Not a good experience with Airguns of Arizona used guns. Their rating system is 👎

[karl_h]

Let me start off by saying that I've really had nothing but good luck with AoA in the past and always recommend them to others. I still will but probably not without a word of caution about the used stuff. As always their customer support was top notch and my issue was resolved in under 3 minutes. Regardless, I'm still leaving a review because this needs to be said.

I purchased a Walther LGV Special from AoA last week and today was the big day! Open the box and couldn't believe what I saw. A gun that was listed as being in 90% condition that I had paid slightly over Blue Book for had next to zero bluing, some rust and a few spots of heavy pitting. The stock has some scratches/gouges but honestly that didn't bother me so much. The gun had very clearly been used as a club gun for years and rarely if ever wiped down.

When I called to say something the gentleman who answered was very friendly and professional but what he said didn't sit right. "Sir we grade these guns based on age. You can't expect these guns to look perfect."

That's not how grading works.

I wasn't looking for perfect but I was at least looking for "pretty darn good" which is what the listing led me to believe. This isn't my first 50+ year old gun and it won't be my last. None have looked like this. I have never once recieved a gun in "90% condition" that didn't look basically new with a few marks here and there which is what 90% means. It looks 90% of brand new. This gun is 70% if I'm being nice. You can't look at this gun and think "That deserves an A!"

He offered a discount ($100) which I originally accepted but when I got home and unboxed the gun again I just couldn't do it. I called back and talked to the same guy (who once again was very professional the whole time) who promptly said "no problem, refund and return label are on the way. Someone will buy it eventually"

Here's your warning/heads up. An LGV Special is likely to pop up on AoA in a week or two. The following pictures are what it looks like. They actually make the gun look better than it really does in person. I can vouch for it being a shooter though. I took it for a test drive to see if I could get past the looks. I'm vain and I couldn't. If you're looking for a solid 10m gun and don't care about looks, here's your sign. AoA has one.

in fairness to AoA, here is a screenshot of the pic they posted. If you look very closely the barrel isn't blued. Thats not what I saw when I glanced through the 2 whole pictures they listed. What I saw was a glare, same as the glare on the back of the stock. You cannot see the blaringly obvious scratches on the stock though. Better pictures would have helped here. Long story short, I won't we buying anything used from them again without first calling and asking for better pictures.


I truly hope the rest of you guys who ordered from that batch of Walthers that AoA snagged had better luck than I did.

I used to be a serious firearms collector, stopped buying any about 20+ years ago. The stock if generous is 80%, the gun itself is 50%-, anything more is generous. It is nothing more than a beater/shooter and if a firearm, would have no added value to any collector unless ungodly rare, and even then it would be very cheap compared to a 70% gun/shooter. I would not have been anywhere near as polite as you were.

 

[Sqwirl57]

I used to be a serious firearms collector, stopped buying any about 20+ years ago. The stock if generous is 80%, the gun itself is 50%-, anything more is generous. It is nothing more than a beater/shooter and if a firearm, would have no added value to any collector unless ungodly rare, and even then it would be very cheap compared to a 70% gun/shooter. I would not have been anywhere near as polite as you were.

The stock I would definitely put at an 80%. The metal on the other hand (which even by the definitions set by AoA that the person defending them posted) is somewhere between 60-70%. How anyone could actually look at that gun and defend AoA's decision to call that "Very Good" is beyond me.

 

[Sqwirl57]

I would like to point out that I recieved a call from Robert, President of AoA, yesterday. I was unable to take the call due to being at work but he did leave a sincere voicemail apologizing about the condition of the gun. As stated before, this does go to show the quality of Airguns of Arizona's customer service! They are good people over there and would have no doubts about dealing with them again. I will certainly handle the pre-owned section differently though.

 

[Simplemann]

I'm a big fan of AOA. I appreciate your well written informative write up Hopefully AOA see's this and if they are the professional air gun enthusiast's I believe them to be they will take this and learn from it. I thank you for taking your time to inform us and to supply AOA with some insight on their grading system .

 

[Kilmouski]

I have bought many second hand items from AOA. Because of this, I may be one of the best people to comment about this matter. For the most part I have been very pleased with my purchases. I did get a Walther LP2 when the pistol on offer was an LP3. I did not send it back as I found it acceptable. Anything listed as 95%, or better, has been just that. I will say I would not have accepted the rifle the OP received. It was/is clearly a 70%, or lesser, item. Anyone grading guns...who knows anything about them...would know this.

 

[dan_house]

"I can't understand why they don't post more pictures of their used airguns."

To start, not defending or justifying AoA's efforts, consider this post "vendor agnostic..."

taking pics, cleaning them up in a photo editing program to post, then posting and a quick check to see it worked... takes time. If they have a large group of used guns that need to go up on their website, then some one could burn an entire morning, or possibly the whole day. Time, said employee could be better used doing other stuff-like fulfilling customer orders. I agree though that using generic pics garnered elsewhere is no good.

Additional pics would be great from a customer service perspective, at some point it will cost them more than their profit on the gun..... One customer wont hurt them, b ut if 10 folks called for more pics, itll be a full time job for some one.....

 

[Kilmouski]

Honestly? The cost for a few photos and the time required to take them is minimal. Ask any eBay, etsy, or other seller. If AOA cannot afford that, perhaps they should not be in the business of 2nd hand sales.

 

[dan_house]

"Honestly? The cost for a few photos and the time required to take them is minimal. Ask any eBay, etsy, or other seller. "
No its not.
IF AoA posted the quality of images Ive seen from many ebay listings Id not do any business with them.
If folks have no experience with graphic design, web design etc, then yes it does seem trivial.

Again I am NOT defending AoA-- I have my own complaints-- just speaking from years of doing this kinda work

 

[Deleted member 25487]

IMO.. If you have any problem with the staff or products at AOA. Contact Robert the owner. He is not hard to find.

 

[Jaxjax]

I'm definately not defending AoA as Ive had my own issues but resolved easily. Ive also had issues from many others that have not been resolved so easily. I'm a picky guy & AoA knows this & still listens to what I have to say then everybody goes into motion to correct the issue with a quickness. There are 2- people there other then owner that would resolve any real problem as original poster had in a hurry. I would not have accepted the rifle either but 90% & VG shouldn't be together . VG in most everything out there is well worn... they need to put 60-70% on that VG. Heck VG is a step away from G & G is never going to be other then a banged up shooter & after repairs most likely. I only buy the like new stuff from AoA when going used & always good to go. But again...I tell them I'm a serious buyer & if they go get the item while I'm on phone , go over it & if it checks out then I buy it while on the phone. Thell learn from this & at least update there grading system.
Joe

 

[Sqwirl57]

I'm definately not defending AoA as Ive had my own issues but resolved easily. Ive also had issues from many others that have not been resolved so easily. I'm a picky guy & AoA knows this & still listens to what I have to say then everybody goes into motion to correct the issue with a quickness. There are 2- people there other then owner that would resolve any real problem as original poster had in a hurry. I would not have accepted the rifle either but 90% & VG shouldn't be together . VG in most everything out there is well worn... they need to put 60-70% on that VG. Heck VG is a step away from G & G is never going to be other then a banged up shooter & after repairs most likely. I only buy the like new stuff from AoA when going used & always good to go. But again...I tell them I'm a serious buyer & if they go get the item while I'm on phone , go over it & if it checks out then I buy it while on the phone. Thell learn from this & at least update there grading system.
Joe

I definitely learned my lesson. I'm hoping they fix their system (which is why I made the post) but until then I'm sticking to 95% or better unless I can get them on the phone to answer questions before hand and to send pics. At the bare minimum at least give me a realistic expectation as to what I can expect when I open the box.

 

[orangeokie]

I buy used from AoA when I can & what I do is have them go get it while I'm on the phone with em. They answer my questions while looking at it live on the phone. They also know I am very picky on certain things & have never had this happen yet... AoA makes sh.. right though & thats what really counts. VG is going to be well worn. You can always buy my over priced but not LGR listed & be forever happy

I do the same thing. I have bought dozens and dozens of fine PB rifles and handguns over the past few decades. Pretty much common sense when buying pre-owned. I have done the same thing with the 12 PCPs I have bought in the past several months. The younger folks nowadays don't like using a telephone and would rather send a text. Just a difference in the Baby Boomer generation and the youngsters I guess.

 

[Sqwirl57]

I do the same thing. I have bought dozens and dozens of fine PB rifles and handguns over the past few decades. Pretty much common sense when buying pre-owned. The younger folks nowadays don't like using a telephone and would rather send a text. Just a difference in the Baby Boomer generation and the youngsters I guess.

You seem to think this is my first rodeo lol. In the last month and a half alone I have purchased 14 rifles without having to make a single phone call. Know why? Because its 2023 and technology has made it easy for even the newest of sellers to accurately post what they have for sale. I shouldn't have to question a supposed honest companies ability to post an accurate ad. There is no excuse for a team of professionals not to be able to do something that hundreds of amatures do in the classifieds every week. End of story.

Go ahead, keep making excuses for them though

 

[KitCarson16]

Never have purchased a used rifle from AoA. No photos, no information, see ya. First rule of buying used is to be extremely suspicious that there is something wrong, this generally holds true from a company or private deal. But,. but it has never been out of the box and only been fired three times. Yea.........OK!!
Kit

 

[Sqwirl57]

Never have purchased a used rifle from AoA. No photos, no information, see ya. First rule of buying used is to be extremely suspicious that there is something wrong, this generally holds true from a company or private deal. But,. but it has never been out of the box and only been fired three times. Yea.........OK!!
Kit

Yeah you're not wrong. I assumed I could trust someone else's judgement and it bit me in the butt. Live and learn