“Blem” PSA products

[DustyGmt]

This thread is weird. PSA puts out a lemon every now and then, from what I understand most people with issues are taken care of. They are a great option for people with a limited black gun budget. They jacked their prices up a bit to make money and control inventory, now things are winding down a bit so they are strategically bringing things back down to a lower cost.

What's the problem?

 

[herrwalther]

I have a blemished complete upper from PSA. The one thing I noticed is the finish isn't the same shade all over, under some very bright lights. Knowing it was a blemish, I LOOKED for problems. No scratches, cracks, burrs, or anything dangerous. Just small areas where the finish isn't as thick or the same color. That's it.

 

[pairof44sp]

I don’t want to turn this into a PSA bash thread. I just wanted to point out that they are marking a lot of things as “blem” as to make it appear like you are getting a great deal and the price reflects the blem. However, this is PSA’s way of starting to move the price back closer to normal.

There is a whole dynamic and soap opera, in retail, of manufacturers “sneaking around” behind their retail customer’s backs with a thousand little ruses, in order to sell product “out the back door” for less money than those retail customers paid.

I don’t know if that’s how the gun world works. It would be like buying a single rifle from PSA at a low price, but you have to promise that you will never tell their LGS customers what you really paid for it, or the LGS will be making an angry call to PSA like “take our old agreement and shove it”

 

[CapnMac]

QC is a complicated process. There are any number of ways for a part to be "good" but also "not perfect" at the same time.
Depth of finish, machining marks, non-critical tolerance issues (like, would you notice if your extractor was 0.001" too shallow on the outside, the non-working side?) QC can collect up other "rejects" like things run in the first or last 5% of tooling--where the tool is just at the edge of specification. The part may be cut entirely correctly, but the QC Department may have standing rules to reject a certain number starting and stopping.

Calling it a "blem" to infer a blemish is something of a marketing term. It tends to conotate a better part than calling it a "second."

 

[12Bravo20]

I bought a blemish Gen 1 PSA PA10 lower and the only thing wrong was that a customer sent it back because MagPul magazines would not lock in. PSA fixed it by chamfering the edge of the magwell, the blemish was that they did not coat where they made the chamfer cut. You can't see the bare aluminum when a magazine is inserted.

 

[Mark_Mark]

They had a BLEM Colt Python at my LGS … me and the dealer looked everywhere for the blem, could not find anything! $1050 Should have gotten it

 

[dogtown tom]

I get emails from PSA and it looks like they are trying to offload a lot of inventory. I think they figured out people aren’t buying at the high prices anymore and they are calling certain items “blem” to reduce the price.

or.. their QC has been really bad recently. Most people I’ve seen buy blem PSA can’t really find the issue.

I've received transfers from PSA since the day they opened. The days when they had their AR lowers manufactured by others on a marking variance.

Once PSA started making their own lowers I noticed the quality was usually better than Anderson and at least equal to most others. Around 2012 (I think) the "blems" started arriving, usually $10-$20 cheaper than normal pricing. Couldn't find anything remotely wrong or blemished with 90% of them.

The kicker was when a customer bought twenty sequentially serial numbered lowers as blems.........we looked at all twenty and found a couple with marks under the anodizing.
First time I spoke to a rep from PSA he confirmed that perfectly fine lowers are sold as blems to reduce or eliminate returns because someone discovered a scratch inside the mag well. So, you could pay full price, find a scratch, return it, PSA ships out a replacement.....instead of shipping once, now PSA pays for four trips. That eats up profit.

Buying the lower as a cosmetic blem means you acknowledge IT MAY NOT be perfect, but no returns.

I guestimate that I've received and transferred somewhere between 2,500-3,000 PSA manufactured AR lowers in the last ten year. No customer has brought one back for me to return.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

A few years ago when PSA started anodizing their own lowers, I bought three blems. All three lowers were a different shade of gray. One of them matched the Magpul gray perfectly.
I’ve bought several blem uppers, lowers and other parts from PSA and have never had a problem.

 

[Izzy77]

You need to go the the PSA website, look at the 1 star reviews on receivers from the last 2 years...some real duds there.

 

[hemiram]

My lower is a PSA blem that was perfect as far as I could tell. It's a decent lower and was at a great price. The upper on it is a middle range one with a 16" heavy barrel. About my only complaint on that gun is it's the heaviest AR I've seen that didn't have one of those giant diameter barrels on it. I've never had any problems with PSA. Their shipping sometimes is like they are walking it to my house or FFL, but it always gets here eventually.

 

[MAKster]

Based on my purchase of a regular priced lower and a blem lower I saw no difference. I think they just use blem as a way to lower the price to move inventory without affecting the "regular" price and also a way to stop people from complaining about the minor cosmetic variations that occur in any large scale production.

 

[mk25roberts]

I have bought 11 rifle/pistol kits from PSA, all of them ran flawlessly. 3 of them are Blems and run equally as well. Zero cosmetic difference. Great option for a budget AR build.

 

[dogtown tom]

You need to go the the PSA website, look at the 1 star reviews on receivers from the last 2 years...some real duds there.

Link to all these one star reviews?

 

[rust collector]

Most of the one star reviews on Amazon reflect someone ordering the wrong thing, not reading the description closely or belief that they would receive something more than they paid for. Two and three star reviews can be worrisome, but there is plenty of manipulation that skews ratings.

 

[giggitygiggity]

I bought a “blem” 20-rd Lancer magazine from Primary Arms. I have no idea what the blem was as it was cosmetically and functionally sound.

A lot of me suspects that companies have excess inventory and that by listing things as blems it allows them to sell at a cheaper price, but evade warranties and guarantees associated with non-blem products.

 

[giggitygiggity]

Most of the one star reviews on Amazon reflect someone ordering the wrong thing, not reading the description closely or belief that they would receive something more than they paid for. Two and three star reviews can be worrisome, but there is plenty of manipulation that skews ratings.

I’ve observed this too. Upon reading many one star reviews on Amazon, I often gain an impression that the complaints are without merit. I’ve found lots of complaints about capabilities of a product that are clearly annotated in the ad or complaints about ease of assembly, etc. I think a lot of people fail to read product descriptions or have difficulty following assembly instructions. Sometimes people provide poor ratings due to shipping speeds, interactions with the retailer, and other factors not associated with the product itself. I am not saying that all one star reviews of all products are without merit, but when 99% of reviewers rate a product at five stars, there is a high probability that those who provided one star reviews either received a lemon or are providing a less than deserving rating.

 

[Izzy77]

Link to all these one star reviews?

I do not have unlimited internet. But in any case I will walk you through this...

Go to the lowers under parts, go to reviews, use the box on the right to "Sort By" "Lowest rated"

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-ar-15-lower-safe-fire-1728.html

Feb. 2021
"
Lower out of spec and not functional.
Ordered a lower, complete upper rifle kit and 5 Pmags Gen2. During assembly I inserted one of the Pmags to make sure the bolt catch worked. It did not push the bolt catch up. The catch was short and/or lower is out of spec. See the picture attached. Later I did a function test of the assembled rifle. It would load a round from the mag with the charger, fire, shell would eject but the bolt would not cycle the next round into the chamber. The bolt was just riding over the mag.
I started the process of contacting customer service on 2/5 about the bolt catch issue. They first tried to ship a new one but after two weeks nothing was shipped. While I was waiting I ordered and received another bolt catch from a competitor, same issues. After I called them on a follow up call the PSA CS rep informed me they were waiting on a bolt catch to come instock. I explain a new catch wasn’t going to fix it. The PSA CS rep issues a repair or replace order. It take 3 - 5 business days for that shipping label to be sent. If I wanted to return PMags I have to do it before 30 days per their policy. I could not wait until they fixed/replaced the lower. And the one mag I opened to test the lower could be subject to a restocking fee. This is bad customer service and isn’t right. It’s now 2/24 and I’m still waiting on the return label. Definitely disappointed, this lower was not quality control checked. Plus the upper kits price went down $80 the week after I purchased it.
PSA needs to make this right and I hope they resolve quickly after I return the lower. The CS rep also said it could take an additional 25 business days after they receive the return to address what wrong with the lower. I hope they see this review and just send me a new one that has been tested quickly. And address the amount of money I spent while jumping all of these hoops. It could literally be over 60+ days before I have a functioning rifle. I went to PSA to build my AR and this it what I’m stuck with."

AND on page 2 of Lowest reviews:

"....Very unhappy with purchase. I was pinning the trigger guard to the frame and on second tap the ear broke off. I call because they said lifetime warranty and without even seeing the damage they had determined it was not covered. "




(PSA claimed they WILL "take care of this" on the website)

AND

"
ISSUES
Ordered one in January. Rear take-down pin hole was not to spec. Too small and would not allow for insert. Returned for refund and ordered another in early February. Received by my FFL/gunsmith today... same issue. I will be returning this as well for refund. Very frustrating. No apology. I think there is a machining issue.

Be very careful ordering this product. I am very disappointed in PSA and I've been a loyal customer for the last two years.
Andrew V. Verified Purchaser
Purchased on Feb 3, 2021"


I think PSA is being honest with their mistakes, and for that I give them credit for not taking down Negative reviews...HOWEVER these and others should not have gotten past QC.

 

[Izzy77]

I’ve observed this too. Upon reading many one star reviews on Amazon, I often gain an impression that the complaints are without merit. I’ve found lots of complaints about capabilities of a product that are clearly annotated in the ad or complaints about ease of assembly, etc. I think a lot of people fail to read product descriptions or have difficulty following assembly instructions. Sometimes people provide poor ratings due to shipping speeds, interactions with the retailer, and other factors not associated with the product itself. I am not saying that all one star reviews of all products are without merit, but when 99% of reviewers rate a product at five stars, there is a high probability that those who provided one star reviews either received a lemon or are providing a less than deserving rating.

Right, I too read one star reviews with a critical eye, but if it's something major, like a machining issue, then I give those one star ratings serious consideration before purchase.


Years ago I would have said PSA blem is GTG, but if I went PSA now I would just find a Regular Item ( Non Blem) on Sale item and stand a better chance at resolving any possible issues however unlikely.

 

[loadedround]

I've been buying from PSA for the past two yearsa and have found them to be an outstanding company to deal with. The two minor problems that I had with them were resolved satisfactory with one phone call each.Never bought a ''blem'' part from them, but would not be afraid to do so. Very pleased with PSA's pricing and service!

 

[GunnyUSMC]

I have always found it funny that when some people are not happy with a product, or vender, they seem to make it their life mission to let everyone know and get them to avoid the product, or vendor. And in a forum topic, it tends to sidetrack the topic.
Everyone makes a lemon once in a while. SA sells more lowers in one month then some companies sell in a year. When a company has a lower sells volume, they can address returns quicker. But then some companies are just faster at handling returns.
I know that PSA will email a return shipping label. If you’re one that can’t print the label or able to forward it to someone that can, then they will mail you one. Mailing a shipping label is outside their standard operational procedures so, it does take longer.
If you’re one of these type of people just be mindful, to the rest of us, you just sound like someone complaining about his divorce.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

Oh! Almost forgot. Breaking off a trigger guard ear on a lower is most often the fault of the person trying to install the trigger guard roll pin. There are a lot of people that don’t use the proper tools. A Wheeler AR Armorers bench block can be your best friend when building ARs. And can be purchased for under $40.

https://www.primaryarms.com/wheeler-ar-armorers-bench-block-156945

 

[Howland937]

I have always found it funny that when some people are not happy with a product, or vender, they seem to make it their life mission to let everyone know and get them to avoid the product, or vendor

I was always told , when dealing with customers, that if you do good work, you're lucky if the person goes home and tells their spouse. If you don't do good work, they'll tell everyone they know.

I take online reviews with a grain of salt, whether on a retail website or from other THR members.

 

[dogtown tom]

I do not have unlimited internet. But in any case I will walk you through this...
.

So........from that link here's some of these "one star reviews:
Sep 16, 2020 Rated 1 out of 5 Terrible experience Poor customer service. Ordered A lower Receiver & now i cant get in touch with the FFL dealer for pick up.
Nov 19, 2020 Rated 1 out of 5 These are great lowers, but at $99 each they are no longer the people's lower they used to be.
Nov 8, 2020 Rated 1 out of 5 FFL dealer closed shop Only reason I'm leaving 1 star is because the FFL dealer closed up shop and has my lower that I cant get to or pick up.
Dec 10, 2020 Rated 1 out of 5 PSA AR receivers are as good as any other mill-spec.... All mil spec receivers work equally well. The price and availability is the deciding factor for me. $50.00 receivers work just as well fit and function wise as do $200.00 receivers.
Feb 21, 2021 Rated 1 out of 5 great lower. quality build.
May 2, 2018 Rated 1 out of 5 Was not able to receive through Cabelas still sitting and waiting at Cabelas

Being that there are twenty one star reviews and these were six of them..........now count the five star reviews and get back to us on how awful PSA is.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

I was always told , when dealing with customers, that if you do good work, you're lucky if the person goes home and tells their spouse. If you don't do good work, they'll tell everyone they know.

I take online reviews with a grain of salt, whether on a retail website or from other THR members.

There are members here that I don’t know much about, but there are several that have a good reputation for knowing what they are talking about.

 

[Elkins45]

If I had a dollar for ever “out of spec” lower that had the hammer spring installed backward or didn’t work because of some janky no-name parts kit I could buy a new upper.