^^THIS^^
I recently picked up a set of higher end NV Bino's from a smaller authorized dealer of NVD (NVdevices.com), one side would not fully focus, contacted the company and instead of mailing them in for warranty repair (which I fully expected would be the case) the manager said: "...since warranty lead times are weeks if not months out, I don't want you to be without the equipment you just paid for, I've got a new unit sitting right here I will swap you out with."
No pushback, no BS, just solved the problem and understood the idea that a NEW item should work and if it doesn't you make good on your promised transaction. Took less than 12 minutes on the phone and it was in process.
Yes, I've had a loaner scope literally cross paths en route with a warranty return with a documented tracking issue. Kosher Surplus exists on the far other end of the CS spectrum.
So here's my tale of woe. The TLDR version is that Kosher Surplus is the worst e-merchant I have ever dealt with, cat food to carbines, by at least an order of magnitude.
I got a heads up from a friend for a good deal (or so it seemed at the time) on a Steiner DBAL. I had never heard of Kosher Surplus, checked around, including this thread in its infancy, assumed at least a baseline level of integrity absent any negative feedback that I could find, and pulled the trigger.
The unit was defective right out of the box. It happens; just a minor annoyance at this stage. I contacted Kosher Surplus:
Comment or Message |
I'll need to return the DBAL-I2 for exchange, order # #### The IR laser cannot be boresighted. The unit arrived with the elevation adjustment at the full clockwise extent of its travel rather than the factory neutral position. When I attempted the manufacturer's factory neutral reset procedure for the elevation adjustment I noted that there were no tactile clicks, and that the index mark on the adjustment knob was not present. I confirmed through my PVS 14 that moving the elevation knob produced no discernible change in the POI at 10 yards. Visible laser function is nominal. |
and an entity that identified itself as"Benny Harrens" responded. No idea if such a person actually exists; could very well just be a sock puppet for the
registered owner of Kosher Surplus, Benjamin Danziger.
Kosher Surplus just threw up its hands and said "not our problem."
On Dec 13, 2021, at 3:08 PM, Benny Harrens <[email protected]> wrote:
Sorry for the issue.
Please fill out a rma repair form on steiner USA website. Once they reply with a RMA NUMBER send it to me and I will have them send you a label and expedite the repair.
I responded:
Steiner is quoting 8-10 weeks to even look at a product that was defective right out of the box. Here’s the deal. Either you stand by the products you sell or you don’t. What’s it going to be?
Kosher Surplus:
They will send you a label and do a two week turn around. We have a special arrangement for these units.
Keep that two-week/"special arrangement" thing in mind. It comes up again. Needless to say this wasn't satisfactory to me:
Sorry, not interested in a nebulous promise of performance. What would be acceptable to me would be you accepting the return of the defective merchandise, exchanging it with an item from stock. Then you can use your special relationship with the manufacturer to resolve the issue.
Kosher Surplus:
We can’t accept returns once it’s been opened. We have no way to verify or fix the issue. Steiner will send you a label and have it fixed in 2 weeks. Everyone has gotten their unit back quickly that has had issues.
Send me the RMA number when you have it and we will make sure Steiner sends you a label promptly and gets any issues fixed.
Thank you
Ben
At this point I had to concede that Kosher Surplus had defeated me. I had initiated a return with the manufacturer as a contingency. The turnaround time they quoted was appalling, but the cherry on top of this shit sundae was the following exchange.
Moi:
the vendor claims to have a "special arrangement" with you. Can you please resolve the difference between their claim of a 2 week turnaround:
"They will send you a label and do a two week turn around. We have a special arrangement for these units. "
and the stated 8-10 weeks on your website?
Steiner:
LOL, no such thing as a two week turn around. Please tell me who said that at Kosher so I can yell at them.
So there you have it. The best case scenario here is that Kosher Surplus has a personnel problem in that the public face of the company is a lying POS. If that is indeed the case and someone with the juice to make this right reads this and wants to do so I will gladly make a public acknowledgement of same. Otherwise unless you need something like <checks notes> .45 ACP tracers, avoid Kosher Surplus like the plague. There's nothing else that you need that they sell that you can't get from far better people.