I know that (most of the time) customer support is not a huge concern with budget light purchases. That said, I bet most of us own at least one or two flashlights from “premium” brands, and I’d bet money that we care about customer support in regards to the high dollar purchases we make.
So here is a list of brands with service locations in the U.S. that handle warranty repair.
Hopefully others will feel compelled to add to it, as I think that it could be a useful resource down the line.
1. Surefire. Lifetime warranty. Their headquarters in Fountain Valley, CA handle all flashlight warranty repairs. AFAIK all of their lights are Made in the USA. Source: http://www.surefire.com/refunds_returns
2. Streamlight. Lifetime warranty. They have dozens and dozens of Authorized Service Centers across the country, and you can also send warranty repairs straight to the factory in Eagleville, PA. Source: http://www.streamlight.com/faq/Default.aspx
3. FourSevens. 10 year warranty (12 months for accessories). Their U.S. headquarters in Tucker, GA handle all flashlight warranty repairs. Source: http://foursevens.com/customerservice/#returns
4. TerraLUX. Lifetime warranty (for flashlights purchased after 9/1/10). Their U.S. headquarters in Longmont, CO handle all flashlight warranty repairs. Source: http://www.terraluxportable.com/warranty/
I am verry happy with my recent Pelican lights. Never gave them much thought but they offer lifetime warrenty and are US based. The lights I bought from them are pretty much budget priced but much higher quality than most budget Chinese makes. The lights I bought were made in China but to Pelican specs and backed by Pelican. It is a big difference than a no name Chinese light based in China. Not saying there are not good Chinese lights but with a name brand, they seem to care about their rep a lot more and provide better after sale support if you ever need it.
As an American I’d obviously prefer to buy US-made goods, but that’s not always feasible. As long as QC is good relative to the price paid then I’m a happy camper.
As a side note, maybe I should add the length of warranty to each manufacturer. I did sort of intend for this thread to be an informative resource (one that I hope others will have interest in and contribute to) so that info. seems pertinent.
I’d like to buy US made lights but they just don’t warrant the price IMO. Having a warranty is worthless to me as I can repair anything on a light for less than the cost of shipping but I understand most can’t and that’s fine for them if they feel it’s worth paying 4 times the cost of an equivalent Budget light. I’d rather save a small fortune and fix it myself.
Maglite Corporate Warranty Center
1721 East Locust Street - 51453
Ontario, California, USA 91761-7769
Attention: Warranty/Repair Department
909 947-1006
Plus, for those of us not in the US, they list their Authorized International Warranty Service Centers for each country at: http://www.maglite.com/repaircenters.asp
You can’t repair what you can’t get to. Some of the penlights for example don’t have a removable head so if they go bad, it is easier to just send it in.
The real advantage to a lifetime warrenty seems to be the product just seems to be made better so they don’t lose money on returns. You wouldn’t warrenty an item you knew was junk.
For me, service and quality is everything. Price is secondary. A $10 flashlight that you have to pay freight to and from China for repairs a few times is no longer a “budget light”. More like a semi-expensive PIA. Many are not able to effect a repair on their own at all and are at the mercy of the vendor. Not an issue for me but we all know folks that have trouble using a screwdriver, much less anything else.
Tommy: Let’s think about this for a sec, Ted.
Why would somebody put a guarantee on a
box? Hmmm, very interesting.
Ted Nelson, Customer : Go on, I’m listening.
Tommy: Here’s the way I see it, Ted. Guy puts
a fancy guarantee on a box ’cause he wants
you to feel all warm and toasty inside.
Ted Nelson, Customer : Yeah, makes a man
feel good.
Tommy: ’Course it does. Why shouldn’t it? Ya
figure you put that little box under your pillow
at night, the Guarantee Fairy might come by
and leave a quarter, am I right, Ted?
[chuckles until he sees that Ted is not laughing]
Ted Nelson, Customer : [impatiently] What’s
your point?
Tommy: The point is, how do you know the
fairy isn’t a crazy glue sniffer? “Building model
airplanes” says the little fairy; well, we’re not
buying it. He sneaks into your house once,
that’s all it takes. The next thing you know,
there’s money missing off the dresser, and your
daughter’s knocked up. I seen it a hundred
times.
Ted Nelson, Customer : But why do they put a
guarantee on the box?
Tommy: Because they know all they sold ya
was a guaranteed piece of sh*t. That’s all it is,
isn’t it? Hey, if you want me to take a dump in
a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare
time. But for now, for your customer’s sake, for
your daughter’s sake, ya might wanna think
about buying a quality product from me.
Ted Nelson, Customer : [pause] Okay, I’ll buy
from you.
Tommy: Well, that’s…
Tommy/ Richard Hayden: …What?
None of us (I’m assuming) would buy a new car, TV, computer, water heater, gun - you name it - without a warranty or a place to take it to for service when something goes wrong. I too have bought many inexpensive (cheap?) lights that are fun to play and experiment with but I never bothered to send the ones that outright failed back overseas for repair. Shipping is usually much more than what I paid for the light. I just throw them out. Do that enough times (I have) and you are out the price of a couple of name brand lights you could have had fixed here in the States for next to nothing. Most budget lights are akin to gambling. You rolls your dice………….