OpticsPlanet CS

I had ONE good experience with Optics Planet, but I won’t ever order from them again. Yeah, shipping is a dumpster fire since COVID, but OP is an even bigger one.

Steve S. said:

Long and short, I ordered a Leupold scope last Wednesday (8/18) from this organization. The item showed shipping from Baton Rouge to Bloomington, IL then onto me (outskirts of St. Louis (MO) this Saturday (8/21) past by end of day. Then later Saturday when it was not arriving, I checked again and there was an update posted that arrival would be delayed to a Sunday arrival - the scope was now at Memphis, TN and in route. The scope has now been in route since Saturday for what is a five hour drive - it is still showing in route from Memphis as I type this.
No problem, it is probably lost. I will call OpticsPlanet CS and get this corrected. I was told that the item is in transit from Memphis - yes sir I know, it has been in transit from Memphis since Saturday; a five hour drive. I am then told that it is probably lost and I will have to put in a claim after 15 days, may take up to a month to resolve. Hold it right there pard, I am not waiting a month for a status of something I had no control over while you keep my money - I got it! - cancel that order and send me another scope. I am told, “It is not that easy sir - we have to resolve this loss before we can credit and ship you another unit.” I started to respond with ….”I will just order another one now on my dime” but I did not get to finish - he hung up on me.
I was very pleasant throughout the conversation but I could tell that this gentleman was not very happy with his day. Anyway, FYI those future scope purchasers.

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I had a VERY unpleasant experience with Optics Planet with almost the same problem several years ago - I ordered a scope that was mislabeled by the shipping department, after I explained to them when I ordered it HOW it had to be labeled, and it was off on a grand tour of the West Coast, and I mean the whole thing, Washington, Oregon, California, back to IL, etc, round and round she goes. I even had the Postmaster involved trying to track this box down. OP was VERY unhelpful, and when the scope finally returned to OP, (never made it within 50 miles of me), they asked if I would like it sent to me then? After 30 full days in the tender mercies of the Post Office due to YOUR mistake? Heck no, gimme a new one, maybe an upgrade for that trouble. Nope, that wasn't going to happen, no upgrade, no NOTHING but I did get my money back. I will never send Optics Planet another dime of mine and warn others as well.

While I've ordered several times over the last couple years from OP, and things have been delivered accurately and timely, I'm beginning to feel like mine were the exceptions rather than the rule.

My more recent negative experiences with OP were not shipping related. On more than one occasion I would order something shown in stock, only to receive a follow up message that shipping would be delayed. A couple of times a rep contacted me asking if I wanted to upgrade a purchase to a more expensive in-stock item. It started feeling like bait and switch.

armedwalleye said:

While I've ordered several times over the last couple years from OP, and things have been delivered accurately and timely, I'm beginning to feel like mine were the exceptions rather than the rule.

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I have ordered from them 5 times & have never had issue. I will consider myself luck as well. They do take their time shipping but its always free so I can handle the foot dragging.

I've had mixed experiences, mostly their inventory problems as others have stated. It's to the point I won't use them unless there's no other choice.

The one thing I will give them credit for is the ability to back order parts that are normally unattainable. As long as I know there will be a delay and can plan for it, I don't have an issue.

I'm not blaming this story on OP, shipping was the problem and they need to verify the item is actually lost before sending out a replacement on their dime. Otherwise someone ends up with 2 scopes and OP is SOL.

I've had good luck with them, but you need to make sure anything you order is actually in stock. The last order I placed was several AR parts earlier this spring, box arrived with one part missing. I called, they simply asked if the box was damaged or not (it wasn't) and promptly sent out a fresh part. I'll continue to buy from them when the price is right.

I ordered a powder drop from them--30 days later I called them---they had no record of my order & the guy got mad as hel that I dared to question his Companie

I get FedEx delays in my shipments all the time...shows an expected delivery date, then gets delayed for a couple of days or more. I don't call each company and demand they ship me another item each time. While I don't typically order from OP due to them showing out-of-stock items as "in-stock", I'm on their side on this one. To be honest, they'd probably prefer you shop somewhere else...demanding they ship a second item each time FedEx runs behind would get costly for them.

Years ago, OpticsPlanet was a quality company with good shipping. I’ve ordered from them several times in the past with good results, but that’s changed lately. They now show items in stock that aren’t, and take forever to ship items that are(if they really are). They’ll get no more of my business until they drastically improve.

Personally - I'm a bit weary of them.

I tend to think of them as the T.J. Maxx of the sporting goods world.

Buy inconsequential things from them without worry, occasionally be happy over a very good find, but also prepare to be disappointed by some really costly lemons.

Give it a week and a day. Probably show up tomorrow or Thursday.....
OP doesn't own Fedex.

Putting up a post complaining about Optics Planet customer service is like putting up a post complaining that Remington Thunderbolts don't always go off.

Steve S. said:

FedEx web showing “out for delivery”

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Some of that may be down to the (known) wobbly FedEx tracking system.
When an item is scanned into a reader, it sends a numeric code to the computer tracking system.
So, some code monkey set the thing to pass a code.
And the new code event triggers an email.
The automated email composer then plucks a text phrase per the code.
So, Code 0100100 is "at [location]"; 0100101 is "at [hub]"; 0100110 is "No Data Available"; and so on. There will be ones for "delivery refused" or "unable to deliver" (and both of those probably ought be "not released from vehicle" or "scanned out of vehicle but returned").

The sweaty person in a company uniform does not actually enter any of the location or status data--it's all read off the barcode scanners and translated into Barcode IRL language when the button is pushed.

I will have to agree that the shipper is likely the bad wheel here.

I get better service from Dvor than I ever have from OP.

The Glockodile said:

I tend to think of them as the T.J. Maxx of the sporting goods world

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Be thankful it wasn't shipped USPS. I've had shipments lost for over a month, with tracking showing it stuck in some warehouse. I put in a complaint on their website and the local USPS manager called me the same day and apologized. He said there is nothing anyone can do. He said that he himself personally has had a few shipments stuck somewhere for a month. He said just sit back and wait. Sure enough, about 3 weeks later, the tracking showed it was back in route and I got a day or two later.

And I didn't complain to the retailer, as it wasn't an item I urgently needed.
And I understand that retailers can't do anything until it is settled with the shipper. If Fed Ex closes it, they will reimburse you (after 30 days). I will say a good retailer should send you another one at your expense and free shipping and free return shipping if the lost one shows up. If you ask that nicely, they might do that. But don't expect more.

.38 Special said:

Putting up a post complaining about Optics Planet customer service is like putting up a post complaining that Remington Thunderbolts don't always go off.

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Places like Midway and Primary Arms seem to get my packages to me on time, or within a couple days of estimated time. Optics Planet could do the same. That’s why I don’t deal with them anymore.

I've purchased a couple of items from Optics Planet, the first one took almost two weeks to arrive on my doorstep, I chalked it up to typical USPS COVID cluster....... The second two items took only 5 days but ended up returning one for a refund which they gave me as a "store credit". I'll use that to buy one more item from them with the credit and that's it.

I was very lucky to get a single box of primers from powder valley. It took a few days to leave their facility, which I was told and understood.

When it was relinquished to UPS I was given notice and a delivery date for the explosive materials. After a week they went from Kansas to Illinois, then disappeared for two weeks. UPS’s website told me to file a claim, which I did, even though it was confusing to fill out and had them send the wrong information to me instead of PV. Chaos.

I called Powder Valley and explained the schtik. The Customer Service agent, first cared, second double checked that their end was in order, then called UPS for me. She got UPS to find it and it was delivered.

Yes, UPS lost it (and didn’t want to look for it without prodding), but she took it upon her company to be sure I was supplied.

That is a whole lot better than, “well, we shipped it”, and the primary reason OP wears mud on their face.

UPS ended up sending a person to confirm lack of delivery. It would have been cheaper to just ship it…
I got a revised delivery alert for the next day, it arrived the day after…


While I agree the shipping is on the delivery company, OpticsPlanet could do several times more effort towards their customers.
Wait a month to see if it shows up? Please give me a break! This is 2021, not 1983. We have the means, get off your seat and do some work.

Steve S. said:

So maybe I owe OpticsPlanet an apology

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An apology has three parts. The persons name who was slighted, what went wrong, and how the wronger will right it.
So, you got one of those from OpticsPlanet, right?

Just saying “Sorry” is feeling sympathy, not an apology.

I also find clear communication to thwart most feelings of contempt. If anything Midway and Palmetto over-communicate with email alerts, but I never have to wonder where my package is.

I’m just glad you got your scope @Steve S. !

toivo said:

You have my sympathy. I should have known better, but I got stung by them again.

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Same here, just the other day. I thought I'd ordered from Midway, but it was OP. I had ordered a scope from Venture Firearms, and gotten it in just a couple days. The mount came from OP and took over a week just to get it out of Illinois. Oh it was moving nearly the whole time, but I have in my possession (printed copy)12 time stamps that are all the Chicago area. One even says Detroit, and the next back to Chicago. Naturally, I blame the USPS for this, but when asked about my experience at OP, I told them You need to quit using USPS for shipping with an explanation. I've gotten plenty from OP without incident, but this one was a bit ridiculous. I'd like to see them just go UPS. Seems that, at least around here, is about the best and most reliable.

Steve S. said:

The item showed shipping from Baton Rouge to Bloomington, IL then onto me (outskirts of St. Louis (MO) this Saturday (8/21) past by end of day. Then later Saturday when it was not arriving, I checked again and there was an update posted that arrival would be delayed to a Sunday arrival - the scope was now at Memphis, TN and in route. The scope has now been in route since Saturday for what is a five hour drive - it is still showing in route from Memphis as I type this. .

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Remember the Shipper has No Control over the package once it has been picked up. You comment implies that the product was in fact picked up and en-route. How or why it was diverted the shipper has no control over. Complain to the carrier!

A few years ago I purchased a press on ebay and it was being sent by USPS from Detroit Mich to Kenosha Wis which is right on the Wis/Ill state line. Tracking the package it went from Detroit to Battle Creek, Mi. to Philadelphia Pa. to Gary ind. back to Detroit and then to Chicago. Took 16 days to go from Detroit to Oak Creek Wi. which is where our distribution center is.. Package was completely destroyed by the time it arrived.

This was not the shipper fault. It was wholly the carrier!