Inkbird Not Standing Behind Product

[Little c big D]

I'll take that as a "yes" i don't own business and can't relate firsthand to issues and concerns business owners face everyday. You have a warranty for the ability to say no i won't fix past a date, and as a sales pitch, longer warranties are more attractive to gain sales.

Customer satisfaction, good will, business security and longevity, and word of mouth reputation and advertising is the reason you "have a warranty expiration if you don't intend to uphold it"

It's common sense to send a $1 part, i.e., temperature probe, at cost to a customer to retain that customer for future purchases and to have him then encourage others to buy your products.

Any low level employee of mine would send this part to that customer without a second thought.

Lol. I have nothing to say if you feel the need to attack someone due to having a different opinion.

 

[Soren]

I'll take that as a "yes" i don't own business and can't relate firsthand to issues and concerns business owners face everyday. You have a warranty for the ability to say no i won't fix past a date, and as a sales pitch, longer warranties are more attractive to gain sales.

Customer satisfaction, good will, business security and longevity, and word of mouth reputation and advertising is the reason you "have a warranty expiration if you don't intend to uphold it"

It's common sense to send a $1 part, i.e., temperature probe, at cost to a customer to retain that customer for future purchases and to have him then encourage others to buy your products.

Any low level employee of mine would send this part to that customer without a second thought.

I agree with you on all points you made. What I am unclear on in this case is whether the warranty request after warranty period was for the temperature probe or for a replacement temperature controller unit.
...and, although I agree on questions of how long the warranty period should be, I think it unfair to bring into question the customer service of a company simply because they upheld a warranty period? Do they have a history of failures just past the warranty period and refuse to address the issue? I am pretty unfamiliar with this company's policies and standing history.

 

[Soren]

Lol. I have nothing to say if you feel the need to attack someone due to having a different opinion.

Ah, I don't think that was meant as an attack, rather that @Mywifeisgunnakillme is bringing up points from the business owner's perspective of keeping customers happy when your earlier arguments are from the perspective of upholding the specific warranty period that was agreed upon for both the customer and company (which may end in protected profits but bad publicity for the company, fair or not).

 

[Little c big D]

Ah, I don't think that was meant as an attack, rather that @Mywifeisgunnakillme is bringing up points from the business owner's perspective of keeping customers happy when your earlier arguments are from the perspective of upholding the specific warranty period that was agreed upon for both the customer and company (which may end in protected profits but bad publicity for the company, fair or not).

It's more so the questioning my experience based on my opinion.

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

Lol. I have nothing to say if you feel the need to attack someone due to having a different opinion.

I am not attacking u. I answered your question directly.

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

It's more so the questioning my experience based on my opinion.

I asked you if you owned a business. You didnt respond and instead asked me a question. I answered your question and believe you do not own a businness based both on your lack if an answer to that question and because of the question you asked in return; any business owner dealing with customers would readily answer your question the way that i did.

If that is questioning your experience, which appears to be none in regard to owning and running a business, so be it.

 

[jda]

This is probably going to be unpopular, but when has Inkbird been a brand with a super amount of reliability? The have long history of failures, drifting, failing probes, etc. These are not industrial grade products nor do they carry that price tag. If longevity and reliability were the main factors, then why not get a Ranco? Is this a case of misplaced expectations?

 

[Big E]

This is probably going to be unpopular, but when has Inkbird been a brand with a super amount of reliability? The have long history of failures, drifting, failing probes, etc. These are not industrial grade products nor do they carry that price tag. If longevity and reliability were the main factors, then why not get a Ranco? Is this a case of misplaced expectations?

I couldn't agree more.................Inkbirds are total junk.
Rancos have decades of success in this hobby. I have the same one I bought over 22 years ago. The other I have is going on 9 years.

The ink bird I bought didn't last 2 years. When it got over 10 degrees off it was time to throw it away. There are many documented failures throughout the reef forums on Inkbirds.

 

[A Young Reefer]

First of all , boy isn’t this convo on heat .

you can’t blame the company for not replacing something outside it’s warranty period . You have technically agreed to the “Terms and conditions” when buying the product .

On the other hand the company could’ve just replaced it and got another happy customer after all no customers no business , I don’t believe that it would’ve costed them anything to replace it ( even though I still don’t see a justification for doing so )

the company might have gained popularity after this , like take me for example ; I didn’t know much about the brand until now . Or they have lost future customers based on the review of an unhappy customer .

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

Warranty is not always about the full life of the product. Warranty is completely about the original "contract" in purchase to deal with the time-frame of possible manufacturing defects and their likelihood or relative risk.
My opinion is that a warranty should be held to exactly the length of time that was agreed upon in the original "contract" of the purchase. As soon as there are exceptions, there is too much potential for the exceptions to be taken advantage of.
Now, whether or not the warranty on the Inkbird controller should be longer or not is still a valid question, but it is one that is up to Inkbird to determine and offer in the warranty with their product.

...also, the product "abruptly" ceasing to work is always the case with an electronic product, is it not? It is unlikely that an issue in the circuitry would only make the temperature slightly off from what it should be, since even small failures in a circuit can cause major changes to the logic of the circuit.


The example of "unlimited warranties" is the extreme to prove the point that, as soon as you start to extend the warranty beyond the original agreement, you may start down a slippery slope toward the extreme of "unlimited" warranty. If Inkbird wanted to guarantee the product to the warranty period plus 3 additional months, they would have made the warranty period 3 months longer in order to protect their business with a specific "contract" on the purchase with the warranty.

How long the warranty period should be may be a valid question for Inkbird to continue to assess (obviously not assuming this assessment did not already happen to determine the original number), but a product failing after warranty period and not being covered by the warranty seems completely reasonable to me.


Life of product and manufacturing-defect warranties are two very different things in my mind. Things (especially electronics) fail for many reasons beyond manufacturing defects, so warranty is not necessarily lifetime unless specifically stated. I'm pretty sure that it is absolute fact that all products have some failures just outside of the warranty period. Decision-making requires more information about tendencies and average statistics or risk of failure rate more than just one case on the fringe.

Although it could be bad publicity for a company, there is more to a company image than one situation in which a customer is not satisfied. Though it is disappointing that the temperature probe failed, I think it unfair to claim a company is not standing behind their product when it failed after the warranty period that was agreed upon in the contract of purchase...
I personally hope that anyone reading this would not automatically assume the company is terrible when the information indicates that they upheld their part of the contract. Maybe they will still find it worthwhile to guarantee their product with a longer warranty period or make a temperature probe that is more-easily replaceable in the future? They will make the decision they think best for their company.

I don't know, just my opinions about this situation...

Plus if they did a 15 month warranty, someone would complain when it died in 18 months.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

Neptune and Ecotech? You are comparing an item that probably costs hundreds of dollars to one that costs $30. Completely different scenarios.

I honestly can’t believe there is this much debate over a 30 item that lasted 3 months past it’s warranty period.

 

[hllb]

I honestly can’t believe there is this much debate over a 30 item that lasted 3 months past it’s warranty period.

Same. People keep talking about the bad press the company got from this thread, but most people in this thread seem to be siding with the company. Yes, unfortunate it died in 15 months, but the company did nothing wrong.

For the Ranco that people are mentioning, is there one that will switch on a heater and a chiller via one unit? Doesn't seem to be - seems like you'd need separate controllers for each? My ink bird is going on 2 years now so thinking about replacement in the relatively near future.

 

[Tamberav]

Most companies will tell you to go pound sand if it’s out of warranty.

Many credit cards will extend the warranty by a year. If you used such one then you can contact them for a replacement. When I make big purchases, I often put it on a specific card for this reason.

 

[Adamantium]

Same. The OP keeps talking about the bad press the company got from this thread, but most people in this thread seem to be siding with the company. Yes, unfortunate it died in 15 months, but the company did nothing wrong.

For the Ranco that people are mentioning, is there one that will switch on a heater and a chiller via one unit? Doesn't seem to be - seems like you'd need separate controllers for each? My ink bird is going on 2 years now so thinking about replacement in the relatively near future.

I am? I have mostly stayed out of this. In fact, I regret posting it. I’m going to ask that it be removed.

 

[hllb]

I am? I have mostly stayed out of this. In fact, I regret posting it. I’m going to ask that it be removed.

Sorry! confusing you with another poster.

 

[alton]

I have two inkbirds, I like the regular one more than the wifi. If the wifi breaks I will save $16 and buy the regular for $35 shipped from amazon the next day. Much cheaper than spending $100's
On Craftsman when they went made in china customers like me quit buying. I was not real happy when my 1/2" flex head ratchet busted after 30 years and I got the replacement and it read made in china. I can buy other brands that are much cheaper. Not sure why lowes took over the craftsman name?

 

[jda]

Yes, Ranco makes a dual-stage version. Version is ETC-211000

 

[Potatohead]

For the Ranco that people are mentioning, is there one that will switch on a heater and a chiller via one unit? Doesn't seem to be - seems like you'd need separate controllers for each? My ink bird is going on 2 years now so thinking about replacement in the relatively near future.

I have three of them currently running, for a combined 11-12 years. Just buy new probes every once in a while (2-3 years)

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

I am? I have mostly stayed out of this. In fact, I regret posting it. I’m going to ask that it be removed.

i agree. It has been everyone else. Thumbs up!!

 

[PeterC99]

@Adamantium do not regret posting - It was a real life occurrence and you started a lively debate.

Almost 1,100 views already.

Lets recap:

1) Views on both sides of the discussion (Honor recently out of date warranty/Warranty out of date SOOL)
2) Multiple suggestions for alternatives
3) Other Reefer's experiences with product (good and bad)
4) Methodologies to make product last longer

At the very least there is significant controversy here and with the help of this thread, Reefers can make their own decisions.