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Is Optics Planet a Complete Scam?

I’ve had nothing but great experiences pre-covid. Recently it’s been awful. Currently on week 3 waiting for a refund on a returned product. I’ve also had similar experiences as others ordering products that show in stock but having super long wait times.
 
I ordered my Athlon Cronus BTR from them and all was good. Ordered a few other things and that was fine too. But my last order hasn't even shipped. I will probably have to wait months. If something isn't in stock and they can't ship right away they need to state that. Not very happy about it myself.
 
I'm waiting on about $460 return. Their email response back was we refunded you $46. Which they did. A little short... but that is for a return of scope rings that I bought for a new Ruger American Compact that, when I went to pick it up, the bolt was literally stuck in the action and I refused it.

This after waiting over a month for the item I returned despite it saying "shipping 1-3 days" when I ordered it and demanding it be cancelled 2-weeks after the rest of my items from the same order (including the aformentioned rings) came without the scope.

That scope is the last thing I need to close with them and then they will never get a dollar from me. I get that the pandemic is busy, but they seemingly did NOTHING to address the massive influx of ordres/returns, etc. And they only just recently could use the UPS/FedEx slow down as an excuse.
 
Hey, im sure its all the 'rona's fault. My May 03, 2020 order (see screen shot from opticsplant sucks thread) says estimated ship date 01, 17, 2021 now so we will see tomorrow. I bet this time will be the one. I can just feel it, cant you?
 
This is nothing new and nothing to do with Covid. They have operated this way for years. Covid and election years gun panics just make it a bit worse. People always seem to get pissed off at optics planet the most during these times. I remember how bad they were during Sandy Hook for reloading stuff.
 
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Shawnson said:
This is nothing new and nothing to do with Covid. They have operated this way for years. Covid and election years gun panics just make it a bit worse. People always seem to get pissed off at optics planet the most during these times. I remember how bad they were during Sandy Hook for reloading stuff.
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Absolutely agree. I quit dealing with them back in 2019, way before COViD. All of my experiences were prior to that. This
 
Haven't used them in years. I've had mixed experiences. Some things ship right away, others take forever, or you buy something that says in stock then you get an email after you order saying it's expected back in stock in x weeks. All distributors of gun related supplies are back up though. Took me having to contact a company to get my refund. Sent it back and they said they were backed up and would get it. About 4-6 weeks went by and nothing until I contacted them and they processed it.
 
I had great results with them a few short years ago. My last 3 orders over the past couple of years have been an exercise in frustration. They simply sell items they do not have - then tell you to wait.

I’ve spent my very last dime there, and will never bother with them again.
 
they are super high volume and have a hard time keeping up. that much is clear. I order from them from time to time. I know when I order might take a few minutes to get what I ordered. honestly, I havent had anything take more than a couple weeks.
 
I will happily spend more money elsewhere ever since they cancelled my order and out my scopes back in stock at a 40% price increase
 
Its been awhile since I ordered from Optics Planet, when I did my order arrived in a few days. But after seeing all the complaints about themselling products they don't have and making folks wait it out, won't be ordering from them.
 
Glad I found this thread. Was about to order a FDE Aero M-lock handguard since it's the only place I can find one that shows in-stock.....but after reading this thread, maybe it isn't really. Back to searching....
 
earthquake said:
Glad I found this thread. Was about to order a FDE Aero M-lock handguard since it's the only place I can find one that shows in-stock.....but after reading this thread, maybe it isn't really. Back to searching....
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It would be my guess that there is a 1/100 chance of it being in stock, or shipped within 60 days.
 
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UPDATE FROM ORIGINAL POSTER:

My KAC SR 15 field repair kits ordered Mid Nov. arrived yesterday.

There was no message, receipt etc. The only paperwork directed me to a website to leave a review. I did not do so.

End of story.

Thanks for all of the replies.
 
Just a quick update on my latest experience with Optics Planet. In early December I ordered a SIg 516 upper from them at what was admittedly a very good price. When I placed my order website showed the item in stock. Once they had all my info., including payment they said delivery in 3-4 weeks.

A couple of weeks passed. They updated my ship date to February 17th.

Several days ago ship date was changed to mid-April.

I should also point out that they continued taking orders for these uppers for weeks after I placed my order. Who knows how many guys are behind me in line waiting for this item.

At this point in time I'm beginning to have doubts if they will ever make good on this order.
 
They will, they are a legit company. I've only had 1 issue, but it was because their warehouse was taking forever to ship it out, so I cancelled it, and ordered it from Midway, who got it to me in like 2 days for the same price as OP.

The only thing I've had do something similar to what you're having done, is I ordered another Phase 5 sling back on 12/4/20, and it said in stock, but then that changed, and it said backordered until Feb. Now it says, Expected ship date 3/24/21... Luckily, I have several already, so it's not a big deal, I'm just letting it sit in limbo and keeping a watch on it, every few weeks to see if it changes.

What I've found, is that a lot of the things they say are "in stock" are in stock at the manufacturer or distributor, and they get drop-shipped to you. So, sometimes things get a bit wonky in the system if it doesn't get updated by the manufactured or distributor. And that's where the disconnect comes from. I'm not making excuses for them, just pointing out how a lot of these big online retailers work. Most don't keep EVERYTHING in-house, they have millions of items to keep up with, most use distributors and drop-shipping.

One company that is almost ALWAYS on-point with their quantities and in-stock or out of stock updates is Midway USA. Everything in their computer system updates instantly upon purchase.
 
I bought a QLS fork on dec 29th. After a month, i got fed up and tried to cancel it. But since i received half of my order (after 3 damn weeks) it wouldnt let me.
I gave up and just bought one on amazon for pennies more and got it 2 days later from amazon. I usually have ok experiences from optics planet, but i wont fall for that again.

i figure ill just forget about the fork i bought on OP and if it shows up, it will just be a spare. What a waste of time
 
+1 on Midway. I have to say everything I've ordered from them seems to ship almost immediately and arrive in 2 days.
 
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I had a good experience with Optics Planet ordering a Dmr2 a few years ago. Had it in a week after placing order, and it was priced great compared to everyone else that had in stock inventory, but with as good as @gr8fuldoug is over at camera land I don’t see why you wouldn’t just deal with him rather than opticsplanet.
 
Optics planet and Big Daddy Unlimited are 2 companies I almost have the customer service number memorized. At least optics planet will eventually ship your order. BDU will take your order when its instock, charge your card, then wont tell you its not actually instock, then they'll send you several instock notifications for the very thing youve bought but then wont fill your pending order. It also took 3 weeks for me to get ahold of them for a Seekind Precision mount that had messed up threads on the rear clamping screw hole. Props to Seekins for their immediate response and support. They said use this size tap to fix thw threads of your comfortable, if that doesn't work we'll send a new mount.
 
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houndog said:
Just a quick update on my latest experience with Optics Planet. In early December I ordered a SIg 516 upper from them at what was admittedly a very good price. When I placed my order website showed the item in stock. Once they had all my info., including payment they said delivery in 3-4 weeks.

A couple of weeks passed. They updated my ship date to February 17th.

Several days ago ship date was changed to mid-April.

I should also point out that they continued taking orders for these uppers for weeks after I placed my order. Who knows how many guys are behind me in line waiting for this item.

At this point in time I'm beginning to have doubts if they will ever make good on this order.
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I ordered one 2 weeks ago as did one of my buddies. After the order info was completed I got an email saying 2 to 4 months delivery? I don’t think Sig makes the 516 any more so if they didn’t have it in stock where are they going to get it?
 
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trob said:
I bought a QLS fork on dec 29th. After a month, i got fed up and tried to cancel it. But since i received half of my order (after 3 damn weeks) it wouldnt let me.
I gave up and just bought one on amazon for pennies more and got it 2 days later from amazon. I usually have ok experiences from optics planet, but i wont fall for that again.

i figure ill just forget about the fork i bought on OP and if it shows up, it will just be a spare. What a waste of time
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After part of it ships, you have to call their CS and you can cancel it. That's what I had to do with that .260 Rem brass. 👍🏼
 
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sboone said:
Optics planet and Big Daddy Unlimited are 2 companies I almost have the customer service number memorized. At least optics planet will eventually ship your order. BDU will take your order when its instock, charge your card, then wont tell you its not actually instock, then they'll send you several instock notifications for the very thing youve bought but then wont fill your pending order. It also took 3 weeks for me to get ahold of them for a Seekind Precision mount that had messed up threads on the rear clamping screw hole. Props to Seekins for their immediate response and support. They said use this size tap to fix thw threads of your comfortable, if that doesn't work we'll send a new mount.
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Seekins is a great company! I almost exclusively run their rings on my bolt-action rifles. I have a few with other brands, but for the most part, they're all Seekins.
 
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MudRunner2005 said:
Seekins is a great company! I almost exclusively run their rings on my bolt-action rifles. I have a few with other brands, but for the most part, they're all Seekins.
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They are fantastic. I sent them some pics and "looks like machining shavings got into the hole before the screws were threaded in for packaging. You can use a tap to clean it out or we'll send a new one". Will be a first choice for optic mounts from now on. Was a 30mm 20 moa cantilever mount.
 
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Months ago, when the shortage started to happen, I back ordered 4000 rounds of 9mm at $16.00/50 Not a great price, but far better than we see today.

The delivery date kept getting pushed back, but I finally got an email saying that it would ship. I really expected them to never ship, cancel the order or raise the price, but they didn't. Props to them!

However, they did double the price for new backorders :( I doubt the manufacturers doubled their prices to them.
 
I rolled the dice with them a couple weeks ago. They showed Lapua large rifle primer 6.5cm brass in stock. I purchased it and to my surprise it showed up about 5 days later....
 
Animal357 said:
Months ago, when the shortage started to happen, I back ordered 4000 rounds of 9mm at $16.00/50 Not a great price, but far better than we see today.

The delivery date kept getting pushed back, but I finally got an email saying that it would ship. I really expected them to never ship, cancel the order or raise the price, but they didn't. Props to them!

However, they did double the price for new backorders :( I doubt the manufacturers doubled their prices to them.
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I did the same thing, when was your order? LOL
 
Ordered a KAC 11.5 upper from them in September. Said 16-20 days til shipping. November came and got an email saying it would be Sept of 2021 before it arrives. Oh well. Cant get them anywhere else and we'll see if my order gets filled.

Everything else I've ordered from them has shown up realitivity on time. I have no issues wondering if my order will show up from OP as it always has. Just this one was grosly underestimated on time.
 
Placed order for a Surefire M300V Friday that said 11 were in stock. I got updated email and tracking within 24 hours but tracking didn’t refresh until today and it’s in transit. All of my interactions have been good, I think it’s luck of the draw depending what you order.
 
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Pusher591 said:
Placed order for a Surefire M300V Friday that said 11 were in stock. I got updated email and tracking within 24 hours but tracking didn’t refresh until today and it’s in transit. All of my interactions have been good, I think it’s luck of the draw depending what you order.
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I think if you pay close attention to the "availability" you should be safe. For the most part. Ive had multiple times where my buddies send me links to stuff in stock and it clearly says ships in 4-6 weeks.
 
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I have always gotten my order but they are not the quickest by any means. They also mess up their listings quite a bit. On occasion, I have ordered items based on the title and picture only to receive a different item. But to their credit and defense, if I had read under the description or the Q and A I wouldn’t have wasted my item. In all circumstances, I did get my money back in full but it takes a while..like 6 weeks before it showed up in my account.
 
Couple times now I have ordered things "in stock" only to get the confirmation email followed by a "We will alert you when its back in stock" email.

Otherwise no issue, its just a dice roll when you hit that purchase button.

I will give credit where its due, one time when I was overseas I made an order and had it shipped to my family's house, wasn't until I got back 8 months later that i realized i ordered the wrong item, they let me return it.

They have my business along as their prices stay competitive.
 
Used them in the past with good results and then...
Wife ordered a Sig serra6 riflescope from them last November, knew when ordering that it wouldn’t ship until February 2021. Watching status in January, for two days ship date changed to September 2021 and then back to February 17, 2021. Then yesterday, two days before it was to ship, date changed back to September 2021. I called them and the only thing they could say is that it’s their supplier’s fault. I canceled order, contacted Europtic and it is in stock since last week and currently on its way to me. Never more Optics Planet!
 
I’ve built 3 firearms in the past few months and the majority of my orders have been thru OP or PA (Primary Arms). I have always received everything I’ve ordered. No issues. I’m talking 6-8 orders with no problems. It was only a recent order that took a month to get a hand stop. Showed 1 in stock when I ordered. So maybe I just missed it but they also emailed saying due to increased orders and doing the best they can things were delayed. Of the 20-30 items purchased over this time, I received all within the week. OP has been fantastic and prices are not out of whack. They match prices to which I’ve done a couple times since the competition was out of stock. They still matched. Also the more u buy, the more OP bucks you get toward future purchases. Which came in handy, building 3 new firearms. Sorry to hear some have had issues. But they have been fantastic for me. CS has been top notch. Free returns is a plus to and has been great.
As for items being in stock, they notate the stock or if it’s on back order and always give a time frame. I’ve used the email notification when an item is back in stock.
I haven’t been in a rush to complete my builds so I was specific about my parts to purchase. I built quality and noticed many of the cheaper parts were always sold out anyway. Many people have been building budget firearms or just getting whatever they can. The current environment has everyone buying and or building. It’s just the times right now. So delays and stock issues should be expected. But considering the environment right now, only one of my recent orders was delayed for a hand stop which was no big deal. Shoot, I placed an order last week for two items and I got the last item today, a new rifle case, while the other I got on this past Saturday.
 
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I ordered a Seekins complete upper in July and I am still waiting for it. Every month they push out the shipping date by a month. I called them in January and they said I was the next person in line for shipment. Well, the shipping date is now in April and it just keeps getting extended.
 
They are really hit or miss. I've ordered from them since they were the only one's that had it in stock at the time and got my package within the week. They shipped it out next day. I've also placed orders with them where I had to wait 4 months for it to ship.

Sometimes they do offer the "best price", but at the expense of the waiting game gamble. I've never paid advertised price with optics planet either since I always either use a coupon code or do the live chat and ask CS for a better deal/best price which they usually will give.
 
I've never had a problem with Optics Planet, I just bought some tools from them. UPS did deliver 3 days late but the company shipped the items the next day. Some of their prices are higher than msrp but I just shop around a bit.
 
Against my better judgement, I ordered a Knight's RAS for a Mk12 Mod 1 clone I am working on. Couldn't find another one anywhere online and OP said they had a few in stock. Placed the order a few days ago and got a tracking number today so maybe it is actually happening.

On the other hand, a few weeks ago I ordered a red dot and magnifier from them which was also "in stock", and after 10 days of no shipment notifications I cancelled it and ordered the same items from Midway and it arrived two days later. Everyone is busy with all items in this genre so I get it, but if Midway can send it out the same day, it's hard to understand why others can't do the same. Admittedly, I enjoy instant gratification.
 
They are not dishonorable so not a scam. Like the majority of the posters I have had mixed results, but when I was tired of waiting I always got an instant refund. I shop elsewhere now, but I did find that calling them and getting the straight scoop on their inventory made dealing with them less frustrating.
 
I won't ever buy from Cheaper Than Dirt, and I'll only buy from Optics Plant (aka Dvor) as a last resort because of the shipping time issue.
 
Pre-Covid/Election they were almost the best place to buy anything. The impact of covid has completely changed the company. Customer service tanked. The claim products are in stock but then there are 5-6 months delays. They try to hold your money and not deliver products. I refuse to use them now. Check out EuroOptic for any optic purchases.
 
I’ve placed 3 orders recently and received all of them within a few days. Some were rare items that were not in stock anywhere else.

No discrediting those who have had issues, but they appear to actually be shipping some product.
 
Just updating, my Knight’s RAS which seemed to be pretty much unavailable across the internet, arrived yesterday from OP. So other than the red dot and magnifier that was taking too long to ship, everything I’ve ordered there has been pretty painless.
 
I think what pisses people off is ordering something website says is in stock ... until you place your order and you're told it will be 2 weeks/2 months until it will ship. LaRue has been known to do this as well.
 
One time I ordered an F1 gold BCG and they sent me 2 so they are alright by me :ROFLMAO:
 
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