Is Palmetto State Armory legitimate?

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coloradokevin

coloradokevin

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Have any of you dealt with these people before? Are they a legitimate operation?

I placed an order with Palmetto State Armory a week ago, for an AR-15 lower parts kit that is supposedly in stock. The company charged my credit card immediately, but still hadn't shipped the item as of yesterday. Naturally, I called the company to try to ask about my order. The phone system immediately placed me on hold, and I stayed on hold for about twenty minutes before a live person answered. The rep I talked to assured me that my parts are "in stock" in their warehouse, and told me that it should be shipped by the end of this week, or early next week.

When I asked her how they could explain charging my credit card immediately, only to sit on my "in stock" order for two weeks, I didn't really get a reasonable explanation. I'll give these guys a little bit longer to see if they ever fulfill my order, but I'm starting to wish I'd just arranged this purchase through Brownells, Midway, or some other well-known company. At the very least, I doubt I'll do business with these guys in the future, if this is the way their orders always go...

Have any of you done business with PSA before? Do they ever actually come through on their orders, or should I start trying to back out of this one financially?
 
Have any of you done business with PSA before? Do they ever actually come through on their orders, or should I start trying to back out of this one financially?
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Yes, they are legit. I have ordered many things from them, including two FN barreled uppers. I have nearly always waited a little longer than I should for an order, but they always come through.

Over at arfcom (you figure it out), you will see loads and loads of complaints about shipping in their forum. But, they always come through.
 
I once ordered 20 boxes of 45 acp. Blazer and on delivery one box must have fallen off the package as it was ripped.I emailed them and they sent me the extra box without any issues. This must have been 3 yrs ago .
 
Your question sounds familiar. I've ordered stuff from them. Delivery time varies, and I don't recall receiving any shipment notices but I always got the gear I ordered. It seems like that is how they operate. I'd do business with them again if I wasn't in a hurry for the items.
 
Ordered a lower parts kit and a handguard from them about this time last year, shipping was on point. That was before I had read any of the negative reviews, I figured I must have got lucky? no complaints from me.
 
Some outfits charge your card immediately; some wait until items are shipped. I've dealt with both and I do prefer the "charge at ship time" but there have been times when that wasn't practical.

What I do to hedge a mite is not make a credit card payment for the amount of items not shipped. Ever so often that adds a small fee if the charge runs past closing date of the card but to me that's just a form of insurance.

I never read anything about Palmetto stiffing people. They may have, but that sort of thing usually comes to light in the gun community pretty quickly.
 
Yes, PSA is legit and they come through.

As pointed out, they have good deals on good gear, but they're not a large operation with a lot of staff working on the customer contact end (matter of fact they don't have a large staff working in any end of things). You get cheap stuff, but may have to put up with service not on par with the companies paying more people to sit around and massage the customer.
 
Palmetto is a good place to do business if a great price is more important than fast shipping. If you are the impatient type pay more and go else where.
 
PSA has excellent service and products at amazing prices. I have ordered nearly 100 orders to the tune of about $9-10K I think I had 1 LPK missing a spring and 1 missing a disconnector.

They replaced them immediately.

They used to take 5-6 weeks to ship but now seem to be shipping in about 2 weeks. They do charge you immediately but are more then willing to cancel your order and refund you if you are unhappy.

My $500 PSA AR will shoot every bit as good as my $2k RRA upgraded to the hills and as accurate.

There is only one thing about PSA as you have learned. Nothing gets shipped in a day or two. Wait it out, it will be well worth the wait.
 
Yup, legitimite as can be.

I know a lot of people complain about their shipping being slow, but I have never had an issue with that.

I live in IL (if it matters?) and the last few years of ordering from them, orders arrive on my doorstep consitently 7-8 days after placing. Maybe they like me? Of course, I'm sure now I've jinxed myself...


.
 
I like PSA...a lot...but if I didn't have a local retail store, I'm not sure I'd do as much business with them. I have ordered many times online and they are slow but reliable.
 
Last year I bought a blemished premium rifle kit & a blemished stripped lower from PSA. I also bought my rear sight, some 30 round P mags & an inexpensive red dot from them. They did okay on the shipping on everything but the stripped lower. They were slower than their site said they would be on it. I agree with everyone else. If speed is more important there are better options. If the lowest price is a priority PSA is fine. It just might be a while before you get your stuff.
 
I have only made one purchase with PSA.

It was last Easter and they were having a sale on complete lowers. The price was right and it arrived within 5 days or so. I was very happy with the transaction.
 
Their ship times vary, but they will fulfill the order.

Not sure when they changed it, but for a long time, they had a banner on the site stating that it could take up to 15 business days for your order to ship.

I've personally never had them take longer than 10 calendar days, usually less than 5, but I know others have been less fortunate.

Worry not, you will get your order. Sometimes slow to ship and their CS folks can be, ummmm.............brisk, but they are a solid outfit with good products at great prices.
 
From what I have read the following applies to PSA:

They have decent quality stuff, if you know what to order, their shipping times vary from adequate to horrendous, and the customer service also varies from good to non-existent.

It all seems to depend on the phase of the moon and the person posting the comment...
 
They've got a daily deal on now, expires tomorrow noon, for a Colt AR6720 for $800 and free shipping.

I'm not into AR's, but it seems like a great buy. If you don't mind waiting I guess. :rolleyes:
 
After going through the PSA delivery and customer service several times, I decided life is too short to put up with that kind of treatment. Sure they have good prices but the aftermath of the order placement is more than I am now willing to deal with. I placed my last couple of orders with Joe Bob Outfitters. The prices are decent and customer service and shipping are handled promptly. They are heavy in the AR stuff and they only charge the C.C. when the item is shipped!
 
I've ordered from them and would again. But not if in a hurry. Good products at great prices.
 
I think the OP has a good point. I've ordered from PSA once or twice and both orders took a very long time (weeks) to arrive.
What I never thought to check is whether PSA charged my card immediately or at time of shipment. And if it was at order time, I am now highly suspect.
There are a lot of methods to define the term 'legitimate'.
Surely taking your money and never shipping would be a proper use of the term;
And accumulating a lot of orders, charging cards and cashing checks and then closing down is not legitimate;
But years ago, the FTC (I believe) pursued a lot of magazine- and TV-based vendors who offered a product, took the order, cashed a check (or charged the card) and waited a month to ship it. The business was based on the volume accrual of the interest on cash in the interim period. They were shut down and it became an expected practice throughout the retail industry that money does not change hands until the product is shipped.
There are exceptions of course. Ordering a product that is not normally in stock, or dealing with a small vendor that needs to push their cash flow just a bit to get going. But in general, it's not accepted nor is it an accepted practice.
Given the size and scale of PSA and the consistency in which they indulge in this practice, they are not legit. I won't buy from them again.
B
 
Might be because they are BUSY.....................rest assured, you are NOT their only customer................amazes me sometimes how folks expect small operations to have the personnel of LL Bean or Cabelas..............
 
Some of their prices are GREAT, at least on ammo. I put in two orders about 3-4 weeks ago. I got one yesterday and the other is supposed to come in today.
 
Well, at least they're for real. But, now that I'm digging deeper with a Google search for "palmetto state armory" and "shipping times" I can see how this is business-as-usual for these guys. The savings I got by ordering through them was something to the tune of $3 on $100. Totally not worth the hassle!


oneounceload said:
Might be because they are BUSY.....................rest assured, you are NOT their only customer................amazes me sometimes how folks expect small operations to have the personnel of LL Bean or Cabelas.........…..
Click to expand...

I hardly think my expectations are irrational or out of line. If it takes a company two weeks to put an (allegedly) in-stock package that weighs maybe 3 ounces in the mail, then they're doing something wrong. A "help wanted" sign could go a long way to solving that problem, and the extra business they'd pick up from not irritating a bunch of potential customers would surely pay for that minimum wage mail room attendant.

I don't think it's out of line to expect that a company ship my item in a timely manner especially if they're going to bill my credit card immediately for the purchase… it isn't like I ordered some custom item, or something they had to build. I ordered a part that someone else has built, and is already in its original factory packaging.

They have my money. They allegedly have my parts (which are small, easily shipped by US Mail, and non-hazardous). They need only to put them in the mail to fulfill their obligation, and expecting them to do so in a reasonable amount of time isn't unreasonable.

These guys may not be Cabelas, but they have a large website presence, and advertise on other sites. They list deep in their "terms and conditions" that non-holiday orders are typically fulfilled in 5 days. Given that I called them a full week after they took my funds, sat on hold for 20 minutes only to be told to expect another week until my stuff ships, and was also told that my item is actually sitting on their shelf right now, I don't think I'm being out of line here.
 
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