And IF the prospective customer were to understand that once the original warranty expires, the light is toast, the "value" of that light drops considerably. Unrepairable is worse than no warranty at all. Makes the value of the light, nil.
Just Ruined $500 Microfire Flashlight Need Help
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And IF the prospective customer were to understand that once the original warranty expires, the light is toast, the "value" of that light drops considerably. Unrepairable is worse than no warranty at all. Makes the value of the light, nil.
Well... I just got back from the Post Office, and my brand new second L500R arrived today. Brand spankin new out of the box... and the head rattles. So, I is that a defect, or a design feature??
I am debating whether or not to keep it. On the one hand, I am not happy with the thought that I am out of luck once the warranty expires. On the other hand, with all the lights I have (and believe me I have a hell of a lot) I have not found one light that throws a beam quite like this one.
....also nice to have spare parts if one of them breaks.
Get an RMA and send it back as defective and be done with it.
Using foil to shim the pil is good as long as you make it tight and trim all excess away. The AL to AL contact will ensure much better heat transfer than scotch tape to AL.
Turbo DV8
Flashlight Enthusiast
No, that is God's gift to you! :twothumbs
That is your golden ticket out of having to pay the $75 restocking fee to 4sevens. Since you were already expressing reservations about keeping it once it arrived, go with your gut and return it for a refund and don't look back!BTW, this underscores how absurd it is to base a "restocking" fee on a straight percentage of purchase price. It doesn't cost them any more to "restock" this light than it does a $5 flashlight. $75... how ridiculous.
recDNA
Flashaholic
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No, that is God's gift to you! :twothumbs
BTW, this underscores how absurd it is to base a "restocking" fee on a straight percentage of purchase price. It doesn't cost them any more to "restock" this light than it does a $5 flashlight. $75... how ridiculous.
I doubt the problem is "restocking". I doubt 4 sevens "stocks" them at all. They probably buy such expensive lights only when they get an order. If a light is returned with no defect they are left holding the bag until/unless somebody else buys it.
Another bad Microfire light...hmm
Tiantang78
Newly Enlightened
No, that is God's gift to you! :twothumbs
BTW, this underscores how absurd it is to base a "restocking" fee on a straight percentage of purchase price. It doesn't cost them any more to "restock" this light than it does a $5 flashlight. $75... how ridiculous.
Yeah ... i think you are right ... a re-stocking fee equal to a percentage of the lights sale price is a bit rich and in this particular case a little harder to justify ... anyway ... the fact that the SECOND microfire light had something rattling in it makes me wonder? Doesnt sound like a great design feature to me:candle:
TOQ
Newly Enlightened
I was close to buying a Microfire light several months ago but backed off after meeting personally with Microfire distributor rep. He brought a variety of different lights with him to show me. I brought along my Olight M20 to do a few comparison tests, etc. and when I took it out to show him, his whole attitude changed from "salesman" to "downgrader". He said he had never heard of Olight (funny this distributor's website says they stock and sell Olight???) and then commenced to talk all about how great Microfire was and how it was ten times the light my Olight was. This put a really bad taste in my mouth so I thanked him for meeting with me and said goodbye. Microfire may make a great light but from what I have read and seen, they are way overpriced IMHO plus this story tells me their "after the sale" policies certainly do not favor the customer. To spend $500 on ANY light and then have the mfgr. not stand behind it with some type of after warranty policy, is simply BS and shows nothing of customer support. They are in it for buck folks, plain and simple. Buy their light, use it, it breaks after the short warranty runs out, and you are, as one poster put it, SOL! I for sure will never buy a Microfire product in the future. Glad to hear you managed to get your light working again, hope it gives you many more years of service with no further problems.................
Light me up Scotty..........Terry
Light me up Scotty..........Terry
Turbo DV8
Flashlight Enthusiast
In all honesty, I am not up to speed on Microfire, or where they are made. But I think another poster hit the nail on the head. From the pictures shown here, this thing looks like nothing more than a Made-in-China light stuffed with DX reflectors and incredibly shoddy assembly, all wrapped up in the veneer of a pretty milled aluminum case. And then they charge a premium Made-in-USA price. And please, please, please don't even tell me this thing actually is made in the USA!
Tiantang78
Newly Enlightened
Looks like a China based company ... i just checked out the website ... here is a link http://www.microfire.cn/about.asp
What i cant work out is why they are so expensive? Their website is pretty poor and I am starting to feel glad that i did not purchase the 35 watt Warrior III K3500R ... i wonder if anyone else knows much about this company and their products? Not sure if i am going off topic here ...
Yup, they appear to be based in Shenzhen.
What would concern me is that their web site shows no evidence of after the sale support, warranty or not, for any of their products. When one looks at the "Support" or "Contact" tabs, at this moment in time they do not resolve at all, indicating they are perhaps under change, or overloaded in hits, in response to this particular issue we're discussing in this thread.
When I looked earlier at those tabs, there was no indication of Microfire's interest in supporting their customers. They only seem to be interested in picking up new dealers.
There are phone numbers listed, tho...Good luck!
What would concern me is that their web site shows no evidence of after the sale support, warranty or not, for any of their products. When one looks at the "Support" or "Contact" tabs, at this moment in time they do not resolve at all, indicating they are perhaps under change, or overloaded in hits, in response to this particular issue we're discussing in this thread.
When I looked earlier at those tabs, there was no indication of Microfire's interest in supporting their customers. They only seem to be interested in picking up new dealers.
There are phone numbers listed, tho...Good luck!
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What I am still confounded by is 4Sevens attitude. Certainly he has read this thread, and to not do ANYTHING to resolve this situation is showing his true colors.
I really wanted to see 4Sevens step up and take care of this, but it is becoming more and more clear that he just does not care about anything other than the money.
While I understand that the dealer cannot be held responsible for the policies of the manufacturer, the dealer is responsible for HIS response to such an issue as this.
Come on 4Sevens, do you really think that sticking your head in the sand is just going to make this issue go away? Ruin your reputation here and you will probably go out of business.
The OP got his light working again no thanks to you, the LEAST you could do is to take back the SECOND defective product that you sent to him without any hassle of a "re-stocking fee." Come on, re-build our faith in you...
I really wanted to see 4Sevens step up and take care of this, but it is becoming more and more clear that he just does not care about anything other than the money.
While I understand that the dealer cannot be held responsible for the policies of the manufacturer, the dealer is responsible for HIS response to such an issue as this.
Come on 4Sevens, do you really think that sticking your head in the sand is just going to make this issue go away? Ruin your reputation here and you will probably go out of business.
The OP got his light working again no thanks to you, the LEAST you could do is to take back the SECOND defective product that you sent to him without any hassle of a "re-stocking fee." Come on, re-build our faith in you...
Man, I think it's a little unfair of you to drag 4Sevens publicly into the middle of this like you did. I think we may see Microfire dropped from his roster if they do not support their customers.
From what I understand, David already helped direct the OP to CPF to find support for his out of warranty light and also offered to take the new MF light back. If he does more than that publicly, EVERYONE will expect the same from him. That workload could put a real dent in his business. In reality, is that the right thing for him to do? That would cheat all of his other customers who own all the other brands of light he sells. Is that right? Where do you propose he draw the line?
From what I understand, David already helped direct the OP to CPF to find support for his out of warranty light and also offered to take the new MF light back. If he does more than that publicly, EVERYONE will expect the same from him. That workload could put a real dent in his business. In reality, is that the right thing for him to do? That would cheat all of his other customers who own all the other brands of light he sells. Is that right? Where do you propose he draw the line?
This IS a PUBLIC issue. The way that any company treats one customer is indicative of their general attitude towards ALL of their customers.
If 4Sevens does not want to stand behind the products that he sells, then perhaps we should just buy the products directly from the manufacturer, and then 4Sevens will not have to worry about being a good business man anymore. THAT would put a real dent in his business.
4Sevens did nothing to assist this guy - referring him to a website is NOT helping him. The OP, somehow, had the confidence in 4Sevens to buy ANOTHER one of these mickey-mouse lights from him, and 4Sevens could not even be bothered to make sure that he sent the guy a non-defective one! That is unmitigated disdain for the customer.
If 4Sevens does not want to stand behind the products that he sells, then perhaps we should just buy the products directly from the manufacturer, and then 4Sevens will not have to worry about being a good business man anymore. THAT would put a real dent in his business.
4Sevens did nothing to assist this guy - referring him to a website is NOT helping him. The OP, somehow, had the confidence in 4Sevens to buy ANOTHER one of these mickey-mouse lights from him, and 4Sevens could not even be bothered to make sure that he sent the guy a non-defective one! That is unmitigated disdain for the customer.
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Marduke
Flashaholic
Your attitude reminds me of someone else I know...
Wow, fairly harsh, I am thinking that your tag "I am about a quarter-bubble out of plumb..." might be right. I suspect that David may have gone further on appeal, but since it didn't need to happen and the "problem" for the OP is now in the past, we only have speculation left. What's the point in that?
kramer5150
Flashaholic
OP... that head rattle simply should not be. I agree with the others that this particular example does not look like a $500 build.
If it were me, I would just return it for a refund.
I think your $$$ would be better spent on a modded M6. I have seen them in the marketplace for around $450 used, and being that they are custom mods from some of the most reputable boutique flashlight builders on the planet... I think you are getting a top quality product.
If it were me, I would just return it for a refund.
I think your $$$ would be better spent on a modded M6. I have seen them in the marketplace for around $450 used, and being that they are custom mods from some of the most reputable boutique flashlight builders on the planet... I think you are getting a top quality product.
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I don't think it would hurt for 4Sevens to drop a line in this thread, just to clear things up a bit. Whether he wants to back up any repair is up to him.
However...
I've had a number of manufacturers back up an out-of-warranty issue, FOC. I had to pay for shipping the light to them, of course; but in some cases I paid nothing. There's nothing wrong with a company going out of the way to solve an issue, which is exactly the reason why I end up being a repeat customer.
However...
I've had a number of manufacturers back up an out-of-warranty issue, FOC. I had to pay for shipping the light to them, of course; but in some cases I paid nothing. There's nothing wrong with a company going out of the way to solve an issue, which is exactly the reason why I end up being a repeat customer.
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I have had contact with 47's, and have asked two questions, that I am awaiting a reply on.
1. Do all the L500R's have a head rattle, from a loose Pill, and is this designed that way for a reason?
2. Will they charge me a restocking fee if I return the new one.
I will let you all know what the response is, when I hear from them. I still haven't decided what I am going to do.
1. Do all the L500R's have a head rattle, from a loose Pill, and is this designed that way for a reason?
2. Will they charge me a restocking fee if I return the new one.
I will let you all know what the response is, when I hear from them. I still haven't decided what I am going to do.
recDNA
Flashaholic
- Joined
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- 8,761
Up until now I've been 100% in YOUR corner. Microfire comes off as the "bad guy" with 4 sevens somewhere in between.
Now I feel for 4 sevens.
If you're satisfied with the light you are and should drop it.
If you're NOT you don't ASK 4 sevens anything. You TELL them the light is defective because it has a loose pill.
You learned your lesson the last time and don't dare do ANYTHING to void your warranty.
Now you would like to return your light for a full refund because it is defective.
When you ASK for half measures you usually get them IME.
