Every business has a story. Here's ours.
Liberty Optics was born back in 2003 when I had an opportunity to fulfill a longtime desire to break into the shooting sports business on a shoestring budget, while working fulltime in a dayjob and raising a family. One day, while perusing the pages of Boston's Gun Bible, I came across mention of a Romanian made tactical riflescope line by the name of IOR-Valdada. The military style reticle and Zeiss parentage of the optics intrigued me, and I ordered a few scopes for my examination. Upon delivery, I recognized the superb optical quality in these European optics and made contact with the owner, Valentin Leatu, to discuss the scope line. I quickly learned that Val was eager to have a "rep" in northern Florida and I accepted the challenge of promoting the scope line. For a few months, I went door to door of every gun dealer, pawn shop, and hunting/outdoor sports store I could find within a 100 mile radius, carrying a duffel bag with some sample IOR products, hoping to find some new dealers for the product line. How did I do? In short, I fell flat on my face. In in area where Leupold, Nikon, and Bushnell were tops in sales, and Zeiss, Swarovski, and Leica were the recognized European optics names, IOR's relative obscurity proved to be efficient sales repellent. In a moment of genius, I decided to sell my wares on the internet, where I quickly learned how to get cyber-smacked by the likes of ar15.com, falfiles.com, and other internet forums which had strict vendor protocols and got kicked around good by members and moderators alike. Undeterred, I stumbled upon a unique website, Sniper's Paradise (SP), which is an online community of serious practitioners of the art and science of precision longrange riflery. Military, police, and civilian riflemen co-existed in a gentlemanly environment, and much to my relief, the moderators allowed me to stick around and "develop my game" so to speak, without giving me the boot. In March 2004, one of the mods on SP (thanks Harry!) invited me to become a paid vendor on the website, SP's first, and the rest, as they say, is history.
In the past year, we have slowly been assimilated into the online community Sniper's Hide, whose members are very passionate and loyal. We have been blessed with earning the confidence of many shooters strictly by word of mouth, and it has been apparent, in order to bring our company to "the next level", we needed a website. After more misfires and missteps than I care to admit, my wonderful wife and I decided to make the site ourselves instead of fighting with so many web designers who had no idea what we wanted or what appeals to "gun people".
Why buy from Liberty Optics? In a word, trust. In our short history, we have grown into one of the most trusted IOR-Valdada distributors in the country. We also offer a full product line, with fast shipping, friendly service, and low prices. We never stop networking and seeking innovative products for shooters, and always look for "cutting edge" technology to bring to you. Our business has been built on working hard to keep each new customer for life. We have been grateful for all the opportunities our customers give us, and we welcome you, the new customer, to give us a try!
