They either went out of business or this is the most incompetent display of customer service ever. Likely, it is the former, and Mr Coonan now has two of them under his belt (one some years ago). All over the internet many people are asking the same question as you...Yes, companies do go out of business all the time, but one would expect Mr Coonan to have the basic decency to communicate this to his loyal customer's/fellow-gun owner's either on his website or facebook or a variety of other means available today....If you have given them money for a build in progress, contact your credit card company right away to get the money credited back to your account (if there is still anything left in Coonan's CC-"escrow" account, many have already received remedy this way).
I too had a very hard time getting any service from Coonan.
More than once I was told "we"er a small company". Considering what they charge, I found that line to be an insult.
I too had a very hard time getting any service from Coonan.
More than once I was told "we"er a small company". Considering what they charge, I found that line to be an insult.
This statement is posted on Coonan's Facebook account:
"Coonan Inc wants to reach out to our loyal customers and dealers. COONAN INC IS NOT GONE! We sincerely apologize for the lack of communication. This process has taken far longer than we had anticipated, but there have been many things going on behind the scenes. We have been working very hard to restructure the company in ways that will allow us to server our customer's needs better and faster. These changes will also allows us to pursue even more exciting new projects. While obstacles can pop up easily during this type of transition, we do hope to have things up and running by the end of November. Once we have completed the process, we will contact our customers with delivery dates on orders for pistols, FAL receivers and accessories. Thanks again, we truly appreciate your patience."
Thanks for posting that, it is a relief, I shot my 357 last week and was wondering how many more times I would - given no replacement parts if they went out of business. That said, I can't believe how thoughtless and inconsiderate these people are going dark like that for months, when a few posts on Facebook would have helped all involved greatly (or perhaps they are smarter than one would think and maybe hiding something). They lost a bunch of orders too as more than a few people have received refunds from their credit card companies for work in progress.
I’m no businessman but they handled this very poorly at best. From what I gathered behind the scenes, they were having financial/investor problems which was choking the company and halting everything. They could have avoided many CC chargebacks, claims with the MN attorney general, BBB, along with bad reviews on their Facebook page if they posted an update sooner and not went dark.
November has passed and no further update from Coonan on their Facebook or website. Reading thru the FB comments it appears they still aren't talking. Anyone have news, rumors or conjecture to share?
Business is slow right now. Even when business was brisk they were shopping for investors or a buyout. That tells me they were in trouble even when sales were strong.
I really doubt that they have the legs to survive at this point. Please keep in mind that I am purely speculating from the industry rumors that I have heard coupled with 30 years of being active in the business. Let's just say that I have seen similar scenarios play out over the years.
I haven't been involved in the gun industry, but I have seen a few business go under and the games they play sometimes. I'd have to agree with your assessment.
You wouldn't believe what some of the yuppies will invest their money in without checking out what the company does. When they do find out, they want their money back plus a healthy profit......
Good question. I haven't seen anything new, the lame attempt a few months ago to re-assure customer's is still on their website. I hope they survive, but it isn't looking good...Would be a good sign if they show up at SHOT, I'd take odds they will not, fwiw.
Looking at the comments on Facebook a few minutes ago isn't encouraging at all. Sounds like they are still stonewalling anyone trying to get in touch with them. Reading all this makes me damned glad I picked up 4 extra mags for my Classic a few years ago at a decent price. Because I imagine extra mags will be scarce, scarce, scarce in the future.
Did they lockdown their Facebook page? I'm not a Facebook member, but I used to be able to creep their page and read the comments people were posting. When I tried today it's telling me I must first log into my Facebook account.
Yikes. I hate to say it as I know there's so many people waiting for their guns to be built/shipped out, but it sure seems like Coonan might be toast...
One of those should be able to send you to the right court site (it wasn't obvious from the web) to find out if there are any ongoing lawsuits or judgements. I didn't find a filing for bankruptcy, other than the one in 1994.
In most jurisdictions there's a time limit for "I never got my stuff" complaints; since Coonan has silently dropped off the map, if you don't initiate a complaint or claim soon, you may lose out if the Sheriffs or ATF do recover property that would have been returned to you, had you filed a complaint in time. Some of the earliest complaints I found were a year and a half old; those guys are probably toast.
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