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Advice needed. (Moultrie not for me).

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Advice needed. (Moultrie not for me).

Old 09-01-2007, 11:12 PM
  #1  
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Join Date: Sep 2007
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Default Advice needed. (Moultrie not for me).

Howdy:
I'm new in these parts and I'm a little embarassed to be asking for advice in my first post but I'm not sure how to handle this situation.

I purchased two new D-40 Moultrie Trail Cams from a reputable ebay seller with 100% positive feedback. Both came factory sealed as advertised. Shipping was expedient. But upon examination, one of the units had a detached spring in the battery compartment and a loose terminal. The other unit just simply failed to turn on after I programmed it's parameters - the batteries are good.

I am not blameless in this issue since the auction did say "return policy not specified" - double-talk for "no return policy at all". In any event, I should certainly have asked about it first. But geeze, you'd think that if there was something amiss with a new unit the seller would go good for it.

Upon informing him of my disgust with the situation he emailed back, apologized for the inconvenience and sent me an 800 number with it's inherent "Your wait times may be considerable due to heavier than normal call volume" nonsense. The seller feels he has fulfilled the obligations stated in the auction.

Further communication with him indicated the following: 1) "We do not have a return policy on factory defect problems. You can contact the company, both the cameras have a 1 yr factory warranty. 1-800-653-3334 Also, as it stands we no longer have this model in stock at this time. Sorry for the inconvience", 2) "We do accept returns but each case is evaluated depending on the situation and the buyers attitude. This is a factory issue and again I apologize that these are not working", and 3) he has no intention of standing behind his auction or the product he sells.

Near as I can tell, I'm out $220 unless somebody has a suggestion. This is my first experience with trail cams, and likely my very last with Moultrie. It'll be Cuddeback next time regardless of the cost. I had some serious plans for these cameras over the next month or two trying to help a friend become established as a hunting guide.

What would you do?

Thank you. And again, I apologize for being such a leech in my first post.
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Old 09-03-2007, 08:47 PM
  #2  
Nontypical Buck
 
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Default RE: Need Advice

If you paid using paypal get your money back.
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Old 09-04-2007, 07:54 AM
  #3  
Spike
 
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Default RE: Need Advice

No matter the who manufactured the cams,I wouldn't blame them for your own assumptions. Even Cudde has it's problems as well. Try calling Moultrie & see what they can do to help.
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Old 09-04-2007, 08:00 AM
  #4  
CRP
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
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Default RE: Need Advice

I would try dealing with Moultrie first, I'm sure they will help you out if there is a one year warranty. I can understand the frustration though.
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Old 09-06-2007, 04:18 AM
  #5  
 
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Default RE: Need Advice

I assume you would like to use them pretty quick as hunting season is right around the corner. A dispute with eBay/PayPal will take several weeks to complete if you did use PayPal. You can try Moultrie but that may take a while too.

Does your local Walmart sell the same camera ? If so you can buy two from them andreturn the broken camerasfor a refund. Before you flame me remember Walmart will get a full credit for the broken cameras, all said and done it will be Moultrie that gives the refund, just not to you directly.







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Old 09-07-2007, 11:16 PM
  #6  
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Default RE: Need Advice

Thank you all for your responses.

As I mentioned, I bear some of the blame for this because I just did not realize that online retailers are not obligated to have a return policy. After doing a little digging, it turns out that MOST of the ebay sellers marketing these things don't have a return policy. You get an 800 number to the service center: that's the 'return policy'. The online retailer is not responsible for defective units.

Robcayman and and luke35whelan:

I thought to take this up with PayPal and Ebay but it's best to choose battles you have a chance to win. And you're right, Luke: I would be freezing my butt off on a deer stand before the PayPal/Ebay wheels stopped turning. Your suggestion about buying a couple from another source and returning the defective ones after the fact is not necessarily a bad idea since there would be a certain justice in it for the company who allowed them out the door in the first place. . . I can't imagine what passes for quality control in China. But I'd still be paying for four units instead of only the two I need.

Outdoorsfeller and CRP:

I FINALLY got through to Moultrie in Alabama and asked for a Return Authorization. Stupid on my part. Since I didn't buy them from Moultrie in Alabama, there can be no "Return Authorization". So, after explaining the entire sordid story, the lady I was speaking with expressed more than a little disgust with the online retailers - it's been a problem for Moultrie because they are swamped with defective stuff purchased from other-than-authorized dealers. I expressed my disgust with the situation but there was obviously nothing they could do to help get money back: they service these units under the one-year warranty with the option of repairing or replacing.

She was very knowledgeable, very patient and very accommodating. She suggested I send them in with a detailed explanation of what was wrong with each unit. I asked about turn-around time: she said probably about two weeks. She added that my experience with these cameras was not typical and they function very well for their price-point when they work as they're suppose to. We'll see come September 18 or so.

As for the online guy. . . . I emailed him a note of apology for my unkind words and stupidity for not asking about a return policy but explained that I did not feel right in leaving any feedback for him.
_________________________

Just a note for anyone who plans on using Ebay/PayPal for anything electronic of this nature (trail cams, digicams. computers, etc). The prices are competitive but LOOK FOR A RETURN POLICY. If the auction says, "Return Policy Not Specified", there isn't one. The seller will side-step your question by saying, "We consider returns on a case-by-case basis." You'll be dealing with a 800-number-menu-driven answering service telling you that "Due to unusually high caller volume wait times are considerable. Your call is important to us" (but not important enough for them to hire more staff to answer the phone).

Here's a breakdown of my costs for this deal:
$220 for two D-40's delivered;
5 hours screwing around with the cameras trying to get them to work;
2 hours phone time: 1.5 hours over four days trying to get in touch with
Moultrie, the other half-hour actually speaking with the repair
department;
.5 hour to pack the units up for shipping;
1 hour travel time to drop them at UPS;
$10 shipping to send them off to Moultrie in Alabama;
2-3 weeks turn-around time to replace/repair them.

These sell for around $159 locally which is about a 50% mark-up. Hindsight being what it is, I should have supported my local sport shop. I'll do things differently next time around.

Thanks again for your responses. I'm a little wiser now.




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Old 09-09-2007, 04:51 PM
  #7  
Fork Horn
 
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Default RE: Need Advice

The more i use ebay for things, the more ppl try to screw you, my advice would be not to buy anything of any significance on there, but if you did use paypal its pretty easy to get ur oney back through thm by filing a claim, good luck
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Old 09-09-2007, 06:29 PM
  #8  
Fork Horn
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Eros Louisiana USA
Posts: 283
Default RE: Need Advice

Even if you bought them from a local sporting goods store, you still have to send them back to moultrie. That's just the way it is. I have heard though that moultrie will make good on any problems with their cameras.
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Old 09-15-2007, 07:38 PM
  #9  
Fork Horn
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Southern Ontario
Posts: 108
Default RE: Need Advice

Buy from Costco they carry some hunting stuff "online only" my wife works there at the membership/returns counter you would not believe the stuff people bring back or try too. If your a costco member or know someone just go to Costco online they say shipping time is up to 10 days I order some stuff it took 3 days and UPS dropped it off.Might be safer then ebay.
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Old 09-28-2007, 06:30 PM
  #10  
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Default RE: Need Advice

. . . .She was very knowledgeable, very patient and very accommodating. She suggested I send them in with a detailed explanation of what was wrong with each unit. I asked about turn-around time: she said probably about two weeks. She added that my experience with these cameras was not typical and they function very well for their price-point when they work as they're suppose to. We'll see come September 18 or so.
Well, they arrived right on schedule, September 19. But one of the two new units Moultrie sent me to replace the defective ones powered up, died and would not re-start regardless of the quality of battery. The other unit works but I doubt seriously that it's a 4 mp camera - their idea of a 'high' quality setting doesn't apeal to me at all.

Once again, after many tries, I got through to Moultrie customer 'service' . It was suggested that I use Duracell batteries and if those didn't work they'd pay for the return of the unit. Since that conversation, (three days ago), I've been on the phone no less than eight times waiting, leaving voice mails, leaving messages for hand-delivery and, the last attempt was an entire hour of listening to, "We're sorry but all of our technicians are still busy assisting other customers. We are experiencing high call volume and your wait time may be considerable. . . .We wanna dedicate the proper attention to your call and suggest that you call back at another time if your wait time is greater than 15 minutes" just to see if anyone was actully answering the phone (s?). Apparently not.

I'm sorry for whining, but this is just stupid. Four (4) units; only one that works. . . .and that one with ANY set of six D-cell batteries. That's a 75% failure rate right out of the box!! What are the odds against that? My thought is this. . . .if the caller volume is that high and the wait times are so long, it would stand to reason that either; 1) they're under-staffed, 2) technical explanations are taking longer than they should, or 3) Moultrie products, in general, are inherently problematic in that too many of them require a call to customer service.

I'm really glad that most of the folks on this forum are happy with their Moultrie products and I enjoy the pictures you've taken with their trail cams. But for myself I'm done with Moultrie products and their brand of customer service. I'll send the defective unit back at my expense and they can find a place to put it. I can't make the commitment to chase customer service around indefinitely. I just don't have time and they've proven that their products are not reliable.

Just one man's view from the field of experience. Thanks for listening.
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