GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

I don't know how many of you have been through what I was with optics for bowhunting. I went thru a small fortune in cheap binos over the years. They'd fog, couldn't see in low light, were not clear etc etc etc.

About 5 years ago I started researching binos that would function for bowhunting the Eastern hardwoods and thickets. All my research and about a dozen optic shops from Maryland to Colorado later I bought a set of 7x42 Swarovskis. It took me a year to decide. Low profile, I can shoot my bow with them on my chest(bino buddies), great in low light and will penetrate any thicket. Your eyes never tire.

Service: I lost one of the objective lens dust covers. I called Swarovski to buy a new pair. Oh.... THEY'RE FREE. They had come out with some new twist out eye cups that are really cool. I ask how much for a set(figuring $40-50) FREE. Send them in and they'll upgrade. She said anything else wrong. I said, well a piece of the rubberized armoring is lifting off they binos. Not anything to really worry about, but how much to glue it for me or whatever you do.

She said, let's start over. Here's what we do with your babies when they get here. We check the coatings. If needed they're refinished. We strip and replace all your armoring. Of course we clean them squeaky clean. We do any other work you ask about. Oh she said, your binos are a lifetime warranty(the paperwork says limited). Your cost today for all this work is pay shipping to us. We'll return it. Insure them for $XXXX as that's what they cost today. How sweet it is.

RE: GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

I've always wanted a pair. Sounds like they take care of you real good. Sometimes it is true, You get what you pay for! :)

Thanks for the info David, I'll remember this the next time I buy binos!!

RE: GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

I talked two of my buddies into buying them after seeing mine. They too had gone thru a half dozen pairs of cheapos. I told one of them today in an email about my call to them. He said funny you should mention them. One of the jerk drunks at his hunting club grabbed his and tried to force the twist out cups the wrong way and broke it. He called to buy replacements and told the girl a jerk had man handled them. The girl said, I don't care what happened to them. Give me your address and I'll get a set out to you today. No charge of course.

RE: GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

Ok...here is the big question. How much were they? $600 $700 $800?

I am still on the &quot;cheap&quot; bino binge...one of these days when I stop buying bows every couple months I will save up for an expensive pair of binoculars...<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

They're more than that. I really bit the bullet but I really am glad I did. The MSRP is $1125 or something like that. You can get them for around $940 or something like that in some of the catalogs. I really have probably bought 5 or 6 pairs over the years for $100-$200 and all were disappointing in the long run. Hinges became loose, fogging etc etc. I HAVE bought my last pair of binos and someday when I'm gone someone will get a great pair from my hunting cache.

RE: GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

David,

I have a pair of 10x50 S L's.
Superb quality and well worth the money.
If anyone has any doubt about the quality of Swarovski glass, look thru a pair on an overcast day or at dusk.
Then you will have no doubt as to why they cost as much as they do.
They will blow an average binocular away under those conditions.
Actually, Swarovski's are a bargain when you think of the money averaged over a lifetime of use.


Sag.

RE: GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

I sure wish I had a cool 1000 layin around for some!!

RE: GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

David,

Actually, the service wasn't free. You paid for it in advance when you bought the binocs. <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

I've always wanted a pair, but my wife would never understand paying a grand for a pair of binocs.<img src=icon_smile_dissapprove.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

Mine didn't either.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

Ok, maybe if I sell my car...or put a second mortgage on my house....<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>...

..I have a hard enough time justifying a new bow...because at least I can use the excuse of bringing home food with it (not always <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>)...but what am I supposed to say about binoculars? &quot;I can club game over the head with them&quot;?

<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

PA Bowhunter: they're really great for bowhunting. You can see where you SHOULD have been.<img src=icon_smile_sad.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

Swarovski optics - the best, there is no better. Zeis is more expensive, but IMO not better.

RE: GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

Stealthy,

Zeiss used to buy glass from Swarovski all the time. They now buy from Schott and their quality isn't as good.
Leica makes awesome binoculars too and use Japanese glass in theirs.
The E.D. glass in Nikon Austrolux Binoculars is probably the best on the planet but they're so heavy, they are useless for hunting.
They weigh 4 to 5lbs. depending on the model.
The new Swarovski E L's are their best right now.


Sag.

RE: GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

When I was looking at all of them.. I went to stores that stocked both. I went at last light to this one store that had open ground and a brush lot behind it. I went back again in bright light and an overcast day. It was a CLOSE deal to me. It may have been my imagination... but to me the Leicas MAY have been clearer but I was uncertain and they were $200 more.

RE: GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

I've been drooling over them for years. One of these days.

RE: GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

Did you get a free hat Dave when you bought them?.....<img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>
They are expensive, however the quality is top-notch.. I used a pair my guide had when I was in Alaska...Crystal clear and true..I would be sleeping on the couch for 2 years if my wife saw that bill.

Edited by - JerseyJoe on 02/13/2002 15:46:27

RE: GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

For that price they should come with a customer service rep!<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
Id love to have a grand to spend on binos.
I cant see spending twice as much on binos as my bow though.

RE: GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

OMG! A GRAND? Tell me your kidding.

RE: GREAT Customer Service... Swarovski
 

Great binos Dave. Probable the best there is now. I got a Leupold 10x40's and paid 250.00 for them and have been very happy with them in any light and have had them for many years If my memory serves me right about 12 years so far and they are just awesome. That was the best 250.00 I ever spent. I am with JJ I would be on the couch when my wife saw the bill.

brian

Edited by - 445 supermag on 02/14/2002 04:44:20