smasha

so i had a hotshot in use for 1-2 months of commuting when the power/mode switch started acting up (the first sign of this was getting home, in the dark, and finding the hotshot had turned itself off - good thing it wasn't my only rear light).

here's video of the light showing the switch "self activating" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow41s-FeOUM
after that, the switch went pretty much dead.

contacted cygolite, got an RMA number, and spent $10 shipping back a $30 light that died within 1-2 months of unpacking it.

now it's after 5 o'clock friday calif time, and i just got an email from cygolite (after asking if they'd received the RMA, because i hadn't heard any updates since i sent it, three weeks ago). the good news: they received it, and they'll replace it. the bad news: they want me to pay $12 for return shipping.

here's what i just sent them...

feel free to tell me that's too harsh, but i'm not happy right now. especially after reading about the customer support from some other lighting companies, and having recently dealt with planet bike about a warranty issue (PB were beyond excellent in sorting things out!).

good or bad, i'll post any follow ups. i'm just shocked that the light failed within 1-2 months of use, then after i paid 1/3 the purchase price of the light to ship it to them, they're asking that i pay another 1/3 the purchase price to have a replacement shipped back.

ChrisO

I don't think it's too harsh; if I were them I'd pay the return shipping just to prevent flaming on the interwebzes.

p2templin

It's harsh. It's not a lemon until it's failed multiple times, and there's no need to be dramatic about what you'll do instead of Cygolite.

smasha

if they were the world's only manufacturer of bicycle lights, they'd be in a position to charge me for return shipping; they're not. they stay in business if they keep me (a paying customer) happy. i don't depend on them to ride my bike - they depend on me to stay in business. it seems they need a reminder about how that works.

it's an imperfect universe, and **** happens. how that **** is dealt with is what counts.

unterhausen

I think I might tell them to keep it

no1mad 

Suggestion: Get your LBS involved.

The LBS and Cygo would both have to agree to this scenario, but you could get your replacement from the LBS and then Cygo comps the LBS one on the next resupply order. Shipping charge would be minimal (if any) to the LBS, as they would be incurring freight charges anyway for the replenishment stock.

smasha

@no1mad -
1- supply chains in NZ don't work like that; there are a lot of stops between the factory and the LBS
2- i haven't found any LBS in NZ that carries cygolite; so i bought it on amazon

sknhgy 

I think your response is appropriate. I like my cygolite hotshot and am sorry to hear that yours broke. Hopefully its an isolated occurance.

andboy

Its appropriate.

You've let them know you aren't happy and why. Now it's up to them if they wish to keep you as a customer or not.

I split my purchases between LBS, performance and amazon. The only place I have had issues is one of the LBS. They told me to talk to the manufacturer.

ItsJustMe

I'd have said the same thing, but honestly, why did you pay $10 to ship it there? I'd have chucked it into a priority mail box for < $5, they even provide the box. It's even more ridiculous for them to charge $12 for return shipping, any company of reasonable size gets such deep discounts on shipping you wouldn't believe it. I'd be surprised if they couldn't ship that for about $2.

1FJEF

The shipping seems a bit high. I get packages (bike lights) from china for half that.

smasha

@IJM - there's no priority mail from NZ

it was shipped to calif "international economy". ten and change was the cheapest i could get.

in any case, if i have to go out of pocket to return something with this type of a defect, i wouldn't complain if they threw in a "little something" for the inconvenience (a lot of companies would do this). that they'd ask me to cover return shipping is a bit shocking. when you provide a warranty like theirs, then the failure rate, warranty return rate, return postage rate, etc needs to be included in the purchase price. otherwise i'd just buy from deal-extreme... if it works, great. if it doesn't work, toss it in the bin but at least it's cheap.

then again, deal-extreme never charged me postage to replace a dud. that really puts cygolite in an ugly spot.

ItsJustMe

Ah, OK. Seems like they should have a local rep to handle problems like this. They should have just replaced the thing.

Cyclist0383

Be happy that they are even dealing with you considering that you live in a country that doesn't sell the light. Living in a small country with limited bike parts available I've found that most companies will honour the warranty on products I bought in North America, but some will charge shipping as it's a PITA for them to go to the post office to ship the package, and using their usual parcel company (UPS, FedEX, whatever) is far too expensive for international shipments.

smasha

"Amazon Export Sales, Inc" sells the light to NZ. that's where i bought it from.

if i knew cygolite was going to turn it into a problem, i probably could have sorted it out through amazon. but the busted light as at cygolite hq.

there's nothing wrong with charging return shipping for warranty returns... but it is a problem when they ask me to pay return shipping after they receive the old light; and the warranty doesn't say anything about return shipping.

Cyclist0383

Then take it up with Amazon. As far as Cygolite is concerned it's a gray market item. If you lived in North America they'd probably ship it to you for free.
, and
I just had the same issue with Arkel when the hooks on one of my panniers broke. They are sending me a free replacement hook, but as the bag is a few years old I'm stuck paying the shipping. It's not going to bankrupt me, and I'm happy that they are sending me the part from across the world.

smasha

@Ziemas - like i told them... if they want to charge me shipping for a replacement, then they can just send me back the broken one. they can also refund my shipping expense. then i'll get it sorted out with amazon.

did you send your broken clip back to arkel? or did you just send them an email? if you're not out of pocket sending them a broken clip, and they're up front about shipping costs, then i don't see that as a big problem if they charge you shipping. you're not paying 2/3 the price of the panniers to get a new clip, are you?

Falchoon

That's odd. Nearly every LBS in Australia seems to stock them.

I think your response to Cygolite was quite reserved, I would of been much harsher, though to be honest I probably wouldn't of bothered to try and claim warranty on a $30 light that I had bought from o/s. It seems a pretty standard thing to have to pay at least return freight on warranty items though. Why didn't you send it back to Amazon?

Cyclist0383

You're being unreasonable. It sucks that your light has broken, but they are doing you a favour by sending you a replacement as you are well out of their sales zone. They could just tell you that it's your problem and they don't ship outside of North America. It's twelve dollars, is that really going to break you?

As for Arkel, no, they didn't ask for the old hook back, but the pannier does have an unconditional lifetime guarantee. Other companies have asked me to return broken product, and I have with no problems.

Gojohnnygo.

I have used Cygolite head lights way back to the old Rover Halogen days (yes the old rovers had some issues) years ago with great customer support. I never had a problem with support from them. I have 2 Hot shots that I have been using for a few months with zero issues.

smasha

it's been a week since i heard from anyone at cygolite (another bad sign) so i called them up before the weekend reaches calif. the guy i talked to said he's been out of the office for the last few days, and he's just catching up now. he said the warranty says there's a fee for international return shipping. i don't see that stated in the warranty, but i'm sure it will be updated soon

anyway, he said they normally do charge for that, but they'll make an exception for me and they'll cover return shipping of the replacement.

i'm sure they make thousands of lights that have no problems at all and work perfectly. but **** happens. i can either buy from companies that man-up when **** happens, or i can roll the dice and buy from deal-extreme. if i buy from "reputable" companies then i expect reputable support, on the rare chance that something goes wrong.

TonyDonutz

I got the Cygolite Metro 400 Lumen set. The lens in my tail light has already fallen out and I have to pay for shipping to California. I am pretty sure the entire company is one man. A Chinese man named "Eric". I highly doubt they actually replace the lens when you send it to California. They most likely just send you a new one that is another piece of ****. I have never had these issue with my cheap Blackburn light sets. The Cygolites are very bright, and the head light is very nice, but the tail light is a fail. for $50.00 this seems like a total rip off when I can basically put a head lamp on for $20.

Athens80

There is no Cyrgolite Metro tail light so I don't think that your Cyrgolite Metro tail light is toast. The emotion in the rest of your post is understandable but no one should judge the company or its products by your disappointment today.

Garfield Cat

I live in So Cal and the Cygolite company is not "one man" and not Chinese!