The truth about binocular warranties (U.S.) (1 Viewer)

[redclayranger]

Greetings,

I am trying to understand the U.S. warranties offered by sports optics companies. The context for this is that I’m attempting to understand exactly what I’d be buying when comparing one binocular versus another.

I’m particularly interested in understanding which companies essentially employ (in practice) a no-fault type warranty that will repair binoculars regardless of why the binoculars need to be repaired (e.g. from being accidentally damaged). Presumably a company’s stated warranty could be entirely consistent with or completely contrast their company’s actual implementation policies and/or corresponding customer service.

Do companies like Leica, Zeiss, Swarovski, Meopta, Bushnell etc. actually offer something more in terms of customer service and free repair services than their limited lifetime warranties imply?

Depending on the warranty backing up a purchase, paying $2k (or $800) for a pair of binoculars may mean very different things.

Instead of only posting a question, I thought it would be appropriate for me to look into the issue myself first. Below is what I’ve found on the warranties for a select group of binocular companies. I’m very interested in hearing people’s own experiences that provide additional insights into binocular warranties and customer service for desired/necessary repairs. Everyone may have his/her own favorite bino company.

It appears there are a few threads/posts on this topic within birdforum.net:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=95163

Some are threads specific to a brand:
http://www.birdforum.net/archive/index.php/f-443.html (Swaro)
http://www.birdforum.net/archive/index.php/f-444.html (Leica)
http://www.birdforum.net/archive/index.php/f-442.html (Zeiss)

A summary (done by Eagle Optics) of product warranties can be found at:
http://www.eagleoptics.com/customer-service/product-warranties/product-warranties

Individually, I’ve found the following materials on binocular warranties.

Zeiss

Subject to limitations on electronic components, camera electronics and accessories described below, your Carl Zeiss sports optics product (“Product”) is warranted against defects in workmanship or materials for the life of the Product. If a defect that is covered by this Warranty is found, Carl Zeiss will, at its option and without charge, either repair your Product or replace it with a Carl Zeiss product of comparable specifications and value. This Warranty is transferable.
​

http://www.zeiss.com/C1256BCF0020BE5F/Contents-Frame/E18B95CDAE27FF5E852575910072CFF2
The warranty IS transferable.

Swarovski

Swarovski offers a limited lifetime warranty​

http://www.swarovskioptik.us/upload/media/media/34/Warranty_SONA[762].pdf

Leica
Leica offers a two-tier warranty:
1) Limited lifetime warranty. The owner must send in the registration card within 30 days of purchase. You might also need your sales receipt, so save it if you buy Leicas.
2) In addition, Leica offers a 3-year Passport Protection Plan for any accidental damage to the binoculars. After a disaster, if you send binocular back to Leica, they promise to repair or replace it. This warranty is good for three years from the date of purchase and is not transferable to subsequent owners.
http://www.birdwatching.com/optics/leica_warranty2008.html (not sure why a Leica link is so hard to track down)
The warranty is NOT transferable

Vortex

Vortex offers a lifetime VIP warranty:
Our warranty is about you, not us. It's about taking care of you after the sale. The VIP stands for Very Important Promise to you (our customers) that we will do the following:

Repair or replace your Vortex product for any reason at NO CHARGE TO YOU. It doesn't matter how it happened, whose fault it was, or where you purchased it.
•Unlimited lifetime Warranty
•Fully transferable
•No warranty card to fill out
•No receipt needed to hang on to

If you ever have a problem, no matter the cause, we promise to take care of you.​

Nikon
Nikon offers a 25-year no-fault policy:

If your Nikon Binocular, Spotting Scope or Fieldscope requires service or repair not covered by our 25 Year Limited Warranty, Nikon will repair or replace it (even if it was your fault) for just $10, plus return shipping and handling.
​

http://www.nikondownload.com/nofault.asp
Based on an email from Nikon customer service, the warranty is NOT transferable.

Bushnell

Since 1984, the majority of our Bushnell sports optics products have been covered by a Limited Lifetime Warranty. Bushnell Outdoor Products guarantees those products to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for the lifetime of the original owner.”
“These warranties do not cover consumer caused damages such as misuse, abuse or repairs attempted by someone other than our authorized technicians”
“No Questions Asked One Year Warranty ELITE Replacement Policy
(This offer is limited to one original purchase refund per address…).”​

The warranty is NOT transferable.
http://www.bushnell.com/resources/warranty-information/


Eagle Optics

All Eagle Optics products carry a limited lifetime transferable warranty in addition to:
- Eagle Optics Platinum Protection unconditional transferable lifetime warranty on the Ranger SRT, Raven, and Denali binoculars, as well as the Denali and Triumph spotting scopes.
- Eagle Advantage Certificate on the Triumph, Denali PC, and Energy binoculars.​

http://www.eagleoptics.com/customer-service/product-warranties/product-warranties


Meopta
Offers a limited lifetime transferable warranty

Steiner
The warranty covers manufacturing defects only and is valid for 10 or 30 years depending on the model.
http://www.google.com/search?q=stei...-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

Obviously there are lots of other companies, both well established and relatively new,
selling binoculars.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this topic!

 

[RJM]

Wow! Nice first post redclayranger. Welcome to the binocular forum. The admins should make this a sticky.

To me, the best "warranty service" is a product built with enough care/precision that it never breaks down and requires no service at all. Most binoculars over $100 today now meet this standard. Given how cheap binoculars with quality optics have become, they almost throwaways too. Easier, less hassle, to just buy several pairs rather than send one in for repair. I suspect most of the regulars here own more than one pair too!

 

[Tero]

I had Vortex repaired, I was the second owner. Paid shipping to Vortex, nothing more. Took a week or so.

Some companies leave it to you to find out where the repair is done, the addreess on warranty card may no longer be in use.

 

[Steve C]

My personal experience with Vortex/Eagle Optics, Leupold, and Nikon has been outstanding and I think you can count on more than your money's worth in service there. Bushnell warranty service, not nearly so much :C.

Those are about the only ones I have had to use for actual repair/warranty.

 

[rdmadison]

Bought a pair of Zeiss 10x40 from Cabelas. Had them a year and treated them roughly, including a direct drop onto the ice while owling on the UP. Sent them to Zeiss in Virginia for a check up on collimation etc. Came back perfect. NO CHARGE.

 

[harold9649]

You seem to have it good over the water my Nikons were 15 months old from new when i dropped them and Nikon charged me £70 to fix.
Harold

 

[Fireform]

IMO, Leupold deserves credit for setting the standard here. Their Golden Ring products have been covered by permanent no-fault warranty on the product (i.e., no matter who owns it) for decades.

 

[John S.]

Great post. While there are differences, most of those companies offer what is essentially a life-time or multi-decade warranty. I think your warranty list shows how the sport optics business has evolved. There are many more companies providing binoculars at a wide range of prices. However non-premium binocular manufacturers are delivering binoculars with continually improving optical performance. The range of binocular performance continues to be compressed from the bottom and binocular makers now find themselves competing in a warranty race.

I would be interested to read about the number of warranty claims vs number of binoculars sold. Because the cost of a warranty is included in the price, I suspect that warranty claims are actually low.

 

[Larry Lade]

Welcome to BirdForum, redclayranger. We are glad to have you aboard!

 

[redclayranger]

Excellent input! Thanks very much, these are helpful.

I suppose I could add my own experience with a binocular warranty.

I had purchased a pair of Vortex binoculars via an online classified ad system (don’t think we can say the name of such things) and discovered there was something amiss with the optics on the left side of the binoculars. Rather than return the binoculars to the seller, I shipped them to Vortex in Wisconsin with a completed “Product Repair Form” which included a brief description of what appeared to be the problem. I think it cost me ~$8 to ship them to Wisconsin (shipping costs would have been about the same to have sent them back to the seller as I recall). With no questions asked of me, Vortex sent me a printout of their test results on the binoculars I’d sent them and (what appeared to be) a brand new pair of binoculars(!). I think I received them in about 5 days after I’d sent the old pair off. Amazing. And these binoculars weren’t even from one of their more expensive lines of binoculars.

 

[spyglass]

As little as 5 yrs ago, Bushnell/B&L service was as good as it got. Send a $10 check in w/the bino for S&H, and they did the rest, even on old ones. They virually overhauled a 7x35 Zephyr (a US-made one at that!) for free...sent in an old ebay-purch 8x40 Banner, they couldn't get parts for it any more, sent a new Sportview as a replacement. I also sent a few in that had been bumped/dropped (I told them so), they recollimated, lubed & cleaned, no chg other than the S&H. But since Bushnell was bought out by the Ocean Partners Conglomerate, their customer svc has really deteriorated.....enough to make me quit their products (reluctantly....I was a fan).

 

[lilcrazy2]

Bushnell has an excellent warranty. I got an old beat up 8x32 Excursion off ebay for $8 shipped and sent it to Bushnell with my $10 for repair. After about 2 weeks I noticed the online repair order showed they were to be replaced with 10x32 but showed as backordered.

I called Bushnell service and they said they were replacing them with 10x36 Excursion EX's but they were on backorder till Jan 2011. I grumbled a bit about the delay, and the service guy asked if I would take 10x42 Excursion EX's which they had in stock. I said yes, and Busnell sent me a brand new boxed pair of 10x42 Excursion EX's including case, straps, etc.

Can't beat that with a stick!!

 

[Curtis Croulet]

I recently lost (don't ask!) my 2004-vintage Zeiss 8x42 FL. But I had earlier experience with their repair facility. In Apr '09 I fell on them with my full weight, breaking the housing in the hinge area. It took about two weeks for the repair. They charged me (since it wasn't covered) $129.45. I was fine with that. But about a month later I was horrified to find a big blob of white fungus on the inner surface of one of the objectives. I'd be inclined to think they didn't purge & re-seal them to keep out Virginia humidity. Sent 'em back. Upon return, the fungus was clear. No charge. But the focus was looser, the bin didn't focus as close as before, and the rubber armor was reassembled incorrectly, with exposed overlapping edges. I decided to live with it. But I was left with the conclusion that Zeiss NA service techs are careless hacks. This is an issue now because, in contemplating a replacement, I'm mulling over other brands, Swarovski, in particular. I was delighted in ever respect with the performance of the Zeiss FL, but I'm unimpressed with their repair shop in Chester, VA.

 

[Pileatus]

I recently lost (don't ask!) my 2004-vintage Zeiss 8x42 FL. But I had earlier experience with their repair facility. In Apr '09 I fell on them with my full weight, breaking the housing in the hinge area. It took about two weeks for the repair. They charged me (since it wasn't covered) $129.45. I was fine with that. But about a month later I was horrified to find a big blob of white fungus on the inner surface of one of the objectives. I'd be inclined to think they didn't purge & re-seal them to keep out Virginia humidity. Sent 'em back. Upon return, the fungus was clear. No charge. But the focus was looser, the bin didn't focus as close as before, and the rubber armor was reassembled incorrectly, with exposed overlapping edges. I decided to live with it. But I was left with the conclusion that Zeiss NA service techs are careless hacks. This is an issue now because, in contemplating a replacement, I'm mulling over other brands, Swarovski, in particular. I was delighted in ever respect with the performance of the Zeiss FL, but I'm unimpressed with their repair shop in Chester, VA.

Swarovision.

 

[Curtis Croulet]

Swarovision.

I own a Swarovski ATS65HD scope and love it. So I'm well-disposed toward Swarovski products, although I think the price premium above Zeiss is excessive. However, I've read that the latest 8.5x42 EL Swarovision has returned to the slow focus of the original EL. Can you confirm or deny that? I liked the focus of my now-departed Zeiss FL, or rather I liked it before Zeiss's repair monkeys worked on it.

 

[lucznik]

My experience with Bushnell service has been hit and miss. On one occasion (with one of their split-bridge Elite binoculars) the service I got was quick, on point, and free. On another occasion, I called about a problem I was having with a 7x42 roof prism Discoverer and the service I received was less than stellar. The guy I talked to even had the audacity to point out to me that I had already had something serviced by them (the Elite) on a given date. My response was that I had been unaware that there was a limited number of times an individual purchaser could expect to be helped - especially when that purchaser has numerous different products from the company. The tech backed down and I did eventually get what I needed.

I sent my Bausch & Lomb (Porro Prism) Discoverer in about a week or so ago because an O-ring had broken off from the left eyepiece. I haven't heard from Bushnell yet, which I take as a good sign as their website instructs that, if they are going to fix something under warranty, then there will be no communication other than the return of the repaired optic within 4-6 weeks. (Were they going to charge for the repair, the website instructs, they would send an estimate in the mail to be accepted or rejected before beginning any work.)

I would say that this is a critical moment as far as my relationship with Bushnell goes. If they make the repairs I need in good time and without any hassle, I will likely continue to include Bushnell as a option for future purchases.

If however, they choose to charge me or to cause me any grief, I will stop purchasing their products altogether. There are too many companies that excel at customer service to ever put up with one where it is less than a priority.

I'll try to remember to keep you all posted as to the results...

 

[mooreorless]

Hello, What model B&L Discoverer do you have? I have the 9x35 7.3° Field.

 

[lucznik]

Hello, What model B&L Discoverer do you have? I have the 9x35 7.3° Field.

Mine is an 8x42. I also owned a 10x42 for awhile and I very much regret selling that one. I didn't know tjere was ever a 9x35 in the Discoverer lineup.

As to my experience with Bushnell customer service; I am happy to announce that this afternoon my Discoverer was delivered to my door step repaired, recollimated, and cleaned. The work was all completed at no additional charge beyond the $10.00 Bushnell requires on all repair orders (even warranty repairs) to cover shipping and handling.

So, right now Bushnell remains on my "good" list.

 

[Surveyor]

Promaster Infinity ELX ED 8x42 no-fault policy

About Promaster Infinity ELX ED 8x42 no fault policy.

I recently, June 18th I think, dropped this binocular on the ocular end and jammed both eyecups, it did not appear to do any other damage. I got them back in the mail July 6, a new, boxed replacement.

The only minor hassle, I had to include an original sales receipt, which I had misplaced. Fortunately, I had bought these from Cameraland NY and an email got me a copy in about 20 minutes.

Very well satisfied with the service of both Promaster and Cameraland NY.

 

[ronh]

A friend's Nikon Monarch recently had a broken eyecup. They told her replacement was easy, just screw off/on, and they'd send her one, for $30, and if she did the replacement herself it would void her warranty. That is stupid.

So she sent it in. They repaired it, and shipped it back, free, inside two weeks. And that is excellent.

Take your pick!
RonH