ZWO bad warranty warning.

StevenEvan

I purchased a camera from the ZWO store on Aliexpress and the USB 3.0 cable was faulty right out of the box.
This is where we are after 11 days of emails to Yuchuan Mao.

When I contacted them about it they first said that it would be easier to buy a new one than pay for shipping to send it back.
I asked if I could send them a video showing the cable was undamaged and that it was not working.
ZWO said no need to send it back just provide a receipt. Sounds like they are going to be reasonable, but I was wrong as you will soon see.
Receipt sent.
They then claimed they didn't recognize the receipt, it was not from ZWO or any of their authorized agents. So I would get no warranty.
I provided evidence that the store was in fact owned by ZWO. They didn't even know this was their own store.
I was now told I had to give them $20 for shipping. Even though their site says they will pay return shipping. They claim that because I didn't return the item I have to pay for their shipping now.
I requested an RA number and I would return the cable. It will cost less than $20 for me to do this and they could pay for the shipping of the warranty item.
Yuchuan Mao from ZWO said "why would we want a faulty cable, you have to pay $20 or you don't get cable"
So far I've been told 3 times to just buy myself a new cable, it will be cheaper.

So here I am, I never received a working cable, that ZWO supplied faulty, and I have to pay another $20 just to get a working cable that I already paid for.

In the country where I live it is illegal to do this. A company must pay for shipping both ways for any faulty item.
This means they cannot escape from a warranty using this ploy. If they don't pay shipping both ways the government fines the company. Yeah, I know what you're all thinking, Chinese company, we should not expect good customer service or warranty support. Why not, LG a South Korean company provide great service.

I have a LG TV. Three years outside warranty I noticed a discoloration on the center of the OLED panel. I called LG and they sent out a service man, replaced the OLED panel, 3 years over the warranty, no charge. No charge for shipping, labor or the OLED panel, no arguments. Amazing what some companies will do.

But ZWO, I've spent more on ZWO products than on that TV however, it would be easier to get China out of Tibet than a USB cable out of ZWO.

Anyway, It's only a cable, life will go on. However, I just wanted to let others know not to expect a good warranty experience from ZWO every time.

Astrophotog

That’s unfortunate. If you were just wanting a cable you would think that it would’ve been easier just for them to mail you one as a good gesture and good PR.

w7ay

Astrophotog That’s unfortunate. If you were just wanting a cable you would think that it would’ve been easier just for them to mail you one as a good gesture and good PR.

Same thing happened to someone else on this forum who needed a replacement microSD card for his ASIAIR. He had to depend on fellow posters to this forum for help because ZWO refused to just drop one in the mail to him.

By the way, do not use any cable that comes with the ZWO cameras or ASIAIR. I always throw mine away when I open the boxes from ZWO. Even their power cables are no good; documented here:

https://bbs.astronomy-imaging-camera.com/d/16270-asiair-power-cables

With the time wasted in debugging bad cables from ZWO, you could have paid for a better cable from even Amazon.

Chen

Astrophotog

I also had an issue with them. On my EAF, The mounting plate did not have threaded holes or they were tapped incorrectly. While trying to install it one of the bolts broke off in the hole, And I asked them to send me just the plate and they said no. They blamed it on me and said it was an installation error. I too have made a significant investment with them, I don’t understand why they nickel and dime people on small little parts like this.

thomsdak

Believe it or not you had a better service than I did. I also had what I thought was a faulty usb3 cable. When I contacted them and asked for a replacement I was informed that the usb cable is not covered by warranty because of the nature of its use. They did not explain what the nature of its use means. they just told me to buy another one. I later found out that the cable was not the problem but the slot where the cable plugs in was bad. When I contacted the company they sent me a return authorization and paid for the shipping but I was advised that the slot the cable is plugged into is not covered by warranty because, you guessed it, of the nature of its use. No more room- it gets worse.

Corsair

Yeah. One area where ZWO could definitely improve is their after sales service.

I have found it better to deal with stores - e.g. Bintel in Australia, or High Point Scientific- than dealing with the manufacturer.

I personally wouldn't buy expensive astro gear from Ali Express etc.

None of this excuses ZWO's approach to customer support, though.