Bit of an issue...

[WraithR/T]

I recommended a friend with a cough, cough, civic, cough, cough to purchase a kit from you. After we installed the HIDs there was a problem with the passenger side ballast. It wouldn't always come on. So, we swapped it to the driver's side and had the same problem.

Here is the issue. He was told by your company that it was a ballast problem. This we already knew. But, he would have to mail it back to you for further inspection and another would be sent out after that was completed.

In my opinion this is bad business. The correct response should have been we will mail you a new ballast with a return slip for the bad ballast.

He has already mailed($9) the bad ballast back as he would like a functioning one as soon as possible.

I was going to purchase a digital ballast to replace my old magnetic ballast in my truck and a new kit for my fogs. This instance completely turned me away from buying anything from your site.

I look forward to your response and the outcome if this issue. :waiting:

[HIDKitsWarehous]

I think this is a valid practice for such a situation. I do not see why sending out a replacement blindly would be the correct response. I see how it is ideal for the buyer but does not protect the interest of all parties. If all of our customers (not making any specific claims about you or your friend) can be expected to be 100% honest, I could do as you suggested.

We try to protect our own interest and the interest of our customers by testing all of our equipment before shipping to avoid such situations but there are exceptions that make it through or for some reason fails after the fact. I've found that this is the best way to keep our customers happy while avoiding situations where people request a replacement ballast just as a means to replace another defective ballast that we did not provide. (We have experienced similar situations)

We need to make sure it was our fault before replacing the item. Should it be, we issue a refund on shipping back to us (provided the person returns to us the way we asked, so we can control the amount spent on shipping. We've had a person spend over $40 on shipping overnight without notifying us and expect us to refund that amount).

We've tried being 'helpful' in the past and send a replacement first but mysteriously we never received the defective ballast. This has deterred us from sending a ballast first. We've also had returns that we were unable to find any fault with at all despite our best attempts to reproduce the situation. This incurs costs on both the buyer and seller when the issue did not come from our equipment.

We test on a 12V bench power supply to ensure that all kits work. Should it work on test bench and not on the car, we would have to assume there is an issue within the car as the power supply will provide the ideal situation for the kit to light up.

Our profit margins all but disappear with any defective parts as a result of shipping back and forth. This is a decision we undertook in order to keep our prices as low as possible for our customers while paying a premium for the higher quality parts that we source. Due to this, we need to avoid (by quality control) and control the return process as much as possible.

I hope that this explains our stance on the situation and helps to sway the mind of another potential customer.

Thank you

[WraithR/T]

Hmmm......the refunding of the shipping was not explained. That will help matters some.

But, honestly I have delt with a lot of vendors on this site and elsewhere. If there was ever any issue it was resolved by the company in which the item was purchased from. Not the customer having to ship something back and wait on a vendor to check things out when they were paid in full for a working product. The way you are explaining it your customers take all the risk in purchasing something from you and the item may or may not work. If that is your business strategy so be it. But, I will not be purchasing anything or recommending anyone to your site.:sorry:

I also hope this shows other members on this site if they have an issue the way it will be handled. Some will be ok with this. Personally I am not.

Thanks for your time.

[SinCity R/T]

But, honestly I have delt with a lot of vendors on this site and elsewhere. If there was ever any issue it was resolved by the company in which the item was purchased from. Not the customer having to ship something back and wait on a vendor to check things out when they were paid in full for a working product. The way you are explaining it your customers take all the risk in purchasing something from you and the item may or may not work.

That's the replacement policy for at least 98% of the automotive world - you have to contact them, diagnose the issue to the point where an RMA is issued, then you send your defective part back, then you are sent a replacement. It's extremely rare to find a company that will ship a replacement in advance just because someone called them up over the phone and claimed that a part was bad - especially with low-margin electronic devices where PEBCAK issues are rampant.

[WraithR/T]

This is the first time I have had this issue with anyone I have purchased from even with electronics. If it is the norm then the other companies I have dealt with went above and beyond.

Also a RMA was not issued. The part had to be shipped back on the customer's dime.

Just showing my point of view and experience with a site vendor.

[HIDKitsWarehous]

Thank you SinCity for pointing out that this process is normal. I was going to point out the same. I'm sorry to lose a potential customer but I don't think our policy is unheard of. We have had enough bad experiences to know that this is the right way to handle things to avoid problems and accusations on all sides.
As I said, I can understand how you may think that just sending a replacement would be best but that is best for the buyer. Maybe its a little selfish of us but I need to look out for our interests as well.

Just a general observation, a company willing to just send a replacement without question may already know that their product is questionable and is ready for such a situation, we are in the opposite situation. Since our kits are tested 2-3 times before going to a customer, its not the standard situation for us to hear of defects and need to be more cautious.

[trevor]

I agree with both of you. The only reason I chimed in is because I'm in the same boat. I purchased a set, and they don't fire up reliably/one has stopped working completely.

It would be nice that they would just ship a new one, but it is blatantly obvious that the situation would be taken advantage of.

HIDKitsWarehous, I still have to ship back my set (pending I'm still in the 2 years warranty). I got pretty busy after discussing with you (finishing degree, and now seeding) and forgot about them.

However, I was not aware that you issue a refund for the amount of shipping.

[larstrak]

something your business may benefit from is getting credit card info from the buyer before they ship you the replacement...

i used to work at air lift, and we did this. if somebody called for a warranty claim, or faulty anything: we would take credit card info down, and send the new one out. if we did not receive the faulty part within 30 days, we charged the credit card for the full price of the new part.

either way makes sense. i see every point of view that has been discussed, and they are all honest and valid concerns. the idea that i proposed seems a valid compromise to me, but then again: it's not my business, and i don't intend on it being any of mine.

[WraithR/T]

something your business may benefit from is getting credit card info from the buyer before they ship you the replacement...

i used to work at air lift, and we did this. if somebody called for a warranty claim, or faulty anything: we would take credit card info down, and send the new one out. if we did not receive the faulty part within 30 days, we charged the credit card for the full price of the new part.

either way makes sense. i see every point of view that has been discussed, and they are all honest and valid concerns. the idea that i proposed seems a valid compromise to me, but then again: it's not my business, and i don't intend on it being any of mine.

This is how I have had things handled with American Racing wheels, the Ebay seller I got my original HIDs from, and another vendor on this site. Inlcuded with the corrected part was a return label to ship the non-working items back. It really is the little things that matter.

[WraithR/T]

Thank you SinCity for pointing out that this process is normal. I was going to point out the same. I'm sorry to lose a potential customer but I don't think our policy is unheard of. We have had enough bad experiences to know that this is the right way to handle things to avoid problems and accusations on all sides.
As I said, I can understand how you may think that just sending a replacement would be best but that is best for the buyer. Maybe its a little selfish of us but I need to look out for our interests as well.

Just a general observation, a company willing to just send a replacement without question may already know that their product is questionable and is ready for such a situation, we are in the opposite situation. Since our kits are tested 2-3 times before going to a customer, its not the standard situation for us to hear of defects and need to be more cautious.

Your policy is not unheard of, but is one that I personally don't agree with. I'm sure it is fine with plenty of people.

Making a general observation like that is an interesting idea. I never said you should send a replacement without question. A return ticket should be made up after testing and either send the replacement with a return label for the shipping box or send the customer a return box on your dime. It was obvious that the part was faulty and even we were told that by your company.

It looks like from other posts in this forum that I am not the only person to deal with this same ballast problem.