Honest Milt Sparks?

T

TRiCoN45

New member
Has anyone heard/read of any negative reports on the way milt sparks(holster company) does business? By no means am i suggesting they do bad business so please dont mistaken. I am in need of a quality holster and have only found one thus far that seems like it may be perfect and its the Versa Max 2 from Milt Sparks. The only problem im having, besides the quoted delivery date as of sept-9th is 20-26weeks, is the method of paying. They seem to only accept credit cards, debit cards, and checks. The only way to pay by credit card is to reveal all sensitive information such as the card number.....expiration date-no problem, but what kills me is their need for the 3 digit security code in the back of the card. Ive emailed them with my concern and stated im not in the practice of giving such info especialy through the internet and asked if they accept paypal. They responded with a polite "no" and contiuned on with listing their acceptable way of pay, being credit card, debit, and checks. Yeah, some may say "then go with the check option" but dude! with a 20-26 week wait i cant affort another week or two for check clearance. SO! back to my question, to those who have purchased from Milt Sparks, what has been your method of pay? How was the experiance weather it be by credit, debit, or check. To those who purchased by card, was there any hiccups? And to those paying by check, how long did it take to receive some sort of verification of payment registry?
 
I'm not leery of using a credit card over the 'net. I don't go around willy-nilly handing it out, of course, but reputable businesses do not make me nervous. Milt Sparks makes dang fine holsters. Well worth the wait, IMO.

I misread your wait time. That is two years. I wouldn't wait for a gun/car/woman/holster/dog/etc. for two years. YMMV.
 
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First of all, 20-26 weeks is not 2 years, it's about 6 months. There are 52 weeks in a year.

with a 20-26 week wait i cant affort another week or two for check clearance
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Why not? If you can wait that long what's another week? But Milt Sparks is a very reputable company, so I highly doubt you'd have any issues with credit card. Even if you did you could always file a claim, so there really isn't a problem.
 
If you want it order it. Milt Sparks makes quality gear and hasn't stayed in business this long by having trouble with credit cards. That is a pretty standard wait for a holster from a custom maker. I just waited 5 months for High Noon to make one for me. It was definitely worth the wait.
 
Milt Sparks is a reputable company and wouldn't have stayed in business this long if they were "messing" with the credit cards. You can always do what I did, place an order over the phone.

Biker
 
As others have already stated, the business practices at Milt Sparks are nothing to worry about. I'm certain they have the ability to safeguard the credit card information, and other personal information, they receive from a customer. If it was not so, they would not be conducting business at the level that they do.

With respect to the CVV code for the credit card being required, it's possible that their credit card company requires that in order to verify the card at the time they process your payment. Each credit card processing company is different in that respect.
 
Milt Sparks is a first class operation with top quality and customer satisfaction. The wait will be more than worth it as well after you receive your product. You can be sure that your information is secure.
 
They seem to only accept credit cards, debit cards, and checks. The only way to pay by credit card is to reveal all sensitive information such as the card number.....expiration date-no problem, but what kills me is their need for the 3 digit security code in the back of the card.
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Giving us the 3 digit code is for your security and benefit as well as ours. It helps verify that you are who you say you are. Most mail order houses will ask for the 3 digit security code along with your billing information when placing a credit card order for verification purposes. Since we do not physically have your card in our hand when processing the sale, it helps protect us (and you) against fraud. Yes, it's not only the card holder that has to worry about getting ripped off. Credit card owners are generally protected against charges on fraudulant sales, merchants are not.

It should be noted we don't charge cards till the day we ship!

Ive emailed them with my concern and stated im not in the practice of giving such info especialy through the internet
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We are not set up to accept orders on-line, so the accepted method is for the customer to mail via USPS, Fax, or call the order in to get the order into the queue. I can understand if you don't feel comfortable giving out personal billing info to someone you haven't done business with before. But unfortunately without that info, I cannot accept a credit card order from you.

Yeah, some may say "then go with the check option" but dude! with a 20-26 week wait i cant affort another week or two for check clearance.
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As I explained to you via email, if you wish to pay by check, you must send payment in with your order. That would be at the time you place your order, not when the order is complete. Since we quoted you 20 to 26 weeks on delivery, that would be plenty of time for your check to clear.

There's only a couple instances where we demand payment in advance and one of them is if the customer prefers to pay by check. To many problems in the past with check paying customers to do it any other way. There's a blurb on the questions page of our website that explains our policy on this.

And to those paying by check, how long did it take to receive some sort of verification of payment registry?
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As I also explained to you in my email, our policy is to print out and mail you an acknowledgement within 24 hours of receiving your order. The acknowledgement/confirmation has all the physical data you need including acknowledgment that we received your payment.

Thanks!
T
 
TriCon45

I hope you can appreciate that you just got a reply to your thread from Tony Kanaley, THE MAN, at Milt Sparks.

I'm not an employee of Milt Sparks, and have no connection to Milt Sparks, other than having a holster of their's from years ago and one on order right now. Of all the holster makers out there he is one of the very few that meets projected delivery dates.

I waited nine months on a "Three to four months" time quote from another maker. Needless to say, I cancelled that order and ordered from Matt Del Fatti and Milt Sparks. Six months on the Sparks and eighteen months to two years on the Del Fatti.

My Sparks' Holster should be here in December or Janurary. :)

Biker
 
When a card is present and is swiped in a machine, all the data is read and, quite often, the merchant is required to enter the last 4 digits to ensure that the data is read from the correct card.

When the card is not present and the numbers are provided without visual verification, the security code demonstrates that the buyer has the card in his possession. Additional data such as the numbers of the buyers address and zip code are normally entered to confirm the legitimacy of the transaction.

Providing the security code is not compromising your own security but it is instrumental in confirming that you are in possession of the card.

Milt Sparks reputation goes back a long way and I cannot think of any reason why you should not trust a reputable company.
 
Buy the holster they are not going to rip you off. They are one of the best most trusted makers in the business.

The other option is to call Lightening Arms or Top Gun Supply and pay a premium to them if they have what you are looking for in stock.

The CID number on the card is necessary to complete a transaction when the card is not present. My system will not let me run a card that has not been scanned.

It is for your protection and the merchants. If you are REALLY paranoid have your CC company give you a temp shopping number.
 
thanks everyone

I do understand Milt Sparks is a reputable company, its pretty evidant considering I must wait half a year for a holster. But like EVERYONE has said......but maybe one out of about 20(that I've read so far) diffrent posters from various boards stated that once they finaly received their Sparks holster they pretty much retired the other holsters bought for that particular firearm and carried in that particular manner. So although I am iffy about how it will work for me(diff strokes for diff folks) considering the wait time and cost of the holster, I'm not too concerned about it, chances are I will like it, or at the least learn to like it because this holster in fact will be my first IWB holster so quite honestly I won't know what a bad holster feels like.......I'm actualy trying to avoid from getting first hand experience with non-adequate holsters and becoming a holster collector.

Although checking with retailers to see if they have Sparks holsters in stock isn't a bad idea, chances are they will not have the one I need. Seems like most holsters pre-made are made for glocks, 1911s, or sigs. The holster is for a Walther p99 so I highly doubt anyone stocks those unfortunatly, but hell, I may call them just to make sure, I'd pay alittle more to get it sooner-*wink *wink TK. <---think about it Tony.

Its made clear that the triple digit security code is for protection to me and the retailer due to the fact that the card is not present.....but that is my concern from the begaining. Someone besides me knowing all the info to play santa on my expense(time is money and cleaning it all up afterwards is very expensive.....ID theft is a major problem these days)

You guys are right, reputable companys are not to be worried too awfuly about. Good suggestion about the temp shopping number. Ill probably give Sparks a call soon as I figure out the most effective cant....I'm 5'9" and 145lbs.....so not too many ways you can hide an "L" shaped object on an "I" shaped person. I know this question should be posted somewhere else but while I'm at it......Any suggestions on the cant for a person of these specs? 5-9 145lbs?

Obviously Milt Sparks left a company in great hands, thanks TK for addressing these issue along with everyone else. Deff made a deciding difference.

*edit* deet-dee-dee....ahahah the whole time I had a mind set of sending an order and paying by internet, yeah, ordering by phone IS a lot more secure, but still doesn't eliminate risks.
 
Its made clear that the triple digit security code is for protection to me and the retailer due to the fact that the card is not present.....but that is my concern from the begaining. Someone besides me knowing all the info to play santa on my expense(time is money and cleaning it all up afterwards is very expensive.....ID theft is a major problem these days)
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By day, I play an information security professional. While ID theft is a problem, consider the following factors that limit your risk or at least put it in perspective:

(1) You are going to be calling the order in (or mailing it), so it won't be in a juicy, hackable, web-accessible database for teenagers to crack open and sell for 14 bucks. If you're thinking about telephone eavesdroppers, tempest attacks, and tinfoil hats, you are way-overestimating the value of your credit card information.

(2) Your card is probably more at risk by being swiped through a reader at a restaurant (criminals pay off waitresses all the time to swipe a few through their "special" reader -- this is the tried-and-true, traditional method). I know of really paranoid people who refuse to give their cards to someone to be swiped out of sight -- they insist on seeing it swiped with their own eyes every time.

(3) Contracts with credit card companies forbid retailers from retaining copies of the CVV numbers. I assume Milt Sparks is a good retailer. If you don't want their processor to have the CVV, then how is our economy to function, anyway?

(4) Some retailers now even require cashiers to type in the CVV when the card is present (since the CVV is not stored on the magnetic stripe).

(5) If you are not afraid to own and use a credit card already, then your increased exposure is extremely marginal (i.e., if you're this worried about it, be consistent, and don't use it anywhere else either -- read: don't have a credit card).

(6) The CVV is similar to another verification code that is present on the magnetic stripe -- the credit card number itself is not good enough to secure a transaction anymore. The CVV is just for when the card isn't there. And in your case, it's not. So that's what it's designed for, eh?

And don't use a debit card (unless you've confirmed with your bank that you've got fraud protection). If you use an unconfirmed-safe debit card, don't have overdraft protection.

Also, if you're that worried about them having your CVV, why would you give them your checking account routing number? If a check only makes you uncomfortable because of the extra time, then why are your fears so inconsistent?

And a money order is as good as a check (though it costs you a small fee), and doesn't take as long.

Heck, Milt Sparks seems like such a nice company, I bet they'd be willing to work you a deal to pay in pieces of 8, if need be.

-Jephthai-
 
So although I am iffy about how it will work for me(diff strokes for diff folks)
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Check out what you can get for it if you don't like it on ebay or this forum. People are paying near full price to avoid the wait. No need to worry about loosing money.

n fact will be my first IWB holster so quite honestly I won't know what a bad holster feels like.......I'm actualy trying to avoid from getting first hand experience with non-adequate holsters and becoming a holster collector.
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Good move on starting with quality. Don't forget the belt is an important factor in carry satisfaction, as well as pants large enough to accommodate your shooter.

Dress around it, get a good belt and find your sweet spot. The first day I put on an IWB I thought I had made a mistake. Now, it is a great thing.
 
ah, Milt Sparks Holsters, Inc.

The finest 'moo'; I have some.
Honorable folks, and can be asked for advice (which sometimes means they'll suggest a different brand!).


Currently I use the US Mail to send checks and money orders; no worries.
Perhaps some minor 'gotta have it now' inconveniences, but BFD; I got time.



ps my Redhawk HSR is still awesome......
 
I have ordered two VM-2 from Milt Sparks both with Money Orders. I have had zero problems and they are excellent holsters. Well worth the wait.

Order yours tomorrow and then go out and buy a Uncle Mikes to tide you over until your Versa Max gets here...
 
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