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Rifle Scopes Optics Planet SUCKS
- Thread starter SporterII
- Start date
That “in stock, but not really” thing has bit me in the ass many many times since this Covid crap started. Not necessarily firearms, but every different kind of product you can order - might or might not actually be in stock - regardless of what they tell you. With all these people working remotely, all they know is what their inventory screen says from their home computer.... which is usually wrong.
Well if most customers weren't total price whores who only care about the cheapest price and "free shipping" maybe folks could afford to stock things, but stocking stuff costs a lot and you have to have higher margins to stock things, especially when you add in folks that demand all this "free returns", so the only way to survive these days for a lot of folks is to simply not stock it, and have it drop shipped from your distributor.
Inventory cost money from both having a dedicated storage facility, securing said facility and paying insurance on said product...it is a lot more affordable and stay competitive in today's markets to have things drop shipped as long as your supplier(s) meet overall market demand...its business 101...
While I love supporting small business and I often do...I will not pay premium just because they are small business...because small shops have overhead...I am ok with paying some extra....but when they charge full MSRP on things....I will go online and get it for a reasonable price.
They are no better or worse than any of the online stores. Everyone's prices are close, some charge sales tax, some don't. I try to shop those that do not, just principle.
Usually, "cheapest method" shipping is a combination of Fedex and USPS. That's where it goes south. Saving $2 on shipping is not worth the hassle
Usually, "cheapest method" shipping is a combination of Fedex and USPS. That's where it goes south. Saving $2 on shipping is not worth the hassle
I decided just this morning that I will avoid USPS shipping at all costs from this day forward.
If a vendor insists on using USPS - I will buy somewhere else.
If a vendor insists on using USPS - I will buy somewhere else.
My last good experience with Optics Planet was probably 7-8 years ago. I don’t even consider the anymore.
Lol. My most consistent good results are shipping with USPS. Good thing that I’m not a vendor.
Actually in all honesty, I believe my entire problem with USPS stems from my individual mail carrier...
Better count FedEx in on that one too. They seriously dropped the ball this week.
As the old saying goes:
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.....
If you've been shipping as a business for any length of time, most likely you can recount terrible tails about all the primary common carriers....
You pay your monies and pick your gamble....
The biggest issue really is balancing the unrealistic expectations for delivery most customers have, against their desire to pay as little or nothing for delivery as possible. Sometimes even when you pay tons for the best possible option... still things don't go exactly as you hoped...
To show that even negative attention is attention just the same.....
I just ordered 2 scopes from Optics Planet just 2 minutes ago.
I clicked on “check availability” and it said one of them won’t ship for 23 to 30 days from now.
I purchased it anyway.
It will be over 30 days before the freakin’ deserts open to go shoot again.
Waiting a month for something that will just sit in the safe for another month after that will be easy.
I just hope it isn’t coming USPS! LOL
I just ordered 2 scopes from Optics Planet just 2 minutes ago.
I clicked on “check availability” and it said one of them won’t ship for 23 to 30 days from now.
I purchased it anyway.
It will be over 30 days before the freakin’ deserts open to go shoot again.
Waiting a month for something that will just sit in the safe for another month after that will be easy.
I just hope it isn’t coming USPS! LOL
Quite a bit of recent experience with optics planet, up until april or so everything i ordered shipped next day. Since then its been about two weeks for orders to ship. I like them still Just have to know what to expect now I guess. Only complaint I have now is I ordered a Leica amplus scope and showed in stock, recieved email in wont ship until August 5th or something. Ordered back in June. Oh well I got a good discount and will receive 150.00 in op bucks when ships. Tried to cancel but no one responses.Ordered a Geissele DDC receiver extension just before christmas 2019 was also shown in stock and finally gave up on it a while ago. Kept saying available in 6-7 weeks after I originally ordered. I think that is more of a Geissele problem than OP. Also my Preferred shipping is USPS, then UPS,Fedex driver constantly leaves my front gate open and then when I get home from work my dog is running loose though the neighborhood.
I've only ever tried to order stuff that was in stock. I tried 3 times and all 3 had at least 2 items that weren't actually in stock. Stupid things like 5 months later I randomly get a set of scope rings I'd forgotten about.
This was years ago now. Their prices are nothing special and their customer service is complete garbage.
You think it's a geissele problem that optics planet told you they had it in stock? Optics planet should have told you 6-7 weeks before you even added it to the cart. That's the bullshit that has everyone pissed off.
No Geissele item was shown instock at time of order as stated in first post. After I ordered OP changed availability to 6-7 weeks. That went on for 6 months. I do think it is a Geissele problem with their ddc anodizing all their parts ddc seemed to be backordered. My opinion though
not a fan either. recently purchased an alg trigger that said in stock on their website. Then i get my confirmation email, and after reading the whole email at the bottom it says, shipping in 30-45 days.
really?!!!
that means it's backordered. They should of told me it's backordered when i purchased it!!
really?!!!
that means it's backordered. They should of told me it's backordered when i purchased it!!
You seem to be missing the point. It may indeed be true that Geissele is having a problem with anodizing their parts and that’s on them. The issue, in case you missed it, is that Optics Planet listed the item as “In Stock”. To most of the retail world, this means that the retailer (Optics Planet) physically has the item in their warehouse. Thus, no matter how many problems Geissele is or isn’t having, your item should have been ready to ship.
That’s what “in stock” means, not that you’ll order it right away from Geissele and hope that they have it in stock. That is why people don’t like OP. It would be different if they listed the item in some other manner, like on back order or something like any other respectable retailer does.
You won’t see that shit at a respectable retailer like Europtics or Cameraland or CSTactical, etc.
Ok.
I will openly admit it.
I made a poor decision, then compounded it by coming here to say I did it. And now in the interest of fair reporting - I got a “status update” from Optics Planet....
That scope that was 30 days out has changed to 6-10 MONTHS. Ummm, really?
You guys were right.
I was wrong.
I hate when that happens!
I will openly admit it.
I made a poor decision, then compounded it by coming here to say I did it. And now in the interest of fair reporting - I got a “status update” from Optics Planet....
That scope that was 30 days out has changed to 6-10 MONTHS. Ummm, really?
You guys were right.
I was wrong.
I hate when that happens!
I'm sure that OP can have bad CS and shipping, just like most everyone else from time to time.
Still,I just ordered almost $300 in items the other day, and was shipped within 2 days...
This is not unusual or uncommon with OP.
Still,I just ordered almost $300 in items the other day, and was shipped within 2 days...
This is not unusual or uncommon with OP.
It is very uncommon that your entire order ships. I've never talked to anyone that's got their complete order on time and in one shot.
Seriously? You don't think it's fucked you've been waiting 6 months for something they told you was "in stock"?
If you can't walk back and pull it from your inventory it's not in stock. That's their whole problem, is stringing people along because they don't actually have what they say they do.
I've not had issues with optics planet, usually great prices, not the place to go if you want expedient shipping though, even pre-covid. You do need to pay attention to whether something is in stock or not if you're in a hurry to get it. If it says "check availability" that means it will be a wait. Depending on what you ordered you may be able to cancel and reorder from cameraland, Doug is a supporter of the hide, but even he is at the mercy of covid and manufacturers and vendors. I almost exclusively used chat to contact them, but during covid that wasn't an option so the one time I did have to contact them I used their online contact form and they got back to me fairly quickly (a day or two).
Well, I must be the luckiest OP buyer...
Because this is not unusual, granted, it will arrive sometime this week, but that's not bad.
If you get free shipping, my experience is that all companies go the cheapest route.
I've just had so many good experiences with them that it's hard to see all this negative.
As stated from others, most happy customers fall silent, while disappointed ones will shout it from the mountain twice.
I agree. Nobody, who has ordered product in stock , need more than 3 business days to ship the order, COVID or not. We (Borka Tools) typically ship in 1-2 busines days, but we always ask customers to allow us up to 3 business days, as a safety margin. Never hurts to have an extra day, just in case...
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While this is most certainly true, why do you think it is that some retailers have many threads from dissatisfied customers complaining about poor business practices and CS and others, in the same business, of the same volume scale, do not? Do you think this is pure coincidence?
that's right, this same thread about optics planets was recently run on the akfiles as well.
I vary rarely tie up my limited funds on something that shows out of stock, like never on purpose.
As far as I know midway and brownells don't tag your cc untill the item is processed for shipping.
They allow you to to remove that item anytime you wish.
They send reminders (constantly) when back instock.
I find that more amiable.
If you are going to take orders for a product and wait till you get ie 100 orders to fulfillment to sell at a discount then man up and say so.
I think even my preferred suppliers do it to an extent but don't lie about in stock or physically tie up funds, just expectations.
As far as I know midway and brownells don't tag your cc untill the item is processed for shipping.
They allow you to to remove that item anytime you wish.
They send reminders (constantly) when back instock.
I find that more amiable.
If you are going to take orders for a product and wait till you get ie 100 orders to fulfillment to sell at a discount then man up and say so.
I think even my preferred suppliers do it to an extent but don't lie about in stock or physically tie up funds, just expectations.
I got mildly burned by OP a couple of years ago but gave them another chance on July 5th, ordering $600 worth of stuff (saved 19% over Midway). It arrived just fine on July 11th.
Being in the online fraud business, if your account changed and you didnt know about it someone has hacked your account, likely changed your details and used your saved payment mechanism to buy something. NEVER EVER save your CC card to a vendor or google etc. No mater how inconvenient it is.
They are overloaded as are all the other gun-related vendors. I've never had an issue with OpticsPlanet, Midway, Brownell's, or Natchez.
Guns2Ammo has recently taken my money and I haven't heard a peep for days, so we'll see.
Guns2Ammo has recently taken my money and I haven't heard a peep for days, so we'll see.
Midway and Brownells are my go to. I had 2 positive experiences OpticsPlanet - the orders came in without a hitch. It sounds like credit card was compromised.
I have bought thousands and thousands of dollars of items from Optics Planet.....absolutely zero bad experiences. I've always reached their Customer Service with little effort, and had nothing but excellent support. Some individuals are just bad luck, bad experience magnets. You realize they have caller ID!?!?!?
Nice potshot at me, but a big miss. I’ve not even been talking about me, now have I?I have bought thousands and thousands of dollars of items from Optics Planet.....absolutely zero bad experiences. I've always reached their Customer Service with little effort, and had nothing but excellent support. Some individuals are just bad luck, bad experience magnets. You realize they have caller ID!?!?!?
If you want something, which may be available directly from the actual manufacturer, buy only from the actual manufacturer. We (Borka Tools) are no longer use ANY "dealers", and only use DTC (Direct-To-Consumer) sales model of operation. Works much better for our customers and for Borka Tools.
We will never go back to using the "dealers".
We will never go back to using the "dealers".
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Yeah, Optics Planet is out to lunch. I cannot reach term either. You have to send them an email from template at bottom of their web page for any communication at all. Plus when you order something from them, many times it is out of stock and they sneak that by me until i place the order. They have tripped me up on that several times.
As a retired guy, I love threads like these. I get to compare experiences, and maybe even laugh my ass off at some of the comments. I’ll submit the following:
1. Doug at CameraLandNY has sold me a Kestrel, and, unknown to me, thrown in next day delivery to NC for free. Next, he sold me a Leupold Mark5 TMR and a set of rings. Charged the card. I waited a week and called. An hour or two later, the shipping guy calls and tells me the scope has been on the shelf for a week, still waiting on the rings, should he just send the scope now? I got it the next day Fedex. I bought a set of rings locally, since after looking through the Mark 5, I know that I will be buying another one soon enough. From Doug, who is a great guy with great products, even if he doesn't Email me a tracking number or make up an excuse for his sloppy shipping department.
2. Brownells has done good till it lost my new 224 Valkyrie bolt 15 days ago in their so-called money saving transfer from UPS to USPS. They tell me on chat that I will get an email with a location. Crickets.....Hard to run a new upper without the correct bolt.
3. Midway has one problem. Their shipping monkeys pack heavy loads of 500 SMK’s in with bags of brass, bottles of Hoppes #9 and tubes of grease, without any protection. Then they wonder why I am pissed when I get the soggy box open and find my new brass dented about the neck and shoulder, and end up picking .224 bullets out of the carpet that smells like Hoppes #9. You cannot fix Stupid. Their selection, unless you need SR primers, is usually excellent. They accept returns on armor and carriers when they send you a size small instead of the x-large you ordered, that they didn’t have in stock, but they figured the small would help. They also accept returns and even send you the 224 Valkyrie case gauge you ordered after you send back the unmarked box that holds a .223 Remington case gauge. Surprise, the Valkyrie box is labeled .223
If I was still working my 12 hour rotating shift with abnormal time off, I would need blood pressure meds. Retired, I get used to fuckups, just like ordering no mayo on my Whopper, and getting both sides plastered with the shit. Hell, it looks good on them when I launch it back through the window. Gotta go with the times. Best of luck in getting those primers!
1. Doug at CameraLandNY has sold me a Kestrel, and, unknown to me, thrown in next day delivery to NC for free. Next, he sold me a Leupold Mark5 TMR and a set of rings. Charged the card. I waited a week and called. An hour or two later, the shipping guy calls and tells me the scope has been on the shelf for a week, still waiting on the rings, should he just send the scope now? I got it the next day Fedex. I bought a set of rings locally, since after looking through the Mark 5, I know that I will be buying another one soon enough. From Doug, who is a great guy with great products, even if he doesn't Email me a tracking number or make up an excuse for his sloppy shipping department.
2. Brownells has done good till it lost my new 224 Valkyrie bolt 15 days ago in their so-called money saving transfer from UPS to USPS. They tell me on chat that I will get an email with a location. Crickets.....Hard to run a new upper without the correct bolt.
3. Midway has one problem. Their shipping monkeys pack heavy loads of 500 SMK’s in with bags of brass, bottles of Hoppes #9 and tubes of grease, without any protection. Then they wonder why I am pissed when I get the soggy box open and find my new brass dented about the neck and shoulder, and end up picking .224 bullets out of the carpet that smells like Hoppes #9. You cannot fix Stupid. Their selection, unless you need SR primers, is usually excellent. They accept returns on armor and carriers when they send you a size small instead of the x-large you ordered, that they didn’t have in stock, but they figured the small would help. They also accept returns and even send you the 224 Valkyrie case gauge you ordered after you send back the unmarked box that holds a .223 Remington case gauge. Surprise, the Valkyrie box is labeled .223
If I was still working my 12 hour rotating shift with abnormal time off, I would need blood pressure meds. Retired, I get used to fuckups, just like ordering no mayo on my Whopper, and getting both sides plastered with the shit. Hell, it looks good on them when I launch it back through the window. Gotta go with the times. Best of luck in getting those primers!
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