Title says it all.  Who do you go to when it comes to LPK's on the cheap?  And, more to the point, how cheap is too cheap?  Asking for a friend

At a glance they all look the same, but can range from $30 to well over $100.  I have read about detents being better quality, but how much money can you shave off the cost of, or add to, a 1/2" long piece of wire?  Trigger is the obvious answer it would seem, when it comes to cost factor, but even the crappiest mil-spec trigger can be made pretty damn good with a little work.  So let's take the trigger out of the equation, for the purpose of discussion.  MIM is a 4-letter word to some folks, and in some cases I might agree.  So they can produce a detent for 3¢ instead of a dime?  I don't think I would be fond of MIM on a bolt stop.  Springs are springs for the most part.  I have seen significant differences in the safety, some rough and some smooth, even coming from the same company.  The worst I have had was from a well regarded vendor, Schmid, rough as a cob.  How are we to know what is in the bag?

So, in a nutshell, how low will you go and who are they?

Psa. Any kit with the ept trigger.

I personally like the kit from Rock River, without the trigger.  Their roll pens are wound, and I have found them easier to install. That being said, I've never had one back out either. All of mine have LaRue triggers.

CMMG

I bought a bunch of the cheap ones just to see what was in them This one was the best out of all I bought. https://bravocompanyusa.com/standard-a2-lower-parts-kit/
The CMMG kit I got was a good kit but it was on sale below forty dollars is why it got in on the buy to look at. Normally the price is much higher,

The Unbranded ones used to be okay but the latest one I got for this had some parts I didn't care for.

Looked at an XTS kit, CMMG, Unbranded AR, BCM sold commercial kit, Anderson with the black trigger group, BN15 kit, MidwayUSA kit, and a DoubleStar kit. Kits prices went from around 20 up to no more than forty dollars.

Stuff I culled out of some kit because I didn't like them
Springs wrong diameter wire.
Mim Hammers with the arms widths under the drawing number.
Hammer with one arm diameter too wide and would bend the hammer spring leg when cocked because the spring coil on the arm closed and binded on the larger diameter..
Mim triggers with the outside arm width under drawing size.
Mim triggers with oversized disconnector spring pocket.
Mim disconnectors.
Disconnector with an oblong hole drilled in it.
A hammer with the pin hole diameter larger than the drawing.
Hammer trigger combinations that caused the horn on the back of the hammer to tap the disconnector on normal cocking.
An oversized at both diameters selector detent.
An oversized diameter buffer retainer.
Some springs that were supposed to be stainless did not look stainless.
Mim bolt catch that did meet spec I just dislike MIM even when it is allowed.
MIM steel mag catch button.
MIM one part mag catch.
MIM mag catch with the gate on the inside pad the mag rides against.
MIM selectors
Hammer triggers that if you partially pull the trigger and then released it without firing that did not pop back up into the hammer notch fully.

Two bolts catches measured out okay except the lift arm was actually longer than the drawing allowed. I saved them out in case I get a lower that needs one with a longer arm.

$40
CMMG
https://www.primaryarms.com/cmmg-ar15-lower-parts-kit-no-grip-fcg
Since triggers have been removed I took the liberty of removing the A2 grip too
I used a CMMG lower parts kit for my very first AR as recommended by people here.  All detents, springs, and parts have worked flawlessly and still feel crisp today.  And that's after I swapped the parts into a new lower.
On a spare parts cheep build I used an Anderson LPK and it's disappointing.  It works, but the parts don't feel as good.
I couldn't tell you who makes what parts in either LPK, just that my CMMG feels better, and for $40 I'm sticking with it.

Make sure you're comparing apples to apples when pricing kits. LPK kits include varying amount of parts. Essentially you have three groups of lower parts.
-- Core lower parts
-- Fire control group (FCG); may or may not include pistol grip assembly
-- Receiver extension assembly; may or may not include a buttstock assembly

Colt (when available/stack em deep).
RRA
CMMG

Check out the Schmid Insde/Gun nuts offerings as well.

+1

Eta: They have some great sales on their kits on Veterans Day, July 4th, and Black Friday. I have also seen some of the resellers selling CMMG kits at even lower prices. I usually stock up on kits during those times.

@TGWLDR

Where are you finding these at decent prices?

CMMG
ALG
I used to get DSG Arms lpks, but they seem to be going out of business.
PSA is good, too.

@Wangstang

It looks as though things have changed much since I bought one. Both in pricing and available configurations.

Basic GI style kits are harder to come by, I guess due to guys wanting to one stop shop LPKs w/FCG.

HERE is a decent price for basic LPK though.

FWIW, I picked up 5 basic LPKs from White Label Armory awhile back...many of the components were Schmid Tool. The detents were shit and the finish on the TD/Pivot pins are sketchy, but they've functioned fine in my experience.

I think they were $29 each for a basic kit.

Optics Planet recently had CMMG for $29 as well.  I don't deal with OP personally,  and I haven't any recent CMMG experience, but I've got their kits in maybe 5 guns, always solid.

Thanks.

I swore off Cheaper Than Dirt after their order cancellations and price hike moves years ago but I gave them another shot when they had the CMMG kits with FCG for $20 earlier this year. Ordered 6 and received all of them. By the time they showed up the sale was over, once they arrived I wished I had ordered quite a few more.

Yeah, not a vendor I'm changing things with.

The CMMG kits were $20? Better than I thought.

Quality is still on par as with past?

PSA

$20/kit? Yeah, that's a tough one. CTD...$20 kit...hmmm...

Thanks for the link. I've found only a couple places that sell the Schmid GI-style LPK and those include the trigger, which I'm not interested in.

T-Rex Arms sells a Schmid LPK without grip, trigger or trigger guard.

Wilson Combat nitrided safety selectors are the smoothest, clickiest ones that I've used. I recently bought three to compare against three Schmids, and while the Schmids weren't bad, they were definitely not as good. $10 just for a safety isn't exactly budget though.

Op here's a secret. A lot if vendors get their products off Unbranded AR.

I bought complete CMMG LPK's with FCG for $55 on Optics Planet last year. I was skeptical and it took over a week to ship, but they did deliver. I find the part number for the kit I want, and google that. I seem to get better prices that way. It sorts out all the kits that don't have FCG's, if you're looking for a complete LPK.

+1 CMMG

This is a great list, agree 100%, and highlited one in RED that I really dont like.

I used an SOLGW LPK for my last build. I think I got it at Sportsman's Warehouse for $30-something bucks (kit sans trigger group). No issues with it. I didn't use the safety selector (put an ambi BAD safety in instead), but I think the SOLGW safety was a Schmid.

If the LGS has them, I go with the CMMG lpk.  If I have to order one, I choose the Damage Industries lpk.  I used to work a few blocks from their warehouse, and they would email me when I could swing by and pick up orders.

As of late a few of the LGS carry Anderson lpk's however MiM parts are not my preference.

RRA or CMMG

Whatever is on sale.

That has pretty much been my philosophy.  I have used about all of the different options inside of $65 or so and haven't found anything that didn't go together well or function perfectly.  Some triggers are stiffer than others, CMMG about the stiffest but not gritty.  I have both the regular and EPT from PSA and it is difficult to tell the difference so I don't pay for the extras.  I'm just trying to figure out what makes a $70 Aero "better" than a $33 UAR, and what the major differences could be