I will be doing my first night dive in Mermet Springs (Illinois) soon, and decided to buy a basic light kit with everything I needed. After some research and price consideration, I went with the Adventure Pack by Princeton Tek.
Normally, I purchase through my local shop or SCUBA.com because I have been very happy with both of them, and SCUBA.com has free shipping. In this case, I had a gift card to DiversDirect.com, so I decided to give them a try. They had the light, but I was fairly disappointed with their website, their selection of other goods was limited, and their prices were competitive, but not internet competitive. I still decided to go ahead, since it was a gift card.
I received the lights, but was immediately disappointed, as upon opening the box, everything had quite obviously been opened. Not necessarily used underwater, but definitely opened and used. I called them, and after acting like I was crazy, the rude representative told me that they would send me a return label.
After two weeks, I finally received the return label via FedEx. I immediately boxed the lights, and returned them. Using the tracking label, I found out that they received the box 1 week later. Another week after that, I had still not received a confirmation from them that they had received the box, nor had I gotten an e-mail that they had sent me my new lights. I called them and yet another rude rep stated that they would be shipped tomorrow. Two days later, I got an e-mail that they had shipped FedEx ground.
Finally, almost 7 weeks after I received the original lights, I got my new package. Amazingly, it was the new style of box, and the lights were packed as they should be. I can only assume that they were trying to get rid of an old return that had been made, and were hoping I wouldn't gripe about it.
Now, the good news (kind of). Upon turning on the main lantern light, the low worked, but not the high setting. I was about ready to throw these lights out the window. Note that this is not in the previous section because this is not necessarily DiversDirect.com's fault. However, I really didn't feel like dealing with them again, and waiting another 7 weeks to get a new light. So, I called Princeton Tek. Their representative was incredibly helpful and nice, and helped me try a few things to fix the light. After this was done, he determined that one of the filaments in the dual-filament bulb was bad, and told me that they would immediately send out a new bulb for me. 3 days later, I received it, and my light is working and ready for my trip. I guess next time, I need to order stuff 6 months in advance instead of 2!
In summary:
Thumbs down to DiversDirect for their website, customer service, and for sending me used product.
Thumbs up to Princeton Tek for their customer service, and willingness to service a brand new product instead of telling me to send it back to the dealer.
Normally, I purchase through my local shop or SCUBA.com because I have been very happy with both of them, and SCUBA.com has free shipping. In this case, I had a gift card to DiversDirect.com, so I decided to give them a try. They had the light, but I was fairly disappointed with their website, their selection of other goods was limited, and their prices were competitive, but not internet competitive. I still decided to go ahead, since it was a gift card.
I received the lights, but was immediately disappointed, as upon opening the box, everything had quite obviously been opened. Not necessarily used underwater, but definitely opened and used. I called them, and after acting like I was crazy, the rude representative told me that they would send me a return label.
After two weeks, I finally received the return label via FedEx. I immediately boxed the lights, and returned them. Using the tracking label, I found out that they received the box 1 week later. Another week after that, I had still not received a confirmation from them that they had received the box, nor had I gotten an e-mail that they had sent me my new lights. I called them and yet another rude rep stated that they would be shipped tomorrow. Two days later, I got an e-mail that they had shipped FedEx ground.
Finally, almost 7 weeks after I received the original lights, I got my new package. Amazingly, it was the new style of box, and the lights were packed as they should be. I can only assume that they were trying to get rid of an old return that had been made, and were hoping I wouldn't gripe about it.
Now, the good news (kind of). Upon turning on the main lantern light, the low worked, but not the high setting. I was about ready to throw these lights out the window. Note that this is not in the previous section because this is not necessarily DiversDirect.com's fault. However, I really didn't feel like dealing with them again, and waiting another 7 weeks to get a new light. So, I called Princeton Tek. Their representative was incredibly helpful and nice, and helped me try a few things to fix the light. After this was done, he determined that one of the filaments in the dual-filament bulb was bad, and told me that they would immediately send out a new bulb for me. 3 days later, I received it, and my light is working and ready for my trip. I guess next time, I need to order stuff 6 months in advance instead of 2!
In summary:
Thumbs down to DiversDirect for their website, customer service, and for sending me used product.
Thumbs up to Princeton Tek for their customer service, and willingness to service a brand new product instead of telling me to send it back to the dealer.
