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Does anyone have any experience doing business with this company? They are located in Royse City, Texas. They have some parts kits I'm interested in. Would like to hear from others about them (positive or negative). Thanks in advance for your replies.
Paf
It's probably just a mail order house.
The 469 prefix phone number is a Dallas area mobile phone area code.
A few friends here have 469--- cell numbers.
Being not open to the public usually means they are just working out of a warehouse and not a storefront.
Scam Advisor (scamadvisor.com use it to check suspect sites) gives them a 72/100 score. They have a verifiable street address, take payment methods that can be challenged aka credit cards... so probably okay..
They used to be located here in Arizona over a decade ago. They were indeed operated primarily out of a warehouse at the Goodyear Airport in the special Foreign Trade Zone there, because they would import AKs directly from overseas for dismantling into parts kits and selling the kits as well as building new rifles. They had some sort of ownership crisis back then and shut down, then moved to where they are now. I was lucky enough to pick through the few remnants of parts kits they left behind at their former location when they did their rapid shutdown and move. Got a few free AK74 barrels that were left inside an abandoned crate and some trigger components.
I had visited the operation there before the shutdown and move. They had ads in Shotgun News and listed their address only for mailing and shipping purposes and were not open to the public. I didn't know that, so I just decided to go visit, thinking I would cruise through their display area,...not knowing there wasn't one. My first clue something was different was when I followed the address to the gate to the special Foreign Trade Zone at the southern end of the airport. There was a guard shack and I had to stop and declare my purpose. I just said rather plainly that I was there to visit Arms America at door # such-and-such, which he found curious because he had never heard of them. But I showed him the ad in Shotgun News listing the address there, and he let me in. Apparently that had never happened before, because when I walked in the door listed in the address, no one was there in the front room, yet open crates full of AKs were everywhere, as were parts and components just laying about. The door on the opposite side of the room opened into the warehouse section and I could hear people back there. I just stood where I was, patiently waiting for someone to help me. But there was no counter, no cash register,...nothing that looked like business was ever conducted there, except for a desk in the far corner with a computer and a file drawer unit. The phone rang and someone came in from the warehouse to answer it and seemed perplexed to see me there and wondering who I was. I motioned they should answer the phone first, and they did. After that, they asked who I was and what I wanted, and when I told them I was there to buy a kit or two, the guy seemed annoyed. He never said it, but I got impression the door should likely have been locked and that he wondered why I hadn't just grabbed a rifle or two right out of the crates and absconded.
It was only a few months after that when someone on the local gundude forum made mention that they couldn't get anyone on the phone there and was wondering if they had folded and if he would ever see his money. I decided to go back and see what was what. That was when I found the place cleaned out from when they vacated and the few trinkets left behind, which I snagged.
Supposedly they got everything worked out in the years after that and have been operating with a good reputation under different management.
I have personally bought some items from them, and was happy with my past orders.
The last Item I bought from them was this: https://armsofamerica.com/special-du...r-sight-combo/
Based on past experiences I wouldn't hesitate to purchase from them again. If I remember correctly, it did take a few days to get a shipping confirmation. But after that the shipment arrived about as fast as any other package I've ordered. I do remember it was well prepared for shipment with plenty of padding in the package. Otherwise, the transactions were always somewhat unremarkable. Meaning: The service was exactly what I would expect. No more, no less. I'd buy from them again if I need anything.
Thanks to all for the feedback. It is greatly appreciated!