Sports and Gadgets — Local services in Canton

WARNING: — DO NOT BUY FROM SPORTS AND GADGETS. Read this before ANY purchase.

I purchased a Hatsan Blitz .30 cal air rifle from Sports and Gadgets for my 70-year-old mother — trying to help her heal after losing her husband, a 6-year U.S. Army combat veteran. What should’ve brought her joy turned into months of stress, deception, and outright financial abuse.

RIFLE #1: It leaked air straight out of the box. A certified airgun tech confirmed it was defective and used — lead buildup, debris in the breech, worn internals, and missing seals. It was clearly tampered with, yet sold as “new.” When I returned to the store, they claimed all rifles are “pre-tested” and said this was normal — it’s not. They then pressured me into buying a second, more expensive rifle, promising support only if I left a review and bought again.

RIFLE #2: No original box. Pre-filled to 180 bar. It had visible optic marks, grime, and appeared used. Still, I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Then it failed within two sessions: the bolt blew off, full-auto stopped working, the O-ring wrapped around the hammer, and the pin bent.

I asked the store to contact Hatsan for help — and shared that my elderly mother was growing distraught. They didn’t care. I made the mistake of purchasing a third rifle.

RIFLE #3 (7/29/25): While paying, the clerk took my mother’s debit card into a back room without permission and claimed their system crashed. They told us to “just order online.” When we did, they got angry we didn’t let them type the card manually. The rifle arrived — and again, leaked air out of the barrel on the first fill. Couldn’t even hold 5 bar.

We drove 4.5 hours from Maine to return it. That’s when things turned hostile.

A woman greeted us aggressively, refused to let us speak, blamed us, and yelled when I calmly said this wasn’t the kind of story they’d want public. She accused me of “threatening” her, screamed over us for 15+ minutes, and tried manipulating us into another purchase without refund proof. When I asked for documentation, she refused and banned me from making future purchases. Then she brought out two male employees to intimidate us. I told them clearly: you’re stealing from my mother — and she deserves better.

We’ve spent over $5,000 at Sports and Gadgets. In return: used rifles, verbal abuse, shady financial behavior, and retaliation for asking questions.

They exploit vulnerable customers. And they retaliate when you don’t blindly comply.

I’m taking action:

✅ Filing complaints with the MA Attorney General ✅ Submitting to the BBB, FTC, CFPB, RipoffReport ✅ Posting video evidence & documentation across Reddit, YouTube, and consumer groups ✅ Filing chargebacks and exploring legal options for fraud & elder financial abuse

I have receipts, witnesses, recordings, screenshots, and proof of every lie. If you’re reading this — learn from my mistake.

They preyed on the wrong family. And this is just...

Sports and Gadgets Customer Service Is Unacceptable by Any Standard — Raises Serious Red Flags for Consumer Fraud, Deceptive Practices & Warranty Violations

I am a 70-year-old woman, a grieving widow of a 100% fully disabled U.S. Army combat veteran who proudly served his country for six years. My late husband sacrificed his health and wellbeing for this nation, and my father — a decorated WWII veteran — stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day and lived to tell the story. I never imagined that in my elder years, I would be manipulated, financially abused, and disrespected in the way I have been by Sports and Gadgets.

Everything my son has described in his review is completely true. I stood beside him through every step of this horrific process. What was meant to be a heartfelt gift — a Hatsan Blitz air rifle for me, something I looked forward to as a new hobby to bring me peace and purpose — turned into a nightmare, this company sold us defective, tampered-with rifles, each time more expensive than the last. Every time we returned to ask for help, they treated us worse.

One of the most terrifying moments for me happened during our third visit. After already spending thousands, they took my debit card into a back room after claiming their machine was down. I didn’t feel comfortable with that — no one should. They then came back and asked me to place an order on the website and became angry with me when I refused to physically hand them my debit card and phone so that they could enter the information themself. I felt intimidated, manipulated, and humiliated.

I didn’t feel like a customer — I felt like a target. Their focus was never on helping us or making it right. They were focused on controlling the situation, keeping the money, and silencing us. When we went to return the third rifle (which failed immediately and leaked air from the barrel), we were met with aggression, yelling, intimidation, and retaliation. A woman with a Russian accent began screaming at us, refusing to allow us to speak. I was shocked. The blatant disrespect and hostility we were met with is beyond comprehension.

I am heartbroken, not just because of the money — over $5,000 of it — but because this company took advantage of me during a time in my life when I’ve already lost so much. I can tell you as a mother, a widow, and a woman with roots in American military service — this is the kind of business our consumer protection agencies must act on. They prey on your vulnerability and patience. They are not American owned and they are using acts of deception against their highest...

consumers be aware I would advise do not purchase from this merchant. I have tried now for over six days to either get a replacement or a return label my phone calls are blocked even if I have friends or other family members called they give them the order number and they will hang up the phone I have contacted the manufacturer of the product and notified them also I guess they would do their investigation but of all my years of being retired law enforcement and dealing in sporting goods and in the gun industry I have never come across or even fathom that I would come across an establishment that can get by of operating this way. So be highly aware that this may happen to you if you get an effective product which in my case it was because of the packet in shipping I should not have accepted it from the fedex driver they asked if I still wanted to accept it but it was not fedex's fault it was the merchant that packed it up they did not even Latch shut the hard on the gun That I ordered and tried to cram every product inside the hard case with it so of course the gun was destroyed by the time I received it scratched all the way down to the middle cuts in it holds all in the box that fedex had bandated it at every stop and I rudely get hung up on every time and the owners are the employees of the establishment were offered To be sent the full video even while I'm talking to them on the phone while I'm opening the package it will not accept it and it totally ignored me and ignoring Amazon I ordered it through Amazon but the merchant is reliable as Amazon States so be highly aware word of advice stay far away if you possibly can it would be to your best interests to not go through what I'm...