Places to buy from… Places to avoid!!!
Airsoft Park
China
Initially purchased from them in August 2009.
Looks to be a competitor to EB Airsoft.
Communication was good. Order placed/shipped on 08/21 and received 09/04.
PX Airsoft
Hong Kong
Initially purchased from them in August 2009.
Another good Hong Kong retailer. They seem to have a unique product mix. Ordered some small quantity, low dollar amount parts, but service was as good as if I had a larger order. Order placed on 08/02 and shipped 08/05.
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LaRue Tactical
USA
LaRue Tactical out of Texas is primarily a Real Steel supplier of AR Accessories. But their innovative designs, and customer service will interest the avid airsofter. I’ve made a few purchases form LaRue over the last year. Items such as:
LaRue Tactical – 30mm Pivot Mount w/ Hendsholt 2.5 Magnifier
LaRue Tactical – M68 Cantilever Mount
LaRue Tactical – ECOS-C EOTech Mount
The LaRue quality is top notch and their products all seem to have some thought put behind the design. For example the LaRue Tactical – 30mm Pivot Mount w/ Hendsholt 2.5 Magnifier is an under $200 solution which included mount and optics. Works great and a fraction of the cost of Aimpoint’s or Eotech’s magnifier solutions. The LaRue Tactical – ECOS-C EOTech Mount not only gives your EOTech a QD Lever Throw mounting solution, the rear riser is the perfect height for an Aimpoint Magnifier or any low mount NV device.
And a nice holiday surprise LaRue sent was:
LaRue Tactical – 2007 Holiday Dillio/Field Survival Device/Xmas Ornament
LaRue Tactical – 2008 Holiday Dillio/Field Survival Device/Xmas Ornament
Ebaybanned / EBAirsoft
China
Purchased initially when the site opened in Oct 2007.
This is a mainland China retailer and ALL prices on the site include International shipping. Ordered on Oct 2nd, shipment received Oct 5th. Ordered a couple of MC Combat Shirts, MC Range Vest, MC Waist Pack and M900A (Have to equip the posse for Halloween @ Disneyworld). Quality is Chinese copy level, so on par for what you are paying for.
2 weeks later I got an email from Ebaybanned.com stating they had a new version of the MC Combat shirt shortly after my first order with them shipped. It was in their usual Chinglish, so I took it as a little marketing email on their end. Turns out the email was stating they were going to send me the new version of the MC Combat Shirt. The 1st generation had no velcro on the sleeves for patches. 2nd generation does and uses different material for the torso of the shirt. I was pleasantly surprised when I received 2 replacement shirts today at no charge and not by any request on my end.
Around Aug 2008, Ebaybanned did a little restructuring and hired a few more people. Their turn around times stretched out to 3-4 weeks. Turn around times seem to be getting better in 2009. Averaging about 2 weeks now.
Overall, I’ve placed 20+ orders to date. Just be patient and it’s all good.
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DragonRed Airsoft
USA/China
Decided to give DragonRed Airsoft a shot. They advertise A.C.M. (All China Made) products, but with Local US Stocking/Shipping. But as I found out when I purchased they have a mix of what’s stocked in the U.S. and what ships fm China. In my case the product shipped direct from China.
The DR website is pretty bad in it’s build. Some products will actually go into their shopping cart, some go direct to Google or Paypal checkout. If they go direct to Google or Paypal checkout, those products are probably going to ship direct from China. If the item goes direct to google or paypal checkout look at the shipping price. If it seems high (i.e. $20 shipping on a $49.99 metal body) then it’s probably shipping direct form china. When they ship from China add a day to what you would expect Hong Kong shipping to be.
I ordered some parts on Wed’s early afternoon, and paypal’d immediately. Got a quick reply back from Charles as DR that the order would ship form China Wed evening our time. While a little skeptical it was nice to get such a fast response. 10pm Wed eve my time I get an email with tracking number that items shipped. Saturday items arrived! (It’s nice how EMS and USPS work together and do Sat deliveries w/ no extra charge)
1 of the items I ordered was a newer generation $49.99 metal armalite body. The 1st gens were manufactured by D-Boys and as I posted before, there were tolerance/fitting probs. A new company, Sabre is supposedly using new die cast molds and is who is manufacturing these newer generation of cheap bodies. Hope to have time to install soon. I’ll be installing on a TM M4 New Type.
So even though their websites on the crappy side in function, the customer service is top notch right now and the product mix is defiantly interesting.
Edit 09/2007
The VLTOR Body Pics:
For a $69.99 ($49.99 + $20 int’l shipping) it’s not a bad deal. Qualtiy wise the body was OK. Trademarks are laser etched paint, so at some point they will rub off. These bodies seem to be G&G copies and they are pretty good spec wise. This is a "slide on" body and does not use the rear body tabs. Only problem so far is the fake bolt catches on the body. Should be an easy fix though.
Body kit includes:
Does NOT include:
You will need to get a upgrded hopup unit tht has an attached hopup feeder. I have the Systema which works fine.
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PointAct
USA
PointAct sells the bargain ACM (All Chna Made) products you can also find at Gunner and RSOV in Hong Kong. But PointAct is located in the U.S. in Utah. They are a few weeks behind the ACM Hong Kong Retailers in getting stock, but their fair domestic U.S. shipping prices and the fact their prices aren’t that much higher then what you see from Hong Kong make it worth the wait.? ?(Shipping from HK on an AEG = $80-$100.? Domestic Ground Shipping from PointAct. for an AEG = $12-$20)
Reliabilty wise, if the prodcuts in stock, for all my orders, they shipped the day after order is placed. If you pre-order a product, they have great communication and keep you informed of status until the product ships.
And if you can qualify for dealer pricing, it’s aggresively lower:
Examples:
Galaxy MP5k
Regular = $80.00
Dealer = $65.00A&K M249
Regular = $360.00
Dealer = $300.00
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Tokyo Model Company
Hong Kong
Please Note: Tokyo Model Co. in Hong Kong, has no relation to tokyohobby.net.
TMC has been around for years, I just never found anything of interest to order until recently. There website is a little problematic though and it lists items in stock when they are not.
I ended up ordering a couple of items from TMC, just to see how well they work. They work the usual Hong Kong way of taking your order, and sending you an email back quoting shipping. With other HK retailers this happens usually overnight, but there was about a 1 day difference with TMC's replies. The quote with shipping charges came back, and I paid with paypal immediately, but it took TMC 3 days to acknowledge the payment and another 4 days after to ship the products. they claim Easter caused the delay which I believe was fair.
Shipment came in this morning,but a problem with 1 of the parts, The Nitro.Vo – Battery Box Type-E, ?was?the wrong color. I ordered it in Black, not Sand.? Out of the hundreds of airsoft orders I've placed with Hong Kong retailers, this will be the first "mistake" I've had.
I'll keep you posted on how they after sales support is and if/how they fix this little problem.
04/13/2007
Recieved an email back stating they will excahnge the product back for the correct color, but paying double International shipping isn't sitting right with me (I could have bought this same part from a regular HK retailer with out a problem).? Will keep you guys posted.??
04/26/2007
Replacement item received in the proper color. It was an unfortunate mistake, but TMC was very professional and apologetic about the mistake and credited me?the shipping charge for the return.
05/05/2007
I have placed a 2nd order to use that shipping credit?and want to give TMC another chance to place an order. Wil keep you posted on the turnaround.
05/06/2007
I was informed by TMC that an item?I already?paid for was "not in stock".? This seems to be a problem with their website showing products in stock that are not. While its a little frustating as a customer, I simply asked for a different part to be substituted. Overall on this 2nd order I lost $1.00 due to the cost of the replacement part being $1.00 cheaper.? Not gonna fight for it though.
05/09/2007
2nd order received.
I think I gave TMC a few chances now, but I'd have to probably not recommend them based solely on the fact I haven't had these types of problems with WGC, UN, Den, Redwolf and other HK retailers.? If you do order, double check on stock?and color variants before you paypal. ??
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BOOM ARMS Airsoft
Hong Kong
BOOM ARMS Airsoft is not only a Hong Kong based retailer, but a Cafe. It's nice to do business with people who are actually into airsoft as a sport.
Quote: Boom Arms Website
Boom Arms Cafe is a great place for airsoft fans to sit and share their experience on airsoft, wargame, etc… We provide different kind of nice snacks and drinks for our customers, at the same time, they can have their love guns and gears on hand and play with them. Below are some snapshots of Boom Arms Cafe which show how enjoyable our customers are!
They've been around for years, but I've had some problems in the past with slow replies to orders. Fortunately they just recently released some new Bomber parts (I believe Bomber is BOOM ARMS own brand. Will confirm). And their replies were very quick.
I ended up ordering a Bomber Troy Sights,?AK74 Wood Stock Kit and Element AK74 Metal Body. Paypal'd the order and received it in a day and a half (It seems to have bypassed customs all together). Excellent service and great quality, extremely affordable product.
Only gripes I have is sometimes they are a little slow to reply and their website get's laggy at times (Seems to be a web hosting issue). I will definitely order again.
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RSOV
Hong Kong
RSOV is a Hong Kong retailer specializing in the ACM (All Chinese Made). I found them while researching Gunner Airsoft on Arnie's website, as being a good alternative to Gunners since he got so busy.
I'm not into the Chinese Clones, but I found it interesting how RSOV was communicating they would also get stuff for you from other Hong Kong retailers on top of their own product line. I decided to test them out on this.
I've been wanting to get custom AK SOPMOD Bolt and Selector from GWS (Gunsworkshop) (These are the same guys who made the original XM8/G36 conversion kits), but their website isn't very order friendly and it seems they only want to deal with quantity or high priced sales.
AK SOPMOD Bolt and Selector
AK SOPMOD Bolt and Selector
So I shot off an email to RSOV, to see if he could source the product an a few hours later I got the reply, with price including shipping and the fact that RSOV (Keith) would go and p/u up the part the next day. The price was more then fair, so I agreed and he didn't even ask for money up front. Next day I get and email with a picture of the part(s) and a confirmation of price. I immediately paypal'd the funds and 2 days later, received the parts here in the U.S.! Out-f-ing-standing service! With this type of effort I can see RSOV (Keith) becoming a huge success soon. I just hope he doesn't get too busy to provide this level of service.
Now his website is still a little "raw", but I'm sure that will improve as his business grows. For U.S. based customers, in the lower left of the website, you will find a drop down to select to view pricing in U.S. Dollars. RSOV did quote me in British Pounds though, but I just used Paypal to make that conversion.
Tactical Tailor (USA)
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Manufacturer and Retailer of Tactical Gear.
Over the years, you get to know a few retailers. And sometimes you come across some that really impress you from initial customer service to quality of product produced. Tactical Tailor is defiantly and diamond in the rough of tactical gear providers. Not only do they produce most of what they sell. They produce it here in the. U.S.A. Their products are innovative and their build quality is top notch.
Please make sure to put TT on your list of places to look at for tactical gear.
