Vortex Warranty Put to the Test

[Bean Counter]

Vortex isn't the only company in the business that falls out of its chair to hook up its customers. I had Leupold send me scope accessories that my spastic fingers lost, and Nikon sent me a brand new pair of Monarch's when I sent in and asked them to replace the eye cup that had fallen off after years of hard use. Neither company even asked for return S&H.

For 259$ the hinge isn't gonna be titanium. But I bet you gets new pair as soon as vortex knows.

  There are tons of things that go into a quality pair of optics other than just the glass. There's prisms (BAK4 vs 7), the type of coating used on the mirrors (dielectric being better and more spend than silver or aluminum alloy), the alloys used in the housing, its weather seals, etc.  I recently read that a lot of the Big 5-type disposable optics have colored coatings just slathered onto the glass for no optical reason other than to look cool on the shelf 

I tend to wonder if these warranties make more sense than we realize since a lot of the components in the OPs set could probably be recycled into a 'new' pair.

[floatinghat]

I worked at REI during college.  REI is a great company with good to great products and fantastic CS. I worked in CS and we used to see the same people as the seasons changed have equipment issues.  Come spring, suddenly their ski boots hurt, something was wrong with something.  Generally we would take them down the path of fitting or store credit.  They usually took the credit and walked out with a bunch of other stuff.  But yes people take advantage and sometimes company's need to do the right thing.

[pianoman9701]

Vortex will replace them. Their warranty is unconditional. Same with ZenRay.

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

While I agree that a good warranty is a must in the optics industry, I am not certain I could support issuing a new pair for your issue.

That's my take.

Here's an analogy, I buy a brand new Martin bow, I am crossing a drainage with a shale slide and I loose my footing.  The bow takes a tumble, (a bad one) and both limbs are destroyed.  Does Martin cover this? 

Sounds like a helluva stretch to me.......

Let us know what Vortext tells you.

This is where I'm coming from also. I work in the warranty repair business. If a customer runs into a curb and breaks an axle or damages a wheel on their car, that's not a warrantable repair and you won't get it covered under warranty ever.

I told my Minox story. I also put a Vortex Diamondback scope on a .300 win mag rifle. The recoil from the rifle floated/broke the reticle. I sent it back to Vortex and they replaced it no questions asked. I won't put that scope on a .22-250 now.

I think REI learned a lesson from this sort of thing with their extremely liberal return policies. That's changed now. Hopefully all these companies won't follow suit and change their policies to where they will warranty manufacturer's defects and nothing else. Aside from their wording re: their warranty coverage, it's not even remotely close to their fault that your bino's broke when they fell off of a cliff or that my spotting scope broke because it toppled out a lifted Jeep with a tripod attached to it.

If your company had the same warranty statement as vortex I would want any damage to my car paid for.  But you don't.  They will repair or replace any damage that you didn't intend on happening.  Like he threw the bag and didn't intend on the Binos breaking.  Assuming the break hinders the functionality.

What it seems is that statement would be for the guys who break there old Binos to get a new pair. Or the guys who get a scratch on the hinge and send them in for a new pair. 

[acnewman55]

Who cares, they offer a warranty , use it. I'm sure the executives at Vortex are very aware of the warranty language and that they will see their fair share of customer caused damage. It gives them an edge over the competition and as long as they offer it, we the consumer should take full advantage of it.

This.

Not sure why commenters think I ought to be grateful for the warranty I bought and paid for. Without the Vortex warranty, I likely would have bought another brand...




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[acnewman55]

Where's the buck?

Look on the bright side, now you have two riflescopes 

 

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[Blacktail Sniper]

 

[huntandjeep]

They will replace them. A buddy dropped his Razor HD spotting scope and broke the angled eye piece off. He called them up told them exactly what happened asked if he sent them in would they fix them and bill him. The rep said email us some pictures. He did , the rep called him back and said " what's your address were sending you a new one ".

[huntingbaldguy]

Replacing them makes the person who got them replaced go "ok my next pair of bino's will be some viper hd's" or something.  They know this.  Brand loyalty is a big deal and they take it seriously.  I had a pair of Diamondbacks worked on that i dropped and the seal broke (dropped on concrete, oops) and they replaced them.  When it was time to buy a new hunting rifle scope, guess who i went with.  Same with wifes binos and my AR scope.  I also own a red dot from Vortex. 

[BOWHUNTER45]

Fragile ??  I do not think any binos were designed to be deliberately dropped off a cliff ...looks to me they bounced off some rocks , which is no guarantee for anything to survive !!  Lmao

[JeffRaines]

Replacing them makes the person who got them replaced go "ok my next pair of bino's will be some viper hd's" or something.  They know this.  Brand loyalty is a big deal and they take it seriously.  I had a pair of Diamondbacks worked on that i dropped and the seal broke (dropped on concrete, oops) and they replaced them.  When it was time to buy a new hunting rifle scope, guess who i went with.  Same with wifes binos and my AR scope.  I also own a red dot from Vortex.

It works, too. I bought a Viper HD spotting scope 'open box' that arrived with a broken micro focus knob. Called Vortex, told them my dilemma and I had a brand new one sitting on my porch two days later.

Needless to say, my Vortex Viper HS-T 4-15x44 scope will be here tomorrow. I'm also planning on some Viper HD binos sometime before season next year.

[acnewman55]

Fragile ??  I do not think any binos were designed to be deliberately dropped off a cliff ...looks to me they bounced off some rocks , which is no guarantee for anything to survive !!  Lmao

They were inside a large pack surrounded with clothing/sleeping bag etc. smugly packed away.

Not a mark on them to indicate the contacted anything harder than at t-shirt. That's why I'm surprised.

If you really look at the design it is pretty clear that the integrity of the entire hinge is dependent on a plastic piece about 1/8" thick.


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[Bean Counter]

If you really look at the design it is pretty clear that the integrity of the entire hinge is dependent on a plastic piece about 1/8" thick.

  That sounds about right to me for a $250 binocular.

There's a lot of reasons some binoculars cost $1,500-2,000, and its not all profit.

[Elknut1]

You will have no issues, Vortex will take care of you! We've had several optics sent back that were basically destroyed. Here's one that was torn up by a bear that broke into a tent & tore them up good, a new pair was issued no questions asked.

  Here's a photo of them!

  ElkNut1

[Special T]

Lol now thats a pic/story of customer service!

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