York Armoury Reviews 

DO NOT SHOP HERE!! My 17 year old son made a considered purchase in the store, which he was really excited about. When we returned home the item was cracked cleanly in 2 pieces, despite being packed in polystyrene and a box. It was clearly poor quality, given the value of the item. At no point were we told, nor does the item state it is fragile; it is a mask and you would expect to be able to handle the item confidently, let alone have it travel safely in its packaging. I am now 1 email and 2 phone calls in to get this resolved. The staff are rude, dismissive, non responsive and with no after care service whatsoever. Disgusting service and my DC mad son is very disappointed. I shall persevere and will go down the route of trading standards to get this resolved. DO NOT give this shop your business.

From buying from here before I had no issue. However, I paid for the two Legolas blades and when they arrived in the post I was bitterly disappointed as the handles were damp and engravings you can now barely see, the ringlets at both ends of the handle are completely rusted and both blades are jagged all along which they are not supposed to be. I emailed them two weeks ago to no avail and have further since even enquired on their website. Furthermore the plaque was in very bad condition and I would like a refund!!

Furthermore!! If nothing is done to rectify this is will be taking further action as it was a lot of money!

So, after being Martial artist for many years I decided I'd like to buy a high end katana and suit of Samurai armour. While visiting Scarborough the manager of the Ancient Warrior store recommended the York Armoury store.

Making a special trip to York. My initial thought through the shop window was 'that suit of armour looks good lets buy it' :-) However when in the store, we found the staff working there unprofessional, discourteous and dismissive.

Firstly, there was no labelling present to show you what it was and how much. Without this how is anyone to make an informed decision?

I am presuming it was a manager of some sort (as he was dressed differently to other staff) openly reprimand a member of staff for putting stock out on display. the conversation went like...

Manager: 'Why have you put more arrows out? there are some out all ready.'

Staff: ' Customers have trouble seeing them and are always asking for them so I thought if they were more prominent, the customers would see them better and help them.'

Manager: ' You are not here to think! I've said there is enough out there so ... bring them back in and do what your told.'

Now remembering, I was intending to spend a lot of money and could not see what I was looking for (no labels) I went to the manger who was taking to another member of staff, I received no acknowledgement he continued to talk to the other staff member about how he was interested in the war and wanted to make a video game about being a German who became a Nazi and do all the thing they did but he couldn't do it as he was not Jewish, he wouldn't have the authority to 'get way' with it.
Eventually, I 'disturbed' his conversation with a polite 'excuse me', I was given a look if indignation and given the response of 'yes', explaining that I was looking a higher end folded carbon steel Katana he continue to lecture me with 'they all have to be carbon steel because of the law' then started to spout off a list of Japanese names of what they had and that they ranged up to £1000 each. He pointed at 4 swords high up on a shelf and stated that they put them up there so people couldn't mess about with them.' Then he continued his young Nazi story with his colleague. I had been totally dismissed to my own devices.

The Katana were on a top shelf and I could understand why (they are live bladed weapons after all) but I received no help from any of the staff to lower the katanas, show me the Items, explain the specifics or show any customer service.

I tried to look at the Katana on the top shelf but it was pointless as I could not see.

I was a little disappointed but don't worry, I have decided to import them myself from Japan.
@ samuraistore.com maybe they will appreciate the patronage?

I would give less than 1 star if I could. Ordered an item they sent the wrong item I phoned and initally questioned that i had bought the wrong one but I stated it is on their website now, promised to rectify it and nothing has been done despite calls and emails buy at your own risk!

Dreadful store, do not buy anything unless you want to be sent faulty, damaged goods and then be ignored when you try to contact them.

Wonderful shop with helpful staff. I buy from the shop every time I visit York in the summer. However, ordering online from them is an unpleasant experience.

My second online order proved the first was not a one-off bad experience (That item wasn't shipped either). I telephoned a week later asking why it hadn't arrived. "We were so busy we forgot".
I've always been under the impression it's under the propriety of Father and Sons. And It was the Christmas period, so you accept mistakes in a family-run business.

I'm now very aware that they have little regard for you or the order, once you have paid online. On their website you can see in your account, your item is marked as 'completed and shipped', same as the previous order (with tracking provided) and that is the end of the matter.

When the item isn't delivered you have to telephone them. Only to discover, no item was ever shipped and to be told it is out of stock (you get no email notifications). No attempt to give an explanation why they didn't bother to contact you, why the shipping details were incorrect, why the tracking number was fictitious, other than say "I'll do some inquiries and ring you back after speaking to the manager".
That callback, you'll discover, like your order, never materializes.

Twice, I've subsequently had to telephone to request a refund
"Can you not pick another item"

I'd explain that I'd waited a year for that particular item because it was a gift for my partner. And to be honest, though I could have chosen another item I had little confidence in it being delivered. So just refund me, please.

"I can't refund, not until I speak to the manager, so will definitely ring you back today, I promise"

On my telephoning them this morning, I was assured by the same person (who had never given me a callback) that I had been refunded. I was very grateful it had been resolved. Sure, I didn't get my item but I did get my money returned

But you can guess as to why I'm having to leave this review....no refund!

It's always imagined that telephone calls under such circumstances are fractious. But it isn't true, they are not impolite......they just don't care!

Best place to buy a Minamoto Authentic Katana, best prices around ( a lot cheaper than buying direct from Minamoto ) Super fast delivery and well packaged

A little while ago I dropped and broke my wife's game of thrones, throne and letter opener.
After a painstaking search I found York Armoury and they had in stock a complete replica of the one I broke.
I ordered it through PayPal on 20th December 21 and it arrived today 30th December 21.
What a fantastic service I received, especially as it is the Christmas and New year holiday.
Thank you very much to All at York Armoury.

They will not reply to you if you have problems, do not buy!
Been trying to get ahold of them for months regarding a return for a damaged item.

Everyone I've spoken to has been polite and well meaning, and the shop has interesting and varied items. Unfortunately the site and communication/processes/stock are not adequate.

1. Around half of the online items were marked out of stock on the site. Place my order of some expensive items at the beginning of October, It's a big splurge for me. Christmas shopping done early - score.

2. Mid-November rolls around, still no items. I call up and am told my items may be out of stock, that they'll investigate with the warehouse and let me know.

3. December rolls around. No one has called me back. I call up and am told, yes - my items are indeed out of stock. It has taken 2 months for them to NOT tell me my items are never coming; one was a one-of-a-kind item that had it been out of stock when I ordered it they'll have had no way of getting one to me at all. But no one ever bothered to check, or contact me.

5. I'm presented with some exchange items, none of which are anything like what I'd ordered. I was offered an upgrade, but honestly nothing left on offer is appealing. I'm shocked that either they haven't restocked in 2 months, or I've missed out TWICE due to their inaction.

6. I ask for a refund, then set about looking for replacements that can arrive in time for Christmas. I expect it'll take some time, and I doubt I'll be refunded in time. Out of pocket hundreds of pounds.

I'm never shopping at York Armoury again - simply because I can't trust them. They seem nice enough, but the operational faults are too much for me.

Recently ordered a Bowie knife and a battle hammer from York Armoury. Items were dispatched very quickly, and arrived not too long after. Super happy with the Bowie knife, it's beautiful, very well made and extremely sharp. I really love the battle hammer as well, it's very strong and fun to smash things with. Only small issue was that there was a small spot on the base of the hammer where the otherwise lovely coat of varnish had been missed. Overall very happy and would definitely use again.

Ordered a lord on rings mug as part of a bigger order which all came successfully, still waiting for mug 3-4 months later. spoke on phone numerous time to be assured it would be delivered with no joy, until i lost patience and ask for a refund over a month ago which has still not been credited. only £8.50 out of pocket and not going to waste any more time with this shop. Be careful

Bought a Witcher sword in store which they didn't have in stock at the time. They organised for it to be sent to me for free and it has just arrived in great condition. Very pleased with the quality for the price paid.

Couldn't rate them high enough. I received my order today (Witcher Sword) and absolutely love it. After a slight delay with the order which had gotten lost mid transit, it only took a phone call and a new order was arranged straight away. I’d definitely recommend this website.

Received my items that I ordered today. Sword mounts and a wooden pistol crossbow. The sword mounts are of incredibly high quality standard and the crossbow I bought only because of the super low cost but the quality is of a really high standard and is more powerful than I would have thought. Really easy to order online and I'm super impressed as always when buying from here.

I bought a replica of Andúril and an Evenstar necklace online after visiting the store and I’m absolutely in love, this is the single best thing I have ever spent money on in my life

Imagine travelling 3 hours to visit this shop to be treated like absolute dirt and discriminated against too?! Well today this is exactly what happened to me. Never in my life have I been treated so poorly by retail staff. Please save yourselves the journey and don’t bother. This place point blank needs closing down.
I will be taking this further as I know my rights! The equality act 2010 is something ALL business owners should be following, this shop is not!

I ordered 3 Larp swords and a letter opener, all were very good products- to the quality I would’ve picked myself from the shop itself, also the free ring when you spend £39 and above is to a higher quality than expected
Thank you York armoury

I bought a lovely sword from here, a great product and really good communication! thank you!

York Armoury deserve every ounce of praise for their customer service ⭐️ They went above and beyond. Three days after I placed my order I received a phone call from York Armoury to tell me the katanas which I had originally ordered were not in stock. Yes this was a little bit frustrating, however the staff did not make up any excuses and apologised sincerely. They were very straight with the reasons behind this mistake, which I greatly appreciated. From here they stayed on the phone to me for half an hour, recommending alternatives whilst I scrolled through their website. Not only did they do this but they gave me a massive discount on another katana to express their apologies. They also then upgraded my shipping from standard to express. Do not believe any of the negative reviews about customer service on the internet, because their service has prompted me to write my very first review of my life 😁 I would recommend this business to anyone!