It's been almost a year after writing my review about SHORTYUSA.COM's customer service. A few days ago I thought that I'd check up on various reviews scattered across a number of websites and rating systems to see how they were doing. The answer? Business as usual- and bad business at that. The company borderlines illegal in many cases; many customers (after their money is taken) wonder where their purchased items, and their hard earned money went. Here are just a number of examples-- eight people who had terrible experiences with this retailer:

1. Shorty USA shipped a defective part UTG M324 on the Sniper Rifle - soft-gun. After returning the part and paying for shipping back with RMA #, they are attempting to blame me for installation error. THEY ARE WRONG! They say we tried to install screw A in to screw B's hole, consequently voiding the warranty and damaging the cylinder. NOW, they want an add'l $50 to send a new part to us. Holding our credit card as bounty, and we have an non-working CHEAP CHINA made product. This company does not talk over the phone about any issue, they are very slow and have NO customer service or customer care. All is done via email and they always blame the customer. They want us to pay return shipping too?? This company has a REAL BAD online reputation and continues to rip off new customers.. they need to be audited by someone

2. SCAM SCAM SCAM!!!! They do not give their phone number for a reason!!! They are sneaky. The upgraded the shipping to $29.99 for 2nd day air!!! I did not order this and I am careful when placing orders!!! I emailed them right away and they said it was too late!!! SCAM SCAM SCAM!!! DO NOT PLACE ORDERS WITH THIS COMPANY!!!

3. The site deceived me. I was misled as to what was included in the order. After the product description was a section called "goodies". Apparently, these goodies are not actually included in the order, but they were also not accessories or for sale at the site. Poor customer service when I contacted them. "overnight shipping" and "VIP" handling (an extra $3 fee) meant package was in my hands 5 days later. Save yourself a headache, get whatever they have somewhere else at a better price anyways.

4. I've emailed them a few times in the last couple of weeks, and never got anything back. Does anybody have a phone number to this place?

5. I don't know why anyone would shop here, this place is way overpriced. They give a false discount e.g. "regularly 189.99 but we marked it down to 169.99" when anyone who shops around knows that the regular price is $139.95... they are consistently overpriced on just about everything I looked at, don't fall for their sly marketing tricks, planted reviews, and planted testimonials(not only on their site).

6. While their selection and prices are good, their customer service is awful. The airsoft gun I received was broken and I lost the slip with my order number. You would think that you could email them for this required return information. Nope. After six months of sorting it out with my credit card company I got my money back. But I still lost $10 shipping it back to them. Bad experience!

7. After a 10 day wait to receive items ordered, I only received part of the order. I will have to wait another 7-10 days for the rest of the order.

8. Basically saying that they don't care about bringing the consumers the best price. They are a company that preys on noobs who don't do their research on the best prices. If you type "airsoft" into google, they are the first store to pop up. Instant noob trap. Now, I am not calling for a boycott of them, since that is against forum rules, but I am asking everyone to read this, and let it help you make a decision in where not to spend your hard earned money. There are better retailers with better pricing and service, and most importantly, better morals.

Of course, here is mine:

Terrible customer service. My gun was broken when I got it, now I've been waiting over a month for a 200 dollar gun to come back through the mail. They won't give you their phone number, and if you complain about it they just ignore you. I contacted the Better Business Bureau about it, and they're going to file against Shorty USA. THIS PLACE IS A SCAM! All of the reviews are done by the same person. Go ahead and read them.

Folks, save yourself the hassle and avoid this company altogether. I GUARANTEE you can find anything they have at a better price elsewhere, and there is a good chance you will save yourself the hassle of dealing with this irreputable company. For now though, shortyusa.com remains on the scam list. I invite anyone who has had an experience with ShortyUSA.com, whether good or bad to comment on this story.

Update

Today I got an email from Marcus regarding this review. He said:

Hey i just wanted to respond to a review you did of Shortyusa.com. I personally talked to them over the phone. They were nice and were very flexible. [Their phone number] is posted on the front page of their site. I've done lot's of business with them and it's all been great, along with at least 20 of my other friends who have done business with them all love it. If this place was a scam then when i called to have them stop an order that i didn't want then they would have said it's too late but instead they refunded my money. So please give it some more thought and find more sources if you're going to right a review.

At the risk of seeming trite, I thought that I'd respond to this comment by posting a picture of their online help menu.