How about some support from mars hydro..

[GMT]

Disclaimer: I have received free gear from Mars, and am admittedly a fan, so this may carry less weight from me on that front.

Saying that, this isn't a warranty issue, the product works, it's just not the size you want. But it is the size you chose to buy. Now if it's different measurements, you can claim a refund due to misrepresentation. If you bought it online, you are covered by distant sales regulations and have 14 days to just change your mind. If you bought it in person, and sought advice on its suitability, then you can claim a refund due to it being unfit for purpose which you checked with the seller at the point of sale.

However, it sounds like you asked for an opinion from one sales agent, then went to another source, bought a product, waited longer than the 14 days, and then contacted someone you didn't buy it from, and asked them to refund you your purchase price.

I can see that you wanted a manufacturer to effectively sell the item to a retailer, at price A, let the retailer sell it at price A + B, and then give the end user, A+B money back. The retailer keeps B money and the manufacturer loses B.

I'm sorry man, but I just think you've gone about this entirely the wrong way. Not only isn't this a warranty claim, but you're asking for a refund from someone you didn't buy it from.

 

[RobFromTX]

I have a Mars Hydro 960 watt in storage that my buddy gave me a few years ago when he quit growing. But this forum makes me scared to take even take it out of the box I dont have as much of an issue with it being chinese but all this talk of bad customer service, parts being discontinued. Seems more to me like led systems are a hassle coupled with a burden

 

[blondie]

Why would you want to trade your superior lights for inferior lights for your footprint? I ran a 6500 in a 4x4 at 80% and LOVED it. Always better to have a light you can keep slightly dialed down, it should add to the longevity. I don't think Mars is in the wrong here.

Hmm interesting point of view. Let me share another. I purchased lights that have a legalwritten 30 day return policy in the warranty. There is no caveat that says “If we decide then the warranty is valid.” There is no 14 day and there is no “warranty is invalid if you buy for a dealer.” I could legally return it because I don’t like the color or it reminds me of an ex girlfriend. Whatever reason the buyer is unhappy legal 30 day warranty return applies. Mars refused to honor their 30 warranty of the return policy. Period. How is this In the right I don’t know. I’m glad the light worked for your setup. For me, I didn’t want to deal with it.

Can you imagine buying a car and reaching out to the dealer for warranty and getting no response. Then asking the manufacturer to honor their warranty and being told no warranty. Is this right? Nope...

And no I didn’t wait 14 days to contact either the dealer or warranty department. And yes I ordered for the dealer as mars does not have everything a dealer has.

 

[blondie]

30 return not worth the paper it’s printed on. And actually the website I just checked does say warranty through authorized dealers.....

@GMT you still think after seeing the below warranty I’m somehow done something wrong? No, not at all. I took advice from the manufacturer and ordered from a dealer and asking manufacturer to honor their warranty. Not a f’in thing wrong with that.

 

[blondie]

The following cut and pasted from mars hydro warranty web page.. According to their official policy, I am in fact covered,under warranty by purchasing through the dealer. I also followed all steps for warranty. Nowhere does it say contact the dealer...

The Warranty applies only when:​

●Sales are made through the Mars Hydro direct websites, or through authorized distributors or retailers, or through authorized third-party platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, Aliexpress, Cdiscount, etc.

 

[Mitsuharu]

Is it the first time in your life that you bought something online!?

You have to return it where you bought it, if it is a smartphone, a lamp or a dildo. You said by yourself that you bought it from a "dealer", so you have to return it to him, he has your money, the manufacturer(mars hydro) has nothing to do with it because you didn't bought it in mars hydros online-shop! You have to deal with the shop where you got it, only this is regulated by law. The manufacturer's guarantee is voluntary. At least that's how it is here in Europe.

the dealer is not responding

Better next time buy from a reputable dealer.

 

[tobedetermined]

this isn't a warranty issue

You have to return it where you bought it

Better next time buy from a reputable dealer.

Agreed. I spent my career selling consumer goods at wholesale. The only return policy that matters is the return policy of the DEALER that you bought it from.

 

[bloyd]

Dim the lights and they will run longer and get higher ppfd/watt. you're better off with what you have.

 

[StickyBandit]

@blondie , I understand what you are saying. If you give a warranty or guarantee honor it!!
I was looking at buying a mars light, mainly for their warranty, but after seeing the trouble you are having I may as well buy another one of xxxxxxxxxx I'm very happy with the one I have and it tests well for ppfd

 

[Lunchmoney]

I hope you make enough noise to get squared up. I’d go straight to their Facebook and start flooding the comments discouraging customers. Worked for me returning custom jewelry to a jeweler in NYC they shipped wrong item and tried talking me into accepting it. They gave me the Ol film flam for few days until I lit their page up. I recieved email within hours with return label on its way. Grow shop in my town backs their lights in store and they hash it out with china I guess.

 

[GoatCheese]

”over kill” light fixture is actually a good thing – if you don’t mind paying a higher price - cause then you can run it with lower wattage and get less radiant heat out of the led chips, which is the cause of the yellowing/dehydration symptoms we see with modern led lights.


MH 4800 vs. 6500

It would be less stressful for your plants to run the 6500 dimmed down to 480w than run the 4800 model with full power cause then there would be less radiant heat per led chip hitting your plants
..and you would get better light coverage.

It would also be better for the led chip if you’d run them less hot, cause higher operating temperature will wear the chips out faster and their performance will drop off faster


Personally, since you already paid for the lights, i’d keep the 6500s and just dim them down to suit your grow tent/plants.

 

[exploziv]

Dunno how this works over there, but in europe, the place you bought it from, is the one providing warranty and support, an out of country bussiness has no responsability to do so, unless you bought it from them directly. Every time we get support from the manufacturer is actually a privilege, and matters are usually handled further through the place of sale anyway.
I can understand your frustration, but when shit hits the fan, what you signed or accepted at the time of sale, is what matters. Here in Europe there are ways to easily submit a claim with consumer protection agencies if your claim is valid by their rules (rules of commerce that apply in your part) and you have proof you contacted them and they did not reply in time for you to benefit from your consumer rights. Check if you might have that kind of help available there.

 

[GMT]

Yeah I have 5 of those booklets myself. I also hold several business law qualifications, albeit only in the uk. (Specifics may vary but principles are stable across the E.L.S. wherever it's in operation.) You've set yourself up for a fall by not understanding the law. You went about this badly, then started publicly crying in order to embarrass the company into looking after you. Advice to spam their social media is bad advice, it's illegal. Oh and warranties and guarantees are different, you shouldn't confuse them.

 

[Mars Hydro Led]

@blondie sorry missed so many messages. We were in national holiday in last few days and just come back to work today. I guess the email delay happend because of the holiday. It is true that the consumers should contact the dealer where they bought from for after-sale service or warranty service. Because we didn't get your money, so we cannot refund the money. Hope you can understand this.

 

[Loc Dog]

Tucker Carlson as a source of news? That's hilarious, you should post that in my thread, Funny Pictures Are Funny! https://www.icmag.com/threads/funny-pictures-are-funny.334349/page-1060#post-18204733

Fox news has used the defense in court twice, that no reasonable person would believe anything Carlson says.

I heard back from the warranty department at mars hydro. Just when you think it can’t get any better. So anyone buying mars hydro you have ZERO warranty through their dealers. I strongly urge anyone thinking about buying mars products to give a thought to the fact they clearly don’t honor their legal warranty. They are screwing me with no Vaseline and a giant grin. Cover your ass and don’t buy from them. Russian roulette is not a game I’m interested in playing. The warranty is not 5 years anyway, even if you could get a warranty claim.


......We only offer a 5-year warranty for customers who place an order directly on our website. If you would like to return the item for a full refund, please contact the store where you made the deal.

That warranty is pure BS. I am going to contact Amazon regarding warranties before buying anything else there. There policies have got worse recently. Recently bought a no name chinese fogger with lifetime warranty from ebay, and seller can not get parts or give manufacturer information.

 

[GMT]

Just like when buying an item in a market, the town council don't offer guarantees on the products you buy, eBay doesn't either . I've never bought from Amazon, so I've not looked into the status there, but it may be the same. You may be doing business with the seller, not Amazon, so the important lesson to take is, always know who you are doing business with. Know their registered head office address. Know how long they have been trading and the size of the business. Learn what consumer protection exists in your local legal framework, and how to access enforcement of your rights.
Don't do business with overseas re-sellers of anything, it's much harder to sue someone in another country.
Lastly, don't go after someone for a refund of anything you didn't buy from them.
It's sad, but in the modern world, we all have to make ourselves aware of our rights and how to protect them. Mistakes can be costly.

That's not to pile on Blondie's grief, it's just important for folks to be reminded of this stuff. When you bought from bricks and mortar stores, life was simpler, online sales have their own rules.

 

[Three Berries]

eBay has a good 30 day return policy that is a backup to the sellers. I've used it a few times. They will intervene and refund the money even if the seller disagrees or is unresponsive.

FWIW I've found a couple eBay stores that routinely will accept your order and never fulfill it. Never communicate and you have to use the eBay 30 day guarantee for relief. I suspect a money laundering setup of some sort.

 

[GMT]

Really? That must be new. When I signed up there, admittedly about 20 years ago, I went through their terms and conditions carefully, PayPal offered guarantees, but eBay didn't.

 

[negative37dBA]

Mars Hydro is big shitters is my book...The type of people that change the rules of a competition after its started because not enough people entered....yep that is Mars.
Peace all, negative.

 

[GMT]

So if you don't get what you paid for, does eBay now deal with PayPal for you? Who repays, it should be PayPal, like if you buy something with a credit card you get a 30 day protection period, but now eBay has taken that legal responsibility? Don't you contact PayPal at all? That opens a whole can of legal worms, seems odd to me. Are you sure it's eBay themselves? Not PayPal? Or is it eBay if you send a cheque or postal order? Seems odd that they would do that, it'll bankrupt them if they carry on. I'll take a look at their latest blurb when I get chance.