I think we completely agree with this, the problem we run into is always…money.
It was $20k in postage costs to ship pre-orders. We are now going to have to pay another $20k to ship the replacement units. We would have to pay $20k to get them back from everyone. So that’s putting us at $60k in postage costs for just this pre-order. Definitely not in the position to do that right now, especially since the manufacturer is not covering any of that cost for us.
We still have back orders on 2-1 and aux switch we need to complete payment for, as well as other projects we need to put money down on so we are trying to do whatever we can to save money right now. We are very worried about what you mention though so we’re trying our best to prevent it by getting all the necessary facts from each person who has the defective units.
Right on – to say the least, it’s a crappy spot to be in!!.. Any thought of incentivizing old-unit returns with some Rewards credits?
I know many folks would balk at paying for return shipping, but sweetening the pot with a few credits might help keep some off the grey market / local landfills?
I definitely see both sides, and that’s why I mentioned if it’s allowed. Repaired switches are going to be missed sales opportunities for Inovelli. But the alternative is these nearly usable switches end up in the dump. So I see it as in an ethical gray area.
I know it’s not feasible to hold everyone accountable, but these would be for my personal use, and I would agree that selling repaired switches is wrong. I’d be willing to register IEEE numbers to prove I’m not reselling them - I’d even be willing to buy these discounted from Inovelli if they are returned, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be worth their effort.
Whatever happens, I’d want it to be with Inovelli’s blessing which is why I brought it up in this forum. Also - I’ll be buying 25 more switches once there’s a model rated for fans/fluorescent lights.
You need a couple of investor / partners. I’d bet there are numerous Inovelli users for whom $100k is pocket change. You guys really do innovative stuff. Time to recruit some friendly enthusiasts with deep pockets to give you some breathing room and maybe a little management support.
When should we keep an eye out for any correspondence about replacement switches? I unfortunately never received any of the shipping update emails for the preorders nor the email about the defective units. I know you guys had an issue with something with mass emails going out and Eric had been emailing a few of us directly from his personal account to keep us updated. I just want to make sure that I don’t miss anything and still might be able to get my replacement switches some time in December.
Have you thought about refurbing them using the fix posted here and reselling at a discount? If you are open and honest about the defect, I am sure people would buy them up.
What would the value of selling those as refurbs be?
I submitted the form from here yesterday, but didn’t get any confirmation. Not even of submitting the form. @Eric_Inovelli will we get a follow up to con from if we meet the requirements?
I believe their issue is the shipping costs to send them back for repairs. I don’t know if they have evaluated the repair being done at a US contract manufacturer, and who has to cover the cost of the repairs as there may be a dispute between them and the overseas contract manufacturer that the quality testing process didn’t catch the error. If they are the ones that told them how they should be quality tested then the contract manufacturer would not want to cover the return or repair cost.
I wonder what the cost would be for a user with an affected switch to return ship, have the switch refurbished, and ship again–and whether that would come out to less than the cost of a new switch.
Assuming the replacement switches I get wind up working well, I would be interested in a program like that. I got 3, all defective. I would pay those costs to refurbish if it could come out to less than the cost of 3 additional new switches. Probably even add on some full price Blues or AUX switches in the process.
I bet some people who didn’t get defective switches would be willing to front the cost for additional switches too, if inovelli wanted to go through that effort.
It’s really hard to say whether that would be worthwhile though in terms of cost and effort involved.
Obviously this is complicated. Shipping costs are crazy. I think to get replacements we should have to agree to a document that protects Inovelli’s brand reputation. I think that means not selling them, or maybe even not giving them away, but that they could be used for personal use.
This company is awesome, makes awesome products, and has always done right by its customers. If it weren’t for supply issues, every switch in my house would be Inovelli, and its the first thing I recommend to others. Thank you again for all you’re doing to make this right!
Best case is that Inovelli sends out new switches…askes the recipient to bin the old switch. Each person getting the replacements will act with their own value system and ethics on whether they use the old switches for parts (like keep the plastic faces) or repair and use them.
Invovelli has proven they really care about their customers and are small enough to be very personal with us on the forums. Most of us would respect the spirit of the replacement and not abuse it. Some would abuse it, but I don’t think to a large extent. Those that abuse it probably would take advantage of anyone so for the most part as a society we just accept that there will always be someone…
About 20% of the time I go to return something at Amazon they tell me to toss it. The logistics of returns and the cost of shipping dictate the price point at which the return is a loss greater than the cost calculation including things like brand perception.
Without a doubt Inovelli replacing the switches by sending new ones is the least costly and in many ways buys some goodwill. Just do it and don’t ask questions. Sounds like the supplier is floating the cost of product at the very least. If done correctly the solution is excellent marketing for the brand.
If you sell one on the secondary market that doesn’t work, that’s on you.
If you buy one on the secondary market and contact customer support, they have all the IDs of the named defective units that people got replacements. Customer support will tell the buyer that the seller knowingly sold them a defective unit. Most businesses don’t offer transferable warranties.
Returns cost a ton of money for little benefit in my opinion.
I found that I set the thin rubbery pads on the metal plate, then put the pins through the electronics board facing down with those parts bent at about a 30-40 degree angle. Then lower it down into the right place and use electronics tweezers to push the bottom part of pin through the holes, once they are both in, use a flat head screwdriver to put force on the top part of the pin to push it until it snaps in (almost flat). Make sure it snaps and is almost flat. If you don’t get it tight enough, the paddle will feel mushy. Then you can push it all together and put in the 4 screws.
(sorry, I deleted this above to get it to reply correctly, not knowing it wouldn’t completely delete)
