Anyone in USA bought from Armytek recently?

Did you have to pay any extra special charges in addition to what you were originally billed when the package arrived?

Here's something else I noticed. If you look at the Wizard USB product page, it says it comes with a free 18650 battery among other things.
But, the page also says, all Wizard USBs ship from China. Elsewhere on the site, it says, no batteries will be part of any shipment from China, so you don't get a battery if you order the Wizard.
Why then do they even offer a free battery if you can't ever get one? What kind a scam* is this?

Then I noticed the website says all shipments to North America come from the Canadian office. :thinking:

• All shipments to North America are shipped from Canadian office. The orders to all other countries are shipped from our office in China.​

A month or two ago, a mechanic was looking for a headlamp. I recommended a Wizard USB and told him it came with a free battery. His package arrived from China with no battery he said. The mechanic didn't even get the correct model that he ordered but decided to keep in anyway.

I don't know if I can trust anything AT says on their website, so I'm asking their customers now. (I want to, but AT is making this difficult.)

Anyone who can share their recent experiences with AT Wizard USB shipments or AT in general, I'd appreciate knowing what your results were. I'd like to get this headlamp, but I feel like I'm playing some kind of lottery.

*Clarification: I don't really believe Armytek is perpetuating a "scam". I just believe it looks that way because of issues of confusion inherent in language at their website. Something lost in the translation to English I believe. I will admit, some of the blame rests on my comprehension. Even so, a retailer needs to be very careful about the way they communicate with their public.

Items shipped by air are not allowed to have certain batteries. Items shipped by boat can.

I've received items that went by boat faster than the air package. But I've also had orders by boat take a while. Depends on if it is sent by the fast (smaller) boat that runs at like 27 knots or the giant slower boat that runs like 9 knots.

Just keep in mind, nothing is free.

bykfixer said:

Items shipped by air are not allowed to have certain batteries. Items shipped by boat can.

I've received items that went by boat faster than the air package. But I've also had orders by boat take a while. Depends on if it is sent by the fast (smaller) boat that runs at like 27 knots or the giant slower boat that runs like 9 knots.

Just keep in mind, nothing is free.

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Oh I get that about air mail. I just don't know where Armytek is shipping the Wizard USB from now. If they ship the Wizard USB from Canada as their website seems to indicate, it will ship inside the flashlight that I'm planning to order as US postal regulations allow. I just don't know if that is where the package will ship from. Armytek seems to have many contradictory statements on their site. I don't know if that is because I'm missing something or they just can't seem to keep track of what they have said.

Does anyone know if the basic headlamp 18650 tail cap is interchangeable with the USB magnetic adapter tail cap on the Wizard USB?

Li-ion batteries can be sent by air mail inside the device they power. I believe the Wizard USB will always ship with the battery.

Yes, the tailcaps do intercharge (tested: Wizard Pro USB with Prime C2 Pro tailcap), however, the onboard charging tailcap does not add charging functionality to lights not designed for it.

AT clarified and assured me that the Wizard USB ships from Canada to US with the battery (inside flashlight) and that the USB is only sent via a certain carrier when it ships from China (to other countries, sans battery.)

It's hard to trust a vendor when it seems like they have said contradictory things, but now that I have an email stating the battery will come with the shipment, I can stand on that assurance if something goes wrong.

I guess I'm going to have to be a lab test "guinea pig" with the import duties/taxes unless I get a quick response from an AT customer. AT says they can't predict what other countries will charge if they even do.

I too noticed all the statement contradictions about how and where the Wizards are shipped from. The ultimate factor for myself not ordering from Armytek was the statement about how once the product is shipped out, they will take no responsibility for lost in mail or customs issues.
I ordered from Going Gear. Cost a couple dollars more and less miles for the shipment to travel with no customs issues. Thats Going Gears problem for a little more money.

Lou Minescence said:

I too noticed all the statement contradictions about how and where the Wizards are shipped from. The ultimate factor for myself not ordering from Armytek was the statement about how once the product is shipped out, they will take no responsibility for lost in mail or customs issues.
I ordered from Going Gear. Cost a couple dollars more and less miles for the shipment to travel with no customs issues. Thats Going Gears problem for a little more money.

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Carriers usually have a minimum insured coverage on a parcel if they lose it. I think it's around $100, probably more now, which works for me. I just put in the claim and get my money back and try again. But since the parcel originates with a Canadian carrier (I don't know exactly which one), I have no idea how to collect on insurance if there even is any. The site says no tracking for that delivery method. If I were AT, I would contemplate how intimidating and unnerving the following statements are when they get to stage three of the check out process:

My personal feelings were "hold on here! WHAT?" and instead of making the purchase, I'm pretty much scared away from going on to stage 4--billing, at least until I figure out what all that means to me.

Since a manufacturer stands to make a greater profit than a retailer, you'd think they'd do the extra leg work and inform the customer. A statement such as "Canadian small packet to USA is insured up to $100" or "not insured". But then, they shipped the package, didn't they?--they are the postal customer, they are the ones with the shipper account that stops by their facility every business day, and it is therefore their responsibility to collect for losses when insurance claims must be made. That's the cost of doing retail. That's why there is such a large price margin between wholesale and retail--40-50% of retail. But in the case of a manufacturer, more like 75% of retail.

My beef with ordering direct from AT is the question of duties hanging over my head. A 12% duty would be $9 added to the retail price, when those duties were supposed to already be paid by AT and included as part of the wholesale price. (I would be getting twice jacked). A 12% duty on a wholesale price is a lot less that when it's imposed on a retail price. Going Gear would have paid that duty for me and not chrged me extra for it like AT (if I get charged at all).

So how much cash do I need to have on hand when the carrier comes to my door? I hardly ever have cash on hand. Does that mean it goes back to Canada--stays in mail courier limbo?

If AT wants to retail, they really need to remove all these questions so a customer can know how much something is going to cost. It's pretty aggravating.

Lou Minescence said:

I too noticed all the statement contradictions about how and where the Wizards are shipped from. The ultimate factor for myself not ordering from Armytek was the statement about how once the product is shipped out, they will take no responsibility for lost in mail or customs issues.
I ordered from Going Gear. Cost a couple dollars more and less miles for the shipment to travel with no customs issues. Thats Going Gears problem for a little more money.

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Potential problem with ordering from dealers: you and probably they don't even know what iterations of the lights they have. Straight from the horse's mouth, order directly from AT to get the most updated version of the lights.

And it's cheaper to order direct from AT anyways, what with their ever present rotating 15% off sales for very imaginative occasions.

Genzod,

I've asked about duties and at least a couple of members here, who are in the US and ordered directly from AT, said they did not have to pay anything on delivery at the time.

Note also AT asks customers to check the package contents for problems before letting the delivery person go, so there's no misunderstanding: as in something breaking or going missing during delivery, but the customer mistakenly thinks it's AT's fault.

I got a Partner A1 about a month ago from AT. Came from Canada, paid like $3 extra for speedy shipping and had it in about 3 days I think. I didn't have to pay anything extra when it was delivered. Good experience for me!

scs said:

Genzod,

I've asked about duties and at least a couple of members here, who are in the US and ordered directly from AT, said they did not have to pay anything on delivery at the time.

Note also AT asks customers to check the package contents for problems before letting the delivery person go, so there's no misunderstanding: as in something breaking or going missing during delivery, but the customer mistakenly thinks it's AT's fault.

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Okay, that's really reassuring. Duties for flashlights to the US are 12% according to a document I looked up online--might no apply in the case of Canada and Mexico due to NAFTA. Perhaps saying "duties unpaid" is AT's way of legally covering themselves in case the political landscape changes and US customs (or any country for that matter) changes its policy on duties. If the price isn't on the outside of the parcel (I doubt that it is, imagine the invitation to steal the contents?), customs would have to seize the package, inspect it and assess a charge leading to a substantial delay. The US is under a North American Free Trade Agreement. Maybe a duty from China, but not from Canada. That wouldn't makes sense. Our gov'ts have been working together in trying to relax these kind of constrictions to trade to increase economic traffic and growth.

As far as delivery is concerned, "small packet to USA" probably means US postal carrier delivery to my mailbox. I'll never actually see the carrier if that's the case. (Oh, look, damaged parcel in my mailbox. Hey Mr. Postman...oh, now where did he go?) Also, and unrelated to this shipment, UPS leaves packages on the doorstep unless a signature is required--one knock and they are down the street before you get to the door. A person could follow around a UPS truck all day and make a sizable take. Not something I would do, but then heroin addicts do have a problem, don't they?

I can see me taking a damaged parcel to the post office and asking them to compensate me for the damages. They will probably say something like "did that international package become damaged in the US or in Canada? You'd think it would be the responsibility of the postal carrier to not receive a damaged parcel into their system, but then, that would imply USPS accountability, wouldn't it? Let's not fan that issue.

Loopholes. I really feel for the Chinese fellow whose Mercedes was hijacked by the Boston Marathon bombers and the owner of the boat the younger Chechen Muslim terrorist was hiding in, vehicles which were both shot up by police. Terrorism, the insurer probably said, falls under your policy's classification of warfare, and damages due to war are not covered.

nbp said:

I got a Partner A1 about a month ago from AT. Came from Canada, paid like $3 extra for speedy shipping and had it in about 3 days I think. I didn't have to pay anything extra when it was delivered. Good experience for me!

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Thank you. The apparent fruit of NAFTA (and the New World Order conspiracy...BWAHAHAHAHA! :devil:. ) :duh2:

Free Trade.

I bought a Tiara from a dealer and it didn't match up to the specs they claimed. They told me it was a beta model and I shouldn't buy from dealers if I wanted the latest model. I can understand that a dealer might have old stock, but they should never be sent Beta products unless that's what they ordered.

eraursls1984 said:

I bought a Tiara from a dealer and it didn't match up to the specs they claimed. They told me it was a beta model and I shouldn't buy from dealers if I wanted the latest model. I can understand that a dealer might have old stock, but they should never be sent Beta products unless that's what they ordered.

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AT has a confusing, self-contradictory website which was obviously written by someone who does not speak English as a native language. They've had long term issues packaging flashlights with the correct instruction manuals. They also lie about specifications. When I also consider the extensive history of quality control failures, I have too many reasons to buy elsewhere. Just my two cents.

Modernflame said:

AT has a confusing, self-contradictory website which was obviously written by someone who does not speak English as a native language. They've had long term issues packaging flashlights with the correct instruction manuals. They also lie about specifications. When I also consider the extensive history of quality control failures, I have too many reasons to buy elsewhere. Just my two cents.

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Someone on the forum privately contacted me and made me aware of a very reliable US vendor that I could get a Wizard Pro V3 from. The person I'm buying this gift for prefers the old holder which I can no longer get from AT, and I'd rather get a shared charger for both her 18650s and my Eneloop Pros rather than the USB version that only charges one kind of battery and size. So that order has been submitted, and now I'm just waiting for it.

I got both of those (Nitecore D2) and a high discharge battery delivered for about the same price as the AT discounted Wizard Pro USB (at least I THINK it's the same price, less any duties....)

No more worries about surprise duties or shipments lost in transit that AT comes across as not to wanting to have anything to do with. It was a lot of work trying to muddle through all the questions, and I'm still left feeling anxious about ordering from them. AT needs to make this process easier for their customers. It was too easy to be scared away. Nice product, but sheesh, what a hassle it's been trying to compensate for their retailing shortcomings.

I think they're making an effort though. It's just that turning to a US retailer was still a whole lot easier in comparison.

I'm not sure if there's a reason for not mentioning said vendor, but I don't see a rule against it so... I know that Illumn has old-model XHP50 Wizards in stock for a significantly reduced price.

I ordered a tiara about a year ago.. to canada and it came from China and was the wrong model

Zak said:

I'm not sure if there's a reason for not mentioning said vendor, but I don't see a rule against it so... I know that Illumn has old-model XHP50 Wizards in stock for a significantly reduced price.

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Yeah, THAT'S the one...ILLUMINATI! Free Trade...New World Order! The Masonic shadow gov't wins! BWAHAHAHA! :devil:

The wifey prefers the older model with silicone holder, and wifey, as all we well visioned husbands know, is always right.

Cityus88 said:

I ordered a tiara about a year ago.. to canada and it came from China and was the wrong model

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Scary, isn't it?

In fairness though, AT has been working hard to resolve these quirks in their system. The US is now fully supplied by the Canadian warehouse, even for the USB model that even recently only shipped from China, meaning we can deal directly with AT ground zero for warranty and shipment issues. Their customer service I think is very friendly and knowledgeable. Eventually they will get the supply side of their business right. They make great lamps, but in the meantime, I'm going buy AT's products from a reliable US vendor.

I got a few orders shipped to New England during Christmas time. Received it much faster than I expected.