Well I couldn’t leave well enough alone. I ordered a second DT70 from gearbest. And I should have know something was hinky when the tracking showed it shipped from Malaysia, not Shenzhen. Well the light I received had the “seal” already broken. So it’s probably a return that they sent out as new. And I quickly found out why it would have been returned. It is the older version with the disc springs. And the tops of the batteries are flush with the top of the battery holder. So guess what? They don’t make contact with the contacts in the flashlight head, which means no light, unless I shake, rattle and roll the light, then I get some flashes. And of course the batteries flop around like crazy inside the holder when it’s screwed into the head. And the USB cover wasn’t installed correctly either. When I went to remove it to try and charge the light it just came completely off. The connecting piece was not in the hole at all. Very poor quality control. And whoever shipped it out knew it was defective, but still took my money anyway and I guess thought I would be happy about throwing $150 down the drain. I’ve contacted GB and hopefully they will honor their D.O.A. policy. I’d really like to have a word with whoever knowingly shipped out a non-functioning light to me. :rage:
It’s such a contrast to the first DT70 I received. It was PERFECT! Finish was perfect, LEDs were perfectly centered, nice beefy springs in the battery holder, flawless reflector and lens. I’m so disappointed. Now I understand the hate on here for Imalent. I’m batting .500 with them on the DT70. It really is hit or miss though, because I also have the DN70. And it’s also perfect like my first DT70. No issues at all. I sure hope GB makes good on this. If not I guess I’ll have to MacGuyver it to try and make it work.
^ I’d say contact GB asap. They do have a DOA warranty I believe. The fact that you don’t have coil springs is evidence that it’s a returned light from an old batch. You can also contact Gearbest here.
1) I video record myself unboxing just in case. In your case, you could have proven that seal was broken, batteries rattle etc.
2) I believe there is a 3 day DOA warranty policy. I immediately test the light the first three days, and use it frequently. So if it fails, It will fall under DOA warranty, which is favourable for consumer. Of course please do read all the fine print of the vendor’s policy to verify.
I got a response from the ticket I submitted on gearbest.com about my defective DT70. And while it doesn’t surprise me, it’s still very disappointing. Here is their response:
After reviewing your case, please review our possible solutions:
1)Return the item back to us
You can return the item back to us in China/country as per our terms and conditions indicated in the link above.
Once we receive the item , we can exchange or offer a refund of (148.99USD) to your GB wallet extra point. As long as the item does not exceed the 45 day money back guarantee limit.
Learn more about wallet benefits : http://www.gearbest.com/m-article.htm?id=111 http://www.gearbest.com/about/faq.html
Learn more about points from http://www.gearbest.com/about/about-points.html
The shipping fee for sending the product back to us will be paid by customers and is not refundable.
2)Keep the item and accept a partial refund to your Wallet (credit)
We can offer a partial refund of your product value which is 20USD on your wallet. This amount can be used for your future orders.
In this case, you can keep the item and do not need to return it to us for this time.
If you know someone in need or if you would like to donate it to a charity, we would really appreciate it.
3)Resend a replacement (No return)
We can resend you a replacement but we kindly ask you cover an handling fee of 120USD. If you choose this option, we will send you an invoice and arrange the shipment for you.
Before making any decision, please consult the local post office to know the price of returning the item and inform us about it.
Our address is in Shenzhen city, Guangdong Province, China.
I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience with your decision.
Thank you for your understanding.
Gearbest did end up offering to cover return shipping, but I decided to take the replacement for $120. I’m going to try adding coil springs to the one I already have and hopefully make it work like it’s supposed to.
Problem 1: the tracking showed it shipped from Malaysia, not Shenzhen:
I checked the shipping info from inner system:
Shipment information sent to FedEx China Post ships item from CN (China) to MY (Malaysia) In transit, local FedEx facility SEPANG MY Hold at FedEx Office request received MY In transit DALLAS, TX Hold at FedEx Office request received - Check back later for shipment status MEMPHIS, TN Tendered at FedEx Office CORDOVA, TN Package available for pickup at FedEx Office: 1130 N GERMANTOWN PKWY Delivered to recipient at FedEx Office CORDOVA, TN Delivered
This is the common arranged shipping way of FedEx Office, hope you can understand.
Return items will be sent back to original factories for further check and test reference.
We don’t send them back to Customers as new which would bring the problem of refund and DOA warranty policy again.
Problem 2: DOA warranty policy
We got your problem from your posts here:
The tops of the batteries are flush with the top of the battery holder. They don’t make contact with the contacts in the flashlight head.
You can return the item back to us: ask to resend a replacement, or refund with products costs + shipping fee
As to the shipping way and the return address options, Ahern will give you more details from the email, have your check, please.
Thank you.
Gearbest Team
Your analysis is pretty helpful with details, thank you for your warm tips.
Best Regards,
Gearbest
Thanks for the reply and information. I have decided to take the replacement light for $120, as long as I can get assurance it will have the new springs and not the old weak ones that have problems. I have notified Ahern through the ticket system on the gearbest website. I am going to try and repair the light I already have.
A third DT70? Why not, hehe. :sunglasses: Perhaps you can ask Gearbest or Imalent if they can ship a new battery tube with coil springs additionally, so you don’t have to tinker yourself? You are a loyal customer as well.
Glad problem got solved quickly. :partying_face:
I’m actually going to gift one of these to a friend, so I’ll just be left with two, which is the bare minimum number to have of any good light anyway :money_mouth_face: . I doubt gearbest would have just the battery tube, but imalent should. I guess I might try contacting them about getting the improved battery tube. But I actually need something to tinker with anyway, so fixing the one I have will be a nice little project for me.
Well if you’re going to fix it yourself, you should know that you can’t just put any spring in there. There is a lot of current going through those four springs, at least 10A each, and a normal spring would not survive. That’s the reason Imalent went for those bent gold plated rings; they have much better electrical conductivity. So if you’re going to put coil springs in there, you need special ones like they sell at Intl-outdoor: http://intl-outdoor.com/gold-plated-beryllium-copper-spring-5-pcs-p-831.html
That’s all I know. Good luck, and let us know what the third DT70 is like. Cheers. :partying_face:
Sir Jason, I have noticed that you and me, we both comment a lot on Imalent products due to interest I assume, but at the same time we’re verrrry cautious because of their “excellent” reputation. I’m really eyeing on the DX80, but I have zero Imalents so far, but how about you?
Yes I know. Thanks for the advice and link. Mountain Electronics has the exact same springs as well. I was going to get them from there. Always had great experience dealing with them. Plus I was already going to order an Emisar D4 from them anyway. I’ll just add the springs to that order.
I really wanted a DN70, but got scared away. So I don’t own any of their products. I ended up making my own version which is my mini L6.
I have no use for a DX80, plus it’s way too pricey for me to risk losing my money on. So I have not been eyeing it.
I do like xhp70 emitters, though. So I have been eying the $65 Utorch UT 03. It’s 9 to 10k lumen. If the driver should break, I might be able to replace it with a Q8 replacement driver that Lexel is working on. Then I can have Narsil in it. That’s more my speed.
