Batboard

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f ... DT0629.DTL

Federal agencies raid police-equipment business in Lexington, Ky.

Wednesday, July 21, 2004

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(07-21) 13:03 PDT LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) --

A business that is a major supplier of military and police equipment was raided Wednesday by agents from several federal agencies.

Galls Inc. said it is cooperating with the investigation, which spokeswoman Kristine Grow said involved its "record keeping and documentation of certain export sales." She would not specify what type of export was in question.

Galls is the world's largest mail-order supplier of uniforms and equipment to law enforcement, distributing equipment such as night-vision goggles and bulletproof vests, according to its Web site. The company's two Lexington facilities employ about 600 of its 800 workers.

Channing Phillips, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington, D.C., would not say what the investigators were seeking. The search warrant was sealed, Phillips said.

Callers to the company were greeted Wednesday with a recorded message saying Galls was "experiencing technical difficulties."

------------End of article-------------------------

Given the usual opinions posted about Galls, thought some might find this interesting.

Let me be the first to say:

WOOOHOOOO!!!

It's one step closer to getting the doors closed on that rip-off palace.

It was most likely for export violation stuff(specificly lack of State Dept. export lcenses) in addition to some finance issues. I am a little ticked because I was just about to order the SVP handheld siren. I can't seem to find it anywhere else. Has anyone seen it for sale elsewhere?

What export controlled stuff do they sell other than night vision?



mancow

Hmm... Interesting!

mtr12222 wrote:I was just about to order the SVP handheld siren. I can't seem to find it anywhere else. Has anyone seen it for sale elsewhere?

Locally, we use D.R. Rebel in Toledo... They don't have it listed on there webpage, though.

Click here and ask for a catalog...
Or, call them at 1-800-800-EBEL

mtr12222 wrote:It was most likely for export violation stuff(specificly lack of State Dept. export lcenses) in addition to some finance issues. I am a little ticked because I was just about to order the SVP handheld siren. I can't seem to find it anywhere else. Has anyone seen it for sale elsewhere?

Dude theyll be back open tomorrow. They arent shut down..

So does this mean the feds will raid AMR next????

Or are they watching Code3Response? (Only joking!)

thebigphish wrote:So does this mean the feds will raid AMR next????

eeek! i think it would be laidlaw they would go after...but why? not a fan of Another Missed Response, Another Money Run, Ambulance Might Respond...etc etc...



know what else i just remembered...Galls, owned or the parent company, is ARAMARK, whos parent company is Laidlaw, which is also AMR's parent company...

there's another big name out there that they all tie into, but at the moment...the name escapes me...

thebigphish wrote:there's another big name out there that they all tie into, but at the moment...the name escapes me...

greyhound...safety kleen...manchu wok...?

thebigphish wrote:there's another big name out there that they all tie into, but at the moment...the name escapes me...

I think they are all owned by Tyco, aren't they?

Galls crap has pissed me off too many times I feel no sympathy for them. In fact, I would rather have enjoyed to watch them being raided - particularly if they came in with swat style action.

I have a buddy who is a small town police chief.
He placed a personal credit card order with Gall's a
few years ago. He used the police department address
with the intention of being reimbursed by the city's
uniform allowance budget when the items arrived.
Gall's dinked around over nine months because they
didn't have the items in stock.

In the meanwhile, the card expired (he gave them
the expiration date when placing the order) and
Visa issued him a new card with a different number.
Without checking the expiration date, Gall's sent a
nasty letter to him and copied the mayor when they
finally tried to process the order and the charge on
the old Visa was denied.

The story was circulated around the area and many
agencies and individual officers quit buying from them.
I quit buying from them in 1984 when I purchased a jacket
advertised as being made in the USA and it arrived with a
tag showing that it was made in Taiwan. When I brought
it to the attention of the Gall's customer service person,
she stated, "That must be a misprint, and we can't be
responsible for errors made by the company who
produced the catalog." They would not allow me to return
it for a refund or credit. The jacket came apart at the
seams within a couple of months. IMHO, they deserve to
be closed up for good.

Aramark ownd a lot of stuff

SEE: http://www.wkyt.com/Global/story.asp?S=2068903

Regarding the raid on Galls, site inclues video also.

When the guys raided Galls, were they wearing/using GALLS equipment ???

I had to ask!

Mike in CT
KM1R

mtr12222 wrote:SEE: http://www.wkyt.com/Global/story.asp?S=2068903

Regarding the raid on Galls, site inclues video also.

Video wont play for me

Me either!

007 wrote:Let me be the first to say:

WOOOHOOOO!!!

It's one step closer to getting the doors closed on that rip-off palace.

Ditto!!

nmfire10 wrote:

007 wrote:Let me be the first to say:

WOOOHOOOO!!!

It's one step closer to getting the doors closed on that rip-off palace.

Ditto!!

first: i am soooo not trying to start a rumble here BUT... if galls is such a "rip off palace" then why are they still in business? not only that but they have grown and grown...so much so that they now have two retail locations on the west coast. i remember getting catalogs that were on newsprint and only a few pages long. i know as radio guys were outspoken quite a bit and clearly this is the case with your sentiments now. i do not think they would be the size they are now if they were not doing something right. i see a few gripe about the place but i wonder what it is you bought that was such a "rip off"? are the prices too high? shop somewhere else then. is the "quality" of the galls branded equipment too low? then don't be so cheap and by name brand...

i see the whining but OBVIOUSLY its not the norm as they are still in business and growing...

help me understand why you feel this way so i can avoid getting ripped too...

thanks

afterimage84 wrote:

nmfire10 wrote:

007 wrote:Let me be the first to say:

WOOOHOOOO!!!

It's one step closer to getting the doors closed on that rip-off palace.

Ditto!!

first: i am soooo not trying to start a rumble here BUT... if galls is such a "rip off palace" then why are they still in business?

Mr. Darwin can answer that....

People are stupid...they see the "deals" Galls has and they buy it. Most of it is made overseas, and very poorly at that. For some people, they see Galls as they only mail order way to get their equipment.

Is absolutely everything there crap? No, but most of it is...especially the "Galls" product line...it's all poorly made OEM knockoffs.

007 wrote:

afterimage84 wrote:

nmfire10 wrote: Ditto!!

first: i am soooo not trying to start a rumble here BUT... if galls is such a "rip off palace" then why are they still in business?

Mr. Darwin can answer that....

People are stupid...they see the "deals" Galls has and they buy it. Most of it is made overseas, and very poorly at that. For some people, they see Galls as they only mail order way to get their equipment.

Is absolutely everything there crap? No, but most of it is...especially the "Galls" product line...it's all poorly made OEM knockoffs.

I agree, people can be very ignorant and shortsighted. For instance...

customer: "Well I can get that online for $20 less."

salesman: "Is that right? how much is the Shipping and handling?"

customer: "$25, but its still less than your pirce, the light/radio/holster/etc itself"

salesman: "Gee, I see why you would do that...I sense you are a KEEN businessman"

I agree that the Galls branded stuff is junk for the most part as stated in my original post. I was just kinda playing "devil's advocate" is all. Like I said I don't want to start any sort of battle. Just makes me wonder if they are so bad to everyone then why are they doing as well as they are. Unfortunately a few bad experiences can lead to badmouthing the entire lot. I have only dealt with them for little things, a glove holder, mic holder and such. It would be interesting to find out what makes them "so bad".

KitN1MCC wrote:Aramark ownd a lot of stuff

They also do the food for the Red Sox games here at Fenway. The vendors wear yellow t-shirts that sray Aramark.

afterimage84 wrote:

nmfire10 wrote:

007 wrote:Let me be the first to say:

WOOOHOOOO!!!

It's one step closer to getting the doors closed on that rip-off palace.

Ditto!!

[edited version of the quote, not everything]

first: i am soooo not trying to start a rumble here BUT... if galls is such a "rip off palace" then why are they still in business? not only that but they have grown and grown...so much so that they now have two retail locations on the west coast. i remember getting catalogs that were on newsprint and only a few pages long. are the prices too high? shop somewhere else then. is the "quality" of the galls branded equipment too low? then don't be so cheap and by name brand...

help me understand why you feel this way so i can avoid getting ripped too...

thanks

I think a big part of their sucess can be attributed to saturation. Is there a FD in America that DOESN'T have a Galls' catalog? Is there a blue lighting squirrel somewhere that hasn't perused the latest Galls' catalog?

Personally, I find that Galls' is great for reference, butI've only purchased one or two things from them - a radio holder, and a L-O-N-G time ago, a pack of "special" Polaroid 35mm film. What I tell people is to find what they want in Galls', and then research the various prices online. Pretty good chances you'll find it cheaper online.

fd2119 wrote:I think a big part of their sucess can be attributed to saturation. Is there a FD in America that DOESN'T have a Galls' catalog? Is there a blue lighting squirrel somewhere that hasn't perused the latest Galls' catalog?

Personally, I find that Galls' is great for reference, butI've only purchased one or two things from them - a radio holder, and a L-O-N-G time ago, a pack of "special" Polaroid 35mm film. What I tell people is to find what they want in Galls', and then research the various prices online. Pretty good chances you'll find it cheaper online.

I also think that's a lot of it - Gall's does a LOT of agency business, where convenience of ordering as well as "It's Gall's, they're well known" takes over. The other issue for me is that they only truly started going downhill when Aramark bought them. But I haven't had a whole lot of experience with them in the last 10 years or so.

You find things cheaper. The one thing that absolutely disgusts me with them (and other big companies) is the outrageous shipping costs. Don't tell me it takes $7 to ship some boot laces and a "hidden tailor"....Yikes.

Look around and you'll find stuff cheaper on the web. Even smaller companies are getting into it. I find them much better to deal with.

My 2 cents, YMMV

Gordon

NodrogCop wrote:You find things cheaper. The one thing that absolutely disgusts me with them (and other big companies) is the outrageous shipping costs. Don't tell me it takes $7 to ship some boot laces and a "hidden tailor"....Yikes.

You're right, it probably costs them about $12 to ship your items, the smaller the order the more expensive it is. Look at how many people are involved, someone to process the order, someone to pick and pack it and then load it on a truck. I'm surprised they don't have a minimum order of $50 or more. Heck most companies I deal with will ship for free if you order $100 or $150.

KG6EAQ wrote:You're right, it probably costs them about $12 to ship your items, the smaller the order the more expensive it is. Look at how many people are involved, someone to process the order, someone to pick and pack it and then load it on a truck. I'm surprised they don't have a minimum order of $50 or more. Heck most companies I deal with will ship for free if you order $100 or $150.

KG6EAQ, Point taken. It's just frustrating to see something weigh about 1/4 pound, and spend all that money to see it show up shipped UPS ground, in a box 5 times the size needed, with a catalog in it that I don't need because they send me what seems like 1 a week anyway...

I guess it goes back to my point about agency orders and a business of that size not necessarily catering to the one person customer - which is understandable.

Gordon

NodrogCop wrote:with a catalog in it that I don't need because they send me what seems like 1 a week anyway...

Now that one I've never gotten. Those catalogs gotta be expensive being full color and all and they send them like mad!

Hello.

I do not recall what batlabber came up with it, but, galls has the most wacker factor of any non-female picture magazine or catalog there is.
Next in line is the latest motorola catalog

KitN1MCC wrote:Aramark ownd a lot of stuff

They ran the crappy-ass dining hall at my previous college, too.

they also run it at weslyian univeristy as well

Hell....Aramark runs the damn cafateria at my workplace....Not too bad during the daytime hours, but they sure get cheap for us nightshifters......Let's just say I eat offsite quite a bit anymore





-RC-

Radio_Cowboy wrote:Hell....Aramark runs the damn cafateria at my workplace....

On my employer's campus, Aramark runs 5 full-blown cafeterias, and about a dozen smaller 'satellite' cafeterias. They also do about 95% of the catering for the onsite meetings and presentations. Talk about a racket... The contract they have is almost as bad (for our employees) as the union contract that's currently in place.

I heard they were confiscateing evidence. didnt you see them coming out of the buildings with the tags still on? hehe j/k

Well, being one of the "small guys" in this business, I can tell you from a seller's position just how frustrating it is to deal with the "Gall's mentality" (Almost as bad as the Motorola mentality, but not quite there yet ) I spend ALOT of money for my initial outlays to become an authorized dealer for most companies, and I expect a certain amount of support from my vendors.

When I look in a Galls catalog and see a lightbar being sold for $150.00!!! cheaper than I pay for it as an AUTHORIZED dealer, it just burns my ass! I mean, I can understand the customer's point of view by going there to buy it, (Hell, I'm tempted to do it myself) but when I tell them that Gall's price is below my cost, they usually look at me like I'm BSing them and that I'm trying to rip them off.

I've spoken with Code 3, Fed, Sig, etc. and asked them to have Gall's sell at a minimum level to ensure that other dealers have a fair shot. I get the usual smoke blown up my @ss and they promise to get someone on it "right away", but then the next catalog comes out with another price reduction instead! The only company that I saw do the right thing with Galls was the company that was selling the underwater video cameras that Gals had one year. Galls sold them WAY below what the agreed upon minimum set by the company was, and the company cut all ties with Galls and even went so far as to demand the stock back and just issue a refund to Galls.

You know, it's just like when Wal-Mart comes to town and puts the little man out of business. You just can't compete with the buying power of the big company, but in the long run it's just going to bite everyone in the @ss. When there is'nt any competition around, the prices slowly start going up untill they're higher than any of the smaller guy's could ever have dreamed of charging. Then everyone whines about how much the giants are charging, half the town winds up working for the giant because there are'nt any more jobs left since all the smaller guys are gone, and it's one big circle effect.

Oh well, the same thing happened with Ma Bell back in the 70s and 80s and when the govt. deregulized the telephone industry, the rates dropped like hot potatoes. Unfortunately, I don't think you'll see that happening with Galls anytime soon.

Aramark also runs the cafeteria at......the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. After this little raid I'd be checking the content of my clam chowder in the future...

well i know with Whelen is that galls buys in quainity But if you buy the same amount at one time as they do oit is the sam pricae as galls

There's your "niche", Chuck. You can become a clearinghouse, of sorts, for all the small guys who order from the same OEMs. Consolidate all of their orders, get the discounted price from the OEMs, and pocket a percentage of their savings. Just remember where you got the idea, and offer me a job, when ya strike it rich?

Strobes 'n More usually has pretty good pricing and I've found the owner to be very easy to deal with.