Airsoft GI

[aznriptide859]

Yea, I think most have gotten the idea of just getting propane XD.

[uscmCorps]

Just a note: Retailers can't ship green gas or any other gas via. air. It is a federal regulation that compressed gasses must be shipped via. ground. So if you are expecting to play and need gas, order a few weeks in advance. If you buy gas overseas, they have to send it via. cargo ship. So you should either order separately (non-gas items in one and gas in the other) or just buy gas locally.

I'm not really sure how any of that is pertinent to this thread.

[Hakkon]

SKD and Emdom for the win. I called Emdom once to check on an order, and actually had the guy toss the package in the mail on his way out, instead of having to wait till the next day to ship. I'd gladly pay extra to shop from both SKD and Emdom every time.

 

Also uscmCorps, I didn't really think of it that way, but you do make a really good point. Having a real time tracker is something that would really help with every store.

[GnGArmament]

Don't know if you're familiar with the term "real time inventory" which I've been harping on about, but that basically means that if one customer places an order, that that quantity automatically gets subtracted from the available inventory. If someone tries to place an order for the same item, the available quantity will be reflected as such. With such a system in place, a customer would never be able to place an order for something that isn't in stock unless an accounting mix up occurred (which rarely happens). For example check out EmdomUSA. Every item they carry has a real time inventory so you can see exactly how many are left. If someone places an order before me, that number changes. So if 30+ orders came in for a product I was interested in, by the time I got to it, it would tell me that the item is Out of stock or on Backorder. That is what I'm suggesting they need to do. These airsoft shops already have the capability to do it. Ever go into the store and ask if they have something available? If they can't find it on the shelf, they look on the computer and say "that's odd, we should have two in stock, maybe it's in the back". The online stores are no different. They also keep track of everything in order to know when to place an order for more when the inventory for that product is getting low. Hook that same database up to the online store system and voila, real time inventory. Many templates for online stores have this feature built into the template as part of the system.

 

Maybe ASGI does have RTI (Real time inventory), however there were people that ordered it 7 days ahead of you to a point where it was out of stock when it got to you. I'm not saying this is possible, and it probably isn't, but these people are humans too, when they're dealing with 100 orders an hour during the holidays and (guessing) 40 orders an hour during the regular season, things can get messed up and placed lower and lower on whats important to do.

 

 

Regarding the employee count of ASGI ... that's not much different than the HK stores. Actually more employees than a few of the online HK stores. As for high order numbers ... the US Airsoft online stores cater mostly to the US. The HK online stores cater predominantly to the ENTIRE WORLD. And yet with the same or fewer employees and an exponentially greater order volume, the HK stores are able to out pace ASGI. The HK stores don't have real time inventory either, but at least they're seemingly more efficient.

 

This is very true, I'm not saying that ASGI is not the best company in the world, it's that out of the US stores (who all conveniently dont have RTI.

 

 

I'm done with evike, their large inventory drew me in a few times but their customer service and their inability to say items are out of stock is just BS.

As for Evike ... I don't/won't shop at Evike.

 

[jotohomomoto]

I suspect the reason that ASGI and others don't have the very simple Real-Time Inventory is that after people send the money they are more likely to just wait for the order as opposed to waiting for a refund and going somewhere else. Its sneaky slight of hand that ensures higher net gains. That policy breeds discontent though.

I ordered from a rail adaptor from OpticsPlanet and only after I completely paid for the item did they bother to tell me that it was out of stock. Instead of gettting the refund they offered me I opted to wait for the the order (that was placed about a month ago). They got me hook, line and sinker.

PoweredgeUSA on the otherhand has Real-Time Inventory and I appreciate it very much. They have a huge Tokyo Marui selection and other GBB related stuff that I like and they're based in Hawaii. They ship w/tracking#'s within a few hours everytime I order and keep the whole process "above the table." They're no BS. I look to them FIRST when i'm looking for something in the USA.

Evike ###### me off because they took 7 days to ship 4 bb followers and a magazine baseplate. They charged me like $15 for regular First Class Mail service (everything fit in a small padded envelope) which ended up taking another couple of days. I called them about getting a deal on shipping and they just suggested I order more stuff to even out the shipping costs. What a scam!

Well, now that I got that off my chest I can go about my day.

[uscmCorps]

Maybe ASGI does have RTI (Real time inventory), however there were people that ordered it 7 days ahead of you to a point where it was out of stock when it got to you.

Ummm ... you're not getting it. You're not describing real time inventory. You're describing an approximated inventory based on an occasionally updated estimate by a person. Real time inventory is literally: an item listed on a website says it has 7 units in stock. You place an order for 2 of them, when you go back to that page immediately after placing the order there's only 5 units left. If 200 customers come online to order the last 7 units of a particular item, it comes down to whoever can click fastest and the unlucky customers are told they're SOL before they can click the "order" button. If someone ordered an item 7 days ahead of me and purchased the remainder of the stock, I wouldn't even be able to place the order as it should say "Out of Stock" or "Backordered". I've tried to explain this several times now. If you still don't understand the principle behind, LMK, and I'll PM you.

 

I'm not saying this is possible, and it probably isn't, but these people are humans too, when they're dealing with 100 orders an hour during the holidays and (guessing) 40 orders an hour during the regular season, things can get messed up and placed lower and lower on whats important to do.

What I'm describing (regarding the real time inventory) has absolutely nothing to do with the human element of the equation. If anything, when a real time inventory system is implemented it'll eliminate the human factor from that equation as the customer is dealing with a computer regulated database that keeps track of the actual quantities available. You can't order something or in the quantities you desire when they're not available. Doing that will eradicate 99% of the human error introduced to a non-real time inventory tracker ... and significantly reduce the number of irritated customers who had once again ordered something that doesn't exist. I feel like I'm beating a dead horse. Maybe you have no familiarity with what RTI actually means, but I'm trying my best to explain it to you.

 

Christ, even a low end airsoft retailer like RSOV has RTI on some of there products:

http://rsov.com/index.php?target=products&...product_id=3095

 

It's not that complicated. The code for such a system is readily available out there.

 

They charged me like $15 for regular First Class Mail service (everything fit in a small padded envelope) which ended up taking another couple of days.

WTF. Flat rate priority mail boxes will set you back $8.95. $15 for regular mail!?!! Those are some serious handling charges. Do you recall what the postage on the box was?

[GnGArmament]

Ummm ... you're not getting it. You're not describing real time inventory. You're describing an approximated inventory based on an occasionally updated estimate by a person. Real time inventory is literally: an item listed on a website says it has 7 units in stock. You place an order for 2 of them, when you go back to that page immediately after placing the order there's only 5 units left. If 200 customers come online to order the last 7 units of a particular item, it comes down to whoever can click fastest and the unlucky customers are told they're SOL before they can click the "order" button. If someone ordered an item 7 days ahead of me and purchased the remainder of the stock, I wouldn't even be able to place the order as it should say "Out of Stock" or "Backordered". I've tried to explain this several times now. If you still don't understand the principle behind, LMK, and I'll PM you.

 

Ahh now I understand. I was thinking of something else.

 

What I'm describing (regarding the real time inventory) has absolutely nothing to do with the human element of the equation. If anything, when a real time inventory system is implemented it'll eliminate the human factor from that equation as the customer is dealing with a computer regulated database that keeps track of the actual quantities available. You can't order something or in the quantities you desire when they're not available. Doing that will eradicate 99% of the human error introduced to a non-real time inventory tracker ... and significantly reduce the number of irritated customers who had once again ordered something that doesn't exist. I feel like I'm beating a dead horse. Maybe you have no familiarity with what RTI actually means, but I'm trying my best to explain it to you.

 

 

After finally understanding, yes that would eliminate the human factor. However, I don't think you can really blame ASGI for not having real time inventory because AFAIK, Ehobbyasia, redwolf, evike, EBairsoft, and some other big scale companies don't have it either. It would be a good question to bring up to them. Even with not having real time inventory and slower then average shipping, they still get the right product to you, and if its an airsoft gun they test it before it gets to you, and that's what matters more IMO.

 

 

 

 

WTF. Flat rate priority mail boxes will set you back $8.95. $15 for regular mail!?!! Those are some serious handling charges. Do you recall what the postage on the box was?

 

Flat rate boxes are only available via USPS I believe. UPS does have some pretty big charges for shipping, even if its a small item. Unless when you mean regular mail you mean USPS.

[ThaFlash]

Real time inventory is not difficult to implement or manage if they are using a decent shopping cart service. If you look at some recent site reworks like ehobbyasia, they use Magento shopping cart software which is free, open source and includes things like real time inventory.

 

If they don't have the option in the software, then it becomes an issue. A lot of companies like ASGI and Evike will be more interested in making the site look the part, whether it's overloading you with products or making it look very professional, rather than the functional aspect of it. It's really just the type of people they are.

 

I'd buy from overseas. Being in Ca, I'd get hit on taxes, shipping and still have to wait for my item so it makes more sense to go overseas for better selection and prices.

[uscmCorps]

However, I don't think you can really blame ASGI for not having real time inventory because AFAIK, Ehobbyasia, redwolf, evike, EBairsoft, and some other big scale companies don't have it either. It would be a good question to bring up to them. Even with not having real time inventory and slower then average shipping, they still get the right product to you, and if its an airsoft gun they test it before it gets to you, and that's what matters more IMO.

If all that matters is that they get the right product to you, that's no different than what those HK based companies you named provide (except they do it in half the time or less). The only benefit I get out of ASGI over HK based companies is the fact that being a US customer, with US based airsoft stores you'd have some semblance of a warranty and the ability to return an unused new item within a certain time period (oh, and the convenience of being able to walk in store if you're close enough). Is that alone enough to outweigh the fact that they're slower, less efficient, and more expensive than their competitors? For me it's becoming a loosing battle. They're about 40 miles from me and yet take triple the time to figure out if something's in stock than what it takes for a company with the same or less man power located 7,200 miles away, to ship, get through customs and arrive at my doorstep. Fail.

 

Not having real time inventory because that's the industry norm doesn't mean that that's the way things should be run. It's something all companies that sell limited volume product should be incorporating into their online sales system. It's 2010. It's time to get current. Another excellent example of real time inventory is what OperationParts has on their site. You look at ANY product on that website and you immediately know the availability of it.

 

In the end, although I don't like it, I can live with slower delivery times (2 day processing + 3 day delivery). That's not uncommon for many US based retailers regardless of the market. I can even accept the slightly higher than HK prices as they expend money importing the product in the first place. And there's nothing I can do about CA Taxes. But not incorporating a real time inventory system is just short sighted and/or lazy. That's also why I rarely order from OPTactical anymore. 50% of my orders through there had something out of stock. That said, they don't take 7+ days to tell me something's not in stock, 1-2 days at most and only 2 people run that store (husband & wife). If US based online stores had RTI incorporated they'd have my business more often. Until then, I'll use them as sparingly as possible, buy the majority of my product from HK, and get my smith work done in store at AEX.

 

Flat rate boxes are only available via USPS I believe. UPS does have some pretty big charges for shipping, even if its a small item. Unless when you mean regular mail you mean USPS.

They charged me like $15 for regular First Class Mail service (everything fit in a small padded envelope) which ended up taking another couple of days.

First Class Mail Service is USPS regular mail. Which is even cheaper than USPS Priority Mail. Not UPS.

[GnGArmament]

If all that matters is that they get the right product to you, that's no different than what those HK based companies you named provide (except they do it in half the time or less). The only benefit I get out of ASGI over HK based companies is the fact that being a US customer, with US based airsoft stores you'd have some semblance of a warranty and the ability to return an unused new item within a certain time period (oh, and the convenience of being able to walk in store if you're close enough). Is that alone enough to outweigh the fact that they're slower, less efficient, and more expensive than their competitors? For me it's becoming a loosing battle. They're about 40 miles from me and yet take triple the time to figure out if something's in stock than what it takes for a company with the same or less man power located 7,200 miles away, to ship, get through customs and arrive at my doorstep. Fail.

 

I think the warranty is the main attraction for me too. If US stores had no warranty, sure enough I would be ordering from HK.

 

In the end, although I don't like it, I can live with slower delivery times (2 day processing + 3 day delivery). That's not uncommon for many US based retailers regardless of the market. I can even accept the slightly higher than HK prices as they expend money importing the product in the first place. And there's nothing I can do about CA Taxes. But not incorporating a real time inventory system is just short sighted and/or lazy. That's also why I rarely order from OPTactical anymore. 50% of my orders through there had something out of stock. That said, they don't take 7+ days to tell me something's not in stock, 1-2 days at most and only 2 people run that store (husband & wife). If US based online stores had RTI incorporated they'd have my business more often. Until then, I'll use them as sparingly as possible, buy the majority of my product from HK, and get my smith work done in store at AEX.

 

For me, ordering from HK vs. ordering from ASGI or any other California airsoft store doesn't make a difference in price for me, or am I doing something wrong? Shipping from HK will cost as much as it would to get free shipping from ASGI. For you it is more then likely different because of California tax and all that.

 

 

 

 

First Class Mail Service is USPS regular mail. Which is even cheaper than USPS Priority Mail. Not UPS.

 

Ah ok, thanks

 

[uscmCorps]

So my ordeal with AirsoftGI continues. The ASGI package arrives today. Only for me to discover that the Madbull HopUps were included in spite of the fact that I requested them to be DOR, for a partial refund to be issued and that I would be ordering the Madbull items from another source based on the fact that ASGI were selling product they did not have in stock. So now I have Madbull hopUps coming in from the other retailer that I've already paid for and the ones I specifically asked to be refunded for.

 

And ASGI can't be reached by phone ... as usual.

 

FML.

[GnGArmament]

@uscmCorps

 

Apparently AirsoftGi does have real time inventory, If you add the item in your cart, raise the number in your cart until it will say they do not have this much of that item in stock, then you know.

 

 

 

I just tested it, it works.

 

Take this item for example:

 

http://www.airsoftgi.com/product_info.php?products_id=6402

 

I first added 100 to my cart, says out of stock, then it bring down to 50, says out of stock, ,then down to 25, still out of stock, I keep subtracting until it says its in stock. Then I start to add up until I reach out of stock again. By doing this I found that there's an amount of 19 of that said item I linked.

 

So there you have it. It appears they do have real time inventory, but the number is just not as easily found.

[uscmCorps]

So there you have it. It appears they do have real time an estimated inventory, but the number is just not as easily found probably doesn't reflect what they actually have.

Fixed it for you. Having what appears to be a real time inventory means absolutely NOTHING when the inventory shown is inaccurate. It's like, why bother? All retailers know that when they are expecting their shipments from the distributors, the likelihood they'll receive all the items on the order, is remote. Don't sell what you don't have. If it's on order, list it as a preorder or backorder. NOT "In Stock". The simple fact that they have the potential for real time inventory tracking show's how short sighted their process is given the poor execution of it.

 

And I'm still disappointed with the fact that I had to cancel a portion of the order due to being told items I paid for was out stock when they were listed as in stock. Then after placing an order with another vendor who actually has proper real time tracking, I receive the rest of the order from ASGI that was supposed to be canceled and refunded. That's just pure incompetence. At the very least they should have called or emailed me to ask how best to proceed. They followed up one incompetent act with another.

 

You seem to be defending them a lot. Do you work for them or have friends there? Your steadfast need to defend their idiocy is odd and makes me question your position in this. Perhaps your tune would change if this actually happened to you.

[GnGArmament]

You seem to be defending them a lot. Do you work for them or have friends there? Your steadfast need to defend their idiocy is odd and makes me question your position in this. Perhaps your tune would change if this actually happened to you.

 

Ha, I don't work for them. I live more then 2,000 miles away . Although I am part of their forum, and I find that these guys are better then most other American retailers. I haven't had a horror story with them yet, however on the flip side I just got dealing with the mess that is evike. I believe you in your cautions about them, but nothing is perfect and some people are bound to be unhappy. Consider them like Ehobby, they're a trusted company and even a few people who solely buy from them, but there's always a few that have complaints that have shown the not-so-bright side of them.

 

If you do manage to order from them again, I think you'll have a much better time.

 

 

[uscmCorps]

If you do manage to order from them again, I think you'll have a much better time.

Quite frankly I've been burned enough times by this one retailer that I highly doubt that. At this point if I were to order from them again and get screwed yet again, I have no one to blame but myself as I should have known better. Thanks but no thanks.

[GnGArmament]

That's understandable, but just one more thing

 

probably doesn't reflect what they actually have.

 

Can you elaborate on this? Take this example: ASGI is out of stock on magazine X. They get a shipment of 20, so they add them back in stock and put 20 in their "Real time inventory". If Johnny buys 10 and Jimmy then uses this method to find out how many is left. Then he buys 10, it will then show magazine X is out of stock again. How is there room for error in reflecting in what amount they have left?

[uscmCorps]

Can you elaborate on this? Take this example: ASGI is out of stock on magazine X. They get a shipment of 20, so they add them back in stock and put 20 in their "Real time inventory". If Johnny buys 10 and Jimmy then uses this method to find out how many is left. Then he buys 10, it will then show magazine X is out of stock again. How is there room for error in reflecting in what amount they have left?

Honestly dude, I pretty tired of this conversation because you're just not getting it, and it's more effort than it's worth. I thought I had been succinct MULTIPLE times, but for one last time ...

 

Their "real time inventory" shows they have 10 items in stock. Awesome! 10 items. I'll order all of them. 10 days later, ASGI : "sorry, your purchased items are out of stock".

Customer: Wait ... what? Why are they out of stock? It clearly said they're in stock according to the real time inventory!?!!

ASGI: "Oh sorry, those 10 of those items were on order and we expected them to get here but were absent from the order we received from the distributors. We were sold out at the time of sale to you."

Customer: "So then these items were never truly in stock, they were on order."

ASGI: "Yes, basically."

 

Therefore, what I said still stands. Their "real time inventory" probably doesn't reflect what they actually have. It's NOT real time inventory ... when the items are NOT in inventory. Get it?

 

If you still don't get it after my explaining it for the umpteenth time, I have nothing more to say to you.

[GnGArmament]

Honestly dude, I pretty tired of this conversation because you're just not getting it, and it's more effort than it's worth. I thought I had been succinct MULTIPLE times, but for one last time ...

 

Their "real time inventory" shows they have 10 items in stock. Awesome! 10 items. I'll order all of them. 10 days later, ASGI : "sorry, your purchased items are out of stock".

Customer: Wait ... what? Why are they out of stock? It clearly said they're in stock according to the real time inventory!?!!

ASGI: "Oh sorry, those 10 of those items were on order and we expected them to get here but were absent from the order we received from the distributors. We were sold out at the time of sale to you."

Customer: "So then these items were never truly in stock, they were on order."

ASGI: "Yes, basically."

 

Therefore, what I said still stands. Their "real time inventory" probably doesn't reflect what they actually have. It's NOT real time inventory ... when the items are NOT in inventory. Get it?

 

If you still don't get it after my explaining it for the umpteenth time, I have nothing more to say to you.

 

*Sigh*, Ill just drop it.

 

 

[creepingfear]

This is where good old fashioned common sense and customer service should come into play. Customer places order for 10 (example) "things". Retailer gets confirmation of order almost immediately (except during out of working hours orders naturally). Retailer knows they only have 5 of these "things" actually in stock but also knows x amount of more "things" are due into stock within a few days ect and contacts customer straight away and explains situation. Simple and courteous.

 

Or......

 

Retailer can improve/invest and have their stock counter to include the ability to notify customer during order phase that customer has ordered more than the number of "things" in stock and also by how many. There's plenty of decent quality real time stock counters out there that can do the job.

 

Reason why a lot of retailers don't do this is because of this - http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/inde...t&p=2293392

[ThaFlash]

A true real time inventory system completely manages inventory IN REAL TIME. Meaning, every order placed will automatically update inventory. This is accurate to the second.

 

If they had real time inventory, then when uscmCorps purchases his items, they are physically in stock at the time of his order and those items should be tagged to his order at that moment.

 

I know the people there, there is a lot of "liberating" of products and taking items out of customers' orders to hook up friends.

 

Edit: I'm sure they also allow people to order products so that they can gather up the minimum qty to place an order, but obviously without notifying the customer.

[uscmCorps]

*Sigh*, Ill just drop it.

*Sigh*, and I guess you still don't get it.

 

Reason why a lot of retailers don't do this is because of this - http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/inde...t&p=2293392

If that's the case, that'd make me question their business ethics beyond the concerns I already have for them. You don't sell what you don't have.

 

[GnGArmament]

*Sigh*, and I guess you still don't get it.

 

No I do, its a simple concept that I got the first time you explained it.

 

If that's the case, that'd make me question their business ethics beyond the concerns I already have for them. You don't sell what you don't have.

 

You're basically saying that they add more to their stock then they actually have to get more people to "think" they have said item stocked and get them to buy it? I'm pretty sure only evike would do that..

[uscmCorps]

No I do, its a simple concept that I got the first time you explained it.

Then why are you repeatedly arguing with me on a point you understood the first time? It's tiring repeatedly re-explaining to you something that should have been clear the first time.

 

You're basically saying that they add more to their stock then they actually have to get more people to "think" they have said item stocked and get them to buy it? I'm pretty sure only evike would do that..

No, if you re-read the thread, I am not saying it. creepingfear said it. I was reacting to the implications of what he said. And it's impossible to say if creepingfeer is wrong. He could be, then again neither you nor I work at ASGI so we can't say definitively one way or the other. But you clearly have no problems with them so you should definitely keep buying from them. Just don't come crying to the rest of us when you get burned for it by them down the road. Until then, you don't seem to have anything constructive to add to the conversation and continue to engage me on a topic that you've said you agree with and yet continue to argue against. It's pretty pointless. And irritating (perhaps even infuriating).

[GnGArmament]

 

 

No, if you re-read the thread, I am not saying it. creepingfear said it. I was reacting to the implications of what he said.

 

Ah ok. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

 

And it's impossible to say if creepingfeer is wrong. He could be, then again neither you nor I work at ASGI so we can't say definitively one way or the other. But you clearly have no problems with them so you should definitely keep buying from them.

 

And I am not saying creepingfear is not wrong either, but that business practice is so shady that even the fear of being found out that you practice that would have anybody potential buyers just disappear.

 

Just don't come crying to the rest of us when you get burned for it by them down the road

 

While it may be true I might a minor problem or two,you make it seem that any other airsoft company is better then ASGI and won't give any problems at all. While I know you and the OP of this thread have had problems with ASGI, it seems that the overall customer satisfaction rate with ASGI is much higher then other companies (Namely Evike + some other American Retailers and probably EBairsoft).

 

 

It's pretty pointless. And irritating (perhaps even infuriating).

 

Alright, since I have overstayed my welcome in this topic I will make this my last post here. Sorry.

 

 

[uscmCorps]

And I am not saying creepingfear is not wrong either, but that business practice is so shady that even the fear of being found out that you practice that would have anybody potential buyers just disappear.

Some are just better at concealment than others.

 

While it may be true I might a minor problem or two,you make it seem that any other airsoft company is better then ASGI and won't give any problems at all. While I know you and the OP of this thread have had problems with ASGI, it seems that the overall customer satisfaction rate with ASGI is much higher then other companies (Namely Evike + some other American Retailers and probably EBairsoft).

That might be the impression you have, but that's far from a statistical analysis of the situation. If people aren't vocal about a problem that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I'd be more swayed by a public poll from airsofters with unique IP's than one person's "impression" of the situation.

 

There's a lot of mediocre airsoft retailers out there. They may not be better than ASGI, but ASGI is one of them.