Beeman

[Bullshooter]

So, does anyone have any new news about Beeman and their plans for distribution of airguns & parts? My understanding is that the German-made Beeman airguns will still be distributed here in the U.S. under new ownership and the Chinese-made airguns will be handled by a foreign distributor. Is the previous statement correct?

Bullshooter

[Rob Hawkins]

The last rumors I got were that David Slade and Pyramyd Air bought up all the R and HW Beeman parts. I don't know if David will be selling any parts but PA told me they would be selling parts in May. According to PA's website, they will now be the exclusive seller of Beeman R and HW series airguns. YUCK!
I just hope SS will be selling Weihrauch airguns. That's where my money will go.
HTH
Rob

[Bullshooter]

Rob,

I heard that rumor and was really hoping it wasn't true. C'mon, giving exclusive rights to sell Beeman airguns to only one distributor - how could that possibly be to anyones benefit but PA? Looks like I, too, may be buying Weihrauch instead of Beeman if that is all SS can get.

Bullshooter

[KevinG]

OK guys, here's the real deal. It goes like this.
Beeman is a brand name. So is Marksman. The family that owned the two brands lives in Massachusetts. I won't use the family name for privacy reasons in this post.Some of you may know it but again, for privacy reasons it isn't necessary to use it. The family had a distribution firm called SR Industries that has handled the importing and distribution of the two brands products for years and is located in California, as you all know. However, a few months ago, the family owners decided to sell the brands and did so to a Chinese company BUT the family still had a contract in effect with Weihrauch that goes for another 4-5 years. So as part of the purchase agreement, the family retained the right to sell the Beeman (Weihrauch) products until that contract runs out in 4-5 years. The Marksman and Beeman Chinese rifles (which were added a few years ago) went to the Chinese right away and as of now, Beeman in California is selling only the Chinese and Marksman guns. However, that means that there are 2 Beeman names out there and will be for 4-5 years. The Beeman Chinese guns in California and the Beeman German products that the original family owner will be selling. But that left a bit of an issue for the family. The family had to find a new company to distribute the German Weihrauch guns for them. I'm sure they approached a number of companies to see who would be interested in distributing the Beeman brand for the next 5 years. We (SS) were contacted and offered the deal as I'm sure other companies were as well. Craig and I didn't want to be a distributor so we said we weren't interested. Ends up, Pyramyd Air finally said they would be interested and therefore just before the Shot Show, came to an agreement to be the distributor for the family for 5 years. After the 4-5 years. we have no idea what they'll do with it but my guess is that the Beeman (German) part of the brand will just disappear. It's a guess though. Nobody knows at this time. Maybe it will get re-negotiated but who knows. We'll have to wait and see.
We expect Pyramyd will do pretty much what SR Industries was doing and will operate in the background as "Beeman" rather than as "Pyramyd Air" with these products although we'll all know what's going on. They are "safeguarding" the Beeman brand name for a 5 year period. After that, who knows...maybe Pyramyd will come up with a contract with Weihrauch when the families contract runs out, maybe not. Nobody knows at this point.
So...when will products be available? By April at the latest and likely some products will be available before then. We aren't sure which products might already be in the country now and that will likely get sorted our fairly soon. According to the product list we received the products will be the same for now but there is no new pricing yet. We do expect that there will be new pricing in the near future. So what we have in stock (R7's, HW50S's in 22, RX-2's) will still be sold at last years prices as shown on our site as long as the supply lasts.
In summary...that's the real deal. Beeman couldn't say anything for a few months prior to the sale of course, because of confidentiality agreements. That's why there was such a vacuum about the whole thing. So hang in there for a while yet. Things will sort out pretty quickly. I'm sure Pyramyd wants to get the ball rolling as soon as possible and we'll get some guns in as soon as we find out what they might have in stock. So if you hear any rumors on the various forums, have them read this. All this information is not hearsay...we got it directly from the horse's mouth, so to speak, at the Shot Show. And actually because we were approached about being the distributor, we knew a fair amount about the whole thing prior to the Shot Show but without the details. The details filled in at the Shot Show from talking to all the players. Hope this helps satisfy the questions you might have had.
Kevin
Straight Shooters

[Rob Hawkins]

Thanks Kevin.

[Bullshooter]

Kevin, thanks for the great reply. So the way I understand it is that Pyramid will be the distributor and SS will still be able to get German-made Beeman guns wholesale from PA to sell to us, right?

Now for another zinger, I pre-paid for a Beeman Super Tune when I got my R9 way back when I didn't know better. Who, if anyone, will honor the certificate for my Beeman Super Tune and where do I send it? Or am I just out the money spent?

Thanks,

Bullshooter

[Mike-I]

(R7's, HW50S's in 22, RX-2's) will still be sold at last years prices as shown on our site as long as the supply lasts.

Nothing else available until at least April?

[KevinG]

Bullshooter
I can't answer that. You'd have to talk to Beeman in California. They might still do it but only they can answer that.

[KevinG]

Mike-I
Some things and likely some guns will be available before that. There is the stuff that Beeman had in stock when the transition phase started. But what those items were is anybody's guess as of now. Hopefully Pyramyd will open some boxes, find out what was there, determine some pricing and all that sort of stuff that goes along with getting started. If they have some guns, then some stuff will be available sooner. But we'll have to be a bit patient and give PA a chance to open boxes and see if there is anything there to send.
And yes, all dealers will buy wholesale from PA and sell just like we always have. The owner isn't going to let anyone screw up what they had going before.
Kevin
Straight Shooters

[gdpolk]

Kevin,
Are you going to be able to get products directly from HW now or will you have to work through "Beeman" even still? I love my Beeman guns but honestly I would buy a new HW over a Beeman because they are not only a bit cheaper but through HW you have a wider range of springers, calibers, and finish options.
G

[KevinG]

gdpolk
Actually nobody gets guns directly from Weihrauch. They don't sell guns. All Weihrauch guns come from their desginated distributor...even to other distributors like Beeman or whoever. We could order directly from a Weihrauch distributor although then we'd have to be a warranty center which we don't wish to do. Way too time consuming over and above our other functions. So yes, we will carry HW rifles as well as "Beeman" rifles but we really don't know if the price will be much different. At this time, literally nobody has current pricing that will be in effect on the next shipments. We're still waiting for that pricing as is Pyramyd and everybody else.
But your question is an important one because more and more nowadays the problem is not selling products (any kind or brand), it's getting product to sell. Importing is a royal pain (been there, done that) and incredibly slow and therefore everybody is always running out of product prior to the next shipment regardless of brand. Even the U.S. companies are very slow. Whether it's because they're jobbing things out or just running lean and mean, we don't know. Only that we have to try to get product wherever we can. For instance, we carry three types of handpumps so that we can usually have ONE brand in stock. All three in stock doesn't happen too often. We carry 3-4 types of mounts just so that we have one 30mm mount in stock at any one time. It's sometimes a strange business.
Kevin
Straight Shooters

[gdpolk]

gdpolk
Actually nobody gets guns directly from Weihrauch. They don't sell guns. All Weihrauch guns come from their desginated distributor...even to other distributors like Beeman or whoever. We could order directly from a Weihrauch distributor although then we'd have to be a warranty center which we don't wish to do. Way too time consuming over and above our other functions. So yes, we will carry HW rifles as well as "Beeman" rifles but we really don't know if the price will be much different. At this time, literally nobody has current pricing that will be in effect on the next shipments. We're still waiting for that pricing as is Pyramyd and everybody else.
But your question is an important one because more and more nowadays the problem is not selling products (any kind or brand), it's getting product to sell. Importing is a royal pain (been there, done that) and incredibly slow and therefore everybody is always running out of product prior to the next shipment regardless of brand. Even the U.S. companies are very slow. Whether it's because they're jobbing things out or just running lean and mean, we don't know. Only that we have to try to get product wherever we can. For instance, we carry three types of handpumps so that we can usually have ONE brand in stock. All three in stock doesn't happen too often. We carry 3-4 types of mounts just so that we have one 30mm mount in stock at any one time. It's sometimes a strange business.
Kevin
Straight Shooters

Thanks for the insight. We will wait and see what the future holds :confused:
Hopefully it will include more options, and more great products. It might even include things like the Queen Bee guns, Laser R1's and a custom shop:)