever do, then they're just bumping up their shipping fees to make extra cash off their products. They claim to be cheap, but don't let that fool you.

If you're thinking about ordering from them, maybe just try buying one box of ammo first and check out what they charge for shipping. You'll see what I mean. It's a total rip-off, and I've got the emails from the chat to back up my story if anyone's got doubts.

I'm really let down by this site, I'm a newbie to it but my fiance's been buying from them for quite some time. Went ahead and ordered a birthday present for him, something special, and made sure to do it well in advance. But they messed up, sent it to some wrong place and even got the billing address mixed up. Yeah, I goofed up on my end, but when I got on the phone with customer service and told them how crucial it was for the gift to arrive on time, they weren't much help. Instead of sending out a replacement right away since the original got sent back, they're making me wait till they receive it and then I've gotta cover the shipping again. This present was supposed to be the highlight of his day, and now it's gonna be over 2 weeks late. Normally, I wouldn't fuss over delivery times, but this was a one-off event and they could've shown a bit more heart. Customer service really dropped the ball. I'm done with them, won't be buying anything from these folks ever again.

I've spent a good chunk of change with CheaperThanDirt, both on their website and at the physical store. But after what went down today, they ain't seeing another penny from me. When I ordered my rifle from their site, they told me straight up that if I wasn't happy with it or if there was any issue when it got here, I could swap it out or pay more for a different one. It took over two weeks for my gun to show up, which is just crazy, especially since I shelled out an extra 10 bucks for shipping within the state. Then, when I finally get my hands on it, the store manager gives me grief because nobody bothered to call and let me know it had arrived. Checking out the rifle, it's missing the heavy barrel I specifically asked for when I talked to the sales guy. But then they hit me with "sorry, it's yours now, no returns or credit for another gun." Got the same story from two different managers, basically saying tough luck, you're stuck with it. Over at Gander Mountain, they don't make a fuss about sending guns to the store or swapping them if you're not feeling it. So guess what, Gander Mountain's gonna be where my cash goes from now on.

So I ordered a gun barrel from CheaperThanDirt and it showed up damaged. Wasn't happy at all, especially since their customer service is just through livechat, no phone number to call or anything. I told the rep I wanted a replacement since what I got was busted. She said they'd send another if they had one in stock. I sent the damaged one back and next thing I know, I see a refund on my credit card. I hit up the livechat again and told them I was expecting a replacement, not a refund. The person on the other end tells me I asked for a refund, which I didn't. I even showed them the email where I said I wanted a replacement. They tell me the item's in stock and I can just reorder it. Like, seriously? I already paid for shipping once for something that came to me broken, and now they want me to pay for shipping again? That's just nuts. I'm not gonna use them anymore. They did give me back the shipping costs from the first order after I made a fuss, but that doesn't really fix the whole problem. I'm definitely gonna look for another place to shop. I've got a photo of how the barrel looked when I opened it. Wish I could say it was my fault, but nope, it came like that. Would've been okay if they'd just sent a proper replacement. Really disappointed with them.

I wanted to get something from cheaperthandirt.com, so I went ahead and made the payment but it didn't go through. The website told me there was an issue with my credit card number. I was pretty surprised cause I've never had any trouble with my card online before. I've even used it after this without any hitches. I gave it another shot, but no luck, same error popped up. So I decided to call them up and place the order by phone, but they kept saying my number was no good. We went over the card number and the security code a bunch of times, but they wouldn't budge. I got on the phone with my bank and they told me the funds were okay on their end, and the only odd thing was that the merchant kept refunding the money after taking it. I asked the bank what the deal could be and they said if the money's going out, it's not a problem on their side. I tried a couple more times with cheaperthandirt.com, but they just wouldn't accept my card. Finally, I got fed up and told their customer service to reach out to me when they actually wanted to sell something instead of just messing around. They replied blaming my bank again. We sent a few emails back and forth, and every time I tried to wrap it up nicely, they came back at me with "It's your bank's software, not our fault". I kept asking them why it was that I could buy stuff from other places no problem, but with them, there's always an issue. And all I got was "It's your bank's software, not our fault". The whole thing was just frustrating. Honestly, I can't say anything good about my experience with them, and I'm writing this hoping they'll fix whatever's wrong with their system.

I signed up for an email alert from CheaperThanDirt for when the new Glock 43 was back in stock. They sent me an email saying they had them, so I jumped on their site and placed my order right away. I was actually pretty impressed with how smoothly the order went through, especially with so many people after this gun right now. I made sure they got all the info for my FFL and even got on the phone with my FFL to double-check they had everything they needed.

The following day, I called up a rep from CTD just to confirm that my order was all set and that they really had a Glock 43 to send me. I was a bit worried it wouldn't go through, but they assured me everything was good to go. Then, just two days later, I get this email from CTD saying they couldn't process my order because they were waiting on my FFL's info and some sales form. So I called them up, pretty confused, and they tell me they actually cancelled my order because they didn't have the Glock 43 in stock after all.

I was pretty annoyed, to say the least. I did everything I was supposed to, but they didn't hold up their end. They tried to say they couldn't predict how many people would order from the notification list, but I don't buy it. If it's not in stock, why take my money in the first place?

Turns out, CTD does a lot of dropshipping for their firearms, which means they don't really know what's available because they don't have the stock themselves. These "warehouses" they talk about are just the manufacturers. They ended up cancelling my order and said they'd refund me. Then they had the nerve to ask if I wanted to be put back on the notification list – no way. I told them I'm done doing business with them.

It feels like it should be illegal to sell stuff you don't actually have. They don't even know what they're selling, what's included, nothing, because they don't have the items on hand. If you want to waste your time and raise your blood pressure, go ahead and deal with CheaperThanDirt. But honestly, there are plenty of other companies out there with better customer service and a more straightforward way of doing business.

I've had some real bad experiences with customer service before, but CheaperThanDirt really takes the cake. They wouldn't help me out when I needed to ship my order to a different address. I wanted to make sure I'd be there to sign for the new sights and scopes I ordered, but they just wouldn't budge. After I made a bit of a fuss about it, they suddenly said they could do it but for an extra $15 per package. And when I called them out on their earlier refusal, they flat out denied it even though I got the emails that show they did. Honestly, just save yourself the headache and steer clear of this company. They're just not worth the trouble.

So I got these two boxes of 250 rounds each, they were loose packed and loaded with 55gr brass 223 Rem ammo. The site and the boxes both said loud and clear that it's "American Quality Ammunition MADE IN USA" which is why I went for it. But when I took a closer look at what I got, every single one of the 500 brass rounds had "WOLF 223 Rem." stamped on them.

That got me scratching my head because Wolf is a Russian brand, not American. I shot an email over to Cheaper Than Dirt to get some answers about why they're selling stuff as American-made when it's clearly not. Been waiting for a while now and still no word back from them.

Really disapointed with the service from CheaperThanDirt. I ordered 300 rounds of 5.56 ammo and it's been over a month now, still haven't seen it. Tried calling them to see what's up, maybe get it sent out again, but the response was just awful. They pretty much accused me of lying, saying they won't resend the ammo or give me a refund cause "I might have got the order and be lying about it". But the tracking info doesn't lie, it clearly shows I never got my package!

This is the worst experience I've ever had. I'm definitely not going to use Cheaper Than Dirt again.

So I tried ordering from CheaperThanDirt again and guess what, they're still pulling the same old tricks. They advertised this item at a great price but when it came down to it, they either didn't have it in stock or just wouldn't sell it at the price they listed. I can't tell if they're just really bad at keeping track of their inventory or if they're doing it on purpose. It kinda feels like they're just trying to get people to click on their site or maybe they're using these cancelled orders to keep some cash flowing since you gotta wait a bit to get your money back.

Honestly, this company might as well be called "Worthless as Dirt" because that's how they're acting. You'd be making a big mistake if you decide to trust them with your business.

So here's the thing, I went ahead and ordered a bunch of handguns from CheaperThanDirt on a Monday, got everything confirmed over the phone later that day. They went ahead and charged my card by Tuesday, which I thought was pretty quick. But then, come Wednesday afternoon, I get this email outta nowhere saying they've gone and cancelled my order. They mentioned something about inventory issues or some clerical mistake, and said they'd be putting the money back on my card.

I checked my account, and you guessed it, no refund. When I called them up to see what's up, they tell me they can't honor the price I got and that it's gonna take a whole week to get my refund processed. We're talking a good $1956.00 here. Just a heads up, you might wanna think twice before dealing with them!

So here's the thing, I've ordered from CheaperThanDirt a bunch of times and I've never really run into any issues with my orders. They usually get to me in about a week or so, and everything's always been what I expected.

Now for the not so great part, the shipping fees seem way too steep. I'm out in California and for some reason, they won't send a bunch of stuff that's totally legal here. We're talking simple things like certain gun holsters and pepper spray that's fine to have in CA. It's like they didn't bother to check what they could actually send here and just decided to blanket ban a bunch of products. And let me tell you, once you add those shipping costs to your ammo, you're not really saving much at all.

I recently bought a tactical leg holster from CheaperThanDirt, expecting it to be a solid piece of gear. The holster was supposed to fit a large caliber automatic with a light and laser setup. At first glance, it looked alright, but after a closer look, I realized that the only thing holding the pistol in place was a Velcro strap. This strap started wearing out pretty quickly, like in about three weeks, and then my gun just started slipping through the bottom of the holster. So if you're gonna buy from them, maybe just stick to getting ammo. By the way, I've got three of these new leg holsters, all made in China, that I'm giving away for free if anyone's interested. I'm giving them one star because they did manage to ship the item.

I recently tried to buy a few magazines from CheaperThanDirt on their site but even though the order didn't go through, they still charged my card. When I got in touch with their customer service, they insisted that my order was declined but my credit card company confirmed that it was actually approved, and it showed up as such in my card's transaction history. The customer service rep from CTD was acting kinda dodgy and even tried to get my card details when I reached out again asking for a proof of the declined order so I could get my money back. The whole thing just felt off, like it might be a scam. I'd suggest steering clear of these guys to avoid any trouble.

When you go to buy stuff online from CheaperThanDirt, you might wanna brace yourself for some letdowns. I've had it happen a couple times where I pick out something they say they got in stock, I pay up, and get that order confirmation email. But then, like a day or so later, I get hit with another email telling me my order's been put on backorder or just straight up cancelled. When I reached out to their customer service, this is what they told me:

"We apologize for the inconvenience, but unfortunately items can be oversold before the inventory updates at the top of every hour. Even if we have a very large quantity of an item available, there is no way to guarantee that orders won't be shorted or cancelled depending on the demand for the item. We understand that many people are frustrated by our system, but unfortunately there is no way to change it."

So yeah, that's the deal with them. Just seems like they can't keep their stock info up-to-date, which is a real bummer when you think you've scored something you need.

CheaperThanDirt might sound like you're getting a deal, but my experience says otherwise. I ordered a new concealed carry piece for my ankle holster and what I got was a used and busted one. When I reached out to their customer service, the person was rude and not helpful at all, even tried to pin the mess up on me.

They wouldn't swap the used gun for the new one I paid for. It was pretty much a "too bad, deal with it" kind of response.

Do yourself a favor and steer clear of this place. CheaperThanDirt ain't the trustworthy online shop it makes out to be. More like they should be called Piece of Dirt, if you ask me.