Other than Evike and modern Airsoft what are some other reputable online companies to order from. I'm new to Airsoft would be nice to have a heads-up of companies to stay away from.
In no particular order, this is from my perspective located in Hawaii having ordered from them. https://www.redwolfairsoft.com/ Redwolf, Hong Kong retail that in my experience ships faster and for roughly the same $ as Evike for small items (ie not guns). Different selection due to non-USA location. http://www.clandestineairsoft.com/ Clandestine Airsoft, Maine based small business that mainly targets AEG and gas pistol upgrades. Half of my gearbox parts come from them although shipping takes awhile since we're on opposite ends of the country. Seems to be exclusive distributor for 3D printed products by HS5. https://www.brillarmory.com/index.php?main_page=index Brill Armory, similar to Clandestine but with greater selection based in California I think. The only US distributor for Eagle6 Airsoft products (specialty springs) I think. https://hobbyking.com/en_us/catalogsearch/result/?q=airsoft Hobbyking, actually primarily a Hong Kong RC site but I get most of my lipo batteries from here since 2010. They have a line of Turnigy Nano-Techs that aren't too bad in airsoft size configurations. They started selling limited airsoft gear as well but have not bought any from them yet. Note that they have a US, EU, and HK and all calculate shipping differently based on where you are. https://www.rainbow8.com/ Rainbow8, Hong Kong shop that excels in pistol modification parts especially Hicapa and Glock platforms. https://www.kyairsoft.com/ KY Airsoft, pretty sure this is WE's distributor in Hong Kong. Tons of WE products and spare parts, and they do engraving modifications for making replicas more realistic. https://store.kwausa.com/ KWA USA, I have not ordered full replicas direct from them but they have a lot of the spare parts and may have ones not listed on the website, just email them. Shipping charges were very reasonable for the parts I ordered. https://www.infantryshopusa.com/ Infantryshop USA, Maryland based and the best source I've found for BLS bbs. http://www.khmountain.com/airsoft/home.php KHMountain, Hong Kong based store that I found is a good place to get cheap small parts that are not widely available, like off brand AEG body pins or rails. They have some repro optics if you're looking for a certain look, and sell a lot of HK-sourced internal parts too. https://www.aliexpress.com/ AliExpress, basically Chinese Amazon. Lots of airsoft parts and components but make sure to separate them from stuff that's actually for the gel ball water blasters (not just tagged as such). https://www.airsoftsociety.com/conversations/add?to=Guges+Mk3 http://www.ebaystores.com/Gugesmk3-Airsoft-Brokerage Talk to GugesMk3, he's acquired things for me I didn't even know existed before asking him. http://echigoya-guns.com/en/ Honorable mention is Echigoya in Japan, I've bought things in their Akihabara location which is one of the coolest stores I've been in. Heavy emphasis on Japanese products for obvious reasons - Tokyo Marui, Marushin, Tanaka, Laylax (Prometheus, Nine Ball) - but they carry just as many brands as all the big stores should.
I've ordered from Airsoft GI. The "in stock" item wasn't actually in stock and they only let me know after I contacted them about it not shipping for two weeks. To be fair, my order eventually arrived safe and sound, but the whole advertising as in stock when it wasn't and not alerting me until I contacted them left a bad taste in my mouth. I might give them another shot one day, but for now, I'll take my business elsewhere. I ordered a CYMA AK from Airsoft Megastore the other day and they hot footed my order out within one business day. It's supposed to arrive today. So far, so good. I know a lot of folks have had decent luck with them. Never buy from Unlimited Wares. Just don't. I ordered a new red dot for my M4 two months ago and they sent me a fake tracking number and marked it as shipped on their site. It never actually shipped it until several progressively stronger worded emails later they provided me with a legitimate tracking number that says it shipped. It shipped from only a couple hundred miles away 12 days ago and it still hasn't arrived. It says it will arrive on the 12th (how can it take 2+ weeks to ship from one state over?). I have no clue if I'll receive what I ordered, but a Google search suggests I'm likely to receive a wrong item, a used item or a broken item. We'll see. I've heard a lot of folks rave about Fox Airsoft and Airsoft Station is supposed to be legit. Amazon is almost always safe, obviously. Cheers!
Note to all you new folks. (I used to directly work in the industry) American Consumerism Does NOT apply in Airsoft. -Nothing is made to a standard -The industry is continues to pass the wrong information as the Gospel -You get what you pay for and there is no "real" warranty for Airsoft items. -From Distribution to Influencers it's all about fleecing the new player with low cost goods. So, in ASGI's case, they are "not" lying. They bought out Classic Army about 2 years ago and they have their presence in Hong Kong as part of the ASGI umbrella. If it's in stock in HK...it's "technically" instock "at" ASGI. It just takes them longer to get it to the USA and then to you.
12 large parts buys and about $2k later and i still am finding this out, The latest, King Arms gearboxes dont fit in EMG lowers. nor do the newish G&G gearboxes.
King Arms is Taiwan. EMG is Ares - China...you would have better luck with A&K mechboxes if you need a legacy box with no MOSFET in it.
I just realized I bought the output valve KWC handgun from gugesmk3 on ebay longtime ago, LOL. ( although it still don't work haha )
I can personally say +1 on brill, fox, and echigoya but they stopped delivering to california last i checked. Redwolf is good with decent prices compared to american stores but often shipping is more. I've just bought aep slides from rainbow8 and haven't received yet but nothing negative with them so far.
Airsoft Station has good customer service, and everything I’ve bought from them arrived on time and was as described. Fox Airsoft got here in good time and again everything was fine. They’ve got some good sales pretty regularly too. Hope this helps
I prefer redwolf over evike when it comes to parts. Evike tends to be out of stock of the important stuff, and their restocking schedule right now is terrible. But, you still can't beat evike when it comes to complete or boneyard ages.
You want to know how Evike buys those specialty items...10 pieces at a time. Unless they control the item, then it's 20 pieces at a time...
