American warranty policies?

fubar

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Hullo,

I ordered a Eagletac T10LC2 after much appreciated recommendations from this forum after my Pelican 2390 was nicked by a colleague (I'm a copper, cops will nick any kit that doesn't smell of dog poo).

Anyhoo, the Eagletac failed on me when a metal contact broke off the head component, sent it back to 4Sevens and they state the waiting time is 6-8 weeks at the manufacturer?!

In the UK, this would be seen as unreasonable and I would be entitled to a new replacement due to the length of time involved, regardless of how long I have had it (3 months by the way).

It may persuade me to steer clear of American made or sourced products, am I being unreasonable?
 

jzmtl

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Sounds about right. My Zebralight crapped out and I sent it to 47 on 12th of May, it's been over two months now and I still don't have it back. Really does annoy me but what else can you do?
 

fubar

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That is very disappointing to hear :(

I got an email from 4Sevens today advising that the manufacturer has received it. 4Sevens received it on the 1st of July...two weeks...
 

fubar

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FYI, it is Chinese made, and it sounds like your replacement is shipping from China.

I had the impression it was from South East Asia, it is a quality product and cheap as a result I'm sure.

I still think 6-8 weeks at the factory end is a long time, no matter which country it is in. I'm not bashing American products, simply, the next time I buy something so critical to my job I shall buy UK or European; the warranty policy in my experience is much better.
 

Tekno_Cowboy

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I don't think that you'd have the same problem with American Made American lights. I can't list many off the top of my head, but it might be worth looking into.
 

Norm

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I don't think that you'd have the same problem with American Made American lights. I can't list many off the top of my head, but it might be worth looking into.
It took about 5 months to get my Falcata fixed.
Norm
 

Patriot

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Sounds about right. My Zebralight crapped out and I sent it to 47 on 12th of May, it's been over two months now and I still don't have it back. Really does annoy me but what else can you do?


:shakehead have you discussed this in another thread? I'd like to read about this if so.

Thanks.
 

jzmtl

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:shakehead have you discussed this in another thread? I'd like to read about this if so.

Thanks.

I mentioned it briefly in another thread but nothing in detail. Basically the light switch was erratic from the day I got it and unable to start in low half of the time (start on max instead, you can see how annoying that is). I emailed 47 about it and they asked me to RMA it. They told me it wouldn't even turn on when they got it and will have to sent back to China to be repaired, but they turned down my request for a refund or store credit (because I was so frustrated by the H60 and don't want to see it anymore, not an easy thing to do given I'm very patient normally), but it did pass their usual 30 day return period. That was two months ago, only this week they told me they got it back and is sending it to me. So hopefully I'll have it sometime next week.

The Dosun bike light I just bought has the plastic window fall out, but I'm afraid to send it back given this experience. :(

Weird, I've had to do this with a couple of knives and some Surefire parts, and in all 3 cases, I had new/repaired parts in less than 2 weeks. :thinking:

Guess it depends on your luck, I haven't had much luck with warranty work. Aside from the zebralight H60 that I'm still waiting for, I had a spyderco military with play in liner lock that took them 4 weeks to get back to me, in exactly the same condition I sent them. Apparently I'm not the only one with it and spyderco consider it normal.
 
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Illum

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With the exception of a few good companies...
Warranty only exists when the product is not broken. Once the product is broken then the fine text becomes the banner text and the phone rep reads it to you as if its always been the banner text:green:

Flashlight is small case, stories I could tell getting GE to replace my washer, Kenmore for the range, and Crane to fix a newly installed AC compressor that works only when it wants to:shakehead

Same as health insurance, where it only mentions premium benefits when your sitting on your bed, not collapsed under it.
 

blasterman

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the next time I buy something so critical to my job I shall buy UK or European;

So, Chinese factories making products for British firms have faster lead times and better quality than Chinese factories making things for U.S firms? Are you for real? The companies selling these enthusiast flashlights, British / American / whatever, are really nothing more than retail distributors for Asian manufacturers. Come one......Most of these Asian factories are the same ones that re-tool for toys in the fall.

simply, the next time I buy something so critical to my job I shall buy UK or European

Maybe you should talk to U.S. cops who tend to carry torchs big enough to beat down a 300lb crack-head and see if they are buying from U.K. firms :).

I've never seen a State/Count/Local cop carry a compact $65 flashlight (hint-hint). For the record, I get two-three day shipping from web to door from U.S. firms selling stae of the art power LEDs and superb service.
 

Igor Porto

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That's way too long. If it were in Brazil, they would have 30 days to fix it and deliver it to you. In case it wasn't done within 30 days, you could either have a brand new product, wait until it gets fixed or your money back.
 

fubar

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So, Chinese factories making products for British firms have faster lead times and better quality than Chinese factories making things for U.S firms? Are you for real? The companies selling these enthusiast flashlights, British / American / whatever, are really nothing more than retail distributors for Asian manufacturers. Come one......Most of these Asian factories are the same ones that re-tool for toys in the fall.



Maybe you should talk to U.S. cops who tend to carry torchs big enough to beat down a 300lb crack-head and see if they are buying from U.K. firms :).

I've never seen a State/Count/Local cop carry a compact $65 flashlight (hint-hint). For the record, I get two-three day shipping from web to door from U.S. firms selling stae of the art power LEDs and superb service.


I've hit a nerve there it seems whilst trying my best not to. For items sold in the UK, if a company fails to repair an item in a reasonable time, they are liable to penalties and/or prosecution. I have returned items in the past and have either had them back within 4 weeks, had doorstep exchanges with my mobile phones or had an outright replacement sent on receipt of the old one.

These are large and small retailers and suppliers and from very expensive items to small cheap electronics. The fact that 4Sevens outsources it's production is not the issue, the point is that they are being very very stingy to the customer's detriment. I can assure you thatif this was in the UK, I would have just been sent a replacement and all the sending to China nonsense would have nothing to do with me.
 

gorn

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I can assure you thatif this was in the UK, I would have just been sent a replacement and all the sending to China nonsense would have nothing to do with me.

We can all rest assured that 4 sevens isn't in the UK. It is in Georgia. Warranty terms are dictated in the United States more by the State government not the Federal government.

My Grandfather had a great statement about the use of "if". He would say, "If the little dog hadn't stopped to s**t he would have s**t a runnin". I know, kind of crude but he was a wise old mountain man from the turn of the century (last) Montana.
 

Marduke

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These are large and small retailers and suppliers and from very expensive items to small cheap electronics. The fact that 4Sevens outsources it's production is not the issue, the point is that they are being very very stingy to the customer's detriment. I can assure you thatif this was in the UK, I would have just been sent a replacement and all the sending to China nonsense would have nothing to do with me.


Again, I think you are totally misunderstanding who 4sevens and Eagletac are. Eagletac is a manufacturer in China, 4sevens is just one of many distributors for it. The delay is NOT because of 47's, but because of a delay the factory had in sending out your replacement. You would have most likely had a similar delay in ANY distributor you chose, and a much greater chance of much crappier customer service.
 

vb14

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What fubar is trying to say is a UK distributor would have given him a replacement, then deal with the manufacturer behind the scene. That way, the customer doesn't have to endure the endless wait when can the manufacturer send in the replacement parts.

If that is the law from where you are, I'd say warranty there is better than what I experienced here in the US.
 

alpg88

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it takes leatherman to fix and return knives, flashlights about a week.
 
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