Website: https://www.opticsplanet.com/
Optics Planet Overall Rating: [2.9 / 5.0]
Optics Planet offers a wide selection and competitive prices, but inconsistent shipping times and poor inventory transparency often lead to a frustrating customer experience. Best for non-urgent purchases where price outweighs speed.
Optics Planet Summary
Optics Planet is a leading online retailer specializing in technical and high-performance gear for enthusiasts and professionals in fields such as hunting, shooting, outdoor recreation, law enforcement, and scientific research. Optics Planet is not an FFL dealer so they only sell non-FFL items.
Evaluation Criteria
Quality & Reliability
- Legitimate and Established Retailer: Optics Planet has been in business since 2000 and is widely recognized in the industry, especially among firearms, tactical, and outdoor gear enthusiasts.
- Huge Product Selection: Offers a vast range of products (over 830,000 SKUs), including optics, firearm accessories, tactical gear, lab equipment, and more.
- Competitive Pricing: Frequently offers discounts, bundles, and a rewards program (“OpticsPlanet Bucks”).
- Helpful Resources: Includes user reviews, Q&A, how-to guides, and product videos.
- Confusing Stock Status: Optics Planet doesn’t show items that are out of stock in a clear and intuitive way, leading to customer confusion.
Customer Experience
The customer experience at Optics Planet is generally mixed to positive, with a few consistent themes:
- Wide Selection: Shoppers appreciate the massive inventory across optics, tactical gear, shooting accessories, and lab/scientific equipment.
- Competitive Pricing & Deals: Frequent promotions, discounts, and a rewards system (OpticsPlanet Bucks) are seen as valuable.
- Helpful Content: Many users find the website’s product guides, videos, and customer reviews useful for making informed decisions.
- Secure & Legitimate: Transactions are generally safe, and returns are accepted on most items if policies are followed.
- Backorder Confusion: Items are not clearly marked as out of stock. This often leads to long wait times without upfront notice.
- Slow Shipping: Delivery times can be significantly delayed — especially for backordered or high-demand items.
- Customer Service: Experiences vary widely. Some users report helpful and responsive support, while others face long response times, unclear communication, or unhelpful interactions.
- Cancellations & Refunds: A few customers note delays or challenges in canceling orders or receiving prompt refunds.
Value for Money
The value for money at Optics Planet is generally considered good to very good, depending on a few key factors:
- Competitive Pricing:
- Frequently undercuts MSRP and competes well with other major retailers.
- Offers exclusive bundles and discounted combos (especially for optics and firearm accessories).
- Regular Promotions & Coupons:
- Constant site-wide sales, email-exclusive deals, and seasonal promotions.
- You can often stack coupon codes with other offers for extra savings.
- OpticsPlanet Bucks (Rewards Program):
- Earn store credit on qualifying purchases.
- Good for repeat customers or larger purchases.
- Shipping Delays Can Undermine Deals:
- A low price may not be worth the wait if the item takes weeks or months to ship.
- Backorder Risks:
- Some discounted items are technically not in stock — meaning delays, and occasionally canceled orders.
User Feedback
Optics Planet receives mostly negative feedback from customers across various platforms. The vast majority of this feedback is based on the unclear way that Optics Planet marks items as out of stock.
Shipping
While not the fastest in the industry by far Optics Planet has reasonable shipping times, typically 2-3 days after ordering for in stock items. For out of stock items, shipping can take anywhere from a week or two to months.
Returns
The return experience at Optics Planet is generally functional but can be inconsistent, depending on the item type and customer service responsiveness. Here’s a breakdown:
- 30-Day Return Window
- Returns are initiated through a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) form online, which simplifies the process.
- Many users report that once their return is received, refunds are issued within 5–10 business days.
- For new, unopened items returned within the window, there’s often no restocking fee, unless the item is considered non-returnable (see below).
- Unless the return is due to an OpticsPlanet error (wrong item, damaged, etc.), the customer pays for return shipping.
- Certain product categories (e.g. ammunition, opened optics, hygiene products, custom orders) are non-returnable, even if unused.
- Like other areas, return-related support is hit-or-miss — some users have smooth experiences, while others face delays and confusion.
Reviewer Notes
This reviewer has had many experiences with Optics Planet, all of which have been positive from a price, customer serivce, and shipping standpoint.
The vast majority of complaints for Optics Planet involve the confusing stock status displayed on their website. They have live inventory tracking, but the stock status is displayed in a less than obvious way. For items in stock, they will display a count of items available. When an item is out of stock, it will display the text “Check Product Availability” which is a link that uncovers the estimated shipping times.
The fact that this product availability text is quite small, the shipping times are initially obscured, and the product is not clearly labled as out of stock causes a lot of confusion among customers. Optics Planet would do itself a huge favor from a customer experience platform with a few simple visual tweaks to their website.
Being careful about checking this information will save users a lot of hassle. In case where I have missed that an item was out of stock, I have received an email the same day with an estimated ship date. Some are quick enough to just wait, and for longer waits, I have had no difficulty cancelling the item.
My personal experience with customer service has always been positive, even getting a free return with paid shipping when I ordered an incorrect item.
User Feedback Highlights
- “Excellent service of this site. Ordered on May 31st—came in on June 6th as promised. I am very pleased with the service and also received product quality is very good.” MouthShut
- “I had a great experience, possibly got lucky after reading these reviews? I purchased ammo, received it in the time stated, and am happy with it.” SiteJabber
- “They put items in stock on their website that they don’t actually have in yet. I ordered a scope in March and it was put on back order and I wasn’t notified until I sent the service department an email. They said they were not answering the phone and it took them two weeks to respond to my email. I didn’t get my scope until August.” Reddit
We actively gather feedback from the broader firearms community to ensure our reviews reflect a range of real-world experiences.
Optics Planet Final Verdict
While some customers report satisfactory service and timely deliveries, others have encountered issues related to shipping delays, inventory transparency, and customer service responsiveness. It’s advisable to verify product availability and consider potential shipping times before placing an order.
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