Spark warranty work?

[offroadcmpr]

Has any one here had to send in their spark headlamp for warranty work?

I received a Spark ST6 last Christmas. I hadn't used it all that much, and there was not a scratch on it. Then one day I went to turn it on and nothing happened. I tried 3 different batteries and even tried the tail cap from my brother's light with no luck. So I mailed it back to the vendor I bought it from and they sent it back to Spark.

I mailed it back to the vendor on May 25th, it was sent to Spark soon after that. Now a month and a half later still no headlamp. I talked to the vendor and they said that they have still not heard back from Spark yet.

So is this normal for Spark warranty repairs? Or is my wait longer than normal?

 

[ryguy24000]

I had a similar issue with an ST5 125ow. I sent it back to the original vendor(Sb Flashlights) and they sent me the newer ST5 190 nw.

 

[jinya1004]

I had an issue with the ST6, I bought it from SBFlashlights. They promptly sent me a replacement

 

[offroadcmpr]

I bought mine from goinggear, but they sent it to Spark and seem to be waiting for the response/light back from spark which means I haven't had anything for the past 2 months.

 

[beamis]

I bought mine from goinggear, but they sent it to Spark and seem to be waiting for the response/light back from spark which means I haven't had anything for the past 2 months.

Although goinggear is certainly under no obligation to give you a new light, it's disappointing that they seem to be taking a hands-off approach to your problem.

 

[offroadcmpr]

Although goinggear is certainly under no obligation to give you a new light, it's disappointing that they seem to be taking a hands-off approach to your problem.

I was a little surprised also. I have had good experiences with them in the past, and I know they are fairly well liked here. But I may have to try elsewhere next time I am in the market for a new light/gadget.

 

[PapaSierra]

I don't know what sort of agreement Going Gear has with SPARK, but I am surprised that the manufacturer would want to ship such a small item all the way back to China for a possible warranty issue. I can't imagine that this is a cost effective solution especially for a single unit. The impact on the customer is also high due to the long repair times! Overall, not good for customer satisfaction / business.

What have you seen from other US resellers (SBFlashlights seems to respond quickly) and manufacturers (most manufacturers are in Asia anyway)?

Has anyone reviewed / rated the various resellers on problem resolution or responsiveness?

 

[offroadcmpr]

I have never had to do warranty work before for any product so I can't really compare it to anything else.

They did finally get the lights back from China. They said something about an issue with customs. When they shipped it out they accidentally shipped me the wrong light! So now I have to send that one back and then they will send me the real one.

So the time from when I first shipped it out to today is 3 months. And it will still take another week to get it in my hands.

 

[jake25]

What we do (if you guys know who I am) is ship RMAs back quarterly. When we get a RMA we sent a replacement straight away. Every 3 months we package up all the RMAs and send it back off to Spark. The customer usually gets a new unit by the end of the week.

 

[Bolster]

What we do (if you guys know who I am) is ship RMAs back quarterly. When we get a RMA we sent a replacement straight away. Every 3 months we package up all the RMAs and send it back off to Spark. The customer usually gets a new unit by the end of the week.

Seems like excellent CS to me.

What happens to a guy like me? I jumped in on Xyber's direct offer to the list -- he offered a bundle to the first 10. If my light were to go bad, what do I do? Xyber doesn't seem to respond to PMs in the marketplace anymore, and I have no clue how or where to send the light if it needs repair.

Next time I think I'd buy from Jake (SBflashlights, right?) -- just for the ease of warranty.

 

[jake25]

Xyber usually uses me as a trash receptacle for RMAs. If its within the 2 year period they usually come to us.

 

[PapaSierra]

It sounds like Jake25 and SBflashlights is standing behind the product moreso than some others. I question why Spark would even want to ship this sort of product back to China for repair. These are fairly low cost items, so the shipping, customs and handling must be close to the actual manufacturing costs. Add the customer satisfaction impact from long repair times to the logistics costs and this sort of service model dosn't make much sense.... Customer service helps get the repeat orders.....