LED Outfitters LEDs Unlisted's review

[unlisted]

Review by unlisted


I received a set of the 6 LED linear lights from LED Outfitters and have been trying them out this past weekend.


They come with 22 flash patterns (well 21- I don't count "off" as a pattern...) and are disturbingly bright. Also has a low power feature- which on these are CRAP-I could not tell a difference until I tossed one onto steady mode and watched carefully- I;d say about a 3-7% light output decrease- almost unnoticeable.


Comes in a white thin walled cardboard box. Lens has plastic film protecting it, and comes with a full height flange. an "okay" heat sink on the back, (much thinner than pimp prods) and all possible water infiltration points have been properly sealed. Thin gasket included as well..


Dislikes: No tab for the screw mounting. Only the flange has mounting holes in it. I've noticed another manufacturer has gone this way as well.. Not a good idea in my opinion. Also, the wires seem a tad flimsy, but I guess with the low current LED's use, its more than adequate.


Low power is useless. No way to sugar coat this- its that bad IMO. (and both lights dim the same amount)


Another DISLIKE: the solder points are NOT clean or consistent on the boards.. some parts have lots of solder, others have next to none.. Even some IC chips are slightly off centre from the solder points..


And remember how I mentioned the flange issue? Well, case in point. One lighthead showed up with a broken flange.. After playing around with them, I feel they are a bit brittle/flimsy feeling... And have some concerns about them staying mounted to my vehicle in winter conditions.. (ice buildup, snow, being "snow brushed", etc...)


Overall I am satisfied to almost impressed.. These will also be mounted soon.. ONCE I get a new flange, which was promised to be shipped last week, to an exterior surface for winter testing.. yeee haw!


Construction--5


Output--9.25


Price--8.5


Over all -6


Crappy photos, I know. More photos and video to follow after they are installed.

 

[unlisted]

May be worth to note- after multiple promises of the flange being shipped, and myself even offering some $$ to cover shipping costs- no replacement flange has ever showed up.

 

[unlisted]

I think the bigger concern(s) right now are the following:


Timeframe. Take a look at the original post date: 11-16-2010 -Mid November. Now, its 01-12-2011 -Mid Jan. How many months does it take for one item to travel 500 miles? Regular USPS parcel post from Texas to me (2,600 miles) shows up within 9 business days...


How many PM's I've sent trying to chase this item down. I even offered to pay for shipping in the last PM.


How many times you claim to have already shipped one to me: (3) (direct to a commercial address)


You have a "long history" of issues in the past with sales / warranty problems / defective equipment. With that said your products have come a long way in quality and brightness.


So, minus this one small issue which has become a large issue, I still like this product. In INDOOR product testing it was very bright, rivalled other manufacturers in brightness, and did not get overly hot even after running for a few hundred hours in a cash box. I have no issue with the lights and I still want to mount these on my vehicle for further testing and use.


Replacement/ warranty service/ replacement shipping timeframes/ shipping issues... That is where my issues are. Also lets not forget this thread: http://www.elightbars.org/forums/showthread.php?8122-DECISION-MADE!

 

[unlisted]

.... any idea when I should expect the flange?


I mean, I got a jedi radio shipped to me from Arizona via USPS postal mail last week Monday- it arrived yesterday.

 

[unlisted]

Lots of promises from the seller, but alas, STILL no flange replacement.


He also wanted me to purchase some other items, and ship the flange at the same time..

 

[RPMs]

As promised. Here is the original story I posted. The whole lawyer thing fell through mainly because of jurisdiction issues and the relatively small amount of money I was seeking. Guess I'll take my losses, learn a valuable lesson, and hope that my story persuades others to not purchase anything from LED Outfitters.

Back in 2009 I attempted to purchase two Octix bars from ledoutfitters.com. I placed the order and then received a phone call later that day. I was told the Octix bar was out of stock, but that I could upgrade to a different lightbar for an extra $50 per lightbar ($100 for 2). I ended up getting some form of Rocket-X lightbar (2 of them). They were 30" long and had 8 linear plug-and-play heads. I also ordered 2 SEM4 surface lights. For two years they've been great, but about 3 weeks ago I noticed one of the Rocket-X lightbars wasn't working. I inspected the lightbar and noticed that the LED modules were either split open or deformed as though they had melted. It had been hot that week, but it's definately been hotter and I've had no issues. And it seems that the lightbar only doesn't work when it's hot out (which is basically during daylight hours - it's summer!). It seems to work fine at night or in my garage, but the lights aren't nearly as bright as they used to be.

Well, I went to ledoutfitters.com and filled out their "contact us" form. I waited a few days, but received no reply. I emailed them again and once again received no reply. I figured that maybe the website email wasn't functioning so I searched the website and eventually found this email (ledpse@gmail.com). I sent an email that explained the situation and attached pictures to show the deformation of the lights. Again, there was no reply. I called the number on the website and hit 3 for warranty claims, but no one answered. I left a message and asked for a call back, but never got one. I called the number again and hit 1 for ordering information and finally was able to talk to someone. When I informed him that I wanted my lightbar replaced he claimed he couldn't find my order and that I should call him back when I had my payment information ready for him. I called back a little while later and every time I tried to explain something to him, he would interrupt me. Once again he said he had no record of my purchase or payment. Then he tried to tell me that my warranty had expired. It's only been two years and the lightbar has a five year warranty. He said he would have his manager get in contact with me. Well, that was over 2 hours ago. I know it's not likely that I'll hear from his manager today... and probably not tomorrow either, but I plan on calling again tomorrow regardless.


I wish I would have researched ledoutfitters before I purchased from them because it's obvious that they don't know how to operate a business. They have an F rating with the Better Business Bureau and have 155 complaints within the past 3 years. 144 of those complaints have received no response on the behalf of ledoutfitters. DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH THESE FRAUDS!!! This "company" deserves to be put out of business and if they don't replace my lightbar, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure they file for Chapter 11. Time to lawyer up!


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EDIT 08/31/11 4:26pm


Received this email from ledoutfitters regarding this post...


"We don't respond back when false accusations are made against us. There is nothing more I will say. By the way, my manager was going to call you, and he was going to bend backwards for you, even though you didn't provide the credit card number to look up the payment which you claim you made. However.... you know the rest"


Whatever happened to the old motto, "the customer is always right"? Apparently it is too difficult for LED Outfitters to check their own order history. There have been no false accusations made and I still haven't received a phone call from the manager. Looks like they aren't going to do anything to resolve the situation.


Update – Later that day I had to call Eric Johnson (516-582-4247) as he apparently was too busy to call me. When I called he said he would not talk to me about my issue and told me that he would only talk to a lawyer. He told me there was no way I was going to get my money back or have my lightbar repaired or replaced. Then he hung up on me.

So there you have it. That's what it is like to deal with LED Outfitters. I plan on making another post regarding the technical issues with the lightbar I purchased. Hopefully someone with an electronics background can answer some questions I have.