# ZebraLight Cust Serv/Quality



## photonhoer (Jul 17, 2011)

I have long been a Zebralight fan [I used and wrote the first review of the H50 in 2007, http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?178839-FieldTest-on-Zebralight-Q5]. My first Zebralights have been heavily used and very reliable in use all over the world!!

But recently I have had a bad experience and am wondering if this is an anomaly or a more widely shared experience. 

On April 16, 2011 I ordered two lights [SC51 and HC51F]
4/26/11 Rec'd two lights, SC51 defective, would not remain on for more than a few seconds
4/27 — 5/16 Exchanged emails with Lilian at Zebralight, attempting to make it work; implication in each email was that I did not know what I was doing/saying; substantial delays in her replies to my emails
5/17/11 After authorization by Lilian, returned defective SC51 to Zebralight, TX
5/29/11 email from Lilian: "Will ship this week"
6/21/11 — no light, no email; sent email inquiry, got no reply
Late June finally rec'd a new light shipped from China.

The attitude [brusque, uninformative and skeptical of my data] and promptness [2 1/2 months from order to receipt of working light] of responses really put me off. If I had not already owned (3) H50 lights that I had put thru such extensive service, I would certainly have bailed on the brand.

Is my experience shared by others? Or is this just bad luck?

John


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## T-roc87 (Jul 17, 2011)

I actually dealt with their customer service a couple months back. I lost the tailcap for my sc51 and needed a replacement. They answered all of my emails within 24 hours and shipped out my tailcaps from china which did take 3 weeks to get to the states. Overall all i was very pleased with their customer service.


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## shao.fu.tzer (Jul 17, 2011)

I would say that you're incredibly lucky seeing as though you've owned three H50s for 2+ years and haven't had any problems with them. I owned two (was an early adopter as well) and they each only worked properly for maybe 2-3 weeks apiece before exhibiting questionable behavior.


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## Deal4 (Jul 17, 2011)

Man, that's too bad about your lights. I guess all light brands will have problems once in a while. 
I've had my SC51 for awhile now, and I've never had it even flicker on me. I would say it has to be the most reliable of all my lights.


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## atbglenn (Jul 18, 2011)

The anodizing is slightly blotchy in a couple of spots on my H501. Other than that, I've had no problems in the few months of fairly heavy use.. Overall I'm pleased with the quality.


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## Glock27 (Jul 18, 2011)

I have a pair of H50s. I have used 1 for ~3 years with zero problems. 
The only problem I've had with any of my ZebraLights has been a cracked lens on an H501w. The light was still working and the crack probably wouldn't have been noticed with a "normal" user. 
I think their designs are very innovative and sometimes "new" designs/parts have unexpected bugs. 
H50 *2
H501w * 2
H501r
H60
SC60w * 3
I've had an additional H60, H50 and several H501s pass through my hands on the way to friends with no problems from them either. Unless Lillian is on vacation, queries submitted through their website have always been promptly answered.

G27


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## fnsooner (Jul 18, 2011)

This thread wasn't started to discuss QC issues about Zebralight and their products. It was started to ask if anyone else had problems with Customer Service when they had a problem with one of their lights. All companies have an occasional bad light out of the box, what said company does when a product is returned for warranty is a different issue. I have returned two non-Zebralight lights that have had issues and 4Sevens and LightJunction solved the issues better than expected.

I have also contacted Zebralight before and have always had a quick response. This leads me to believe that they ignore when they want.

I wasn't going to post on this subject until I recieved my repaired or replaced SC600. Since photonhoer asked, I'll chime in.

Here is a quick check list concerning my ongoing warranty claim.


Dissapointing and ambiguous response when initially contacting ZL about problem. Check

No contact from ZL to let me know that they recieved light and what is up. Check- The only way I knew that they recieved my light is that I purchased Delivery Confirmation through USPS.

When I do try and contact them after three weeks, they have completely ignored me. Check

It has now been four weeks and I have heard nothing from ZL whatsoever. Check
I will give a more detailed review when my light arrives. I have seen several posts with similar stories that, oddly enough, I feel confident my warranty claim will be fulfilled. 

Also, sorry if my post sounds sour. I am a bit annoyed about the process.


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## Bolster (Jul 18, 2011)

My opinion, formed from reading the forum (not direct experience) is that customer service is the weak link at Zebralight. It's frustrating that repairs must wait on the slow boat from China; this should be handled in and out of Texas, at least for the north american market. It looks like there is but a single overworked person in TX handling all customer service (at least, for the Americas). 

However, as the owner of 8 zebralights purchased over several years (2 H50, 4 H501w, 2 H60w) and the 9th on the way (a used red H501r) I have not had need of any repairs yet, despite doing some dumb and harmful things to my Zebralights. 

I can empathize with the OP's annoyance.


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## tre (Jul 18, 2011)

This is why is usually always try to buy from a reseller as opposed to direct from Zebralight. If something does not work, you send it back to the reseller and they send you a new one. They deal with the manufacturer about issues. That is one of the many reasons a reseller exists.


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## fnsooner (Jul 18, 2011)

I must confess to something. An email was sent to me yesterday that I missed. They will ship flashlight this week. woo hoo. That really dose'nt change the above post much though.


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## Greymage (Jul 18, 2011)

I only had one experience with their customer service - I had ordered an H60 in 2008, and in late 2010 emailed them (because the switch was acting up, sometimes skipping states) asking if they could repair it even though it was out of warranty. 

I'm not sure what the exact turnaround time was after I returned my defective unit, but I do remember being happy they fixed it for free after the warranty period was over and thinking it was a quick turnaround. Lillian was also the customer service rep on my case #.


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## Fireclaw18 (Jul 18, 2011)

Returned my SC600 for service to fix the defective switch issue about a month ago. Haven't received the light back yet, but I'm not worried. I'm assuming JetBeam service is the standard here... so if it takes longer than 3 months, then there is a problem.


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## Glock27 (Jul 18, 2011)

One important point about ZebraLight. George started it as a hobby or side business. He has decided to take it the next level and is investing a great deal of money in machinery, building and people to manufacture in Texas. I would hope that warranty / repair will move to the US too. 

Business models should account for a certain percentage of units that will be returned. I understand that faulty lights need to be examined to figure out what caused the failure, but waiting a month or more is excessive. In my case, I received a new 501w. If it had shipped from TX instead of China, I would have had it back in under a week instead of 36 days. 



G27


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## recDNA (Jul 18, 2011)

If I buy a brand new light from an American dealer and it is not perfect when I get it I expect to return it to the dealer and get a brand new one from that dealer.


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## RedLED (Jul 19, 2011)

When I needed some screws for my SC-30 clip, they sent them out right away, and at no cost!

That was very nice.

Sorry that the OP issues.

Best,

RL


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## Vesper (Jul 19, 2011)

Had a common problem once with a headlight. They were helpful and quick. Had a new one within 2 weeks. Milage may vary, but I've not heard much griping about their customer service - in fact they regularly respond and resolve ppl's concerns or problems here at the forums.


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## Mdinana (Jul 19, 2011)

Glock27 said:


> One important point about ZebraLight. George started it as a hobby or side business. He has decided to take it the next level and is investing a *great deal of money in machinery, building and people to manufacture in Texas*. I would hope that warranty / repair will move to the US too.
> 
> Business models should account for a certain percentage of units that will be returned. I understand that faulty lights need to be examined to figure out what caused the failure, but waiting a month or more is excessive. In my case, I received a new 501w. If it had shipped from TX instead of China, I would have had it back in under a week instead of 36 days.
> 
> ...


Do you have any proof of that? The business address is Tx, but the mailing address says China. I keep reading "Made in USA" regarding ZL's, but the 2 I have clearly were NOT.


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## hazna (Jul 19, 2011)

Mdinana said:


> Do you have any proof of that? The business address is Tx, but the mailing address says China. I keep reading "Made in USA" regarding ZL's, but the 2 I have clearly were NOT.



The company is meant to be based in texas, but the actually lights are made in china at the moment. They have future plans to make some models in the USA.


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## gooseman (Jul 19, 2011)

I recently placed an order for an SC600, but got one with a nasty green tint. I tried emailing customer service the other day, but as of yet I have not received any reply.

This is the first time I've actually had to contact customer service though. Hopefully they will come through.


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## fnsooner (Jul 19, 2011)

I can't speak for the OP, but for me the biggest problem was lack of communication. When I initially contacted them, I just wanted to know how long the warranty process took. I specifically asked if my light would have to go through China. They addressed none of my concerns and just gave me the standard RMA instructions. 

I liked the SC600 so much that I knew I was going to buy the neutral and was seriously thinking of waiting until the neutral version came out before I sent my original in for repair. I just wanted to know what was the normal warranty procedure to make a decision.

Instead, I feel like I mailed a hundred dollar light into a black hole and was left scratching my head for about four weeks. A little communication would have made me a lot more patient.


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## RedForest UK (Jul 19, 2011)

I had decent service on the RMA of my H501w, but that was a basic 'It's broken send it back we'll fix it' sort of deal. I did and it came back in just over 7 weeks, they weren't very responsive to any specific questions beyond the basics and ignored a request from me to clean the dome of the emitter while it was apart as it has a glue mark or something on it.

When I had to return my SC51w I had similar experience, slow replies often ignoring parts of my previous messages, and when it never got there they still only contacted me when I contacted them. Despite me asking them to let me know if they had received it after a week and then two weeks. Now, months later, I just gave up and claimed the value from the Post Office, they still have not given me any notification of it arriving or not to this day though, despite me asking after it recently just in case. I am not too bothered as I got my money back, but if the Royal Mail didn't offer insurance up to £41 on any package then I would still be out a light and zebralight have done nothing to help that.


This is in stark contrast to my experience with Nitecore who have always taken an interest in my issues giving informed responses to my individual questions, they have been friendly and kept me informed. Going well beyond what is stated on the warranty also, I had a D10 repaired just within warranty time but after I broke it myself modding it, later I asked to have the driver upgraded to the D11.2 one and they agreed. When I told them it had a few switching issues with the new driver they contacted my local dealer and I got a brand new D11.2 for free the next day! 

It took a while to actually find who to contact but is still the best CS experience I have had to date from any electronics company.


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## photonhoer (Jul 22, 2011)

fnsooner said:


> I can't speak for the OP, but for me the biggest problem was lack of communication. ... A little communication would have made me a lot more patient.


 
fsooner

thanks for putting the thread back on track earlier. Yes, I was trying elicit responses re CS, not QC [I accept bad apples at a limited ratio.]

I agree that communication is THE ISSUE.

John


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## gcbryan (Jul 22, 2011)

My only experience and need to contact Zebralight was today when I had a questions about getting out of the 2nd sub-level of high. I contacted them through their website and Lillian emailed back with the answer within an hour or so.

I'm sure returns involving China are another matter


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## AaronG (Jul 23, 2011)

Wow that's brutal. I guess it might be worth the extra cash to buy it through a reseller instead of directly from zebralight


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## gcbryan (Jul 23, 2011)

AaronG said:


> Wow that's brutal. I guess it might be worth the extra cash to buy it through a reseller instead of directly from zebralight



I bought through Going Gear for that reason but if you use the CPF discount code it's not more expensive.


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## pjandyho (Jul 23, 2011)

gcbryan said:


> I bought through Going Gear for that reason but if you use the CPF discount code it's not more expensive.


 
It is a little more expensive for me since GG charges an additional $15 or thereabouts for shipping to me. But, if communication issues like what some had experienced with ZL could be avoided by going through GG, then I think it will be worth the extra to pay for. Unfortunately, I bought mine from ZL and is still awaiting the arrival of the lights.


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## Robertesq1 (May 12, 2012)

*Zebra Light customer Service??*

Cracked the lens on my new SC80 220Lm AA/CR123A Flashlight. Tried reaching somebody and all I got was an email which I contacted and a response which instructed me to return the light. Um.... three weeks later and nothing.... so I sent a follow-up email with no results now two weeks later???? Does anyone have a contact number or any advice???


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## HotWire (May 12, 2012)

*Re: Zebra Light customer Service??*

There is a contact page at: http://www.zebralight.com/crm.asp?action=contactus 

Address: 
8320 Sterling Street
Irving, TX. 75063
USA

You might be able to get a lens at flashlightlens.com


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## Robertesq1 (May 12, 2012)

*Re: Zebra Light customer Service??*



HotWire said:


> There is a contact page at: http://www.zebralight.com/crm.asp?action=contactus
> 
> Address:
> 8320 Sterling Street
> ...



Yes but no tel number. I sent the light back 5 weeks ago and to email response to my follow up.


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## ostrograd (May 12, 2012)

*Re: Zebra Light customer Service??*



Robertesq1 said:


> Yes but no tel number. I sent the light back 5 weeks ago and to email response to my follow up.



There is a phone number for them listed in the phone book: (972) 929-7213. I've never called it and don't know if anyone actually answers. I'd try emailing customer service again, and again the next day if you don't get a response. Try contacting them via the 'Contact Us' page as well as 'My Account'. In my experience, with a little prodding they will respond and will do mostly what you need, though sometimes it takes awhile.


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## shelm (May 13, 2012)

*Re: Zebra Light customer Service??*



Robertesq1 said:


> Cracked the lens on my new SC80 220Lm AA/CR123A Flashlight. Tried reaching somebody and all I got was an email which I contacted and a response which instructed me to return the light. Um.... three weeks later and nothing.... so I sent a follow-up email with no results now two weeks later???? Does anyone have a contact number or any advice???



where did you buy it? directly from them?
I am thinking that my next zebralight purchase will be from my preferred Hongkong equipment inet seller, likewise with global FREE shipping. they do fast email response and help with FREE spare parts. it's part of their excellent service and strive for customer satisfaction.

buying from Zebralight website might be cheaper .. but only a little. and your example shows that ..etc..


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## Robertesq1 (May 14, 2012)

*Re: Zebra Light customer Service??*



ostrograd said:


> There is a phone number for them listed in the phone book: (972) 929-7213. I've never called it and don't know if anyone actually answers. I'd try emailing customer service again, and again the next day if you don't get a response. Try contacting them via the 'Contact Us' page as well as 'My Account'. In my experience, with a little prodding they will respond and will do mostly what you need, though sometimes it takes awhile.



Thxs for the help... I spoke with someone at ZebraLight they were the best... looks like they were aware of the light and gave me a full status update and will be getting it out shortly. Word is they are gearing up to do repairs in this country which will speed up the process!


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## saypat (May 14, 2012)

*Re: Zebra Light customer Service??*

wow, 5 weeks and no contact from them, and now you say they are the best??? That would not be acceptable to me. Guess I am spoiled by the king of customer service - AMAZON. I will get the 502 but in reading this I will get it from another trusted supplier. Thanks for posting. Good luck inn receiving your light promptly....


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## Robertesq1 (May 14, 2012)

*Re: Zebra Light customer Service??*



saypat said:


> wow, 5 weeks and no contact from them, and now you say they are the best??? That would not be acceptable to me. Guess I am spoiled by the king of customer service - AMAZON. I will get the 502 but in reading this I will get it from another trusted supplier. Thanks for posting. Good luck inn receiving your light promptly....



Yes maybe I am a little bit of a low maintenance type consumer. I experienced some delays with Surefire and HDS so this didn't seem to be such a big deal.

I was just pleased to know they had it all under control. they explained the cause for the delay and indicated that unless it was a replacement part, all repairs go to china causing repairs to average 4-6 weeks.... 

Most important, there was no defect, I accidentally broke the crystal and they are replacing it at no cost or shipping, and they seemed very attentive were apologetic and I thought they deserved a good word here in the tread I started. 

Anyway to each his own. Not sure what Amazon will do if all factory repairs go to China but I wish u well. In any event it sounds like repairs will be coming to the USA soon.

Best, Robert


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## Robertesq1 (May 21, 2012)

*Re: Zebra Light customer Service??*

Came back yesterday completely repaired at no cost. Thanks Zebralight


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## biglights (May 21, 2012)

*Re: Zebra Light customer Service??*



Robertesq1 said:


> Came back yesterday completely repaired at no cost. Thanks Zebralight



Very nice :thumbsup:


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## shelm (Nov 11, 2012)

*Re: Zebra Light customer Service??*



HotWire said:


> There is a contact page at: http://www.zebralight.com/crm.asp?action=contactus
> 
> Address:
> 8320 Sterling Street
> ...



Their email address is *[email protected]*


good luck!!


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## arn357 (Nov 11, 2012)

*Re: Zebra Light customer Service??*

Customer service is very slow. I had to call ZL by phone for someone to respond to my ZL email support log opened on-line. Whoever is working ZL customer support, check your support logs!!! I thought buying my SC600 from ZL direct was a good idea, NOT!


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## Quelalumieresoit (Nov 11, 2012)

*Re: Zebra Light customer Service??*

Hi there, bonjour,
greetings from BELGIUM .

One experience with ZL customer support: I had to ask a pocket clip for my brand new SC 600 purchased from a UK on-line seller (the clip wasn't included in the very first batches).
I sent an e-mail directly to ZL and got an answer within two hours or so...! 
The pocket clip arrived 10 days later from CHINA.

Top notch service as far as I'm concerned.:thumbsup:


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## low (Nov 11, 2012)

*Re: Zebra Light customer Service??*

I have bought most of my zebra's from ZL, but no more. They will ship it to you with free shipping. BUT if you have a problem with it or return it to them be prepared for a wait with no updates at all. The only way you will know they received it from you is through delivery confirmation.


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## justanotherguy (Nov 12, 2012)

*Re: Zebra Light customer Service??*

I asked a question or two, got a response in a day or two. Told me that tailcaps for the SC60 were no longer available since its not produced..
LUCKILY I had an H600 to cross check. Um they are the same....so I ordered two caps for That light...$10 I think it was, and they came fairly quick..
Still, I would have thought that ZL themselves would know to cross check something like that.......?
Tony


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## MojaveMoon07 (Nov 17, 2012)

I want to order our first Zebralight from a 3rd party retailer in the hope that the retailer might be able to assist in resolving a warranty-related issue if Zebralight winds up being difficult to work with. Out of these retailers that sell Zebralight, which one(s) do I have the best chance of that with ? Brightguy , Goinggear , Illuminationgear , and lightjunction


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## Fireclaw18 (Nov 17, 2012)

I got one of the original preordered batch of SC600s. Like many of the early SC600s it had a defective switch that would often turn off if it was merely brushed against without being depressed or clicked. I sent it back for warranty repair. 2 months later I had my light back and it worked perfectly. The switch issue was gone.

I also had an SC51 which was my EDC for around a year. No issues with it.

I have an SC80. It is defective in that all the secondary high modes don't work. High mode only works in max power. Low and medium modes all work fine. I consider this a minor defect.

More recently I purchased a pair of Zebralight 14500 li-ion cells. Zebralight accidentally sent me 18650s instead. I'm definitely not complaining about that.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with Zebralight customer service and won't hesitate to get another. I preordered an SC52 the first day orders were accepted and can't wait for it to arrive!


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## jbrett14 (Nov 17, 2012)

MojaveMoon07 said:


> I want to order our first Zebralight from a 3rd party retailer in the hope that the retailer might be able to assist in resolving a warranty-related issue if Zebralight winds up being difficult to work with. Out of these retailers that sell Zebralight, which one(s) do I have the best chance of that with ? Brightguy , Goinggear , Illuminationgear , and lightjunction



I have ordered goods from all those sources. My experience has been that all of them have excellent service. I would not hesitate to order from any of them. 

As far as "warranty-related issues", I have only had to deal with Goinggear since I have not had issues with the items I purchased at the other 3 dealers. This, of course, is no fault of Goinggear. Goinggear has been EXCELLENT at dealing with my warranty-issues. I am guessing the other 3 would be as well.


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## MojaveMoon07 (Nov 17, 2012)

jbrett14: Thank you


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## jd_oc (Jan 18, 2013)

*Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

I ordered the S6330 on Dec 27th and at the time the website said it would ship on Jan 7th (it was not a pre-order when I bought it, it simply said add to cart). So far I've received no communication from them. I sent them an email 3 days ago just asking if they knew when my order would ship, but still no reply. I've never dealt with their customer service before (I have an SC51 which I really like), but I figured since they are American owned and operated I would have expected better customer service. Am I expecting too much?


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## shelm (Jan 18, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*



jd_oc said:


> I ordered the S6330 on Dec 27th and at the time the website said it would ship on Jan 7th (it was not a pre-order when I bought it, it simply said add to cart). So far I've received no communication from them. I sent them an email 3 days ago just asking if they knew when my order would ship, but still no reply. I've never dealt with their customer service before (I have an SC51 which I really like), but I figured since they are American owned and operated I would have expected better customer service. Am I expecting too much?



I've tested their phone number, just now :naughty: and it works 
So. If you know your English, then give them a call too: +1-972-757-7712, i.e. from abroad you'd typically dial 001-972-757-7712.
Their oral Engrish was good. 
Hope this helps.

email zebralight is *[email protected]*


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## jd_oc (Jan 18, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

Strange, I tried that number (972-757-7712) and just get a generic voice mail. I did some searching and found another number (972) 929-7213. That actually goes to a real persons voice mail that says he works with Zerbralight. Either way, couldn't get a hold of a real person. I don't see why email communication is such a problem for them? Especially since they don't list a phone number on their website. I live in the USA (California).


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## neutralwhite (Jan 18, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

ZL is a problem full stop. surefire real winners, and darksucks.com (jason)


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## tonkem (Jan 18, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

None of the dealers have any right now. Patience, and they will ship. It is worth the wait. I love mine.


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## maxrep12 (Jan 18, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

Yeah, I get the feeling they could spend a few more man hours answering emails and such. Never had a problem with their lights, but communication is still an integral part of business.

The s6330 is worth the wait as Tonkem mentioned.

JD_OC, in the mean time one activity that may help your mood in a *Schadenfreude* sort of way would be to have a looksee at the HDS threads. 

At some point I wonder if it would be in the best interest of all involved(customers and ZL dealers) if ZebraLight stopped selling direct. This would shift some profits and a share of customer service work load to ZL dealers..... I dunno


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## eloreno (Jan 18, 2013)

*Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

I love the lights and own a great many. That said, I do not recommend buying them direct. Communication with zebralight warranty is terrible, though they've always come through in the end. I recommend goinggear, when they have them in stock.


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## neo_xeno (Jan 18, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

yeah, i've tried to email them about my s6330 order status and no response. pretty disappointing, i will probably never order direct from them again.


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## twl (Jan 18, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

I have always found that the quality of the customer service is an accurate gauge of the quality of the company.


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## LGT (Jan 18, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

I've never had a problem with ZL/CS. Bought a few lights that just didn't suit my needs, and they took them back. Have three headlamps and the sc600 from zl. Like them all and wouldn't hesitate to deal with them (Helen?) again.


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## Changchung (Jan 18, 2013)

*Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

Never had a problem with ZL


Sent from my phone with camera with flash and internet on it...


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## pjandyho (Jan 18, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

I have no problems at all with ZL. Between them and myself we have had many email exchanges. Usually to do with some warranty service issues.


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## bodhran (Jan 19, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

I have only emailed them a couple times but have always gotten a quick response.


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## magnum70383 (Jan 19, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

I'm really glad now I ordered the last one at torch direct for 10% off too!


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## LEDburn (Jan 19, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

I have emailed them a few times and have never waited more than a day to hear back. 

Last time I asked when to expect a 'w' version of the new lights (SC52w, SC600w MKII, H502w) and got a reply within an hour..

When you are asking them when the light you ordered will be shipped - a light currently listed as back ordered - I think it is safe to assume you are not the only one asking that same question!
If that was the case, letting each person know on an individual basis would be time consuming and could result to further frustration. 
Say they just told everyone it will ship in a week but then when the stock is ready they fall short and some people miss the boat, those people will then possibly get frustrated when they find out someone was told the same thing but actually had theirs shipped.

I know they claimed a date on their site and you feel a bit annoyed but some people have already received theirs so they obviously are making some progress. 
As with any new Zebralight model, if you aren't in the first lot of customers then you can sometimes wait a little.
I missed the boat on the first round of H502d's but the wait ended up only being a few weeks till it shipped anyway so yours could well and truly be almost ready also. 

Hope you get the shipping notice soon!


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## g.p. (Jan 19, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*



bodhran said:


> I have only emailed them a couple times but have always gotten a quick response.


+1 Maybe the OP needs to check their SPAM filter settings. 

Also, I hope that they don't stop selling direct. I appreciate the free shipping to Canada, and I don't get charged duty like I would if it was coming out of the States.


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## jimmy1970 (Jan 19, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

I've only had 4 Zebralights of various models and after regular use, all eventually failed in service...... Sorry Zebralight but I've since moved on to more reliable lights.

James....


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## AnAppleSnail (Jan 19, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

Edit: Good point, tab. Taken to PM.


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## reppans (Jan 19, 2013)

*Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*



jimmy1970 said:


> I've only had 4 Zebralights of various models and after regular use, all eventually failed in service...... Sorry Zebralight but I've since moved on to more reliable lights.
> 
> James....



Now that's and unbelievably bad run of luck with ZLs. Any fail under warranty and have you tried to send them in either for warranty or paid repair? Care to share any details on what happened to them?


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## tab665 (Jan 19, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

seems to be getting too personal in here guys.


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## Norm (Jan 19, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

Some post directly attacking another member have been deleted and associated replies have also been removed - Norm


----------



## maxrep12 (Jan 19, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*



LEDburn said:


> I have emailed them a few times and have never waited more than a day to hear back.
> 
> Last time I asked when to expect a 'w' version of the new lights (SC52w, SC600w MKII, H502w) and got a reply within an hour..
> 
> ...



You have a point here. I have spoken with Zebra over the phone, and have never had an issue their lights. Perhaps an occasional missed email(or spam folder glitch) receives quite a bit more stage presence on these forums than is warranted.


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## maxrep12 (Jan 19, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*



reppans said:


> Now that's and unbelievably bad run of luck with ZLs. Any fail under warranty and have you tried to send them in either for warranty or paid repair? Care to share any details on what happened to them?



This sounded odd to me as well(bold emphasis below is mine):


> I've only had 4 Zebralights of various models and after regular use, all eventually failed in service...... Sorry Zebralight but I've since moved on to more reliable lights.
> 
> James....



*Jimmy1970* posted this on;


> 12-09-2011
> Well I resisted until now and ended up getting a SC600 which arrived today. The tint on my example has a white hotspot surrounded by a yellow ring with a purple spill - *not real pretty* but boy is this light bright!!
> *Fit and finish is nice *and my old school AW 2200mah 18650s do the job nicely.
> 
> ...


 Fit and finish are fine he states.


> 12-16-2011
> +1. I too, am surprised how much I like my SC600. I must say though that my first example had the following issues:
> 
> 1. Flat, bland grey anno with a knurling fault on the top edge of the tailcap that made if very rough on pant pockets!
> ...


Your first post stated the fit and finish were fine. Kinda sounds like you were tint shopping?


> 1-30-2012
> Well I can't say I'm real pleased with my second SC600 - the first one was replaced as it had machining faults and a minor emitter fault + a terrible green tint.
> Now the electronic switch on my second SC600 started to act up the other day missing the odd click here and there. This has progressed since then to being impossible to control reliability. Sometimes you can't even turn the light on or off! I was in a movie theatre the other night and pressed and held down the button for low mode and ended up with 750 lumens lighting up the whole theatre! I have tried cleaning the threads and terminals etc but no luck. It sucks as this particular SC600 had a beautiful white tint and a perfect beam.:thumbsdow
> 
> ...



Next


> 6-13-2012
> I've had 3 Zebralight SC600s - One was faulty out of the box, the 2nd one failed within 2 months of ownership, and the 3rd one was sold off before it went bad. I won't touch another!!
> I don't care...


 The best I can tell is that your second sc600, along with 4 HDS lights and a fenix, had a switch issue. I see *one ZL *light with an issue. Your first lights fit and finish were nice(your words), yet later you state the reason for your return as machining and anno...? This sounds more like tint shopping. You sold off the third which had no issues. Where are the* four *bad Zebras?


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## twl (Jan 20, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

I think that there is a certain amount of responsibility for the buyer to research and learn the general reputation for a brand's reliability and customer service before buying the product.
He should have his eyes open already, before going in.

And with new product designs, I personally never pre-order, because it's not really known if the product will fulfill expectations, or have unforeseen problems.


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## bjt3833 (Jan 20, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

I ordered my first zebralight, an sc52, and sent them an email afterwards. I received a response in less than 24 hours but it was marked as spam. If it helps, the response came from a gmail account if I remember correctly. All in all good timely response and I am sure your spam folder ate their response.


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## jd_oc (Jan 20, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

FYI, yesterday I sent them a second email saying that I still haven't heard back from them (there were no messages in my spam folder) and this afternoon I got a response saying "sorry for the waiting" and that my light should ship in 5-10 business days. I guess good news overall and glad to see someone is reading their email.


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## pjandyho (Jan 20, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*



jd_oc said:


> FYI, yesterday I sent them a second email saying that I still haven't heard back from them (there were no messages in my spam folder) and this afternoon I got a response saying "sorry for the waiting" and that my light should ship in 5-10 business days. I guess good news overall and glad to see someone is reading their email.


That's great! Hope you get your light soon!


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## jimmy1970 (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

Who is this guy???????????

Please note I don't post the details of every ZL I've ever had on this forum!!! I had some Zebralight headlamps (2), I've bought a few used (mint) ZLs plus a few new ones in my time. For the purposes of this thread, I've only referred to the new ones I've purchased where I know the full history of the light. I don't get on this forum to talk of the problems I've experienced with every brand of light I've purchased. I was an online dealer for HDS and Malkoff devices and stocked Maglite, Nitecore etc and have sold many lights to locals and online members. And guess what? - *I've had problems with every mass produced brand of light!! *Sorry but doing a quick search on this forum here is not going to reveal my full experience of ZL products over the past 7 years!!

James....



maxrep12 said:


> This sounded odd to me as well(bold emphasis below is mine):
> 
> *Jimmy1970* posted this on;
> Fit and finish are fine he states.
> ...


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## BenChiew (Jan 23, 2013)

*Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*



twl said:


> I have always found that the quality of the customer service is an accurate gauge of the quality of the company.



+1


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## neutralwhite (Jan 23, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

me too, and at the moment Jason from darksucks wins this!. 



Benchiew said:


> +1


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## Landshark99 (Feb 7, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

They have only responded to one out of the 6 e-mils I have sent them, on the the other hand just got the light, looks cool


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## neutralwhite (Feb 13, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

nice, just pray it works. you send it to ZL, it wont be back for agesss...lool!.


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## LEDburn (Feb 14, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*



neutralwhite said:


> nice, just pray it works. you send it to ZL, it wont be back for agesss...lool!.



Impolite remarks removed per CPF Rule 4.

Bill


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## Changchung (Feb 14, 2013)

*Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*



LEDburn said:


> .



Relax sir...


Sent from my phone with camera with flash and internet on it...


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## neutralwhite (Feb 14, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

*please. stop attacking me.
admin, please sort. 
thank you.*




LEDburn said:


> You really are an idiot.
> Come back and add something meaningful when you have some real world experience, not just something you read on a forum and decided to regurgitate like a true moron.


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## Bullzeyebill (Feb 14, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

LEDburn, take a week off for disgusting Rule 4 violation. Please read that rule carefully, and exhibit no further inflammatory behavior. 

Bill


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## neutralwhite (Feb 15, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

thank you.



Bullzeyebill said:


> LEDburn, take a week off for disgusting Rule 4 violation. Please read that rule carefully, and exhibit no further inflammatory behavior.
> 
> Bill


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## markr6 (Feb 15, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

Zebralight really needs to get it together. Customer service, everything out of stock, vaporware, everything. I've had four ZL headlamps and LOVE them all. Best UI, great runtime, quality (at least for me), and product selection. I'll continue to buy them, but if things don't change others won't be so loyal or even buy in the first place.


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## neutralwhite (Feb 15, 2013)

*Re: Bad Customer Service from Zebralight?*

well funnily enough, i am actually now wanting to try this ZL UI, & hope they have the MkII soon.
well there is worse, such as HDS. 392 days!. lool!. 




markr6 said:


> Zebralight really needs to get it together. Customer service, everything out of stock, vaporware, everything. I've had four ZL headlamps and LOVE them all. Best UI, great runtime, quality (at least for me), and product selection. I'll continue to buy them, but if things don't change others won't be so loyal or even buy in the first place.


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## Mike Sloan (Sep 11, 2013)

This is an old thread... But.....

I had to order 3 SC6330 before I got a good one!!!! 1st one had UI issues (only one led would light when in low), 2nd one had anodizing problems and appeared to have moisture in the 3 reflectors, 3rd flashlight was ok and only had slight flaws in the anodizing. Pretty surprising with such an expensive light. UI is great, light is bright and floody....but $200 is a little steep in my opinion.


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## markr6 (Sep 11, 2013)

I've had 5 Zebralights over the past few years. No issues other than tint on the SC52w. But none of them ever got near water except the H600w, and that was only freezing rain/mist type weather while running so I can't be sure about water resistance.

No problem with customer service either. Whether I send them suggestions (several over the past year) or request for RMA (bad tint on SC52w), I've received a repsonse within 2 days.

As a side note: I'm not blaming anyone specific, but in general, be friendly when dealing with any vendor or manufacturer. I know a faulty light can be irritating, but after working in retail for 9 years I can guarantee you that getting angry won't make their customer service any better.


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## Mike Sloan (Sep 11, 2013)

markr6 said:


> I've had 5 Zebralights over the past few years. No issues other than tint on the SC52w. But none of them ever got near water except the H600w, and that was only freezing rain/mist type weather while running so I can't be sure about water resistance.
> 
> No problem with customer service either. Whether I send them suggestions (several over the past year) or request for RMA (bad tint on SC52w), I've received a repsonse within 2 days.
> 
> As a side note: I'm not blaming anyone specific, but in general, be friendly when dealing with any vendor or manufacturer. I know a faulty light can be irritating, but after working in retail for 9 years I can guarantee you that getting angry won't make their customer service any better.




Good advise!
i purchased all lights through Amazon....so no questions asked! Just surprised at the quality control issues. I too have other Zebras that are perfect. Surprised to run into so many issues with the 6330.


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## passive101 (Sep 12, 2013)

I haven't had to talk to their warranty dept, but I did drop my sc52 onto concrete from about 5ft last week. It stayed on and so far has continued to work  I have not dunked it into water.


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## Mike Sloan (Sep 12, 2013)

passive101 said:


> I haven't had to talk to their warranty dept, but I did drop my sc52 onto concrete from about 5ft last week. It stayed on and so far has continued to work  I have not dunked it into water.



my problems were not water related. 2 were cosmetic and the 3rd was a problem in the electronic switch. Just surprised with my sample (5) and the quality control....3 out of 5 had issues. No way I am dunking these in water intentionally!

another interesting observation was that the battery cover/rear body of the 6330 were all threaded so that they were not interchangeable. There was differences in the inner wall thickness, as well. Are not all Zebras made to spec....they ever hear of CAD cutters? Pretty strange at this price point.​


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## neutralwhite (Dec 25, 2013)

before I ordered my sc600mkii l2, i asked craig at illumination supply to check it over good before shipping. it arrived perfect,....for now.
ZL make such, maybe the best lights, and UI, but im surprised how shussh they are on QC. 
even their fb page has not been updated for ages. 

would like to visit the ZL place in China, and Texas, and see what's what.
overall, the best light and UI i have owned, really. 

xx


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## hatman (Dec 25, 2013)

Anyone here in a position to find and describe the Texas ZL facility for CPF members?

ZL, perhaps you would like to chime in.


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## GehenSienachlinks (May 14, 2014)

I got an sc600 and it had a few marks on it after a few days I saw more marks.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=518D18A8F942A129%21195

The worst anodizing I have ever seen .

I sent the light back for rma by signed post . It has been 18 days since light was returned , zebralight claims they have not received the light .


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## RedForest UK (May 14, 2014)

I returned an SC51w once and it never arrived, so it could get lost in the post. It can take up to 2 months though to get back to them in some cases so I wouldn't give up until closer to the deadline to claim insurance on Royal Mail.


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## kj2 (May 15, 2014)

GehenSienachlinks said:


> https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=518D18A8F942A129%21195
> The worst anodizing I have ever seen .


Have to agree with you. This shouldn't pass QC.


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## newbie66 (May 15, 2014)

This thread makes me feel afraid to buy their products especially the more expensive ones like the S6330...


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## LEDburn (May 15, 2014)

newbie66 said:


> This thread makes me feel afraid to buy their products especially the more expensive ones like the S6330...



You wont be buying a S6330 so don't be affraid


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## GehenSienachlinks (May 15, 2014)

I got a refund from zebralight after 19 days since light was returned .
Hopefully I get a good light on my next order .


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## EsthetiX (May 23, 2014)

I have had similar experience with Lillian.


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## GTRmiami (Jun 4, 2014)

fnsooner said:


> This thread wasn't started to discuss QC issues about Zebralight and their products. It was started to ask if anyone else had problems with Customer Service when they had a problem with one of their lights. All companies have an occasional bad light out of the box, what said company does when a product is returned for warranty is a different issue. I have returned two non-Zebralight lights that have had issues and 4Sevens and LightJunction solved the issues better than expected.
> 
> I have also contacted Zebralight before and have always had a quick response. This leads me to believe that they ignore when they want.
> 
> ...



Nothing has changed. I have bought one Zebralight and I will never buy another one. A couple of months ago I bought an SC600 MKII L2. It had a defect and I contacted the dealer I bought it from. I didn't hear back from them so I contacted Zebralight. They were insistent that I send the light directly to them for repair. I didn't want to send a two or three week old light in for repair but since I didn't get a reply from the dealer, it was my only choice. I sent ZL the light. A couple of days after sending ZL the light, I finally got a reply from the dealer telling me that they would exchange it for me. Unfortunately, it was too late because I had already sent it to ZL.

Fast forward to today, about 6 or 7 weeks later, and I still don't have the light back, I haven't received any word from ZL about anything, and I have tried contacting them three times and have yet to receive a reply. I have no clue what's up with my brand new light that has been out of my hands for about 7 weeks now. 

I've seen other reports about issues with their product quality and I've read several complaints about their customer service. Unfortunately I seem to have experienced the worst they have to offer on both of those, which if the reports are accurate, seems to be par for the course with them. 

I rate Zebralight a 1 out of 10.


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## jbrett14 (Jun 4, 2014)

It's so sad to see this lack of service. I own 5 Zebralights and all of them have been working flawlessly. Love them. BUT, should I ever need customer service, and should I experience what you guys are, I will look elsewhere for lights, regardless how good their lights have been.

We live in a age of CUSTOMER SERVICE. If a company cannot provide good customer service, they will soon be out of business, as long as there are other options for the consumer.


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## GTRmiami (Jun 10, 2014)

Last week they finally replied to me and said they would send out a replacement light this week. Hoping for the best but so far I haven't seen any shipping notification or anything like that. 

Lately I've seen a very sharp decline in product quality and customer service in many many industries. I don't know what's going on but I'm always getting new things, flashlights, guitar amps, electronics, and a bunch of other stuff, and have experienced an average failure rate of close to 50% across the board. With some products and manufacturers the rate has been 100%. And the customer service from most manufacturers has been equally bad. They just don't care.


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## jbrett14 (Jun 10, 2014)

You are not alone. I do kitchen & bath remodeling, and I OFTEN see customers getting defective appliances, furniture, plumbing & electrical fixtures, etc. There seems to be something on every job that gets returned. 

I suspect it has to do with the growing trend to focus on PROFITS rather than quality. I think these companies would rather just build things FAST and hope for a low return rate, than to take the time to build it RIGHT. It doesn't make sense to me, but I am guessing that they make more profits by doing things FAST, even though they end up having to replace many of those products.


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## GTRmiami (Jun 10, 2014)

Maybe that's it. All I know is that in general, consumer products have reached a new low of how badly they suck. Couple of recent examples in addition to the Zebralight from my own personal experience. I bought a Marshall guitar amp. I had to exchange it four times before I finally got one that worked. 

I bought a Hughes Kettner guitar amp. I exchanged it twice, sent the third one with the same defect as the first two to the manufacturer because they wanted to see it for themselves. After having it for several weeks they told me the defect couldn't be fixed, they also confirmed that every single one they had in their own inventory had the same problem, and got in touch with the retailer to authorize a return and full refund. Their customer service was also horrible and it was a nightmare. 

I bought an Ampeg guitar amp. Surprise....it had a problem. I couldn't exchange it because the retailer was sold out so I had to take it in for repair. A month later the shop called me and said it was fixed. I picked it up, took it home, plugged it in, and the problem was even worse than before. I called Ampeg, they called the shop, they arranged for me to take it back in. Three months later Ampeg contacted me and said they had no idea how to fix the problem. I was already way beyond the retailer's return period so Ampeg themselves cut me a check for what I paid for it. 

Bought a Behringer mixer. It was defective. I exchanged it. The second one was also defective with the same problem. I posted about it on a musician's forum and Behringer saw it and contacted me and offered to send me a replacement directly from them. They ended up sending me a used one that had been beat to sh!t and had the same problem as the first two. 

Flashlight related - a couple of weeks ago I bought a Titanium Innovations Illuminati CA-1 AL. Two weeks after I got it I went to use it for the first time. I turned it on, it lit up for half a second, then promptly died. I tried several batteries and nothing. The light died after about 1 second of use. Emailed the retailer, they replied that they'd send me an RMA. Still haven't received the RMA or any return instructions. Not sure why they didn't just send me the RMA instead of emailing me to tell me they were going to send me an RMA. Anyway, I've ordered one Zebralight and one Titanium Innovations light in my life. Both were broken. So now I'm sitting here with my brand new ZL missing in action for over 6 weeks and my brand new Ti CA-1 sitting here broken waiting for instructions on how I can get one that works. 

I'm telling you, products that are being made nowadays are all for the most part giant pieces of crap. And the manufacturers don't seem to care and have horrible customer service. In my experience, a product that works without any defects is the exception rather than the rule. BTW, the examples I gave above are just a small fraction of the incidents I've had with defective, poorly engineered, designed, and quality-checked products. And I didn't even get into the problems I had with every single one of their customer service departments. That's another story for another day.


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## jbrett14 (Jun 10, 2014)

Wow, what a pain for you. I hear ya. I too have had my share of cheap products that were not cheap in price. 

But I have also bought some very nice products in the last couple years, which turned out to be a better value than expected. E.g. some Timberland hiking boots, a food processor, a hand mixer, a toaster oven, some tools for the job, a printer, camping gear, etc.

As for flashlights, I have had good luck with Zebralight. The only lights that failed me prematurely were Olight & Thrunite, which didn't even last as long as a light from your local dollar store.

Flashlight purchases can be VERY frustrating, given the amount of money we pay for them. At the prices we pay, they ought to be VERY reliable and of excellent quality. 

Recently I was pleasantly surprised with a new light I bought, having never heard of the brand. The brand is Intovatec and the quality is EXCELLENT - most certainly on par with any JetBeam, Fenix, or Zebralight I have had, if not better. Time will tell if it holds up.


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## reppans (Jun 10, 2014)

The generalizations are getting a bit broad here - you get what you pay for. There're plenty of threads here you can research on best reliability/warranty/customer service where ZL (or TI) is NOT well represented. 

You pay your money and take your chances - if you want the exceptional size, performance, and features of a ZL, and at a reasonable price, then expect it to be a throw-away when, and if, you have problems. If you want the best in reliability/warranty/CS, then buy US-manufactured lights like Surefire, Malkoff, and HDS and sacrifice some $$, size, features and outright performance. If you want something in the middle covering both ends of the spectrum, consider Foursevens.

Perhaps I've been lucky, but I own ~30 lights and have gifted as many more and am astounded by how good these things really are and I am not aware of any outright field failures. However, I have had one DOA, several out-of-the-box issues, and a minor warranty repair, and I personally have been very happy with how they've been handled - you just need to find dealers/manufacturers that you can trust.

No different in any other product market I buy in either - do the research and pick your poison.


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## GehenSienachlinks (Jun 16, 2014)

I received my second sc600 only w version . 
First thoughts the the anodizing is great compared to me previous light some slight inconsistency .

My previous light was working great only had bad anodizing . I asked ZL to find me the perfect light .

There are several small defects in the light the first is that there are four small dents 1mm or less .
Second defect is two of the sides of the head have lines running trough them which is what the anodizing should look like but the other three sides are solid fill grey , you can see this in the next two links https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=518D18A8F942A129!249 
https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=518D18A8F942A129!251




When the light is in moonlight mode or lower modes you can see a few dust specs in the reflector .

The main problem is the LED is off center and there are three marks on the LED , the first one is a scratch on top of the dome , second one is it looks like there is small chip at the bottom of the dome an the last one there appears to be what looks like a crack on the side of the dome which is visible if you look at the LED at an angle . 
When the light is turned on indoors there is a reflection of the reflector pattern in beam , I know there is normally some reflection with op reflectors but this one is the worst I have seen .

You can see all the pictures here https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=518D18A8F942A129!247 .


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## KITROBASKIN (Jun 16, 2014)

I'm sorry. It looks like you bought a flashlight from a factory that decided it meets their minimum standards. Some custom flashlights look about like your unit I would say.

What the beam looks like is a really important metric, yet you did not show a picture of it. I am guessing the beam is good enough to pass ZL standards and would be acceptable to many people. Certainly you have the right to spend the effort to return it and hope to get a sample more attuned to your expectations. I would be willing to say the replacement will not be perfect either, in some way.

I have both, an SC62d with a misaligned emitter and another SC62d that seems to be dialed in. I like the beam on both of them except the one with the off center LED does not have a difference of intensity between the (not perfectly circular) hotspot and the corona. The corona is brighter on the centered LED than the hotspot; but in actual use (vs. white wall scrutiny) both work very nicely. 

And after maybe a couple months of Real Use, the scratches on mine will be worse than what you have. The anodizing on my units are not perfect.

Since I experiment with P60 hosts, You know there are going to be dust specks on those reflectors. They work fine.

I have lucked out before, getting less expensive lights than a ZL that have a clean build. And it is demoralizing to get a light that is so very much less than perfect. The decision is yours, and you are not the only one who has had to deal with this. You were not lucky this time.


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## Etsu (Jun 16, 2014)

The anodizing looks fine; it may not be perfect, but it's not at all bad. Dust specs on the lens won't affect the beam at all, so don't worry about a few dust particles.

I can't tell from your pics whether the LED is off-center or damaged. Looks okay in your pics, but check the beam to see if there's any issues. I'd run the light on max for an hour or so, to see if the heat causes problems for the LED. If not, it's probably not an issue worth worrying about.

Overall, your light seems fine. Don't expect perfection.


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## GTRmiami (Jun 16, 2014)

I finally got my ZL back. Not sure if it's the one I sent them or if they sent me a replacement. So far so good but for me it's a case of too little too late. Took them 8 weeks to get me a working light from the time I sent them the broken one. I have a very low tolerance level for poor service and I really doubt I'll ever buy another ZL again. Sure, the SC600 L2 is a very cool light and I'll use it quite a bit but I don't like dealing with companies that have poor quality control, poor engineering, and even worse customer service to take care of the problems caused by the poor QC and poor engineering. In the overall scheme of things, Zebralights are not exactly cheap and if I'm going to spend that much on a flashlight, I expect it to work and if it doesn't I expect the manufacturer to make it right without my having to wait 8 weeks with very little communication.


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## Etsu (Jun 17, 2014)

The trick for dealing with Zebralight customer service is... _don't_! Buy your light from a dealer, like Illumination Supply or any other that deals in flashlights. If something goes wrong, you can send it back for way less time and hassle.

Zebralight can make good lights, but they have bad quality control sometimes.


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## markr6 (Jun 17, 2014)

Etsu said:


> The trick for dealing with Zebralight customer service is... _don't_! Buy your light from a dealer, like Illumination Supply or any other that deals in flashlights. If something goes wrong, you can send it back for way less time and hassle.
> 
> Zebralight can make good lights, but they have bad quality control sometimes.



I think that also depends. ZL let me return a SC52w because of tint; no questions asked. On the other hand, a specific dealer would not.


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## Etsu (Jun 17, 2014)

markr6 said:


> I think that also depends. ZL let me return a SC52w because of tint; no questions asked. On the other hand, a specific dealer would not.



IMO, tint is a lottery with Cree and ZL. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. I don't think it's a valid reason for a return, unless it's clearly a problem with binning or something (like getting a cool white when you order warm white). I'll give kudos to ZL for letting you return it because of tint.


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## GTRmiami (Jun 17, 2014)

Etsu said:


> The trick for dealing with Zebralight customer service is... _don't_! Buy your light from a dealer, like Illumination Supply or any other that deals in flashlights. If something goes wrong, you can send it back for way less time and hassle.
> 
> Zebralight can make good lights, but they have bad quality control sometimes.



I bought mine from a dealer. When I noticed the problem I emailed the dealer. They didn't reply for several days so I figured they weren't going to deal with it. In the meantime I had contacted Zebralight who insisted I send it directly to them for repair. After I had sent it to ZL, the dealer finally replied to me and said they would exchange it. It was too late though.


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## CarlJ (Jun 17, 2014)

I don't want to, in any way, discount the problems that folks have reported. Just wanted to say that I ordered a "SC52w L2" direct from ZebraLight recently, knowing it was backordered, and received it roughly when I expected (about 3 weeks after ordering, IIRC), and the fit and finish is great, the tint is very nice, as is the beam (I'm astonished what they get from one AA), and I haven't noticed any problems with it yet. Again, not saying others haven't had problems (I haven't had any reason to contact ZL customer service, and I do feel your pain - I've had products from other companies that were DOA), but there is hope, ZL do manage to ship some really nice lights.

(Somewhere around I've got a _very_ old SureFire 6P that treated its first/only two incandescent bulbs as flashbulbs.)


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## Etsu (Jun 18, 2014)

Yeah, I think 95% or more of the time everything works out great. It's just the remaining 5% that seem to sometimes enter customer-service-hell. Not that this is unique to ZL or flashlights. It seems that a lot companies are offering less and less service. Sometimes if you run into problems, it's easier to suck-up the cost and move on; not worth the hassle of fighting it.


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## jbrett14 (Jun 18, 2014)

Etsu, if we consumers were to just take the "easy" route, and "move on", how will we ever change the standards of these companies?

I believe in accountability. If a business is doing something wrong, then they need to make it right, as long as they still want to be in business. 

In this age of reviews (Amazon, Angie's List, etc.), I suspect companies will be getting better, as the bad ones will get weeded out. 

Zebralight is a unique company, among many, in that they apparently don't provide the best customer service, and yet we flashaholics still flock to their products. The reason: Because there is no competition that builds a product with as good of a combination of UI, compact, & light output. So it might take some time to either have a competitor step it up, or for Zebralight to gain a little wisdom and take care of their customers before that competitor builds such a light. Because if all other things were equal, customer service wins.


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## Etsu (Jun 18, 2014)

I agree that people need to press for better service. But sometimes I find that fighting that battle just becomes too much of a headache to be worth pursuing. I have to factor in time & stress when I decide if it's worth fighting over $100. Obviously some companies (like phone&cable companies!) depend on that model, but they're almost monopolies so they can get away with it and still retain customers.

ZL is also in a unique situation, in that they have a very unique UI that enough people want that demand stays above supply. I'm not sure how their business model would scale up, which is possibly why they choose to stay a small niche player.

Personally, I'd pay $20 more for a ZL light, if it meant that quality control was vastly improved, and product was in-stock and easy to get.


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## jbrett14 (Jun 18, 2014)

Good points!


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## markr6 (Jun 18, 2014)

jbrett14 said:


> Etsu, if we consumers were to just take the "easy" route, and "move on", how will we ever change the standards of these companies?
> 
> I believe in accountability. If a business is doing something wrong, then they need to make it right, as long as they still want to be in business.



Very true. Amazon and Backcountry.com are two companies that come to mind about doing things right. Sometimes I feel like you can return a bag of dog poop and they would credit your account. Joking aside, by being so generous I don't think people abuse them like you may think.

Not allowing me to return a flashlight because of something subjective like tint is the same as not allowing me to return a shirt to JC Penny. Did I try the shirt on? Probably, so I guess you can say it's "used" or anything other than new. If they take it back and it's their policy, I can do it for whatever reason I want. Maybe I simply had a change of mind. I once purchased a T200C2 from Amazon and returned it as well; I just didn't like it for some reason.


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## Etsu (Jun 18, 2014)

markr6 said:


> Not allowing me to return a flashlight because of something subjective like tint is the same as not allowing me to return a shirt to JC Penny. Did I try the shirt on? Probably, so I guess you can say it's "used" or anything other than new. If they take it back and it's their policy, I can do it for whatever reason I want. Maybe I simply had a change of mind. I once purchased a T200C2 from Amazon and returned it as well; I just didn't like it for some reason.



Sure, if the policy states that returns are accepted for any reason, then you can and should be able to return it for whatever reason you want. Is that Zebralight's policy, or did you just get a service rep that made up policy on-the-fly? If that's their policy, that's great, as long as you can contact someone there to follow-through on it.

I like no-hassle return policies for any reason, even though I can't recall ever actually using such a policy.


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## markr6 (Jun 18, 2014)

Etsu said:


> Sure, if the policy states that returns are accepted for any reason, then you can and should be able to return it for whatever reason you want. Is that Zebralight's policy, or did you just get a service rep that made up policy on-the-fly? If that's their policy, that's great, as long as you can contact someone there to follow-through on it.
> 
> I like no-hassle return policies for any reason, even though I can't recall ever actually using such a policy.



It was within their 30 days, so I just followed the directions on their returns page and had my refund within a week.


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## LGT (Jun 18, 2014)

Etsu said:


> Yeah, I think 95% or more of the time everything works out great. It's just the remaining 5% that seem to sometimes enter customer-service-hell. Not that this is unique to ZL or flashlights. It seems that a lot companies are offering less and less service. Sometimes if you run into problems, it's easier to suck-up the cost and move on; not worth the hassle of fighting it.


I disagree Etsu. If you know you're in the right, then you keep hounding and bitchin and hope you get the results you were looking for. Many times this has worked to my favor. In the past, I've complained about problems to NStar,(local elec. Co.), general motors, and armytek. All problems were resolved. But if I would have just rolled over, I'd have been on the hook for about two grand. It's not just the amount of money, it's what is right. I've also waited 45 minutes in walmart to return a 14 dollar Halloween costume I didn't wear. Apparently they don't take returns on "seasonable items." But they did this time.


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## hap124 (Jun 19, 2014)

...................


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## Etsu (Jun 19, 2014)

hap124 said:


> I am going to show this post to people who claim "It's just you" and "You are too picky" when I explain the same circumstances. I know a lot of people, including myself, who have similar experiences and we are always told we are the 1% and most people don't have issues. I don't buy it.
> 
> I am not sure how wanting something to WORK as advertised and not be broken out of the box is being picky...but people love to blame victims and start arguments.



It depends on how close you are to a hobby. If collecting guitars is a really important hobby to you, then you're probably really picky about a new guitar you buy. But for the other 99% of people who aren't as obsessed about guitars, they think you're picky. And you really are picky, even if you don't see it yourself because you're so close to your hobby.


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## GTRmiami (Jun 19, 2014)

Etsu said:


> It depends on how close you are to a hobby. If collecting guitars is a really important hobby to you, then you're probably really picky about a new guitar you buy. But for the other 99% of people who aren't as obsessed about guitars, they think you're picky. And you really are picky, even if you don't see it yourself because you're so close to your hobby.



Hobby or not, I don't think it's being picky to expect every advertised feature of a product to work. If I order a guitar amp and it lists certain features and one of them doesn't work, in my book that's a broken amp. And for me it's not just a hobby. I get paid to play so I need gear that actually performs as advertised. Flashlights on the other hand are mostly just cool toys to me. I don't have a job (or hobby like cave exploring) where I need to rely on them so I don't really need all of the ones I have, so beyond one or two lights that I actually do need for dog walking, night hikes, power outages, hurricanes, etc... it's basically a cool hobby. But even as a hobby, I expect every advertised feature to work. If it doesn't work as it's supposed to, it's broken. Nothing picky about it. Either the product works as advertised or it doesn't. If it doesn't, then it's broken. 

I'm the same with pretty much any product I pay good money for. I don't ask for anything unreasonable, just that the product works as advertised.


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## hap124 (Jun 20, 2014)

...................


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## Etsu (Jun 21, 2014)

hap124 said:


> Agreed 100%. It's about something working out of the box, working as advertised, working for a reasonable lifespan (HP told me their printers lasting 2 years before dying totally is "reasonable") and IF something happens getting it resolved immediately and not being treated adversarially.



Sure, then expect to pay for all that service and quality. Just don't expect to get it on a sub-$100 electronic gadget. (Especially not a printer, which they practically give away for free so they can sell you overpriced ink cartridges.)


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## jbrett14 (Jun 21, 2014)

LGT said:


> It's not just the amount of money, it's what is right.



Nice to know that there are others who stand on a PRINCIPLE. Very nice!


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## GTRmiami (Jun 21, 2014)

Etsu said:


> Sure, then expect to pay for all that service and quality. Just don't expect to get it on a sub-$100 electronic gadget. (Especially not a printer, which they practically give away for free so they can sell you overpriced ink cartridges.)



I'm not following. Why should I have to pay extra so that all of the features a product is advertised as having actually work properly?


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## hap124 (Jun 22, 2014)

...................


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## Etsu (Jun 23, 2014)

GTRmiami said:


> I'm not following. Why should I have to pay extra so that all of the features a product is advertised as having actually work properly?



I'm talking about people complaining about minor imperfections on a sub $100 flashlight. Things like not liking the tint, or some minor anodizing issues, or a LED that isn't perfectly centered. Does the light work? YES, it does. It turns on, it has all the modes, it's waterproof, etc.

Don't expect perfection. If you get it, great, you won. If you don't get it and are able to complain enough that you get another light for free, then you're a good complainer. We all know ZL has issues with quality control. Deal with it, or don't buy from them.

If you want perfection, then pay a few hundred dollars and order a top-quality light that guarantees perfection.



hap124 said:


> I really don't understand people like him who argue against their own benefit and common sense. If he really thinks it's unreasonable to expect a printer to work for more than 2 years then he is not someone I think has a sensible outlook.



The last printer I bought was a laser printer on sale for $29. It even included a (starter) toner cartridge. That was over 2 years ago, and I've never even opened the box. I bought it to replace an ink-jet printer because I don't way to pay $59 for another set of ink cartridges. But I don't print much, so the ink-jet is still going.

If the laser printer gives me 6 months use, I'll have got my money's worth. Chances are, it'll end up in the garbage before I ever even use it, because it will be obsolete.

That's the disposable society we live in. Get used to it.


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## hap124 (Jun 25, 2014)

...................


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## GehenSienachlinks (Jul 1, 2014)

All lights I have have good anodizing , but two different patterns in anodizing is not common / its not a big problem .

Small dents in the light is not a big problem , I just expected beter quality from zebralight since everyone has been talking about the sc600 .

LED off centre is a problem and so is the LED having one chip in the dome , one crack and a scratch on top of the LED.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=518D18A8F942A129!285



[h=2][/h]


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## UnderPar (Oct 11, 2014)

Last September 29, I sent a message to Zebralight CS and I still have to receive a reply from them as of this time. I sent two more messages after September 29, asking if they received my light, but got no reply. Hopefully they will reply my 4th message that I sent earlier. Is ZL SC like this?


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## Derek Dean (Oct 11, 2014)

I've always gotten a reply within 48 hours, usually much quicker. If you're generating your message through your account and not getting through, you might try using the "Contact Us" button found on the dark gray menu bar at the top of most ZL pages. 

I've mentioned to them before that it would be nice if they would generate an automated e-mail to let customers know that their light had been received by ZL and was being processed. It would certainly make things easier all around.


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## Tapis (Oct 11, 2014)

Reading the whole post, it seems wiser to buy from a reliable flashlight vendor (Illumn, GoingGear, illuminationGear...) instead of buying directly from Zebralight.


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## UnderPar (Oct 11, 2014)

Derek Dean said:


> I've always gotten a reply within 48 hours, usually much quicker. If you're generating your message through your account and not getting through, you might try using the "Contact Us" button found on the dark gray menu bar at the top of most ZL pages.
> 
> I've mentioned to them before that it would be nice if they would generate an automated e-mail to let customers know that their light had been received by ZL and was being processed. It would certainly make things easier all around.



Thanks Derek. I just tried your suggestion. well, my previous communications were sent through my account where I got no reply at all. Hopefully I can get one using their "contact us" menu. Really appreciate your suggestion. Thanks once again.


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## Derek Dean (Oct 12, 2014)

Tapis said:


> Reading the whole post, it seems wiser to buy from a reliable flashlight vendor (Illumn, GoingGear, illuminationGear...) instead of buying directly from Zebralight.


Well, they have had some problems in the past, but from what I've seen they've been trying hard to up their game in the last 6 months or so, and unlike some of the retailers you mention, they offer a 30 money-back trial period, allowing you to return the light for any reason during that time.


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## fnsooner (Oct 12, 2014)

I view Zebralight as my own personal custom flashlight maker that has a drinking problem. I love their lights and think the lights themselves are very reliable, but if and when I do have a problem with one of them, I know it will be a drawn out process getting it fixed.

If my SC62w goes down, I will probably just buy another one and be content that when I finally receive my repaired light, I will then have two. 

For me, there's really no other option. I am all in with ZL.


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## outdoorguy82 (Oct 12, 2014)

fnsooner said:


> I view Zebralight as my own personal custom flashlight maker that has a drinking problem. I love their lights and think the lights themselves are very reliable, but if and when I do have a problem with one of them, I know it will be a drawn out process getting it fixed.
> 
> If my SC62w goes down, I will probably just buy another one and be content that when I finally receive my repaired light, I will then have two.
> 
> For me, there's really no other option. I am all in with ZL.



I hope that this is not a "common problem" because I have bought a few lights from them and I have never had to contact customer service for a problem yet. I really like the lights that they produce and I look forward to another purchase from them coming soon.


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## UnderPar (Oct 12, 2014)

UnderPar said:


> Thanks Derek. I just tried your suggestion. well, my previous communications were sent through my account where I got no reply at all. Hopefully I can get one using their "contact us" menu. Really appreciate your suggestion. Thanks once again.



I just got a reply from them, . After two weeks, :-( . . . . Well, they received my light and said that they will update me after 2 weeks or once the return shipment is made


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## reppans (Oct 12, 2014)

UnderPar said:


> I just got a reply from them, . After two weeks, :-( . . . . Well, they received my light and said that they will update me after 2 weeks or once the return shipment is made



What was your issue, if you don't mind me asking? Didn't you just get your ZL(s)?


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## Tapis (Oct 12, 2014)

I'm still waiting for my light to arrive after 4 weeks and can't think of sending it back to China for repair and wait another... 3-4 months!


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## UnderPar (Oct 13, 2014)

reppans said:


> What was your issue, if you don't mind me asking? Didn't you just get your ZL(s)?



After only less than a month of use, the light doesn't switch ON on AA. In 14500 li-ion, it does switch ON but on two modes only. And it switches ON immediately once the tailcap is installed and cannot be switched OFF. :-(


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## reppans (Oct 13, 2014)

UnderPar said:


> After only *less than a month* of use, the light doesn't switch ON on AA. In 14500 li-ion, it does switch ON but on two modes only. And it switches ON immediately once the tailcap is installed and cannot be switched OFF. :-(



Ahhh, sorry to hear that. Not sure if you bought directly from ZL, but the trick with them is to return the light outright as a dissatisfied return (if within the 30 day period), and then just buy another sample - that'll save you the 2 month turn-around repair process. Good dealers also will swap you out a new unit in the 30-day period. But please let us know how your repair goes.


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## Tapis (Oct 13, 2014)

Does the 30 days return period count from the time you get the light? Cause shipping from China to Europe alone takes about 4-6 weeks, I have heard.


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## Derek Dean (Oct 13, 2014)

Tapis, per the ZL website, it's 30 days from the receipt of shipment.


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## UnderPar (Oct 13, 2014)

reppans said:


> Ahhh, sorry to hear that. Not sure if you bought directly from ZL, but the trick with them is to return the light outright as a dissatisfied return (if within the 30 day period), and then just buy another sample - that'll save you the 2 month turn-around repair process. Good dealers also will swap you out a new unit in the 30-day period. But please let us know how your repair goes.



Twas a gift to me actually. So I have to contact ZL directly for the repair. Anyway, will update you soon as I receive my light again. Thanks.....


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## UnderPar (Dec 7, 2014)

I received my SC52w L2 two weeks ago and was SO FRUSTRATED after testing it. These were the results of the tests that I have made using the following battery chemistries:

Alkaline
Low Modes - not functioning
Medium Modes - only one M2 is functioning and flickering
High Mode - only one H2 is functioning and sometimes flickering
Strobe / beacon mode - not functioning properly. Sometimes it would change mode and sometimes not.

Eneloop NiMH
Low Modes - not functioning
Medium Modes - only one M2 is functioning and flickering
High Mode - only one H2 is functioning and sometimes flickering
Strobe / beacon mode - not functioning properly. Sometimes it would change mode and sometimes not.

14500 Li-ion
Low Modes - not functioning
Medium Modes - only M1 is functioning and flickering
High Mode - no H2
Max - no issues
Strobe / beacon mode - not functioning properly. Sometime it would change mode and sometimes not.

I emailed ZL CS two days after I did the tests coz I didn't want to be carried away by my emotions and might sound too rude. The reply that I got, three days after, was to use and Eneloop battery and check the voltage. I replied their mail informing them that I tested it using the 3 compatible battery chemistries and the results were so frustrating!! I still have to receive a reply from them after 5 days now.

No doubt there are so many issues with the CS of ZL. Unfortunately, I'm now one of them. So I have scratched my plan to purchase ZL headlamps and will not consider them anymore in the future. The 3 ZL flashlights will be enough and will settle for other brands now.


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## Derek Dean (Dec 7, 2014)

UnderPar, sorry to hear about your new light. If you bought it from ZL, simply e-mail them and request an RMA. Then, when you send in the light, ask for a refund. It would be nice if all lights worked perfectly every time, but these are complex, cutting edge devices, and yes, they occasionally arrive either DOA or with issues like your experiencing. I know, I've had my share as well. 

It's just part of the game.


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## UnderPar (Dec 7, 2014)

Its actually a gift to me and after just two months of use, its operations failed. For what reason, I did not bother to know. So I emailed ZL and they gave me the RMA and that was the time when I sent back the light to them. Unfortunately, when they returned it, its operation wasn't that how it should be. its as if they did not test/check it prior to sending. Very discouraging. They may have a good quality products but their customer service or after sales service sucks!!!


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## reppans (Dec 7, 2014)

UnderPar said:


> I received my SC52w L2 two weeks ago and ...



Thanks for the update UnderPar - I'm really sorry to hear it didn't work out as expected, although I'm not entirely surprised. 

I was going to suggest that you do an outright return, even if back through your gift-giver. I have gifted many of our other favorite brand/light to others and told them to return the light to me if there was ever a problem (I have enough extra lights/spare parts to cover any problems) and I would go back to the manufacturer for warranty repair. Hasn't been necessary yet, but we still have quite few years to go.


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## UnderPar (Dec 7, 2014)

Thanks for your suggestion reppans. Appreciate it. Well, I just refreshed my inbox and recived a word from ZL. Somehow my light allegedly got mixed up with other lights for repair or must have slipped through without being repaired. Wth! While they are still figuring out what happened, they sent a new SC52w L2 instead to me. They also advised me of the tracking number and will wait for its delivery. For sure it'll be in January. But good enough, it was replaced.

Note: Am really sure the light that I received was mine coz I took a picture of it prior to sending and compared it upon its delivery to me. On why they weren't able to repair it, well they're still figuring out.


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## reppans (Dec 7, 2014)

Well that's an excellent outcome you have there *now* - it seriously makes me wonder if you would have gotten it if you hadn't complained about it publicly here. 

I know ZL reads these forums and twice before I have read threads from others entitled "ZL Stole from me..." only to suddenly get a proper response & outcome within a day or so of posting it (with the OP going back to edit the title and change the tune of his complaint). 

At least people know where to go for some response .


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## ForrestChump (Dec 8, 2014)

reppans said:


> Well that's an excellent outcome you have there *now* - it seriously makes me wonder if you would have gotten it if you hadn't complained about it publicly here.
> 
> I know ZL reads these forums and twice before I have read threads from others entitled "ZL Stole from me..." only to suddenly get a proper response & outcome within a day or so of posting it (with the OP going back to edit the title and change the tune of his complaint).
> 
> At least people know where to go for some response .




That and I LOVED my Zebra a few years back until.....click....click.....click...... S***.......S***.........S***!!!! click click click......S***.

Which seems to STILL be a current trend with these lights. Damn shame, *GENIUS* engineering / design / size / runtime. I love everything about them, except you know, they don't work.

I reserve statements like this unless there is a painfully obvious flaw. I like to give companies the benefit of the doubt, but there is a pattern here.


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## UnderPar (Dec 8, 2014)

That's one reason why I brought this out here, because of their CS pattern. Also talked to one of their supplier and I got the same feedback that emails take forever to reply.

Anyway, thanks to this forum...... I love CPF!


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## Tapis (Dec 8, 2014)

ForrestChump said:


> *GENIUS* engineering / design / size / runtime. I love everything about them, except you know, they don't work.


They're definitely not built like a tank. So what are our alternative options here? Does Armytak build sturdier lights with the equivalent size, modes and lumens output?


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## CelticCross74 (Dec 8, 2014)

Got lucky with my SC600 L2 judging by this thread everything works, centered LED etc. and so far so very good. My copy has fantastic build quality. Hope I never have to deal with their CS


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## UnderPar (Dec 8, 2014)

CelticCross74 said:


> Got lucky with my SC600 L2 judging by this thread everything works, centered LED etc. and so far so very good. My copy has fantastic build quality. Hope I never have to deal with their CS



Am also happy with my two other ZL, the SC600 MkII L2 and SC62w. Twas only with my SC52w L2 that I had an issue plus of course the CS. Do hope the replacement will be free of any issues.


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## jbrett14 (Dec 8, 2014)

I feel that this is a very important thread. Although all 6 of my ZL lights have worked perfectly, this lack of customer service leaves me perplexed and wondering what I would do if I were to experience such poor service. I don't have much tolerance for poor service. 

Additionally, I am perplexed why this company seems to be so secret. E.g., the following questions seem to always remain a mystery:

1. Why does ZL not respond very well to their customers?
2. Is ZL a dwindling company that is barely making it?
3. Why are their lights often "back-ordered"?
4. Are they unable to keep up production? If so, why? Is it because they have the highest demand?

Seems like it would be better to just come out and admit any problems and be honest with customers. E.g. We have been struggling to build a good customer-service team, but we are working on it. Or, we have been struggling to keep up with demand as we are not yet equipped to handle the volume of orders. Or something along those lines, if this is the case. Honesty is the best policy. Customers will be far more forgiving and understanding if a company is honest with them. Note: not saying ZL is not honest, but there are so many unanswered questions about this company.


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## markr6 (Dec 8, 2014)

jbrett14 said:


> 1. Why does ZL not respond very well to their customers?
> 2. Is ZL a dwindling company that is barely making it?
> 3. Why are their lights often "back-ordered"?
> 4. Are they unable to keep up production? If so, why? Is it because they have the highest demand?



Just guesses and speculation here:

Personally, I have a feeling all answers are related to it being a "side job" for them. Or at least, not something they can 100% fully commit to. It may be just one of many ventures for them. Maybe just a few family members/friends running this vs. hundreds of employees?

Either way, I've had no problems with the 8 or so Zebralights I purchased and hope it stays that way. I'd love to see them really take off with more models, quicker production times, more stock and involvement here and on their Facebook page. It's a hobby/addiction to many, so keep your customers engaged and entertained 

That's just my take.


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## jbrett14 (Dec 8, 2014)

Interesting take. It would be nice to know, rather than guess or speculate. You could be right, but it will remain another mystery until they engage. The dealers don't seem to offer much to answer these questions either.


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## ForrestChump (Dec 8, 2014)

Tapis said:


> They're definitely not built like a tank. So what are our alternative options here? Does Armytak build sturdier lights with the equivalent size, modes and lumens output?



True, I purposely don't bring this up because they are designed to be small. They are definitely not that robust.

A few options:

Tank: Surfire Minimus

Always my first recommend - Good track record / 42 years in headlamps: Petzl - ( They also have an industrial line which is often overlooked, these are very tankish for a headlamp. )

And as far a Armytek, I just haven't heard as many complaints as the other small / long runtime / imported lights. So I would check them out as well. Seem sturdy.


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## jbrett14 (Dec 8, 2014)

From my research, the notion that ZL is not "robust" appears to be more myth than reality.

I recall one torture test which proved them to be every bit as durable as any other light in it's class.

As for Petzl, I have had a couple which don't even compare to the durability or quality of my ZL headlamps.


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## fnsooner (Dec 8, 2014)

Glad they took care of you UnderPar. I have a feeling that your public comments prompted them to step up and get you taken care of. It is a shame that it took that before they helped you out. I had to go through an annoying warranty situation getting an SC600 repaired that is documented on the first page of this thread. Luckily for me the flashlight I received back worked properly. I am not sure what I would have done if the returned light had problems.





jbrett14 said:


> 1. Why does ZL not respond very well to their customers?



I think Zebralight is kind of a mysterious company. They don't seem to be in cahoots with anyone or have a mother company(as far as I know) and their web site is pretty basic. I am not even sure if they are a sponsor on CPF. I have always pictured them as a small start up company with some great ideas, trying to make great flashlights. I am not sure if there is a language barrier that makes dealing with customer service so difficult or if it is just an attitude of this is the best we can do without going broke, take it or leave it.


I like to compare Zebralight to being my own personal custom flashlight maker that has a drinking problem. Has anyone ever known someone with "off the chart" talent at something they did but this person was unreliable and hard to locate sometimes? That is the way I look at ZL. I like their flashlights, I think they are reliable and if I have a warranty issue, I am resigned to their way of dealing with it. I also think that what you get for your money is a good deal, so I add that into the equation. 





jbrett14 said:


> 2. Is ZL a dwindling company that is barely making it?



I don't think they are a dwindling company, just a small one. As far as I can tell, they have a small location in the Dallas area and that is the extent of their footprint in the US. I have always pictured a couple of offices, for shipping and receiving , run by a couple of people. I may have it wrong, but that is how I have thought of them. I haven't read where any one has ever visited their shipping address. 






jbrett14 said:


> 3. Why are their lights often "back-ordered"?
> 4. Are they unable to keep up production? If so, why? Is it because they have the highest demand?



From watching Zebralight's "back order" and "in stock" status on the different sites over the last few years, it isn't unusual to see lights back ordered but it also seems like it doesn't last long before the light is back in stock. This leads me to believe that they have small batches trickling in all the time versus having large batches shipped less often. 

Bottom line, if any one has a warranty issue, expect to send your light at your expense and receive it around six weeks later. Don't expect any correspondence beyond the original RMA submission. This seems to be the most common occurance from my experience and reading others.

I may be completely wrong on my above judgement of Zebralight. It would be nice if there was a front man representing them.


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## jbrett14 (Dec 8, 2014)

Love the comments fnsooner. 

It just seems like since they do have a location in Texas, that things would go smoother.

Will a dealer handle a warranty issue? I would think the dealers have a much better response from ZL than the buyer does.


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## UnderPar (Dec 9, 2014)

Very well said fnsooner. lovecpf


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## UnderPar (Dec 9, 2014)

jbrett14 said:


> Love the comments fnsooner.
> 
> It just seems like since they do have a location in Texas, that things would go smoother.
> 
> *Will a dealer handle a warranty issue? I would think the dealers have a much better response from ZL than the buyer does.*



Yes, of course the dealer will always handle a warranty issue. But my guess is that, the replacement of the light will depend on their agreement with ZL. Not sure if they will replace it immediately. With regards with the response time, though I was able to talk to one dealer only, he himself confirmed that email responses from ZL takes forever. Its just one dealer though. Do hope that ZL will really improve on this aspect as this could be of big help to their sales volume.


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## markr6 (Dec 9, 2014)

fnsooner said:


> I haven't read where any one has ever visited their shipping address.



These are not my photos, but available as public information. The signage is from the previous tenant, not Zebralight. Nice office complex. Appears to be just a location for shipping and office work; I doubt there's any manufacturing/repair work going on here.


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## fnsooner (Dec 9, 2014)

Nice work markr6. That is pretty close to what I had pictured in my mind.


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## LEDburn (Dec 9, 2014)

ForrestChump said:


> True, I purposely don't bring this up because they are designed to be small. They are definitely not that robust.
> 
> And as far a Armytek, I just haven't heard as many complaints as the other small / long runtime / imported lights. So I would check them out as well. Seem sturdy.



Really? Says who? This thread? Oh ok..

I have over 10 Zebralights and only one has completely failed to work. I believe it was the switch. Another one had flickering lowest low but that was a wierd annomaly that has apparently since been ironed out. My last 3 since have all worked flawlessly.
Of all my Zebras, about 60% are flashlights and have all been dropped, at least once. My Sc62 sees daily use on a construction site and is CONSTANTLY being banged into scaffolding etc as it sits in my outer cargo pocket about knee level. The noises I hear would worry many people yet the light still functions 100% fine. Granted it's still somewhat new but all my SC52's have endured the same and survived albeit a little worse looking than when new.

As for Armytek, you clearly don't know about the saga many frustrated Wizard owners had to endure/possibly still are enduring..I read of customers waiting over a year and still no working lights!!!


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## photonhoer (Dec 12, 2014)

Hi Guys

I am the OP, and I decided to check in on this thread after quite a while not doing so.

Wow! What a variety of comments! Some seem more on point than others, but forums are GREAT!

My original post was intended to create something like a survey of the Customer Service aspect of ZL. And I guess I'd have to say that this thread has at least to some degree accomplished that.

To go back to 2011, I received a new hand-held light from ZL, and tho I was a bit frustrated and uncertain because of the delays, I have been carrying the replacement as my EDC ever since. It gets used at least once a day, every day, as I have a visual field deficit that often requires additional illumination in what would be 'ordinary' for most folks.

Overall, I have (8) ZL lights. Their small form factor coupled with high illumination output and remarkable reliability continue to make them my favorite, among more contenders than I'd care to admit to owning. I have used and relied on them in a lot (!) of extreme situations, and I would order another if I [really] thought I needed it.

So, for me, the quality of design and build seem great, but customer service appears a bit precarious tho they do come through.

John


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## fnsooner (Dec 18, 2014)

Hey John, see what you started. Seriously though, I hope this thread allows people to know the process that ZL uses for warranty situations and thus keep them from being agitated. I also hope that people who read this thread can separate the odd customer service of Zebralight from the product itself which is very good. 

I re-read through this thread over coffee. First time for page two. I see quite a bit of discussion on the quality of Zebralight flashlights themselves(as opposed to discussing customer service). Here is my experience. 

I own these Zebralights: SC600, H501w, H51w, SC52w L2, H502w L2, SC62d, SC62c, SC62w, SC52w, and H600Fw. All are in perfect working order. I did have an SC600w that quit working after about fifteen months of EDC. My SC60w has been my most carried light and it has been a workhorse over the years and it looks like the SC62w is going to follow in its footsteps. 

I have carried a Zebralight, of some sort, every day for the last four years. Five days a week I use what I am carrying fairly hard. I've dropped them, kicked them, washed(SC62w) them, etc. and have had one instance where my Zebralight has failed me. That is thousands of clicks and only once did my flashlight not turn on during that four years. To me, that pretty much makes the saying "two is one, one is none" an obsolete cliche. I am more worried about loosing a Zebralight than breaking one.



Knowing what I know about the reliability of the Zebralight from my own experience(very good) and taking into consideration Zebralight's warranty policy, if my SC62w were to break tomorrow, I would just order a new one and then send my broken one back to Zebralight for warranty. 

My edc flashlight is a tool. A tool that needs occasional maintenance and in the case of ZL, a repair every few years or so. Their lights may not be the most rugged lights ever made, but they are rugged, durable, and reliable enough for my needs.


As you can tell, I like my Zebralight flashlights, and as much as I like them and would recommend them, I think this thread is important to explain Zebralight's mode of operation in warranty situations. It is apparent that they won't tell us.


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## fnsooner (Dec 18, 2014)

Does Zebralight still offer fifteen dollar repairs on lights out of waranty? I couldn't find it on their website. Has anyone ever used this service? How was customer service during this process?


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## Derek Dean (Dec 18, 2014)

fnsooner, yes, they still offer $15 out-of-warranty repair for most lights, and like most ZL contact, it's a bit odd, but in the end it works. I've had one occasion to use it, and it goes like this:
1. Contact ZL, explain the problem and ask for an RMA for repair.
2. Send check for $15 and flashlight to ZL HQ in Texas. 
3. They send it to their factory in China for repair, it get's fixed and shipped back to Texas.
3. Approx. 6 weeks later you will receive your fixed light in the mail. 

Probably the weirdest part is that they will not send an acknowledgement of having received your light at the Texas office, or have any way to track the light through the process. This kind of freaked me out, so I ended up calling and asking about it. The gentleman who I talked to was super nice and verified that they had received the light and it was on it's way to China, and yes, he wished they had a way to automatically send an e-mail to folks to let them know their light had been received. He also indicated that they were working on being able to do the repairs at their facility in Texas. 

In any case, almost to the day, six weeks after I mailed it to them, I received the light back in perfect working order. No explanation of the problem, or paperwork, just the light in a box : )


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## fnsooner (Dec 18, 2014)

^^^^^Thanks.


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## Wiggle (Dec 19, 2014)

jbrett14 said:


> From my research, the notion that ZL is not "robust" appears to be more myth than reality.
> 
> I recall one torture test which proved them to be every bit as durable as any other light in it's class.
> 
> As for Petzl, I have had a couple which don't even compare to the durability or quality of my ZL headlamps.



Honestly most smaller lights are "robust" in my opinion. If a light isn't very large as long as it is built using reasonably good quality metal it is going to be very solid. Thicker materials matter more for very large lights where their own weight and larger leverages they can be subjected to (due to their bigger dimensions) can be problems. Take for example a long skinny light like a typical 2 x 18650 or 3 x 18650 single tube light, it needs to be stronger because there is much potential to apply significant torque to some parts of the body. Small 1 x AA or 1 x AAA lights would need to be abused pretty seriously to damage the housing.


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## jbrett14 (Dec 19, 2014)

Wiggle said:


> Honestly most smaller lights are "robust" in my opinion. If a light isn't very large as long as it is built using reasonably good quality metal it is going to be very solid. Thicker materials matter more for very large lights where their own weight and larger leverages they can be subjected to (due to their bigger dimensions) can be problems. Take for example a long skinny light like a typical 2 x 18650 or 3 x 18650 single tube light, it needs to be stronger because there is much potential to apply significant torque to some parts of the body. Small 1 x AA or 1 x AAA lights would need to be abused pretty seriously to damage the housing.



I agree, and I have not heard of anyone, yet, who has had a ZL physically break. At least not the housing.


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## markr6 (Aug 20, 2015)

I'm surprised I just realized this. Zebralight is probably the only online shop that I've seen in years that doesn't have a phone number. And I do A LOT of online shopping.


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## Raysbeam (Aug 20, 2015)

photonhoer said:


> I have long been a Zebralight fan [I used and wrote the first review of the H50 in 2007, http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?178839-FieldTest-on-Zebralight-Q5]. My first Zebralights have been heavily used and very reliable in use all over the world!!
> 
> But recently I have had a bad experience and am wondering if this is an anomaly or a more widely shared experience.
> 
> ...



I had the same experience as you, it took me 2.5 months just to receive my order from Zebralight then getting a DOA light and dealing with Zebralight customer service for months to get a replacement then wait months longer to receive the replacement. They ignored me for far too long. Zebralight may have a lot of fan base but I will never do business with them again.


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## pjandyho (Aug 21, 2015)

Raysbeam said:


> I had the same experience as you, it took me 2.5 months just to receive my order from Zebralight then getting a DOA light and dealing with Zebralight customer service for months to get a replacement then wait months longer to receive the replacement. They ignored me for far too long. Zebralight may have a lot of fan base but I will never do business with them again.


That is horrendous customer service. My experiences have been quite lucky so far. They even sent me spare headbands when I asked for it. Their response to me did not take more than 2 or 3 days and I got the SC600 back within a month. If I had gone through what you had been through, I would not have bought the SC62W.


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## WalkIntoTheLight (Aug 21, 2015)

I think their customer service must have really improved. A couple of years ago, there were lots of horror stories. Those seem to have dried up, and I'm hearing good things about their service. I think Zebralight reads these groups, and improves things when they see complaints.

They obviously do read these groups, given their funny flyer a couple of weeks ago about tint snobs. And, even with that, they then develop a improved tint using the EasyWhite LEDs.


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## markr6 (Aug 21, 2015)

WalkIntoTheLight said:


> They obviously do read these groups, given their funny flyer a couple of weeks ago about tint snobs. And, even with that, they then develop a improved tint using the EasyWhite LEDs.



That was great! I still feel like they were calling me out


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## pjandyho (Aug 21, 2015)

WalkIntoTheLight said:


> I think their customer service must have really improved. A couple of years ago, there were lots of horror stories. Those seem to have dried up, and I'm hearing good things about their service. I think Zebralight reads these groups, and improves things when they see complaints.
> 
> They obviously do read these groups, given their funny flyer a couple of weeks ago about tint snobs. And, even with that, they then develop a improved tint using the EasyWhite LEDs.


I do notice the same too. Lesser to no complains at all of poor customer service. I am pretty sure they had beefed up with the way they handle their customers or there would be tons of complains floating everywhere here.


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## reppans (Aug 21, 2015)

Could also be that their QC and reliability have improved, and there's less volume going through warranty/CS - the days of the monthly ZL reliability polls seems to have passed. 

If reliability has improved, I wonder if ZL will consider stepping up and standing behind their products with a better warranty, and perhaps even consider swapping defective units under warranty with new product from their TX facility so US folks don't have to wait weeks/months for a repair? Seems like the industry is really moving toward that... Olight, Nitecore, and Fenix have moved to a 5yr warranty, ArmyTek and 47s are 10yrs, Thrunite 2-yr free replacement, and several have US facilities/CS that will just swap you to a new light.

One of my two lightly used ZLs (an H51w) has developed a fubar UI - my first and only flashlight failure - so I'm hesitant buy another. But if the company starts to show some faith in their own products, through better warranty and CS, I'd return.


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## WalkIntoTheLight (Aug 21, 2015)

reppans said:


> Could also be that their QC and reliability have improved, and there's less volume going through warranty/CS - the days of the monthly ZL reliability polls seems to have passed.
> 
> If reliability has improved, I wonder if ZL will consider stepping up and standing behind their products with a better warranty, and perhaps even consider swapping defective units under warranty with new product from their TX facility so US folks don't have to wait weeks/months for a repair? Seems like the industry is really moving toward that... Olight, Nitecore, and Fenix have moved to a 5yr warranty, ArmyTek and 47s are 10yrs, Thrunite 2-yr free replacement, and several have US facilities/CS that will just swap you to a new light.
> 
> One of my two lightly used ZLs (an H51w) has developed a fubar UI - my first and only flashlight failure - so I'm hesitant buy another. But if the company starts to show some faith in their own products, through better warranty and CS, I'd return.



They do give $15 repairs for lights outside the warranty period. Which is pretty cheap, considering that if something goes wrong with these ultra-compact lights with potted electronics, they probably have to replace the whole thing.

But whether it's a longer warranty or a $15 flat fee, is it really worth getting a 5-year old light repaired? The shipping costs are probably more than the light will be worth. I don't have any 5+ year old lights I'd bother getting repaired, even if they are under warranty.


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## reppans (Aug 21, 2015)

WalkIntoTheLight said:


> They do give $15 repairs for lights outside the warranty period. Which is pretty cheap, considering that if something goes wrong with these ultra-compact lights with potted electronics, they probably have to replace the whole thing.
> 
> But whether it's a longer warranty or a $15 flat fee, is it really worth getting a 5-year old light repaired? The shipping costs are probably more than the light will be worth. I don't have any 5+ year old lights I'd bother getting repaired, even if they are under warranty.



Yeah, the $15 doesn't bother me as much as the ~6 week turn around I hear most folks are quoted. That timeframe makes a light disposable for me.... same goes for Armytek, although they're warranty and CS seem excellent.

I wonder about their "potting" it sure doesn't look like the potting on a Peak or Malkoff, for example, and someone here posted that they broke the PCB on their SC52 with a too long 14500 (that said, that's probably a better result than a Peak or Malkoff deforming a Li-ion battery ). Perhaps the electronics are potted in the pill, and the pill is press fit into the casing? Otherwise, I would assume "repairs" for US customers would just take a week or two, as new lights could/should be swapped domestically?

As to length of warranty - I had 3 yr old 400 lm Quark Turbo 2L-X that developed a small rattle, only with no batteries (dropped it so much the thread lock for the screw-in pill broke loose). Light worked perfectly though. They swapped it to the new 800 lm Burst Mode in 4 business days, and it didn't even cost me any postage . 

I'll repair 5+ yr old lights with manufacturers that offer quick, hassle-free warranty/CS...chances are, as above, I get a brand new updated version or equivalent, but I also wouldn't mind a working obsolete light to gift either - any 5 yr old light from a flashaholic is still 5 yrs ahead of anything a non-flashaholic has ever seen.


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## WarRaven (Aug 21, 2015)

Good post.
+1


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## WalkIntoTheLight (Aug 21, 2015)

reppans said:


> Yeah, the $15 doesn't bother me as much as the ~6 week turn around I hear most folks are quoted. That timeframe makes a light disposable for me.... same goes for Armytek, although they're warranty and CS seem excellent.



For non-US people, it's really not much faster to send stuff to the US for repair than it is to China, customs delays being a big factor. It's also not much more expensive (US vs China shipping).

In any case, I wouldn't mind waiting 6 weeks for an old light, because chances are I'm not using it much anymore. Long delays would annoy me much more for a 6-month old light.

But I can see value to good customer service and long warranties if you live in the US and can service your lights in the US (especially if it's free shipping both ways, though I presume not many offer that). I've never had a "good" light break on me, though. (Unless you consider [email protected] good lights, but I never bothered getting those repaired.) I'm generally pretty careful with stuff, though.


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## Crazyeddiethefirst (Aug 21, 2015)

This year I had a very positive experience with Zebralight Customer Service. I had an out of warranty light, that had a torn rubber switch cover from an attempted mod by the previous owner. They stated they repair charge was $15. They quoted me 4-6 week turnaround, but said there was a good chance that it would be quicker. I sent in the light, along with a request for an extra rubber switch cover, and in less than 3 weeks had the light, and extra switch cover. Light has worked perfect since and I felt I Was treated well by customer service representatives. I was so impressed I bought another Zebralight and I could not be more pleased with both lights. When it comes to customer service, I am always compelled to point out that Four Sevens has the best customer service of any manufacturer I have dealt with. Of the many FourSevens lights I own, I had a reflector that needed to be replaced. Unfortunately, the particular model had been discontinued years earlier. Reid, the customer service rep I spoke with, went through and hunted until he found one(note: he sent me 2 or 3 until he found one that worked). I have had nothing but excellent service and extremely excellent products from FourSevens!


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## Raysbeam (Aug 21, 2015)

WalkIntoTheLight said:


> I think their customer service must have really improved. A couple of years ago, there were lots of horror stories. Those seem to have dried up, and I'm hearing good things about their service. I think Zebralight reads these groups, and improves things when they see complaints.
> 
> They obviously do read these groups, given their funny flyer a couple of weeks ago about tint snobs. And, even with that, they then develop a improved tint using the EasyWhite LEDs.



My purchase from Zebralight was this year 2015 so I would say they are hit or miss with customer service. Maybe they treat the international customers differently I have no clue but with the service I received I will shop elsewhere.


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## Azhobo (Mar 19, 2016)

I just had deal with zebralight customer service again. I broke my sc62 while mistreating it. As usual, they took care of my problem within 12 hours and refused my offerd payment. I'm always pleased with their level of service. And I'm always amazed at their engineering and machining. Their lights aren't perfect, but their pursuit of their version of perfection is admirable. Now if they'd work on some throwers, tactical or...God forbid, a weapon light then I'd love to see the results.


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## gunga (Mar 19, 2016)

I know it's a bit off topic but posts like that are why I decided against Armytek and sold a bunch of lights to buy a few Zebralights.

Btw. How did you break it?!


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## Azhobo (Mar 19, 2016)

Prying of the front to retrofit a throwy reflector. Silly huh. Once you take one apart you can really see the design and machining involved. I could go on and on. As a small manufacturer, I'm always impressed.


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## gunga (Mar 20, 2016)

Ugh. Yeah. Don't do that Again...


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## Azhobo (Mar 20, 2016)

Oh, I will. I'm looking at the .900 reflector that gives the eagletac P-series 25,000 lux. Very do-able in an evening on the lathe. As soon as I can get a 63 with a "HI" emitter. Sorry, WAY off topic.


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## clifton4th (Apr 12, 2019)

Last year I sent my headlamp to Zebralight H600w Mk II for repair but never received the repaired light, even though I got a tracking number. The tracking shows that the light wasn't delivered. Zebralight ignored my first request in January about when I was going to get the light, so I opened a new case. That seemed to help: they offered to send me another headlamp. However, when I finally received their parcel in March, it was an old generation flashlight instead of a headlamp. I messaged them about it and again they ignored it. After messaging again they offered to exchange the light in case I return the flashlight at own cost. Any idea what to do? I'm not willing to pay to send the flashlight back.


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## rpaloalto (Apr 12, 2019)

Im not having much luck with customer service either. Sometimes they answer back sometimes they wont. Now they seem to be avoiding me all together. 
Not sure if they are just annoyed with me or are just understaffed.


I have been dealing with them since 2/28. First sc600w iv hi would shut off sometimes when going from off to hi. They offered a exchange. But instead of waiting. I chose to buy another light and pay for overnight shipping. I really wanted it for the weekend. The second sc600w iv hi arrived with huge solder blobs on the board and burn marks. It looked like a repair was made in house.


So now I had 2 lights to send back. I sent both back. Both were delivered to zebralight the same day. Yet They only refunded me for one light.


This is when the communication just went down hill. From 24 hour response times to no answers back. I would literally have to send 2 or three messages 24 hours apart. I even had to resort to creating new requests to different departments. Finally I got someone to answer. It eventually got sorted out and I was refunded for both lights.


Now That I was refunded for both Lights I placed a new order. for another sc600w iv hi on 4/2. It says in stock on the website. I waited about a week and still no sign of shipping. I tried contacting them. They finally answered and told me they are picking out a good one for me. One with out solder blobs.
This is what I dont understand. They cant all look like the one I sent back. If they do. Then they have a serious quality control issue.






This is the light I sent back. I appreciate they are trying to not send me one like this again. But does it really take 2 weeks or more to find one that doesn't?

Last I heard from them was on monday of this week. They said they made special request from factory to use less solder and it should arrive to them sometime this week. Well its now friday and I still see no sign of shipping.
I dont think customer service actually knows what I was talking about by ''they used too much solder''?
As if this is some special request for a very picky customer..

I just want this over with. This has been going on since 2/28. and I still have no light


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## WalkIntoTheLight (Apr 12, 2019)

Is it just that you don't like seeing solder when staring closely into the light when it's off? Or does it affect the performance of the light somehow?

If the light works fine, I don't see a few small solder blobs in a place you wouldn't normally be looking, to be that big of a deal.


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## rpaloalto (Apr 12, 2019)

WalkIntoTheLight said:


> Is it just that you don't like seeing solder when staring closely into the light when it's off? Or does it affect the performance of the light somehow?
> 
> If the light works fine, I don't see a few small solder blobs in a place you wouldn't normally be looking, to be that big of a deal.



Yes on a $95 flashlight. That solder job looks like crap. You can also see some brown discoloration on the white mcpcb. It's a heat or flux stain. I have lots of lights and none look like that.

Look I really liked the flashlight. And I still want one really bad. Just a little frustrated with customer service not answering back. Yes I can be persistent. And I'm probably getting on there nerves. 
I just got done sending them a message asking if it arrived this week and if not how much longer. It's Friday so I hope they answer back by Tuesday.


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## rpaloalto (Apr 12, 2019)

WalkIntoTheLight said:


> Is it just that you don't like seeing solder when staring closely into the light when it's off? Or does it affect the performance of the light somehow?
> 
> If the light works fine, I don't see a few small solder blobs in a place you wouldn't normally be looking, to be that big of a deal.



Yes on a $95 flashlight. That solder job looks like crap. You can also see some brown discoloration on the white mcpcb. It's a heat or flux stain. I have lots of lights and none look like that.

Look I really liked the flashlight. And I still want one really bad. Just a little frustrated with customer service not answering back. Yes I can be persistent. And I'm probably getting on there nerves. 
I just got done sending them a message asking if it arrived this week and if not how much longer. It's Friday so I hope they answer back by Tuesday.


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## bigburly912 (Apr 12, 2019)

rpaloalto said:


> As if this is some special request for a very picky customer..



It is. If it doesn’t affect the beam at all then the light is doing what it was intended to do.


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## Mr. LED (Apr 13, 2019)

Problem is some folks want total perfection for a light costing less than 100 dollars made in China. Such a thing does not exist. I’ve been working in the manufacturing industry for 20 years and I deal with both sides everyday. Some details that do not affect performance or reliability are totally acceptable for the manufacturer and the vast majority of customers, but there’s always those 0.5% of customers that think otherwise. Of course we do our best to fulfill those specific customers requests, we want to see them happy (IMO hence Zebralight made a special request for you). Maybe the batch they got had bigger solder (due to machining tolerances).

Aside from that, I do agree that QC for Zebralight could be better and just yesterday I talked to one of Zebralight biggest dealers, and they confirmed me that they’re receiving back lots of lights with QC problems, usually stupid things.

Lately I’ve bought a lot of Zebralights and received two with defects. One would light up beacon style every minute and the other had a switch that had clicking issues.


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## rpaloalto (Apr 13, 2019)

I get it. This is not a some super high end piece of equipment. But that solder job is very amature.
I have built a few small projects. Im not very good with soldering. I usually get stuff too hot. The brown around the led. Looks exactly like my last project. Too much heat to much solder.

Look I'm grateful zebra took it back. I'm just a little peeved with the lack of communication. If they did get a bad batch of lights with lots of janky soldering. I'm fine with waiting for a new batch to come in. Just like to know how long. Last I heard from them was monday. They said it should arrive to the warehouse some time that week. I messaged them on Thursday. Then again on friday. It is now saturday. I have heard nothing back. 
Like I said in the beginning communication was great. They responded within 24 hours. Sometimes same day.
Now its like I'm just on the poop list and they are ignoring me?


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## WalkIntoTheLight (Apr 13, 2019)

Yeah, I think QC issues that affect the performance are a far bigger deal than minor cosmetic issues that 99.9% of customers would never even know about unless it's pointed out to them. If the occasional solder blob keeps the price of the light under $100, I'm okay with that. Perfection costs a lot more than $100.

Although I have not experienced (real) QC issues, there does seems to be more of them from Zebralight lately. A few years ago, all the complaints were about ugly Cree tints. They now seem to have fixed that issue, but driver issues are now a problem on some lights.

I try to avoid buying any new Zebralight design (though I've done it with 3 of their lights in the past), since they do continually change the design slightly to work out bugs. Waiting a few months after release can decrease your chances of seeing a problem.


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## marinemaster (Apr 13, 2019)

Zebralight is outstanding in every way.
Never had any problems, 100% reliability and dunction[emoji1303][emoji1303][emoji1303]


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## rpaloalto (Apr 14, 2019)

Ok so now it's official. It's Sunday. My message from Thursday has gone unanswered.
I don't care if it's going to take 2 more weeks. I just want a open line of communication. How hard is it to just say " hey dude give us another week." That's all I want.


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## archimedes (Apr 14, 2019)

rpaloalto said:


> Ok so now it's official. It's Sunday. My message from Thursday has gone unanswered.
> I don't care if it's going to take 2 more weeks. I just want a open line of communication. How hard is it to just say " hey dude give us another week." That's all I want.



Could you summarize for us how many eMails you have sent total, over how many calendar days, and how many business days ?


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## Hugh Johnson (Apr 14, 2019)

rpaloalto said:


> Ok so now it's official. It's Sunday. My message from Thursday has gone unanswered.
> I don't care if it's going to take 2 more weeks. I just want a open line of communication. How hard is it to just say " hey dude give us another week." That's all I want.



I somewhat miss the good old days of phone and mail. You either had to talk to someone or you simply expected things to take weeks to resolve via mail. While email eliminates the delivery time it also seems to have eliminated any allowance for a company to work through their queue or backlog. I don't know the whole history here but it reads like one or two business days is being perceived like a significant breakdown. It's not.


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## rpaloalto (Apr 14, 2019)

They had been responding within 24 hrs, sometimes same day. But now it's like I just don't get anything back. It started a few weeks ago when I sent back both lights. They refunded one light. I asked where was the second refund. They replied they only got one back. I panicked and sent a few messages with all tracking info. I noticed that they had got the RMA and orders mixed up. So I sent a few more messages with some info that might help sort it out. 

I admit that I probably got annoying. And I even apologized for being annoying.
That's when the messaging back and forth went from within 24 hours to multiple days of me asking for a reply.

Look all I want is a estimate of when I will get my light.
Last they said was my light would arrive in Texas last week.
I have been trying to get a update for 3 days now

I would be fine even if zebra said look asshole give us another week. Then I know to just cool it for a week.

And I know some of you on cpf would be fine with the light with the bad solder job. And I probably would have been ok as well. But the staining from the flux. Is just not ok with me. The first light that had the shut-off issue had normal solder marks and no brown stains. Just like every other light I have. So I know it's not normal.

Plus I dont think they have multiple people answering. I think its only one or two. But it shouldn't mater. They should still send a quick message.


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## archimedes (Apr 14, 2019)

rpaloalto said:


> ....I have been trying to get a update for 3 days now....



Today is Sunday, so when you say three days, do you mean Friday / Saturday / Sunday ?


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## rpaloalto (Apr 14, 2019)

archimedes said:


> Today is Sunday, so when you say three days, do you mean Friday / Saturday / Sunday ?



Up till communication got hard, yes including sundays. In fact my first communication back in february was answered the same day on a Sunday.
That was for what backordered meant and how long. Ill try and upload a screenshot of my log from zebra


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## rpaloalto (Apr 14, 2019)

Look I'm just going to stop posting about it. I'm just frustrated. I have been trying to get a zebralight added to my collection since february. The sc600w IV Hi is a beautiful light. But posting about it is not going to fix anything. 

I just saw this thread and wanted to share my experience. I feel like I'm just being ignored by them. Like I said in a previous post. Communication was fast. Then it went down hill when I had the issue with getting both returns processed.


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## archimedes (Apr 14, 2019)

rpaloalto said:


> Up till communication got hard, yes including sundays. In fact my first communication back in february was answered the same day on a Sunday.



Although weekend responses from a business regarding routine matters are appreciated, I would consider this as generally exceeding expectations.




rpaloalto said:


> That was for what backordered meant and how long. Ill try and upload a screenshot of my log from zebra



Please don't "cut-paste-post" any private communications on CPF.



rpaloalto said:


> Look I'm just going to stop posting about it. I'm just frustrated. I have been trying to get a zebralight added to my collection since february. The sc600w IV Hi is a beautiful light. But posting about it is not going to fix anything.
> 
> I just saw this thread and wanted to share my experience. I feel like I'm just being ignored by them. Like I said in a previous post. Communication was fast. Then it went down hill when I had the issue with getting both returns processed.



The frustration is understandable, and sometimes it is helpful to have a place to vent a little. Would you post an update for us here in one week ?


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## rpaloalto (Apr 15, 2019)

Ok I just got shipping notification. As well as some of my questions from last week resolved. I may have jumped the gun on complaining about zebras customer service. Just fustrated that I have been doing this since 2/28
I do believe i got on their crap list and was being ignored to a degree. Sort of a "we will just update him when it's time"?
I dont know. maybe they just got busy now that spring and summer are here. Flashlight season? 

I do know that the sc600w hi is a really neat light. and should be apart of any good collection of flashlights.

In zebralights defence as far as the one with solder blobs and staining?
When I set up the rma for the first one. I asked about just buying another one and paying for over night delivery. Just to by pass the lengthy exchange process. I really wanted one for the coming weekend. 
They said yes, but to do it quickly. So I did. I did notice that when ordering the one for over night delivery. It said on back order? So maybe this one light with the cosmetic blemishes was one that was set aside from a batch of lights. It was just cosmetic blemishes. They wanted to make me happy by getting me a replacement asap.

And if it were not for the first light I would not have anything to compare the replacement light to. I would have still noticed the crappy solder job and staining. I would have been slightly disappointed in quality. but probably would not have done a return.

But zebralight does have some very nice lights. I believe they have designed their own drivers and and software? It's also nice to see they are operating in the U.S.A.. 

So if anybody is on the fence about a zebralight and comes across my last few posts. Dont let this info stop you from purchasing a beautifully designed flashlight.


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## archimedes (Apr 15, 2019)

archimedes said:


> .... The frustration is understandable, and sometimes it is helpful to have a place to vent a little. Would you post an update for us here in one week ?





rpaloalto said:


> Ok I just got shipping notification....



Thank you for the update[emoji106]


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## xevious (Apr 15, 2019)

Good to hear that Zebralight came through for you @*rpaloalto**.

*I opted for the SC64c LE and couldn't be happier. Terrific flashlight. I'd gone back and forth in my head about possibly getting an SC600, but after a few good communications with some Zebralight enthusiasts, I came to realize that the difference isn't appreciable enough to warrant it (unless I want a slightly larger duplicate). Down the road, I might pick up an SC700. I want to see how the QC issues get worked out.


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## likethevegetable (Apr 16, 2019)

That's a good philosophy xevious; I would say the SC600 is only necessary if you need 2000 lumens from the plus, throw from the HI, and/or need extended runtimes on high (for example a bicycle light). For EDC use and pretty much all normal flashlight use, the SC64's are tough to beat!


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## WalkIntoTheLight (Apr 16, 2019)

likethevegetable said:


> That's a good philosophy xevious; I would say the SC600 is only necessary if you need 2000 lumens from the plus, throw from the HI, and/or need extended runtimes on high (for example a bicycle light). For EDC use and pretty much all normal flashlight use, the SC64's are tough to beat!



Yeah, I have the SC600 Plus and the HI. I never saw the point in the regular SC600 version. I have a SC64 for that, and don't want the extra bulk unless I need it for throw or output.


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## clifton4th (Apr 25, 2019)

Yesterday I finally received a replacement for my broken headlamp. They didn't message me that they have sent it, it was just there. And they didn't send a return label for the flashlight they sent me before instead of the headlamp 



clifton4th said:


> Last year I sent my headlamp to Zebralight H600w Mk II for repair but never received the repaired light, even though I got a tracking number. The tracking shows that the light wasn't delivered. Zebralight ignored my first request in January about when I was going to get the light, so I opened a new case. That seemed to help: they offered to send me another headlamp. However, when I finally received their parcel in March, it was an old generation flashlight instead of a headlamp. I messaged them about it and again they ignored it. After messaging again they offered to exchange the light in case I return the flashlight at own cost. Any idea what to do? I'm not willing to pay to send the flashlight back.


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## Illumination (May 1, 2019)

Why is just about everything on the Zebralight website now on sale, discontinued or backordered? Is something going on?


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## WalkIntoTheLight (May 2, 2019)

Illumination said:


> Why is just about everything on the Zebralight website now on sale, discontinued or backordered? Is something going on?



It is??? The only stuff I see on sale are their old products. All the current stuff is regular price.

Maybe it was a website issue. Zebralight tends to ignore their webpage.


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## Illumination (May 2, 2019)

WalkIntoTheLight said:


> It is??? The only stuff I see on sale are their old products. All the current stuff is regular price.
> 
> Maybe it was a website issue. Zebralight tends to ignore their webpage.



click on the newer stuff. while some is available, just about every item I clicked on is listed as backorder. very possible they are just waiting for another production run of course, it is just frustrating that everything i've considered is not available


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## WalkIntoTheLight (May 2, 2019)

Illumination said:


> click on the newer stuff. while some is available, just about every item I clicked on is listed as backorder. very possible they are just waiting for another production run of course, it is just frustrating that everything i've considered is not available



Oh, okay, I see. Yeah, they have a lot as back-ordered. Although, I wouldn't take that too seriously. Zebralight isn't very good at keeping their website up to date. You could always order, and then you'll find out within a few days whether or not it's really back-ordered (cancel for a refund if you don't want to wait). Don't do it this week, though, because of the Chinese holidays.

In the past, I've had stuff shipped, and their website still says "pre-order" for well over a month after I've already received it!


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## aceo07 (Apr 3, 2020)

(I was looking for an easy way to contact ZL and found this old thread.)

Is Zebralight still in operation during these challenging times? I placed an order last week, and emailed them, but have not received any responses or order status updates.

Has anybody else had any transactions with them in the last 2 weeks?


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## WalkIntoTheLight (Apr 4, 2020)

aceo07 said:


> (I was looking for an easy way to contact ZL and found this old thread.)
> 
> Is Zebralight still in operation during these challenging times? I placed an order last week, and emailed them, but have not received any responses or order status updates.
> 
> Has anybody else had any transactions with them in the last 2 weeks?



I'm sure they're still in business. I think their US sales come from Texas, not China, but they're all built in China AFAIK. I suspect they haven't been re-stocked in a couple of months. IMO, I wouldn't order anything from Zebralight until the summer.


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## Bob_McBob (Apr 4, 2020)

Yes, they're still operating, though their customer service can be spotty in response time even under normal circumstances. Right now they just quote a blanket 4 week lead time from the factory. Some people are getting orders shipped in weeks, some people have been waiting since January.


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## aceo07 (Apr 4, 2020)

Thanks WalkIntoTheLight and McBob. I'd thought I'd get a new flashlight since I had extra time, and forgot the world isn't normal now. I guess I'll just wait.


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## Outdoorsman5 (Jul 27, 2020)

*ZEBRALIGHT - Customer Service UNRESPONSIVE*

Is anyone else having issues ordering from Zebralight's website?

2 weeks ago today I ordered the SC700d and 2 batteries. I have confirmed the charge on my credit card, and I have confirmed my info is correct. My order is still listed as "new" even though the item has been in stock. I have sent them 8 messages asking for an update with no response. Does anyone know if Zebralight IS GOING OUT OF BUSINESS, or has been shut down?

I have ordered from them MANY times in the past, and have LOVED them. Their customer service has fallen off a cliff this time. 

Thanks!


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## ChrisGarrett (Jul 27, 2020)

*Re: ZEBRALIGHT - Customer Service UNRESPONSIVE*

Anything’s possible with ‘closing up shop,’ but I would try calling them, as some vendors respond better to a ringing phone, than they do Emails.

Good luck!

Chris has


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## Outdoorsman5 (Jul 27, 2020)

*Re: ZEBRALIGHT - Customer Service UNRESPONSIVE*

I called the only two numbers I have for them (I used to be a ZL dealer several years ago,) but no answer and can't leave a message. I seem to be stuck with sending messages through their website only. 

I just tried to give a review of their customer service, but the website won't allow any reviews. Very strange.


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## archimedes (Jul 27, 2020)

_Merged with similar topic_

My understanding is that there have been some pandemic-associated delays, as discussed above (in the merged thread)


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## WalkIntoTheLight (Jul 27, 2020)

I'd be surprised if they've gone out of business, but I suppose anything's possible.

The only new product they've introduced in the last couple of years was the SC700 (back in 2018). And it's been 3 years since they updated their other line-ups. So, clearly something is going on (or NOT going on) with Zebralight.

Pity, as I'm a fan-boy, but with no new innovations in a couple of years, I have to wonder what they're doing. Either they have no design staff anymore, or they've taken a 2-year holiday.

That said, I think their current lights are still cutting-edge, so maybe they don't see any need to update their models. But still, it's strange.


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## Outdoorsman5 (Jul 27, 2020)

Well coincidentally, I just got a response from Zebralight saying they are shipping my order now. So, false alarm - glad they are still in operation.


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## DayofReckoning (Jul 27, 2020)

I placed an order last week and got my light today.

The SC700D model is not that old. I don't think Zebralight is going anywhere.


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## WalkIntoTheLight (Jul 28, 2020)

Oops, you're right it was released in the April 2019, according to their spreadsheet.

Still, I do think their MkIV 18650 models could use an update to MkV. It's been a long time for those lights. A bit more customization in the UI would be nice. Maybe add a dim locator LED in either the head or tail (probably easier for it to be in the head). Zebralights tend to just disappear into the grass if you drop them.


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## Derek Dean (Jul 29, 2020)

Just a heads-up. I recently ordered a ZL H600fd, along with a 3500 battery. Both were listed as in-stock, and I got a shipping notice from ZL the same day I placed the order. I also got a notice from USPS that a shipping label had been created and they were waiting to receive the package. Days go by, and as I continue to check the tracking number through the USPS website, it continues to show that they are still waiting to receive the package. By the way, I used the FREE shipping option. 

5-6 days go by and I'm not really concerned, but of course, we all can get a little impatient when waiting for a new light (LOL), but suddenly on day seven I get an e-mail from USPS saying they've received the light and it will be delivered the next day, which it was, and it's just as expected, perfect. 

So, here's my take on what happened. Shipping has gotten a little strange during this crisis, and I think ZL may use an intermediary company to ship the light (probably by ground transportation) to the host city's post office, where it finally gets "accepted", and it goes out the next day to the recipient. 

Anyway, just wanted to post that experience, not to complain, because I think a week is a reasonable amount of time for FREE shipping, but just in case somebody else has the same experience with tracking, they'll know to just wait a bit an their light will probably just show up.


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## Jimmyboots (Jul 29, 2020)

Derek, I ordered a SC52w a few weeks ago and my experiences mirrors yours. Shipping label created then 5-6 days of no status change then it suddenly gets delivered. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## WalkIntoTheLight (Jul 29, 2020)

Nice you can get free shipping. My biggest Zebralight complaint is that they have removed all shipping options for me except the most expensive. I can only order via DHL, at $33.19. That adds almost 50% to the cost of most lights. Needless to say, that has put a damper on my Zebralight purchases.


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## Derek Dean (Jul 29, 2020)

WalkIntoTheLight, I'm sure there must be a good reason ZL has changed their shipping options to your region, as I can't imagine they'd want to discourage you from purchasing lights, however, many Zebralights are available from other sellers. I know Amazon had my H600fd in stock and actually could have had it to me within 3 days, but I wanted to give ZL my business directly, so I didn't mind waiting the week. I wonder if these other sellers might be able to offer less expensive shipping to Canada?


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## WalkIntoTheLight (Jul 29, 2020)

Forget Amazon in Canada. It really sucks. Only way over-priced lights, and awful selection. I can order from Amazon US, but they charge a large shipping fee, taxes, duty, etc. It doesn't make sense to do that, and the amount they charge makes it clear they want Canadians to buy from the Canadian Amazon store.

People have recommended nkon in Europe. I may give that a try. I think the last time I checked, shipping rates weren't too bad. Not sure about their selection, but OTOH Zebralight's selection is often on back-order anyway.

I really wish Zebralight would go back to offering EMS shipping, which was about $15 so not too bad. They haven't offered free shipping to Canada in years. IIRC when I asked them about it a couple of years ago, they said Canadians were ripping them off by claiming they never received the light. Free shipping doesn't get them a signature for proof of delivery.

I'm guessing EMS may be skipping the signature now too, because of the unspeakable thing that can't be mentioned on the Internet. Perhaps that's why they've dropped EMS shipping, and that only leaves the most expensive DHL.

Or they could have just black-listed the scumbag that was ripping them off. I find it hard to believe that most Canadians are criminal, but who knows?


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## PoliceScannerMan (Aug 3, 2020)

Ordered a headlamp on Weds 7/29, had tracking # in 15 minutes. Said shipping label created, not in system all the way up until this morning Mon 8/3, and out of no where out for delivery. 5 days from ordering with free shipping to receive, I'm happy.


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## PaperKnife (Aug 4, 2020)

Ordered two lights in the last month or two from Zebralight. 
Both arrived quickly and they answered my emailed question within hours. 
I've always enjoyed dealing with them. Never had a single problem with them. 

Just my $0.02


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## likethevegetable (Aug 4, 2020)

Canadian here. I use NKON as they accept PayPal and PayPal will cover your return shipping if needed (I've used it three times). Shipping was inexpensive and decently quick (never more than 3 weeks), although tracking was spotty, no extra duties or fees. Customer service from NKON was A+. I ordered my first ZL directly from them, but won't anymore because of shipping costs.


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