Zeiss "Lifetime" Warranty - refusal to stand behind its product

[Beendare]

So normal wear and tear aren’t covered by Zeiss… good to know

I’m going to put this here; I had a pair of 10 x 42 Swarovski SLCs that I bought about 25 years ago. They had serious wear and tear….I used these a lot in terrible conditions.

I sent them into Swaro a couple years back, because the focusing knob wasn’t turning easily… it was literally worn out.

They told me they would fix the knob for free, but they said they would go through the whole binocular for an additional $175 as there was other issues.

I sent them the $$$ and literally a week later I had a brand new pair of binoculars in my hand with all new serial number.… now THATs a lifetime warranty

 

[StevensonRanch]

That's really disappointing man. One of my biggest purchasing decisions is a warranty that a company stands behind

 

[big44a4]

Play devils advocate with the guy that sends his vortex in every 5 years hoping for a replacement. And then explain that to the other 9 guys that paid 1500 for a pair of 800 binoculars be cause a company needs to stay afloat and cover the margin losses on life time no question asked warranties.

I didn’t say anything about your price comment as that is common sense. What’s your take on how many times you can look through binos before they are no longer usable? It has to be quantifiable.

 

[Trial153]

I didn’t say anything about your price comment as that is common sense. What’s your take on how many times you can look through binos before they are no longer usable? It has to be quantifiable.

It’s not quantifiable in most other durable mechanical goods either. Your stove warranty expires in x amount of years no matter if you use it daily or never. There are numerous other examples as well. The fact remains that anything with mechanisms has some life span and it sure as hell isn’t close to average life of its buyer.

 

[Winnie]

The problem I have with a "Lifetime Warranty" is the company is playing the consumer. The vast majority of consumers hear Lifetime and assume that if that product ever fails it is covered under warranty. Does the schmuck at Cabelas say, "It has a Lifetime warranty, if it ever fails they will stand behind it!". Do they read the fine print to see the vagueness of the warranty? Doubt it and the company knows it. So the consumer buys it with that in mind. Then the company defines Lifetime however it darn well pleases them the day it breaks. Now if the company said, "The lifetime of this product is 7 years", then it is quantified. But to leave it ambiguous I feel is deceitful.

I bet Vortex would love to post this thread on their website!

 

[ScreamingPotato]

The problem I have with a "Lifetime Warranty" is the company is playing the consumer. The vast majority of consumers hear Lifetime and assume that if that product ever fails it is covered under warranty. Does the schmuck at Cabelas say, "It has a Lifetime warranty, if it ever fails they will stand behind it!". Do they read the fine print to see the vagueness of the warranty? Doubt it and the company knows it. So the consumer buys it with that in mind. Then the company defines Lifetime however it darn well pleases them the day it breaks. Now if the company said, "The lifetime of this product is 7 years", then it is quantified. But to leave it ambiguous I feel is deceitful.

I bet Vortex would love to post this thread on their website!

Yep, consumers have been conditioned by companies like Leupold and Vortex to believe lifetime warranties will be honored, all these other companies are swindling consumers based on that with no intention on actually providing the same service.

 

[big44a4]

It’s not quantifiable in most other durable mechanical goods either. Your stove warranty expires in x amount of years no matter if you use it daily or never. There are numerous other examples as well. The fact remains that anything with mechanisms has some life span and it sure as hell isn’t close to average life of its buyer.

But being quantifiable is the issue. They say limited lifetime but don’t specifically note what they deem is the lifetime of said product. This leaves it up to interpretation of the consumer who says well if I take care of this I should get XX years out of it.

Key new word to your argument is “mechanisms” and sure SOME “mechanisms” have a life span shorter than that of the owner but it depends what we are talking about. In this case we are talking about glass. That’s why Sig and Leupold cover their bases on all their electronics which pushes many people to Vortex for rangefinders etc. Reality is many people successfully pass down firearms and optics through generations of their families which should not be possible with such a short life span for those products and their mechanisms.

 

[Trial153]

But being quantifiable is the issue. They say limited lifetime but don’t specifically note what they deem is the lifetime of said product. This leaves it up to interpretation of the consumer who says well if I take care of this I should get XX years out of it.

Key new word to your argument is “mechanisms” and sure SOME “mechanisms” have a life span shorter than that of the owner but it depends what we are talking about. In this case we are talking about glass. That’s why Sig and Leupold cover their bases on all their electronics which pushes many people to Vortex for rangefinders etc. Reality is many people successfully pass down firearms and optics through generations of their families which should not be possible with such a short life span for those products and their mechanisms.

And you can buy a house with a 20 year old stove in it that works, that doesn’t mean the twenty years someone should have paid double the amount for a stove so a company can afford to fix it for the life of any one who ends up owing it.

The issues is should every company build in the insane margins that are needed to maintain unconditional lifetime warranties? The obvious answer is no. It’s stupid to pay up front for services that you most likely won’t use. Especially for an easily affordable product like binoculars or a spotting scope.

 

[Winnie]

I agree that some companies shouldnt offer lifetime warranties, but they should certainly explain what their warranty is instead of being deceitful.

 

[big44a4]

And you can buy a house with a 20 year old stove in it that works, that doesn’t mean the twenty years someone should have paid double the amount for a stove so a company can afford to fix it for the life of any one who ends up owing it.

The issues is should every company build in the insane margins that are needed to maintain unconditional lifetime warranties? The obvious answer is no. It’s stupid to pay up front for services that you most likely won’t use. Especially for an easily affordable product like binoculars or a spotting scope.

I said I agree it’s simple economics (twice now). The warranty or implied warranty drives a fraction of the price. In one sentence you imply margins on top tier optics are not high enough to factor in a lifetime warranty and then the next say prices should be lower for optics implying they have the margins built in to cover the warranty. Make up your mind reggie.

I’m saying that binoculars should last longer than 7 years and I will make the last pair I bought last my lifetime. As others have chimed in they have had binoculars last longer than 20 years so it’s normal for the life of said product to be of substantial length. You won’t put a number on how long you think optics should last same as the companies so you are no different than them. The fault here is with the company not honoring the word of the policy they wrote.

 

[IrkedCitizen]

I was the second owner of my Zeiss Victory 10x56 rangefinder binos. They literally fell down a mountain and something inside shifted. I created a claim and sent them to Kentucky. The tech in Kentucky called me saying everything tested fine on the culmination machine and said the only damage they saw was the broken eye cup and scratches on my lenses. Said they would replace the eye cups and return them. They were willing to offer me a discount on the newest version of RF binos though.

I asked the tech if they had even bothered to look through them. He replied that they had not, they would take them outside the next day and him and his coworkers would look through them and get back to me. I said okay, keep me posted. They did not get back with me via phone. The next communication I got was an email saying they were being shipped to the Europe facility.

Once they arrived at the facility I got a call saying that the repair would be $575 or for $900 they would make the repair and install new objective and ocular lenses. I opted for the $900 repair which I thought was fair since I wasn't original owner and they were currently worth $0 broken. It took a while but I got them back practically new. So I cannot complain with how my situation turned out.

 

[Macintosh]

I agree that some companies shouldnt offer lifetime warranties, but they should certainly explain what their warranty is instead of being deceitful.

This!! I don't give a rats behind if they offer a lt warranty or not, I just cannot tolerate a slimy and (what I consider) deceitful policy. Tell me how long my warranty is good for, and I’m happy, I now have something with which to decide if its worth it to me. They dont even make an attempt to explain any criteria by which they will evaluate if a product is still in its lifetime, yet they are still advertising their “liifetime warranty” as a selling point.
limited or not it SOUNDS like a “long” warranty, doesnt it? If you ask 10 random people if theyd prefer a 7 year warranty or a “lifetime of the product” warranty, I bet 9 out of ten assume the lt is longer. What do people call it when a company adopts a strategy intentionally designed to fool people into thinking it’s better than it really is?

 

[twofer]

I've used the warranty on Alpha glass twice. Both times worked out for me:

I bought a used Zeiss HD5 scope a few years ago on Gunbroker. The thing wouldn't hold zero. I sent it to Zeiss for repair, with full disclosure that I wasn't the original owner and expected to pay for the repair. Zeiss said the scope was out of production, and thus unrepairable, and offered me full retail value in the form of a credit to be applied to a future Zeiss purchase. The credit was almost double what I had paid for the scope, so I was happy with that deal.

I bought a used pair of Swarovski 8.5x42 EL binoculars on Ebay. I had them for about five years before a new puppy chewed them up. Fortunately, it was just the rubber exterior that was destroyed - the lenses themselves were undamaged. I returned them to Swaro for repair, with, again, full disclosure that I was not the original owner and offered to pay for the repairs. Swaro repaired the binos and did a full cleaning job for free. I ended up with a practically brand new pair of binos.

I am not saying others have not had problems. I am just relating my own personal experience.

 

[Billy Goat]

It's not uncommon for things to have a void warranty for "commercial use". I feel like that's a little vague. I guess that means use by anyone other than Harry Homeowner.


So, thought being, if you are purchasing say optics with a guide discount, should your warranty be a shorter term based on the fact you will probably use them more than your average outdoor person?

 

[flagstaff]

My situation with Zeiss (posted above) wasn’t so much the the definition of the lifetime warranty issue.

My problem with Zeiss was their repair tactic.

I will use an analogy to make my point:

if the transmission of my truck goes out at 90,000 miles, and I bring it to the dealership to repair, and it has a 100,000 mile warranty, I wouldn’t like it much if they said “we can’t repair the truck. But we can sell you a new truck - at the new truck going rate.“

And if I said, I just want my transmission fixed, am willing to pay a reasonable fee to get it fixed, and their response was to buy a new truck from them (with a take it or leave it type attitude), who in their right mind would ever buy that brand of truck from them ever again? I would not.

That is essentially how I was treated by Zeiss.

 

[Summitdog]

Ahhh Crud!!!

I was out for a hunt yesterday and discovered that my Zeiss range finder wouldn’t register anything over 54 meters.

Scotty


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[flagstaff]

Ah dude…………

your luck with optics hasn't been good lately

And now you gotta deal with Zeiss again……..

and I am sure you are aware that any optics maker’s warranty and repair services on laser rangefinders is even worse than their normal optics repair services and costs

keeping my fingers crossed over here for you!

 

[Summitdog]

This is the Diarange, which is a Victory scope with an integrated range finder.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Coopsdaddy]

Call him back and reference this post,sometimes you need to wake them up,maybe it won’t help but it won’t hurt.

 

[Stalker69]

Lifetime is lifetime, is this case as long a the " equipment " is around, as it's transferable. Thats Bull shit they won't stand behind it, I will remember this for sure on future product purchases, and zeiss will not be considered.