Ruth, enjoying the view of the lake at Valle de Bravo, Mexico.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Valle de Bravo, Mexico.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Cancun on December 17th!

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Warranty problems

It's no good buying a product with a warranty if it breaks and then the manufacturer makes it too difficult to make a claim.

Such is the case with my camera bag. The bag is made by a subsidiary (Ape Case) of a company called Norazza...a company with it's world headquarters and distribution center located in Buffalo, New York.

Ape Case makes a lot of different camera bags. It says on their website how well made their camera cases are. "Rugged", and "tough all over".

This is the second Ape Case that I've owned. It's the perfect size for our camera, and I really like it. But it's also the second case where the zipper has broken...the first one, within a year of owning it. This time, it's been about a year and a half.

When the first one went, I had looked at the "limited lifetime warranty" and decided that it wasn't worth persuing. You had to send it in at your own expense (about $18), and it specifically said that the zipper may not be included anyhow...

...nor does it cover the natural breakdown of materials that occurs after extended use (i.e. zipper wear, Velcro wear, fabric abrasion, etc.). In time, even a Ape Case® bag will wear out!

Then, I read the fine print where it says that the warranty is only valid in the continental United States. Hmph.

So, I had waited for it to come on sale and I simply bought another one, figuring that maybe the first one with the zipper problem was an anomoly.

But now, the second one has a broken zipper!

So, I give up. Ape Case doesn't get a third chance.

And now, we've got a few other products that we're having to make warranty claims with.

Ruth's Asus "Transformer Book" laptop that we bought last summer is one of these ones where the tablet portion disconnects from the keyboard. But a bad connection has developed between the two, and it causes some of the keyboard keys to not function properly.

So we've been on the phone with them trying to fix it, and I have to admit that Asus been really good at trying to help. The warranty is still valid, but of course we still have to send it in. Yet to be seen if we are reimbursed for that, but we'll find out soon.

And, we bought a Lagostina brand frying pan. On sale, it was regulary a $60 frying pan for $13. But then 6 months later the coating started to peel on it. I emailed Lagostina's Montreal office, and they agreed to send a perpaid courier envelope so that we wouldn't have to pay for shipping. We've sent it in, but haven't heard back yet.

And, we bought a 64GB memory stick made by Silicon Power that has gone funny. It doesn't work properly in either one of our laptops. Haven't made the phone call yet on this one, but I'll try and remember to do that today.

A product is only as good as the company that stands behind it.

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Really good "deal of the day" at Amazon.com today! Almost half price!

Insta-Bed Raised Air Mattress with Never Flat Pump

And on Amazon.ca in Canada, they have a battery booster similar to the one we have on sale today only. Considering this is in Canadian dollars, it's a good deal...

AUKEY Multi-Functional Car Jump Starter and Portable External Battery Charger with Adapters , Clamps , LED Flashlight , 12V Output and 400A Peak Current . ( Black )





22 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Luckily we have had some great customer service from some companies.

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  2. I have been there on zipper stuff. But we do have one success story: Eagle Luggage entirely replaced a zipper that had been ripped off by TSA in its zeal to get at our underwear and socks. That was a six month old suitcase with a lifetime warranty..no questions asked

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Years ago, we had a similar situation with a zipper on some carry on luggage that we bought at Sears and they had it fixed for us. Love when you get good customer service like that. :-)

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  3. So troublesome. We feel like companies just make things to break so you have to buy more. Good for business if it doesn't last long. Not certain if they have a camera bag but this company so far seems to stand behind their products. We like them. Its Patagonia !!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it is true many times products are made to just throw away because people can't be bothered to have it fixed but if it has a warranty then it is usually worth the effort to have it returned and fixed properly or replaced.

      We have heard of Patagonia, so we will have a look and see if they have anything, thanks for the suggestion.

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  4. Hassles hassels hassels.......no fun dealing with these companies. Hope you are successful getting your reimbursements and/or replacements. You will have to give us an update on it all.

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    Replies
    1. Lagostina has been a great company in the past to deal with and I am sure they will come through on the frying pan. Asus has also been very good to deal with on the phone and we have the computer packaged up and ready to mail out today. We will definitely let you know you the outcome for both.

      Unfortunately the people at the Ape camera bag company have been totally useless and haven't even gotten back to Kevin, they will definitely never get our business again!

      We haven't contacted the company yet on the thumb drive but we will write about it on the blog when we do.

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  5. On the bright side.....lovely photo.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, it is a great photo of the baby owls. We soon won't see them at all as they will fly away further from the campground as they become better at flyers.

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  6. On the flip side, I had bought a second Jackery for under $20 about a year ago, but it stopped charging after just a few months. I emailed them. A week later I had a fully functional replacement---and I didn't even have to return the broken one!

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    Replies
    1. Wow, that is great customer service. It is stories like that, that make you want to pass along the experience to others that may want to buy the same product. I also had a similar situation last year with my Tilley hat that ripped. We sent it back to the company and they sent me back a new one right away and also sent the old one back with it. This year I had use of a sewing machine so I sewed up the old one and now use it for working at the campground so I can save the good one for travelling and hiking.

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  7. Isn't that the truth. Some companies stand behind their products and some do not. L.L. Bean is my personal favorite.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Companies that stand behind their product will always get our return business. Lagostina, Tilley and so far Asus have been great to deal with.

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  8. Most companies don't honor their warranties simply because most people won't go through all the hoops to make them comply. We beg for customer service up front but when things go wrong we don't follow up. Good on ya for doing it. Someone may benefit from the effort.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think most companies honor their warranties but most people can't be bothered to go through the hoops to comply to them. You are right most people don't follow up but we do! :-)

      We will let you know the outcome as it happens.

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  9. some items just arent worth the cost of an extended warranty..we seem to live in 'a throw away and buy new' society..don't get me started on customer service!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We never ever buy extended warranties, we just rely on the original warranty and when a company has a warranty we always follow up with it.

      Luckily there are still companies that have great customer service, unfortunately they are few and far between.

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  10. Frustrating when things that shouldn't break ... do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Too bad companies don't make things to last but then I guess they wouldn't make enough money then!

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