Hey guys, please switch to UPS from FedEx for shipments

[muppet]

Maybe it's just in my area, but UPS is always reliable and respectful of my merchandise. FedEx, not so much:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1985530

I haven't been home to open the boxes yet, but I'm not too pleased. I'll be pretty surprised if the Coralvue 4x54 light fixture inside that larger box isn't dented and the reflectors misaligned at best.

Will update when I've got everything open and have checked.

 

[muppet]

Well so far, the fixture doesn't SEEM to be damaged, but it's tough to say because it's sort of cheaply constructed. The splash guards are all warped but that might be normal condition. The LED strip in the center seems to be held on only by tension between the two splash guards and by being pinned under some screws....?

This is a CoralVue 4x54 48" 4 bulb fixture with 10 LED moonlights. Maybe this is normal condition.

There is a big scratch in the enamel on top of the unit that has been very amatuerishly "covered-up" with a big thick glob of touch-up paint or nail polish. It looks awful. That had to happen at the factory, though, and that's not really AquaCave's fault but the manufacturer's. Even for $300, I'm not really too impressed with this unit.

There doesn't APPEAR to be damage from FedEx. I haven't powered up the unit yet. It definitely seems to have taken a hard hit for the splash guards and everything to be so misaligned out of the box. Some wirenuts (attached to wires) from the interior of the unit were poking well out of the unit and sitting inside the reflectors and had to be pushed back inside.

 

[muppet]

The rest of the video, now that I'm home, seems to show that the hole was already in the box when the driver took it from the van, so it didn't happen at my house, but the carton was obviously damaged in shipping. I'll have to try powering it up once I get it set up with some bulbs.

 

[muppet]

I spoke too soon.

It turns out that the box the kid threw on the video actually IS damaged. One of the brackets for standing the light up on top of the tank is bent and assembling them onto the light will be impossible. I need a replacement part. Hopefully just of the stand parts (which were shipped in a separate box) and not of the whole fixture, even though I'm not too happy with the poorly touched-up scratch and I think that's worth a discount!!!

 

[muppet]

So, in summary:

The unit is in working order.

The unit is a bit flimsy, but this is a manufacturer issue. Sadly, there were no reviews anywhere about this light, but that's the case with MOST lights like this.

The unit has a big 2" long scratch in the enamel in a conspicuous location (top front of the fixture housing) which was covered, badly, with some flat finish touch up paint or even black nail polish.

The unit is missing one of the lens covers on the moonlight LEDs.

The unit arrived with a bent support arm which made assembling the unit difficult and the unit now sits a little crooked on top of the tank but still works, swivels, as designed.

Altogether I think that returning the unit for these flaws is too much of a hassle. I'm not willing to pay return shipping and go without a light for weeks while AquaCave and/or FedEx sort this out, especially since some issues with the light (missing pieces, badly repaired factory damage) are clearly from the manufacturer and nothing to do with FedEx and AquaCave, I feel, has responsibility for what they sell and from whom they draw their supply.

I think that I ought to receive a discount for this subpar unit since if it were sold in a retail store, it would be in the scratch-and-dent section. If AquaCave is willing to discount without requiring a pointless return of an otherwise functioning unit and the associated high shipping costs (both there and back), then I'll be 100% satisfied and have nothing but good things to say.

 

[AquaCave]

Muppet,

Please give us a call as soon as you are able. Thanks.

 

[muppet]

Thanks Enrico. I'll try to get some pictures of the scratch as requested but like I said... it's black on black. Also, the missing lens cover is, well, clear...

Will update ASAP.

(FedEx sucks)

 

[AquaCave]

Muppet,

No problem. Please make sure to send it as a file rather than link. I am not able to view the link attachment you sent. Thanks.

 

[furman589]

Maybe it's just in my area, but UPS is always reliable and respectful of my merchandise. FedEx, not so much:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1985530

I haven't been home to open the boxes yet, but I'm not too pleased. I'll be pretty surprised if the Coralvue 4x54 light fixture inside that larger box isn't dented and the reflectors misaligned at best.

Will update when I've got everything open and have checked.

Total opposite here, UPS is terrible and Fedex is great. I think it depends on your area and drivers

 

[muppet]

Enrico, here's some photos. The scratch is sort of tough to see in the picture but in person it's quite evident because of the glossiness of the finish (and the total non-glossiness/irregularity of the touch up).

I don't think you can really tell that the moonlight on the right in the moonlight photo is missing a lens. I tried to get a flash reflection to show you, but the parabolic reflectors sort of mess that up.

The leg is bent where it's folded into a 90 degree angle to attach to the light. The bend is less severe now than when it arrived because I used the pressure of the fitting screws to straighten it out as much as possible. It still makes the light sit weird.

I had to compress these images pretty bad to get RC to accept them as attachments. I could upload them to my site, but you had trouble connecting for some reason earlier...?

 

[AquaCave]

muppet,

I am working on it, will contact you via phone as soon as I get a response.

Thanks,
Enrico

 

[muppet]

Enrico - Any love from CoralVue on this?

 

[AquaCave]

muppet,

Please contact me as soon as you are available. Thanks Enrico

 

[muppet]

Thanks Enrico. Good service!!