ACMgear.com

[Isamu]

Being ACMgear.com a new shop, it`s hard to take the risk ofbeing one of their firsts customers, but I needed some items for my new AEG andafter some price comparisons and talk a bit with their live support (prettygood english) I bited the bullet and made a small purchase.

 

First Impressions

 

The shop has an average good looking layout, easy tonavigate, menus are translated to a very good Spanish (yep! Im from Spain)which is obviously not "google translated" and the "search function" works verywell, much better than other shops where it shows you everything remotelysimilar to what you want except what you are really looking for.

 

Registration

 

Registration is fast and easy, perfectly translated tospanish, asking the most important questions for a quick purchase and shipping.After filling the blancs and accept them, you recieve a welcome mail, just likewith any other shop, so no surprises there.

 

After this, you are ready to spend money.

 

Purchasing

 

I won´t describe how to add things to the cart or how tofinish the checkout, we have made such things countless of times in similarshops. This is just the same, look, add, check out, pay, recieve… quick andeasy. Thing is you can use another paying method as "Inpay" if you prefer notto use "paypal". I prefer Paypal, but every alternative is allways welcomed.

 

Shipping

 

What surprised me the most was how cheap shipping costs were(I allways use Airmail method) compared to other Hong Kong shops, low and veryadjusted to my purchase weigth. A happy surprise, indeed.

 

Fort he rest of the process, they work pretty well, afterpayment confirmation and after a couple of days I recieved an email with thetracking number which actually worked(im not so lucky with other shops) andarrived in the advertised time, ten days for me using Airmail method withoutbeing stopped at customs, which unfortunatly is a common practice in Spain…

 

The good

 

I'm very picky with the accesories I put in my AEG, It's notI look for the highest quality pieces but I love having unique and cool looking(for my tastes) replicas, so sometimes it is very hard to find that part youknow ACM brands produce but is not stocked by regular shops. Thats whyACMgear.com has a search service abailable to customers, it is as easy as contactthem, send a pic of the part you are looking for, they find it and send you aninvoice, taking it or not such invoice is totally up to you. I tried, convincedme and it is already on the way to my address.

 

Pricewise it is very similar to other HK shops, sometimeslower, but considering them plus the lowest shipping costs I have ever seen anda great customer service, ACMgear.com is one of the best shops I dealt with ina long time.

 

Customer service is excelent, as I said before, but not onlyby email as every single one is answered fast and politely, with a more thanaceptable english, their live support too, which is not filled with poorenglish speakers but atended by knowledgeable sales men. I just expected myemails fall in the great chinese email black hole…

 

They have an exclusivity contract with the new Black BearAirsoft brand for distributing their products in Asia and Europe, (Evike is theexclusive USA distributor) who will start a WWII replica line, why do I saythat? Because it amazed me to find a salesmen team who knew what, when, whomthey were selling to and who actually was not afraid of giving any detail youmay ask.

 

The bad

 

Maybe I was just lucky with my first purchase, but right nowI can't think of anything bad enough to call "bad", just the "ugly things"normal in young bussiness which will be polished with time and featured in thenext part of the review.

 

The ugly

 

Having a catalogue of an acceptable size and ever growing,it is still smaller than the one you can find in the regular HK shops we allknow, but thats something normal as these shops have been in the bussiness forseveral years now, while ACMgear.com has been around for less than five monthsand having a similar catalogue would require a colossal investment. But Im surethat time will solve this "catalogue" issue.

 

Navigation is easy and pretty much the same as any other HKshop. But not as smooth or comfortable, maybe it is due to me not being stillused to it or I am too used to other shops style of navigation, but I feel it isnot smooth enough for me and I use more the "search" function.

 

Final Words

 

Buying and dealing with ACMgear.com guys has being a prettygood experience, easy and pleasant, big surprise there, after dealing withother more "settled names" in the sector… you know what I mean…

 

Do I recomend these guys? Totally, due to prices, customerservice, profesionality and all the possibilities they offer, like the itemsearch, they told me that if any ACM factory produces it, they find it.Granted, they are not perfect but polishing needs time.

 

I will deal with them again, and I am sure you will do ittoo.

[bogdan192]

I tried to navigate their website with Firefox 3.6 and it sends out alerts saying "There was a problem with your request" every time I click a category. Works in IE6 and above tho.

[Isamu]

Dont know, I use chrome and I have no problems at all shoot them an email, im sure they will fix it soon

[fingertwister]

Good site, have used them a couple of times. The option to turn on the price including shipping is quite good. E-mails and enquires are answered very quickly. Would & have recommended to others.

[Isamu]

Yeah, I really like how informative they are in their forums and blog

[ruchik]

Can anyone tell me what the difference is in shipping times between their free shipping and regular, 7-10 day airmail? It's less than a dollar difference.

[Isamu]

I think its the same time ruchik

[Azubi]

Just ordered some Claymores from them based on this review. I'll report back when said stuff arrives at my home in England.

[ruchik]

Does anyone know what's going on with their Army Kimber Warrior pre-orders? The pre-orders should have been over on the 20th, and I emailed them asking if they're sitll available. ACMgear said that they've got regular retail ones coming in that would cost a few bucks more, but I have yet to see any kind of change on their site. Have the pre-orders even shipped yet? When can I get my hands on one?

Edited May 21, 2010 by ruchik

[Shiva]

Does anyone know what's going on with their Army Kimber Warrior pre-orders? The pre-orders should have been over on the 20th, and I emailed them asking if they're sitll available. ACMgear said that they've got regular retail ones coming in that would cost a few bucks, but I have yet to see any kind of change on their site. Have the pre-orders even shipped yet? When can I get my hands on one?

 

From what I've heard, stuff is being held up in China.

The Shanghai Expo is apparently the cause of tightened security, and the carriers who normally ship stuff from mainland China to Hong Kong are keeping a low profile, and haven't been moving stuff lately.

[ruchik]

Does anyone know how long that holdup is supposed to take? I'd really like to order an R28 from them, they're supposed to be better versions of the previous Army Kimbers.

 

Come to think of it, besides the hex screws in the grips, what ARE the differences?

[Isamu]

Yep, I have one kimber on preorder and after some chatting with one of their salesmen in the live support, and as Shiva already noted, china expo is "fruitcaging" the kimbers shipping, he told me that the shop was trying to get the pistols shipped dissassembled to them so they could assemble and ship to customers faster.

 

Waiting is hard, but I never had so much information about anything I ordered/preordered by ANY shop

[ruchik]

So not even the pre-orders have shipped, huh?

 

Apart from the hex screw differences, do you know what other improvements have been made??

[Isamu]

No, I dont know which improvements have been made

[cool-breeze87]

Are these ever likely to be available in the UK? I've been after a Kimber for ages and the R28 isn't perfect but it will do lol.

[Isamu]

Possibly, but question is when... because the China Expo is naking security very tight and right now nobody is recieving new replicas, just some gear

[Wingmann]

Tried to order from them. There was no answer to my e-mails and 10 days later they returned my money in a Paypal transfer...

 

Hard to buy anything that way.

[treetoad]

I bought a pile of parts from them about a month ago. Motors, gears and springs at good prices with reasonable shipping. However, the spur gear on one of the SHS gearsets was warped when I got it. Having spent about $140 with on the whole order and having had excellent customer service from several other HK retailers lately, I was expecting a no-quibble response asking for a replacement set. Forget that, according to Peter at ACM the very fact that they came out of the package and touched a bushing in a shell means they were "installed":

 

well... you put them inside so they are "installed" right? if new unused they are in the box never put inside any gearbox for any kind of function.

I'm sorry but there is no warranties in Hong Kong as prices are so low. If you want with warranties and exchange programs, you better buy locally from your local shops.

We have never gotten problems with SHS parts, so i doubt there is real issues.

 

I offered to photo them, video them, send them back so he could satisfy himself that they had never been under any load. For an easy life I even offered to take a slightly smaller store credit on another order. Nope, according to Peter, I don't understand how retail in HK works and I should just *fruitcage* off. Oh, and Paypal will side with mighty HK retailer as soon as they've heard I "installed" these gears. It's been escalated to a dispute, so I guess we'll see. In the meantime, I can't fault his prices or the speed of his shipping but I'll never order *suitcase* from him again.

[Extraordinaire]

treetoad, to be honest, I feel like this is something you should have been prepared for. There is a reason stores like WGC don't offer any type of warranty, returns, or guarantees on their ACM/China Made products.

 

It is always a gamble when ordering these parts, so I cannot fault ACMGear for the action they have taken.

 

-Ex

[treetoad]

There is a reason stores like WGC don't offer any type of warranty, returns, or guarantees on their ACM/China Made products.

 

It is always a gamble when ordering these parts, so I cannot fault ACMGear for the action they have taken.

 

-Ex

 

Hi Ex,

 

My point was simply 'buyer beware'. WGC clearly state that is the case on some items on their site. ACMGear make no such statement. I buy parts and equipment from China all the time and this is by no means a consistent attitude with Chinese retailers. I have had refunds and exchanges on Chinese-made gear from uncompany, ehobbyasia, airsoft-club, ebairsoft, and a few others. Some were more helpful than others, but all of them eventually made good on defective or broken items.

 

Surprisingly, ebairsoft and airsoft-club--the mainland China, 'budget' dealers--have been the easiest to deal with so far. The HK shops tend squabble more.

 

I'd rather not test this, but it would be interesting to see what PayPal might make of the WGC disclaimer in the event of a dispute. I suspect they would ignore it.

 

Good looking SR635 you've got, BTW.

 

Best,

TA

[Deadmeat]

Yeah, unfortunately there are very few consumer protection rights in HK, nevermind China! Basically as soon as you walk out of the store, that's it! No Marks and Spencer type return policies like we have in the UK... I've only managed to get some retail sympathy with high end goods.

Saying that, I've been treated well from the online retailers including ACMgear. They sent me the wrong mags and a couple of photos later, they quickly agreed to send me replacement mags for which I am very grateful!

Ok, TreeToad's incident is really bad luck, but effectively it is purely discrertionary.... so unlucky dude!

[treetoad]

 

Basically as soon as you walk out of the store, that's it! No Marks and Spencer type return policies like we have in the UK...

 

Strangely, here in the UK, you have fewer rights if you buy something in-store than if you buy it online. Online purchases can be returned in 7 days for any reason. If you buy it in a shop, returns are completely at the merchant's discretion.

 

Ok, TreeToad's incident is really bad luck, but effectively it is purely discrertionary.... so unlucky dude!

 

PayPal may have a different opinion about how discretionary a refund is. It's been raised as a dispute, but hasn't been decided yet.

 

As I said: before this, I'd been treated well by pretty much every Chinese retailer I'd had to return things to, high or low end. ACMGear has been the first exception.

[Extraordinaire]

Well, more bad news for ACM Gear.

 

I emailed them prior to ordering to make sure they sold the Red Dot only version of the Aimpoint T-1 replicas.

 

My initial comment:

 

"Hello,

 

I am inquiring to find out which version T-1 you are selling. I am looking for the Red Dot ONLY version. In the picture you show the Red and Green Dot version but in the description says it is the Red Dot only version. Just making sure before I order.

 

Thanks,

Mark"

 

ACM Gear's response:

 

" http://www.acmgear.com/aimpoint-micro-sight-black-p-456.html

 

http://www.acmgear.com/aimpoint-micro-sight-high-mount-black-p-457.html

 

its red dot only, where do you see a mention of a green dot?"

 

And this is what I received this morning:

 

 

It's the inferior Red/Green dot version that I wanted to avoid.

 

Pretty bad first impression. They're lying snakes at best.

 

So, onto more emails:

 

My initial comment:

 

"Hello,

 

I recently emailed you asking if you sold the Red Dot only version of the T-1. You assured me you only sold the Red Dot only version. So I ordered the one with the High Mount.I receive it today and it is the RedGreen Dot version. So essentially you have lied to me. I wanted to make sure I got the Red Dot version and that is not what I received.Id like to know what to plan to do about this.

 

Regards, Mark"

 

ACM Gear's response:

 

"Are you serious?!? you want Red Dot but you get EXTRA Green dot that can change anytime, so you get more than what you pay for... There is only 1 model of this in all of China, no matter where do you buy you will get this model. If you only want to use Red Dot, then dont click GREEN DOT. there is nothing wrong with the model, why on earth would you want to return because it has extra color on it?...

if you really want to return it, there is return address in the package, send to here and when it arrives we will refund you the product price if the product is in same condition we sent it in.

Shipping prices are not refundable they are clearly notified in our terms which you did agree on when you made the order (you clicked on yes, i agree on these terms before paying)

 

Best Regards

 

Peter"

 

So, apparently, the Red Dot only version that I have owned two of doesn't exist and isn't made in China? Yeah, real smooth there, Peter.

 

They just lost a customer.

 

-Ex

Edited June 6, 2012 by Extraordinaire

[crackisbad]

Hahaha

 

"Are you serious?!? You only wanted a Red Light and we were nice enough to include a Green Light FOR FREE and now you're not happy??! Are you crazy?!?"

 

 

What a bunch of idiots

[treetoad]

So, apparently, the Red Dot only version that I have owned two of doesn't exist and isn't made in China? Yeah, real smooth there, Peter.

 

They just lost a customer.

 

-Ex

 

Peter's a real charmer, ain't he?

 

They should lose the sale as well. If you paid with PayPal do what I did and raise a dispute citing item "not as described". He'd be hard pressed to argue that he sent the item you actually ordered with that email trail...

 

That'll get you your shipping costs back as well.

 

Good luck,

--T

Edited June 6, 2012 by treetoad