Concerning Palmetto State Armory

ccctennis said:

One thing that does not make sense they do not honor the online price in the store.

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Jlr2267 said:

The Greenville store does

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The 2 Columbia stores will NOT honor the online prices. I've tried.
I was told, by an employee, the online business is a completely separate company.
The Ridgeland SC store WILL honor them.

I've ordered from them several times. The longest I ever waited was three weeks but that was when I placed an order a week before Christmas.
I get their daily email notifications and usually buy when they have a promotion, sale, or close out. I've gotten some great deals.
I get email notification when an order has been picked and readied for UPS and another when it ships with a UPS tracking number, after that I track it through the UPS website. I've never used their customer service because I have never needed to.
I live over 45 miles from the nearest gun shop (and Walmart) so Internet / mail order is the best way for me to buy most things, especially gun parts/accessories.

I have built 5 rifles off of their parts. I am very happy with all of them.

I have had them take 15 business days to ship, but no more.

I have only had one issue. I had a bad ejector in a PA-10 upper. They responded to my initial email in 2 days, we passed emails for 1 more, and they sent me a UPS prepaid label to send the BCG back. 4 days later, the new BCG was in my hands.

All in all I knew shipping can be slow, their Customer Service is adequate, and their prices are great.

The Charleston store honors the internet prices, at least on the items I was inquiring about. The last PA-10 lower I purchased from the Columbia store was sold at the advertised internet price. Great prices, shipped on time or faster than advertised with e-mail alerts, and very good quality. Their Charleston store is roomy, well laid out, and well stocked. Their counter people I talked with were helpful and knowledgeable. The phone assistance for internet help was do-able but I'd chalk it up to very poor people skills. You wouldn't think that the kid who was likely born after I started working with computers and programming with a BS in computer engineering should be talking down to me about why I couldn't navigate through their poorly thought out web site (at least in the area I was seeking info in). I do think they need some training here but, it is probably understandable (but not acceptable) when they are likely answering the same complaints about poor shipping times a thousand times a day when the web site clearly states that the shipping will be slow. The Charleston store very obviously heads above any other area gun store and I will give them most if not all of my business in the future.

Safetychain said:

they are likely answering the same complaints about poor shipping times a thousand times a day when the web site clearly states that the shipping will be slow.

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I agree if inside their stated shipping times there is no reason to complain.

However I have personally had 2 instances recently of their "shipping" speed being double or more of their stated 10-15 days.

What really bugs me is I have spent over an hour in the last week on the phone with them only to twice get promises of a resolution on my 38 day old order, then no one ever contacts me back.
Today I called a third time and was told one of my bullet orders and my Hornady press are backordered and are expected this week.
We'll see.

I also went to pick up an order last month that I was notified was ready and inquired about a handgun order that was outstanding for awhile. Turns out it had been sitting in their store for over a week and no one notified me. Normally they call when a "pickup" order arrives from the warehouse.


I'd really like them to get their act together, I really would as they do have some unbeatable prices at times.

OilyPablo said:

I've got some GREAT deals from them over the years.

And I've had some LONG waits.

Lots of ammo, a full 6.8SPCII upper under $300 that produces tight groups, this and that, a $99 Sig Brace......I've just learned to be patient. DO NOT ORDER FROM PALMETTO STATE ARMORY if you are in a hurry. Period.

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PSA is great for what they do, and that is, excellent price points with some fanstastic deals on all sorts of stuff. They sold a Mossberg 590 for like $250 or something like that about a year ago. I mean, that's sick. That type of a deal you don't just get anywhere.

But if you are in a hurry, forget about it.

I placed 3 orders and all took about 2 to 3 weeks to reach Hawaii. I ordered a premium carbine upper, complete classic lower and BCG for about $500. If I had waited just one week I could have saved $30 on the complete lower. Everything looks and works great.

Lycidas Janwor said:

They sold a Mossberg 590 for like $250 or something like that about a year ago.

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Wish they'd run that again...I'd take 2 at that price.

wait times aside I really love their products. Quality and function is great.

I have enjoyed about a dozen transactions through Palmetto State Armory. They have included small orders of just a few boxes of ammo, or a BCG, pistols, lowers, LPK's, complete barreled uppers and a complete rifle.

Delivery times varied from 2 to 5 weeks. The longest being for a barreled middy upper right in the midst of the panic. I emailed at about the 4-week mark and got a response in about 2 days, it shipped a couple days after that. Not sure if by coincidence or if my email made any difference. So yeah, slowish ship times and not phenomenal CS, but not terrible either. The prices were and continue to be great, and every product I have received has been excellent.

I always buy their premium stuff. The PTAC line is relatively new and I am sure it is decent enough for the casual shooter, but for the small increase in cost to get the premium line, why bother with the PTAC line?

Also if you see any "blemished" lowers for sale, snag them. My blemished lower that I ordered took me about 10 minutes to fine the blemish. Turns out it was a small scratch inside the mag well.

My 2 cents.

I've made several purchases from Palmetto.

All smooth-sailing.

Longest ship-time I ran into was about 10 days for some holsters that were on sale.
Price on the holsters was less than 50% of what the same holsters were listed on Amazon.

I can live with that.

That seems to be the theme here; cheap but slow. If you need it next week there are other sources. If you are not in a hurry, give them a look.

I've ordered about 8-9 times from them in the last year.

They are great, just really slow. Order and be patient. If you need it yesterday this is the wrong place for you. Hard to beat their prices for what you get.

Jlr2267 said:

Wish they'd run that again...I'd take 2 at that price.

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It was gone so fast. I'm not sure how much inventory they had but they were snatched up in a flash. The good thing is PSA is always running specials, you just have to spend the time to constantly check out their website to see what they are doing.

They do have slow shipping BUT they tell you several times on the website. They were running nealry a month then they went down to 2-3 days and now it is running around two weeks. I have 52 orders from them and have only had 1 or 2 problems.

1 of my lower parts kit was missing a part and the other was missing a part I ordered.

You get great quality for ridiculously low prices. There "blemished" items are identical to their non blemished. I have built 6 or 7 PTAC and PSA rifles and have never had any issues. They are great quality.


I will say that it takes about 20-25 minutes of holding to get on the phone with anyone. They almost NEVER respond to emails unless you email their promotions team. For some reason the guy in promotions will answer and get CS to fix the issue. They do charge you immediately even if it takes a few weeks to ship.

I recently bought 2 of their PSA branded tactical rifle cases for 1/3 the price of a comparable 5.11 bag. They are very high quality items. I waited 3 weeks but I'm OK w/that when saving big $

I have nothing but good things to say about PSA. I typically only buy uppers that are made with FN barrels (Yup - FN makes most of PSA's barrels - Good stuff). I did take a flier on a PTAC upper for $179. Best money I ever spent. That thing is ACCURATE as any rifle I have. I zeroed it in, and can pick bugs off trees all day long. Some have had bad luck with PSA, but I couldn't be happier.

My sole complaint is slow shipping. I've made about a dozen purchases over the last 2.5 years and everything I have ordered came decently packed and had no damage and was great quality. If I want/need something fast, I buy elsewhere, if not, PSA is my usual first choice.

By the way, if in the upstate SC area & looking for bulk 5.56 ammo locally, the PSA store has it at 28 cents/round for 55gr American Eagle. Not the greatest ammo, but plenty good for plinking.

I built an AR from them. I like it. Only thing I'd say is that the included MagPul MBUIS leaves something to be desired. So far, I'm pretty happy with the performance of the rifle.

I've made 2 purchases from PSA. Shipping was slow, but with saving over $100 from what every other site was selling the gun for, it's worth the wait for me. If I have to choose between slow shipping or a lot more money, I'll pick the slow shipping every time.

Love my 16" CHF upper. Got it for 1/3 the price of any competition and it shoots MOA and have never had a jam with it. Really couldn't ask for better.

What's the saying in business? You can have it done right, fast and cheap. Pick two. You're not going to get all three.

Palmetto seems to have based their business on selling good stuff at good prices. Don't expect fast.

Similar to a local mechanic. He does good work for very reasonable prices. Because of this, he's always backlogged on work. Your car will NOT be fixed today. Probably not tomorrow, either. but you'll save several hundred on major repairs by waiting.

I have done a few orders with them. I will have more in the future. VZ2008 package they had last spring, AR build parts, their PA10 kit, and the 92s police trade ins.

Only issue I had was the PA10, I was one of the ones mixed up in the great buffer fiasco of 2014. PSA sent the replacement parts fast, free, and no return of the wrong parts.

Lessons learned for working with PSA:

1. Order and forget. Like stated, they are not fast but they are cost competitive and will get you your stuff. I don't care that they charge me right away, makes the account easier to balance.

2. If ordering an FFL item, ensure your FFL is on file first. One order took almost a month. Took their standard 2-week processing then another few days for then to notify me it wasn't on file and for my FFL to get filed, then the shipping time. Every order since, has been just two weeks from order to filling out the 7743.

3. Get an account in ARFCOM. Yes, you have to hold your nose while visiting that place. It really makes you appreciate the moderation here. The PSA industry forum is by far the easiest way to get ahold of customer service with PSA.

4. Get a second job. They are truly the meth dealers of the gun world. Every day they send you specials and just when you think you are content with your gun stash, here comes another e-mail of stuff you MUST have.