Brand new light works, but flawed. (How much) compensation?

So today I received the Haikelite MT07S NW from Banggood in Silver White. Put freshly charged cells in it and it works. It’s really bright alright. But the button does not light up blue. You may have read regularly how I adore glowy buttons, so you can imagine I’m disappointed.
Honestly I think a full refund or re sending a new fully operational light is out of the question, although I do believe I have the right to do so. What are the options? If compensation is possible, what kind of compensation is realistic?
You may have had a similar experience where the brand new light works, but the body is dinged, severely scratched or something like that; something that cannot be fixed by sending a new part like a switch or lens.

So what are the possibilities with a vendor like Banggood or Gearbest? Thanks!

Edit: yeah a driver swap is possible, but is that also too much to ask?

Sad to know that.
The blue indicator is very important especially this is 4s batteries configuration. I would say it losses 25% of its full feature. It is subjective though.

What do Banggood and Haikelight say?
Seems they are the first to ask

I sure would be disappointed if the power indicator light did not work in a nice flashlight like this. A quick search on the internet does not reveal others having the same issue. Certainly this is a bigger issue than a small ding or a slightly misaligned LED, or something you could take apart and fix.

I like what DENGOH stated above, think about the value this defect is on the whole flashlight and negotiate that with the seller. If it’s something you cannot accept, then consider a return. But, as you may recall in this post (Nitecore Warranty - Is This To Be Expected?), returning for a repair may not be a good option.

As far as I know there is at least LVP, so that’s a comfort. But yeah, no battery indication… (But then again, there are plenty of lights without a battery indicator in the first place…)

Well I haven’t contacted them yet. I do believe I have the upper hand though. But I’m currently not concerned about their response; I’d like to know what you guys feel is a fair compensation. I’d like to get a feel of the consensus here.

There’s not much info out there regarding this light. I’ve only read of one case here that the light stopped working after some hours or so. Regarding the (Nitecore) warranty I’m in a comfortable position:
The light arrived today. Banggood has 3 day DOA warranty, meaning within this period I don’t have to pay for shipping to China for repairs. But secondly, lights with value less than $70 do not need to be shipped back, as it is too costly. This means either I am entitled to a full refund or they send me a brand new light.
As I said, I believe this is overkill. A partial refund seems to be more appropriate, although I’d rather have a fully functioning light. Maybe a driver swap (again)? The thing is that I did a Haikelite driver swap recently, and the new driver was busted as well, ugh… So I also don’t want to waste too much time either…
So I’m checking out the options as well.

starting a topic like this is a very heavy tactic to get a manufacturer or vendor to act IMHO.
So doing so even before you have given them a chance does not feel right IMHO.
Had it be a general discussion topic without naming it would have been different and possibly very useful.
IMHO you put manufacturer and vendor against the wall with only a few options. Uncalled for and IMHO not nice.
Combined with your remark you “got the upper hand here” makes me think you know what you ar doing and why, IMHO a pretty d*ck move disguised as being nice.
You got it all sorted out with your “entitled to full refund or new light” so there is absolutely no reason to do it this way other then to make them clear what you want and they better comply to save face.

^ Seriously no. Just no. Honestly I don’t get why you say this.

FYI I got a DOA MT02 some time ago, and I did not opt for full refund or new light. Instead I cooperated by having them send me a new driver that requires my time to fix their problem.

Edit:

If light didn’t work, for example turbo does not work, then I do not need to consult members here. But it is because the actual light does work, hence I wanted to hear your opinion. I also did not mention Banggood or Haikelite in the title, so I don’t see how I’m putting them against the wall as they maybe don’t even read this.

  • 1

Contact BG as soon as possible. Be polite, explain the issue clearly. Their customer service setup includes the ability to attach photos or videos. Include them in first contact as they will ask for pictures or video if you don’t send them. Don’t ask for anything at this point, IMO. See what they offer and go from there. I don’t know what it is worth… don’t have a clue what parts would be involved. Have you the ability to replaceparts that involve solder work?

I’m going to take the light out for a hike tonight for real testing. Tomorrow I will contact them. Yes I have had experience with them because of a DOA MT02 not too long ago. They know I am polite, and I have cooperated as well by soldering the new driver myself instead of asking for a full refund. I’m not worried about the negotiating part. I just wanted the opinion of you guys what a fair compensation is if the back lit does not work, or if a compensation is at place at all. Like I said in my first post perhaps sending them a complete new driver (that controls the back lit as well) is perhaps too much to ask for this flaw.

Not BG but GB on my case,
I had issues with my MT03 and returning it isn’t an option because the shipping from US to CN can probably get me another light. My MT03 had AR coating lens defects, Button was hard to press if I don’t pressed on the right spot (I did get used to it and has gotten better with it), a screw was stripped and minor imperfection on the body. The whole light does work and bright, and I know I can’t expect things to go perfect all the time however, I do expect the product I purchased was inspected before sending out. It did not met my expectations so I contacted the CS and they offered me a $5 refund in points…. I laughed in front of my laptop but I kept it polite with the messaging… they offered $10, $15… I said no. They offered a new resend but want me to pay for handling fee that’s like 3/4 the price of this product so I said no.

Then I found a reviewer posted a video on youtube saying GB is good with their service, he got a resend with his defected product(Much more expensive than my item). So I commented and asked him if GB asked for handling fees. He replied no. And that is the point where I got a bit mad, I proceed it as these companies only do free resend to product reviewers, normal buyers has to pay for handling fee etc. And I say that to GB in the message.

Told them I paid for an item and I know I can’t ask for perfect but I do expect it to be in a certain way.
This “fight” goes on for about 2 weeks and they’re responding slower and slower, sometimes they left me hanging for 3 days (business days) and they finally replied and will do a free resend. And the resend has been half of a month and the thing is finally in my area but I probably won’t get it until Monday… so make that almost 3 weeks for shipping and 2 weeks for message fight… so it took over a month to resolve this issue … and I now have better toys (Flashlight) to play with…. :person_facepalming:

That’s Chiinnature’s Mak Jo Si with his Imalent DT35 you’re talking about. Yeah he obviously got another one for free as he’s advertising… There is always a grey area when you don’t know for sure when you should accept a product or not. However in my case it is a well defined issue that the back lit button, which also acts as a battery indicator, simply doesn’t work. This is also easily demonstrated in a video. I’ve so far only had good experiences with Banggood resolving an issue, so I have no worries about this, especially because I believe I’m in a strong position.