My first consideration when buying tools is to get the the quality I need (and want). 

My second consideration is whether they stand behind their product and how they act for the warranty. If they only refund money (or just part of it), I'm still holding a busted product and still need service. 

Then, I seek to buy as economically as I can.

As an example, I was told before I bought my first CPA 44 1/2 that CPA stood behind their rifles very well. Having a problem with extraction, I called and then returned my Benchrest stocked rifle. The rifle is now fixed with an explanation the extractor was too long (high). Good and timely service.

Can’t say what’s normal or not, but that is one of the few companies whose work seems to add value instead of detract from a later sale. 

Possibly why the bill was included.

Cbashooter wrote on Sep 8^th, 2022 at 11:46pm:


I know of a couple full on restorations that full cost was recouped at sale.

Repairs who knows.

I have seen a plumber's bill recently where the labor rate was $125/hr.   (They also charged her $265 for a water filter element that the mfgr. lists for $220, and told her she needs to have that element replaced every two weeks.)

It's only going to get worse, so spend what you got ASAP.

I think there's something about we shooters as a group. We want to buy the firearm as cheap as we can and pay a gunsmith a pittance for his labor and expect him to live on ramen noodles all his life. I used to work at a small outdoor & firearms business in the 1980's. Customers would come in and ask all sorts of questions about the guns and archery equipment we had on display. After figuring out what they wanted, they'd go across the freeway and buy it from a big box store to save 15 bucks. A few days later, they'd be back in the store wanting us to fix it or have us mount sights they bought someplace else on the bows or  firearm. I'd always tell him to take it back to the Big Box store and have them do it.

My only question would be if the work performed was what was requested? If there was no request for certain things to be done then maybe that could be debated. But if someone simply sent it to a gunsmith and said "fix it", then it's the gunsmith's discretion to do what it takes to make it right.
Prices don't look out of line to me, but I'd do all those things myself and not pay for the work.

Old-Win,

My first non-summer job was working at a camera store. We had the same problem with customers taking up our time to only order the camera mail order.  When they came back in with their film to be processed we were happy to charge them full price instead of the discount we gave those who bought the camera from us.  The best retort the owner made was when a ‘customer’ came in and after looking at a camera that was $200 asked us to match a $180 price that he was quoted at a competitor.  The owner said that he should buy it there and the customer replied that they were out of stock. My boss said that our price was $175 when we were out of stock!

Jack