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Is Arken CS non-existent?

C

chevy_man

Old Salt
Full Member
Minuteman
    • Jan 25, 2019
    3,689
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    Been trying to get ahold of them to get a scope replaced. Diopter was stripped out of the box. Like pick up the rifle and you can shake it and watch the ocular bounce around.
    My Dad bought it for a .22, and needless to say he's not been impressed. 🤣

    Their Facebook is full of complaints.

    Their phone number just tells you an email address that they haven't answered after a week.

    He's trying to get Amazon to take it back now.

    Shame, as the glass was clearer than the Athlons but it means nothing if they won't even talk to their customers.
     
    It seems like Arken is facing some tough times. There have been plenty of complaints, not just here but also on other forums.
     
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    I saw the writing on the wall about 1.5 years ago, which is why I stopped buying their stuff or recommending it, even in budget discussions. That’s why I swapped all but 1 rifle to the XTR-II 5-25x50’s and never looked back. Better scope, better build quality, made in Philippines w/ Jap glass, weighs much less, smoother controls, same price as the EP5…
     
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    I just posted about an amazing customer service experience I had with Athlon. Their stuff is also high value and seems to work well.

    Granted it was a shipping problem, not a product problem. But I was able to speak with an empowered, empathetic and professional person within 30 seconds of dialing the phone number.
     
    • Haha
    Reactions: FuhQ
    I literally said F you to arken a couple months back. Liquidated the products I had and will never support them again. Products were decent but the cs is literally a complete and total failure. For that reason I’m out. Replaced with strike eagles for now.
     
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    GO@HORNS said:
    What's the source on this?
    Click to expand...
    Maybe the horse is the best source
    4D4131B5-78B7-4DB7-8D2A-96314C97EEB2.jpeg
     
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    thexman said:
    I thought Arken is founded by the navy seal guy and they just set up factory in China for cheap labor?
    Click to expand...
    It’s a placeholder for the real bidness. A little bit of research goes a long way

    ARKEN OPTICS USA LLC is a Texas Foreign Limited-Liability Company (Llc) filed on November 8, 2022. The company's filing status is listed as In Existence and its File Number is 0804800440.

    The Registered Agent on file for this company is Ye Wu and is located at 202 Industrial Blvd., Ste 803, Sugar Land, TX 77478.

    The company has 2 contacts on record. The contacts are Michael Benedict from Rockwall TX and Ye Wu from Sugar Land TX.
     
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    thexman said:
    I thought Arken is founded by the navy seal guy and they just set up factory in China for cheap labor?
    Click to expand...
    He's just the "Team Lead". And almost any time a company uses the "USA" or "America" after its name, that means it's the U.S. brand or location of a foreign owned entity.

    www.arkenopticsusa.com

    About

    We stand united in our passion to redefine the standard in optical precision. Together, we share a commitment to excellence that’s evident in every role, from advanced engineering to our customer-first service approach.
    www.arkenopticsusa.com www.arkenopticsusa.com
     
    chevy_man said:
    They can't make a decent scope that's less than $1k to save their life.

    Find me their budget FFP MIL reticle MIL turret.


    I'm all for the Mark 4 and 5, but they're in a different price class.
    Click to expand...
    But I thought this was for your dad’s .22 Rimfire.

    Is it an NRL .22 where you want a full-featured scope or a plinker?
     
    B y r o n said:
    Does that mean the McDonald's is China owned as well?
    Click to expand...
    Well, Mickey Ds is primarily owned by The Vanguard Group. They are an investor owned company. I’d be willing to bet a healthy sum that most of them “big” investors getting “big” returns are not American
     
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    roostercogburn98 said:
    It’s a placeholder for the real bidness. A little bit of research goes a long way

    ARKEN OPTICS USA LLC is a Texas Foreign Limited-Liability Company (Llc) filed on November 8, 2022. The company's filing status is listed as In Existence and its File Number is 0804800440.

    The Registered Agent on file for this company is Ye Wu and is located at 202 Industrial Blvd., Ste 803, Sugar Land, TX 77478.

    The company has 2 contacts on record. The contacts are Michael Benedict from Rockwall TX and Ye Wu from Sugar Land TX.
    Click to expand...
    Mid-2022 was about when I started noticing the changes. Bet money the founder got paid and soldout to the CCP. That would certainly explain things going to shit, compared to how they were fit the first couple years.
     
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    • Haha
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    FuhQ said:
    Mid-2022 was about when I started noticing the changes. Bet money the founder got paid and soldout to the CCP. That would certainly explain things going to shit, compared to how they were fit the first couple years.
    Click to expand...
    silent partner maybe? For an American face and service connection? Not saying that is it, but maybe.
     
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    roostercogburn98 said:
    silent partner maybe? For an American face and service connection? Not saying that is it, but maybe.
    Click to expand...
    The story that a former SEAL founded an optics company made for good marketing- but it never struck me as true, and we know how fast and loose the internet is; I think some guntuber made it up and no one corrected it with the facts.
     
    Last edited:
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    LRRPF52 said:
    But I thought this was for your dad’s .22 Rimfire.

    Is it an NRL .22 where you want a full-featured scope or a plinker?
    Click to expand...

    No. But you need decent turrets and reticle for the gopher gun to get hits at stupid long ranges.

    I run a mill/mill scope on everything I have at this point, and I think between the two of us we have about 20 vx-5's and mark 5's. Thankfully there is the htmr in the vx-5 for those rifles that don't need a mark 5.

    We also both have piles of cheaper scopes. Still in mill/mill because it makes life so much easier.
     
    Milf Dots said:
    The story that a former SEAL founded an optics company made for good marketing- but it never struck me as true, and we know how fast and loose the internet is; I think some guntuber made it up and no one corrected it with the facts.
    Click to expand...
    There is indeed a former Navy SEAL who is involved with the company: Mike Reilly. Some Chinese guy owns the majority of it to the best of my knowledge. Mike Benedict, I suspect, is a minority partner. Mike Reilly probably is, as well.

    They changed their OEM at least once that I am aware of, so I do not think they own their own factory. I could be wrong of course. I did not do much digging.

    ILya
     
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    koshkin said:
    There is indeed a former Navy SEAL who is involved with the company: Mike Reilly. No one said Mike Reilly didn't have some connection to Arken- on their About page they list him as "Team Lead" but no mention of him as a Partner or a Founder. Some Chinese guy owns the majority of it to the best of my knowledge. Mike Benedict, I suspect, is a minority partner. Mike Reilly probably is, as well. Arken's "About" page doesn't show them as Partners or Founders, and neither do the corporate documents that show it as a "Texas Foreign LLC".

    They changed their OEM at least once that I am aware of, so I do not think they own their own factory. I could be wrong of course. I did not do much digging. Arken Optics USA posted "We machine and assemble our scopes completely in-house at our own facility in China".

    ILya
    Click to expand...
    Given the facts stated by Arken Optics USA themselves, as I and @roostercogburn98 posted in comments 13, 17, and 18, it looks like most people got bad information from the start and it was never corrected- instead it's been repeated as gospel all over the 'net.

    It's a shame that as a general rule we can't trust people's words anymore, but if it's not posted in print- by the person(s) benefitting from the claims- and for all to see- we have to assume it's false until proven otherwise. It's just the way of the world now where people will say whatever needs said to make money or build relationships.
     
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