Fantasea housing trouble - buyer beware

[SeaYoda]

All our standard ports are high quality optical glass.

We made no guarantees as to suitability, we made measurements and it was up to him. He was told that it probably would vignette or not get full extension, but there would be a usable range before the sale.

And in going through my notes, he was offered a refund in December after he got the housing. And when it still wasn't suitable to him later, we did offer a refund. And have given it for the undamaged items.

Look, there was a whole chain of events, probably no one's direct fault that happened in this sale. We stand by our sales and offered him a refund, less shipping that he paid (we paid quite a bit more), even though we were not obligated to do so.

Unfortunately the item was received damaged and has to be repaired or replaced before we can resell it, even discounted.

Jack

Not exactly how the emails between us read, but I guess this is part of the problem I'm having. Clear communication has been difficult with you and Fantasea at best. You have worked hard on this issue (and I thank you) but you haven't had any luck with Fantasea either. My beef is mostly with them with a side order of aggravation at how you occasionally react to what I have to do to make things right. It is a lack of knowledge by Fantasea of their own product and my following your guidance that kept me hanging on as long as I did. If I had the option of knowing that no ports were available from Fantasea for the particular lens I have, I would never have bought your product in the first place (and surely would have taken you up on any offer to get a refund). After all this, an offer of a reduced refund at either your's or Fantasea's grace is not an appropriate end to the story. Arguing the point only proves my point that this is something that will not work for others, just like it has not worked for me. I wish Fantasea and Optical Ocean well in the future if they never cause this heartburn for anyone else.

 

[shellbackdiver1]

It is unfortunate that stuff like this happens. I can never see the benefit of ruining people/businesses/product reputation by open communication on a public forum. This is the way it goes when buying via e-commerce.

I get a bit irritated here this part of the world when I go to a store and it is mandatory when anything bought that uses batterys or is small and costly must be taken out of the package, inspected, turned on and warranty card filled out prior to leaving the shop. But after being on the Scubaboard now for a year I start to appreciate why this practice happens here.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

It is unfortunate that stuff like this happens. I can never see the benefit of ruining people/businesses/product reputation by open communication on a public forum. This is the way it goes when buying via e-commerce.

In the original post, the business where the product was purchased was left anonymous. The seller identified himself.

As for the product itself, I'd preffer to read positives and negatives before spending my hard earned cash on blind faith. Its rather foolish to think that negative experiences and thoughts on a product shouldn't be brought to public attention.

 

[Warren_L]

The problem about reading the positives is generally that most of what is generally posted are typically the negatives. I don't know what happened in this situation, but the only thing that's really come out of all this are the negatives - on both sides.

 

[RonFrank]

I'm not so sure about people just posting negatives. I certainly go out of my way to post good reviews on equipment I like, and in fact posted positives about the Ikelite D200 housing, and ports, and Reef photo (the retailer) in this thread.

Sure people will often post negatives when things go wrong, but there are certainly a LOT of positive posts on the board for both manufactures, and retailers alike. In fact I'd bet there are more good reviews on Zeagle, Aeris, Ikelite, Subal, INON, and many other products vs. negative experiences.

 

[Cacia]

we made measurements and it was up to him.

See, I couldn't do that. Ikelite tells me which ports are compatible with which domes and I still made a mistake....luckily they (LP) took it back, even though I had not sent in the warranty card. I am just saying it's a confusing topic and part of manufacturing/ selling the product on something this small of a target market is being able to support/ explain which item to buy and for which lense. Otherwise, what are you doing for your cut, really? You don't make the stuff...I know you have overhead, but what benefit is the consumer getting by buying the product from you...if you cannot tell him what he needs?...just asking

I think this forum helps to sort out the issues...not to bash anyone.

 

[RonFrank]

See, I couldn't do that. Ikelite tells me which ports are compatible with which domes and I still made a mistake....luckily they (LP) took it back, even though I had not sent in the warranty card. I am just saying it's a confusing topic and part of manufacturing/ selling the product on something this small of a target market is being able to support/ explain which item to buy and for which lense. Otherwise, what are you doing for your cut, really? You don't make the stuff...I know you have overhead, but what benefit is the consumer getting by buying the product from you...if you cannot tell him what he needs?...just asking

I think this forum helps to sort out the issues...not to bash anyone.

I agree. I thought I would never need advice on camera compatibly issues until I entered the VERY confusing world of digital UW photography, where there are no standards, and ONE manufactures ports and sync cords may not be compatible even within that manufacture.

Start mixing manufactures, and WOW what mess. I was VERY glad that I had Ryan to show me how to assemble, load, setup and operate my first DSLR housing and strobe system.

Even he is always learning as he was not sure if my old SS200 would fire properly with the new (blue) sync cords... and guess what, it did not!

 

[Warren_L]

I'm not so sure about people just posting negatives. I certainly go out of my way to post good reviews on equipment I like, and in fact posted positives about the Ikelite D200 housing, and ports, and Reef photo (the retailer) in this thread.

Sure people will often post negatives when things go wrong, but there are certainly a LOT of positive posts on the board for both manufactures, and retailers alike. In fact I'd bet there are more good reviews on Zeagle, Aeris, Ikelite, Subal, INON, and many other products vs. negative experiences.

I'm not saying that people post just negatives - I think that there's a preponderance of negatives that typically get posted and that's what typically interests people. I've seen positives, but it's really the negatives that people tend to remember most. Even in this thread there are but only a few positives about gear unrelated to the original complaint. I've not seen anything positive about Fanatasea nor either one of the parties involved from this thread. I think all you really have to do is go as far as watching the news and there's going to much more in way of bad things and things gone wrong. There's a reason for that as well. It's what interests people. I'm not saying the positives aren't there. You just have to sift through a lot more of the negatives to get to them.

 

[Cacia]

yea... but how am I, a not so smart photographer, going to see the pitfalls if not for these forums?

I may think that is a sexy housing, but if I know "I am on my own"... then I need to stick with Ike, the hand holders.

Where else can I learn?

 

[SeaYoda]

The fact that this is a negative does not negate its validity. Too often posts like mine are relegated to the old "I hate LeisurePro so don't buy from them" status. I have a legitimate reason for posting a serious flaw in a transaction that may well happen to you. I often see posts about how great products are. I see them from the salespeople too. I have had three experiences that have not gone well in my photographic journey. I wish someone had posted more about what happened to them before I got into trouble rather than posting afterwords "Yeah, I had the same issue". If you don't need to know the information I posted here, other threads abound.

As to positive things that I have posted, do a search. You'll find I can praise as well as I can chastise. Look at this thread and tell me that I have some great hatred for Fantasea or for Optical Ocean.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=185372

I have not attempted to tell the whole story of my misadventure for good reasons. The part I have related is for the benefit of those who may enter into a relationship with Fantasea. The things that a reasonable person should be able to see are:

The product was not well described to begin with, hence the term "buyer beware". The fact that a company went so far as to label its own box incorrectly (and admitting it didn't know its own product) should be of note. The need to charge a restocking fee on an item plus shipping plus depreciation (when they did not know they didn't even manufacture the correct parts for it) should be a concern for someone buying products from that company. I sure would have liked to have known, before I entered a purchase, that this is the only backing I had "We made no guarantees as to suitability, we made measurements and it was up to him. He was told that it probably would vignette or not get full extension, but there would be a usable range before the sale". If one really reads the banter back and forth in the thread, he may be able to pick up a great deal of information that a wise person could use to make their transaction go smoother.

If you think I didn't make mistakes in the process and I'm only pointing a finger at "the other side", here are some boo-boos I made:

#1. I ventured into the world of the least expensive again. Seems I have trouble with this one .

#2. I bought the original housing without full assurance that the port or an array of ports would serve the camera. A related NO-NO is to buy a new system that no one has used. Fantasea was not able to answer my questions at the beginning and that should have been a red flag. I had only Jeff Mullins to ask questions of (I am grateful for his time).

#3. I bought from someone that did not have experience with my set-up. If at all possible, I will purchase items from those who can give me the full picture because they know my particular needs. As an alternative, I would seek others who have used the product. If no one is using it I would get some clear assurances from the seller that if this did not work, it would be their responsibility. I took far too great a risk with this purchase in order to save money.

#4. I didn't open the dome port before my first dive with the flat port. This would have ended this situation in a heartbeat. No dive = no controversy of used or damaged goods. Since the ports were an issue, I should have looked at both before proceeding on information that was incorrect and not known even to the Fantasea company.

#5. I didn't ask the expert (Jeff Mullins) to describe his ports in a way that would truly help. His were custom made and not "stock" items. I talked to the right person but asked the wrong questions.

#6. I didn't document EVERYTHING when known issues were being dealt with. A few pictures of the rig as I sent it back would have gone a long way to resolving this issue - and guess what? - I have two cameras .

#7. I trusted too much. I can't change this one. I would never have imagined I would be this financially damaged by a product that the manufacturer admits never existed. I'll probably make this mistake again, I like to give folks the benefit of the doubt.

I hold no hatred for Jack or Fantasea, just strongly disagree with them (as would anyone in my shoes). Readers of this thread should not boycott either company and please don't ascribe motives to me that are not there. Simply read the thread and gain useful knowledge.