Last week in December, I made an order with optics planet consisting of a new Hawke scope, a set of Vortex tall rings, and a Benjamin Recharge compressor. I had ordered a Hawke scope from them last year and finally did get it in a couple of weeks. I wasn't thrilled, but the price on the compressor was several hundred dollars lower than anywhere else, and those magic words "IN STOCK" were prominently displayed on all three items. Of course $1,400+ was taken out of my account within seconds of hitting that button. Two days later, I got an email from a salesman saying that the rings I had ordered were not actually in stock, and offering to substitute a more expensive ring for the same price. I agreed, and they said they would be shipping out the next day. Great.
Two days go by and I get the shipping email. When I look, it is ONLY for the rings. (Which ended up being short Weavers when I had ordered tall picatinny, and the scope wont fit with the shorts) So I go back to the web site, log in to check my order, and see those fateful words out to the side of my compressor and scope "Item Ordered". Somehow, in my mind, "Item Ordered" and "IN STOCK" didn't seem to be synonymous terms. So after two calls and about an hour and a half wait between them, I got through to customer service, who assured me that the items were indeed in stock and a shipping order had been put in. That was Monday the 4th.
Fast forward to Wed. 6th. Checked order status: "Item Ordered". Same hold time, after which customer service told me that they were packed up and about to ship out.
Friday the 8th: "Item ordered". By this time it was clear that the compressor and scope were never really in stock, that they had ordered them after I had and were waiting to get them from the manufacturer or distributor and feeding me a line of equine excrement. I had had enough of being lied to and asked to cancel the order. That went around for a further 15-20 minutes while the rep tried to tell me that she couldn't cancel the order because the items (which they didn't have) had already been allocated. I wasn't having that and requested her manager. After hemming and hawing for a minute, the manager finally cancelled the remaining items and supposedly refunded my money. We will see how long it takes for me to actually get the money back. Several transactions have cleared my bank since then, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt for the weekend.
I will not, however, be doing business with Optics Planet again. I could handle the delay if they had been truthful about the items not being in stock.
Two days go by and I get the shipping email. When I look, it is ONLY for the rings. (Which ended up being short Weavers when I had ordered tall picatinny, and the scope wont fit with the shorts) So I go back to the web site, log in to check my order, and see those fateful words out to the side of my compressor and scope "Item Ordered". Somehow, in my mind, "Item Ordered" and "IN STOCK" didn't seem to be synonymous terms. So after two calls and about an hour and a half wait between them, I got through to customer service, who assured me that the items were indeed in stock and a shipping order had been put in. That was Monday the 4th.
Fast forward to Wed. 6th. Checked order status: "Item Ordered". Same hold time, after which customer service told me that they were packed up and about to ship out.
Friday the 8th: "Item ordered". By this time it was clear that the compressor and scope were never really in stock, that they had ordered them after I had and were waiting to get them from the manufacturer or distributor and feeding me a line of equine excrement. I had had enough of being lied to and asked to cancel the order. That went around for a further 15-20 minutes while the rep tried to tell me that she couldn't cancel the order because the items (which they didn't have) had already been allocated. I wasn't having that and requested her manager. After hemming and hawing for a minute, the manager finally cancelled the remaining items and supposedly refunded my money. We will see how long it takes for me to actually get the money back. Several transactions have cleared my bank since then, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt for the weekend.
I will not, however, be doing business with Optics Planet again. I could handle the delay if they had been truthful about the items not being in stock.
