I’m new around here, but I’ve been using the site content for months as part of research into buying a flashlight (or Torch as we call it here in the UK). So much great and useful content, and I’ve learnt a lot from those of you with more experience than me.
Having plumped for the Zebralight sc700d I wanted to share what happened, more than anything so you’re aware if you’re looking to buy.
I ordered the flashlight direct from Zebralight.com. NOTE: this was in December 2020 before they stopped shipping outside the USA. The flashlight took forever to arrive, which I’d partially expected with it shipping over Christmas and also due to Brexit and the well publicized UK border issues. When it did I noticed immediately how light the parcel felt. After initially being impressed by this light weight, on opening the parcel and box I realized there was no flashlight. There were two O-rings, a belt clip and some instructions and that was it.
I contacted Zebralight, who had been responsive when I’d chased them on shipping delays. Their initial reply said that the parcel was weighed before it had shipped and they’d check with the shipping company. Since then I’ve heard nothing, that’s two weeks ago and I’ve contacted them 3 times since.
Most of all I’m disappointed because no matter where you look this is a great product. It’s disappointing that the manufacturer isn’t living up to this with their own response. They’ve not even told me they can do nothing about it, they’ve just said nothing at all. I’m now over $100 out of pocket, something I’m currently talking to my credit card company about.
I feel stupid, but I’m not sure what I could have done to avoid this. I’ve made a point of ensuring that any future product I buy will be shipped via courier and not by standard mail. It’s a real shame too as flashlights are hard to get in the UK, and there are no Zebralight stockists.
I’ve since opted for the Acebeam L35, but that is now stuck because of Brexit… Maybe I should buy the parts myself and make my own!
Technically you may be right.
But the buyer is responsible for the money getting to the seller. And he did.
The seller is responsible for the item getting into the hands of the buyer.
Furthermore: the seller has chosen the way the transport will happen, not the buyer.
The seller has a (implicit) contract with the shipper. About what, to where and when.
So it is the seller who has to take steps in finding out where/if the item went missing.
And ultimately see to it that a new item is send to the buyer. Or give him a refund.
Try contact the seller once more, and then go for a PP or CC dispute to get your money back.
My issue is that Zebralight have said nothing and done nothing. This is the bad experience I’m referring to and is mentioned in my post. I don’t think it’s too much to ask, as I said, even if they can do nothing about it.
We can speculate about what has happened, and you may be correct, but I don’t class how I’ve been dealt with as good service. Isn’t that a bad experience?
Stealing from parcels during transport is nothing new, that’s why there is package value declaration and insurance.
They send you the light you paid for, their responsibility is over. Except warranty issues ofc.
You should address your complaint to carrier who delivered you robbed parcel.
Mike
That is really unhelpful and not correct at all. The SELLER, ie Zebralight is the customer of the courier. Not the buyer. Therefore it would be Zebralight who should be resolving this.
In the interests of Customer Service the slickest way would be:
-Offer a full refund
-Offer to ship another
They would then pursue an insurance claim with the courier, if they had taken out such cover.
As the buyer had no contract and paid no money directly to the courier, the courier is unlikely to even want to talk to them about it. And certainly would not in a month of Sundays give them any money back.
There has been quite a bit of chatter about Zebralight recently, here and on the ‘other’ forum. Not sure if they are in financial difficulties or even potentially shutting down. Certainly some mixed views.
I think all you can do is pursue it to the best of your ability, keep trying to contact them by any means. They look to have a Facebook page (not sure how active). But might be worth posting on there too. Often things posted publicly get more immediate attention.
And ultimately getting your money back might be the only available option if they are unwilling to respond or resend. So keep seeing what the Credit Card company says. Do you have the shipping packaging still and the label? Does it have a weight on it?
But, it is the mistake for do nothing.
Customers go to the official website to buy goods not only once transaction, but also a trust in the brand.
Of course, I agree that the shipping party with the most responsibility. However, the obligation to pursue this responsibility must by seller rather than the buyer, because the buyer has paid the freight before the arrival of the goods, and he payment to a greater extent on their brand trust.
If the seller can not even guarantee a qualified carrier, then should choose to paid the freight on delivery.
I completely agree with you here, chicken drumstick. This is on ZL, and is bad business practice to leave the buyer to resolve this issue. Also, I know it may seem obvious, but there is no proof the torch was stolen by anyone. As unlikely as it may seeem someone at ZL could have not put it in the box. Either way, they should be working to resolve it with the OP, then they can put in a claim with the shipping company. That’s how this is supposed to work. If I sell a flashlight on here, and it doesn’t make it to the buyer, it is not the buyers responsibility to find out where the flashlight ended up… that’s ridiculous. I hope I never enter a buying negotiation with someone here who feels this way.
I really dislike companies who ‘ghost’ their customers. Really ticks me right off. Doesn’t matter how good their products are - it’s a really bad show.
Same thing happened to me and a BG order of five lights. Package looked opened and re-taped. Only one light inside. BG basically told me to f?ck off. Yes, I bought the shipping insurance. I contacted paypal and they has me fill out a form and they honored it immediately .
This whole “satisfaction guarantee” is for domestic orders. On international orders , so may people handle your package, they cant possible guarantee it will get to the destination .
We all gave up some rights when we decided to play this flashlight from china game. If the water is too rough for you, stick to Maglites from the local hardware store.
maybe that is why they stopped shipping overseas. did you pay with a paypal? if so file claim with them too, on top of a claim with your postal service, zl should have gotten the item insured, idk about uk but in usa any package comes with insurance for $50 , if the item worth more you have to buy extra. since it came from usa there has to be a green custom declaration form sticker, that shows package value.
Yeah .. The correct thing to do is to contact Zebralight . When they start to flake out and ignore reasonable requests ,emails ,etc then it's time to go directly to a paypal claim or dispute the charge with your credit card company .
You might want to send them links to discussions like this one so they can see how their reputation is taking a hit .
If you didn't berate them or sabotage your own claim by being an uber jerk than the fact they won't do anything to help you solve the problem is just them showing their **ses. Hit them with a claim and bash them publicly so others see it and recognize potential problems and can factor that into their own buying decisions ..Armytek has the same type of problems so maybe it's a headlight thing ?:)
Your responsability ended when they send you a parcel, proves they got the money.
Their responsability is over once you receive what you have paid for.
It is not like throwing something over a fence and thinking: that’s it, well done.
Maybe it is not such a bad idea to check the weight of the parcel (on the label).
ZL says this light weighs 91 grams. Add a clip and 2 O-rings and we settle for an even 100 gram.
I took the liberty of weighing the box of my M150 plus a sturdy padded envelope. About 100 gram.
Your parcel must have weighed well over 200 gram to come to a conclusion there was a light in it.
So check the label.
And take some action.
if all else fails, file a complaint against zl with BBB, since zl is a us company, bbb has authority over them, in my experience they get things done, and no company wants problems with them, it helped me to get my problem with cell phone company resolved, the next day actually i had their rep call me and fix everything. after a month of runaround
