i'm not on anyone's side here, just wanted to add an observation. small businesses tend to get a lot less helpful with repairs/ exchanges when you ask for something other than exactly what you're returning. whether it's a different size, color, model, what have you, if you ask to exchange for something even slightly different than what you bought, they raise an eye brow and give you that skeptical look. i don't know if that could have been a factor here. maybe if you had just asked for the exact same model back, they might have given you the extra 2 days.
They didn't have the same model, that's why they had to send it off. They only had the cool white. Having an astigmatism makes it impossible for me to see clearly with cool white lights as everything gets a "haze" around it from the blueish light. I wouldn't have a problem waiting for the light but it has been three months. Not to mention, their exchange policy (as they stated in the original response) was only for 30 days. I feel like I was close enough to that thirty days to warrant an exchange.
your first post says you asked for a Spark SL5-190NW in exchange for your Neutron. maybe if you had asked for a Neutron in exchange, they would have given you the 2 days.
and fraud of that type is exactly why a lot of small businesses won't bend over backwards to help you if you want to return or exchange for a different item after their return period. if you want to exchange for the exact same item, they might do it, but when you ask for something else, then they can get suspicious and decide that they don't want to help you any more than they have to.
My 5+ years in retail with a large-ish outdoor specialty store taught me that the truly fraudulent returns on gear were actually few and far between. (They really made you grit your teeth when they happened, though!)
Fact is, Amazon (and everybody like them) has a flexible return policy because it creates happy customers. Happy customers buy more and tell their friends about positive experiences. (See http://www.customerservicemanager.com/customer-service-facts.htm for some stats that have references attached to them. Granted, the references might just link to something that says, "I made this up"... I didn't check.)
Anyway, to the OP, I do hope this works out for you.
If they assumed that my request to return the device was fraudulent because I just wanted the other light, all they had to do was drop in two AA cells and turn on the light. This was not an intermittent issue; once the issue began, the effects were permanent.
I finally got somewhere with Andy. I simply asked him for a 50% discount on the Spark SL5-190NW that I want and he FINALLY agreed to ask his boss if this is an acceptable arrangement. I feel that it should be since I will have sent them 100 dollars for a light that values at 80 dollars.
I hope they'll go for that deal. (I've got to admit... when you originally said 50% off the Spark, it wasn't clear to me that you were 'giving' them the Thrunite and some dough as well.)
I figure that either Thrunite will send a totally new unit back and goinggear will get to sell it as new, or it'll come back refurbed, and they'll sell it for 10-15% off as a scratch/dent unit. Either way, GG wins.
And it's not my business to comment on robostud5000's posts or intentions, but I didn't read him as saying that you, KLowD9x, were being fraudulent, just that the hypothetical situation kreisler was talking about was fraudulent.
Hey guys, I'm Marshall, the owner of Going Gear. My guys just alerted me to this thread. I'll take complete responsibility for what happened, since I set the policy and told my guys to stick to it.
We receive so much fraud on a daily basis that our policies have become a lot less flexible than they used to be. Along with other fraudulent issues, as someone mentioned above, some customers will tell us that products are defective when they are not, which costs a small business like us a lot of money in processing the return, testing the light, and having used inventory that can no longer be sold as a new product. In order to stay profitable and stay in business, we can either be inflexible in our policies or screw over other customers by sending them used lights and I chose the former. That said, we will always try to keep the customer happy and sometimes don't meet their expectations despite our best efforts.
That is not what happened here at all, since his light truly was defective. I was just responding to the idea that lying about defective items is something that should be encouraged. In the end, you and every other customer of that business will end up paying for the company's loss regardless.
I am not trying to make excuses for what happened, but instead just trying to give you the situation from our point of view. If I had been involved earlier, we probably would have just sent him whatever he wanted, but time constraints don't allow me to be involved in everything. Hopefully we will get this resolved to everyone's satisfaction.
As a side note, with lights that we have to return to the manufacturer, we are losing money as soon as the return is initiated. Between return shipping to the customer, Express shipping to China, insurance, labor costs, etc., all profit goes bye bye. We are not reimbursed by the manufacturer for any of our costs. Even if we can sell the refurb light, we are still losing money since they usually go for 40-50% of the retail price. Again, I am not making excuses, but I hope this helps others see things from our point of view.
Nice to have you here, Marshall, even though it's not in the best circumstances. What you are saying is perfectly reasonable and it sounds like KLow9Dx is being taken care of.
Welcome to BLF, Marshall !
I have a defective Thrunite as well, purchased second-hand. The factory insisted, over the course of MANY emails, that the torch be sent to them via a dealer.
Even though he didn't sell me the light, Marshall offered to send it back for me.
That's what I call customer service. I have since purchased 3 lights from him, knowing I'll be taken care of.
If all goes well, a "subject" change/edit might be in order here ...
:)
I agree 100%
It's refreshing to get an honest and straight explanation from someone in charge, instead of the usual back and forth. Good to have you here, Marshall. And it's good to see this issue is being taken care of.
Marshall, I would like to personally thank you for taking care of this. You went over and above what I expected and all is well. Thank you again.
Everyone else, he is sending me a ThruNite Neutron 2A Neutral back. This pleases me because I do like this light. You're right, I need to change the title of this thread.
No problem, sorry it took so long. We do normally try to take care of people in a timely manner.
Well done, Marshall. As far as I'm concerned, you're back on the list of good vendors.
...and maybe you should have chosen "goinggear" as BLF user name.
btw, i am "kreisler" the nightmare of any FL vendor, dealer, distributor, manufacturer, company, and amazon. and forums. 
Eh, this is the name I use almost everywhere else, so most people know me under this handle.
Glad to see you chime in Marshall. I was able to stop in your store this summer on the way back from Disney World. Just like a kid in a candy store.
It's an awesome store. He has just about every flashlight model there is out for you to try out.