Incomplete ballast sent by htgsupply

[pompeii]

Well I recently purchased a 600w grow kit from htgsupply, and I was surprised to find the light cable pulled out with ease from the ballast. I was disappointed with the quality control of this product, but I have some experience with electronics so I knew it wouldn't be tough to fix.

After inspecting the wires and talking with a helpful worker from the shop I discovered 2 wires leading from the transformer weren't fastened, and there was no screw to hold the groundings from the light and power cables. I was left on my own to find an appropriate screw for this ballast. We both agreed this ballast was sent out as if it was complete. He suggested I ship it back and they exchange it, but I am not willing to pay for shipping and didn't want to deal with the company anymore after the obvious lack of care with their products.

After doing some homework and reading up on D.I.Y. ballasts guides, I grabbed some twist connectors from home depot for the necessary circuits to be made.

I'm sure HTGsupply has been good for others, but I've never had such a negative experience with a product I purchased. I sent them an email to let them know of the situation and I told them I would wait to leave feedback when I get their response or reasoning.

I posted this on TC and now here because I want everyone in this awesome community to be aware, I'm not saying htg is the devil just informing anyone who cares.

 

[panhead]

I am curious why you say this experience was the most negative experience you've had,was the seller non responsive to your problem or refuse to fix/replace the missing parts,how many working days has it been since you emailed the seller about the missing parts & how long did you wait for a response before posting this thread & the other thread??

 

[pompeii]

The reason it's a negative experience is because it's not the components that were defective, it was assembled and not complete yet the cover was screwed on and shipped out. The light cable was fastened into the ballast with a screw cap but the cable intself was not attached to anything within the ballast. from looking at it it appears the light cable was cut too short, so rather than cutting a longer cable, it was simply left up to the customer to handle.

That in itself is the most negative experience I've had, regardless if they wanted to replace it or not. Rather than waiting for them to receive it, or ship it out I decided to wire it myself, but since the cable was too short circuits couldn't be made with the wire fastener mounted inside the ballast's casing.

That and when I spoke with the worker he expected me to pay for the shipping back to the shop.

If I mis-judged HTG this much then I apologize but from my experience they don't deserve my business again.

EDIT: The biggest reason is after all this ordeal the employee on the other end of the phone didn't offer any reimbursement, expecting me to pay 30 dollar shipping.

 

[twinturbochronic]

I also purchased a ballast from HTG and the bulb they sent me burnt out after 1.5 months of 18/6, and the bulb was always noisy. I replaced it with a HORTILUX and my plants started growing much better. The growbright bulbs they send are not as good as they say, it didnt even put out the rated amount of lumens as per my light meter., the Growbright brand is a joke from what my growshop says. He and others at the shop have only had problems with them.

 

[HustlinHolmes]

htg is seriously the shit...dont hesitate to call them they have the best customer support, and its probably under warranty...they will send you a new one out and all you got to do is put that one in the box they sent you and send it back.... sucks you had a bad experience but trust me if you would of called em there would of been no worries!

 

[LoudBlunts]

how can you fault the RETAILER over a manufacturer defect?


i could see if he actually built the ballast....but he doesnt.... how can you fault him?

AT LEAST he offered to replace the ballast. Tony is a great guy and he stands behind all his products. ALOT ALOT of people order from him. Defects happen time to time.... that is why you hear about recalls and shit.

Dont shoot the messenger.

 

[DND]

In all fairness to HTG...they probably order these ballasts from a supplier, mark up the price, and send them out exactly as they were received from the supplier. On the other hand HTG should inspect for quality before they send out a product. This happens from time to time, but I'm surprised they wouldn't pay for return shipping. I assume all is good now? Sorry about your experience.

 

[pompeii]

Ya all is good I made the necessary connections and gained some self-satisfaction with repairing the ballast.

 

[panhead]

That in itself is the most negative experience I've had, regardless if they wanted to replace it or not. Rather than waiting for them to receive it, or ship it out I decided to wire it myself, but since the cable was too short circuits couldn't be made with the wire fastener mounted inside the ballast's casing.

That and when I spoke with the worker he expected me to pay for the shipping back to the shop.

If I mis-judged HTG this much then I apologize but from my experience they don't deserve my business again.

EDIT: The biggest reason is after all this ordeal the employee on the other end of the phone didn't offer any reimbursement, expecting me to pay 30 dollar shipping.

Im not trying to bust your balls but you cant have done much buying off ebay, if you'd have read the entire auction/buy it now you'd have seen where it say's buyer is responsible for return shipping,this is standard with all ebay sellers including myself & it does say this in all htg's auctions,i just checked.

Sounds to me like you were in a hurry & are pissed over the shipping so you wrote several threads on 2 sites to bitch about something that you overlooked,not cool,going by your first post in this thread you also intend to hold them hostage over feedback until they satisfy your unfounded expectations,again not too cool.

Im on the sellers side here 100% for several reasons,the first being that you have offered no proof that htg has not lived up to their end of the bargin you both agreed to,defective/faulty/incomplete products are just something that happens,even when you buy from Wallmart.

Secondly im on the sellers side because you used this forum & the other forum as a weapon to hurt a much needed business in our hobby when if you had read the entire auction you'd have known it is your responsibility to pay return shipping.

 

[joepro]

I understand both sides.
first, check all ballast before shipping out-this issue what have never happend!
sec, the $ for reshipping should be waved-he should get what he paid for.
third, hgt tried to work with him,they didnt fuck him or mislead him in anyway.

HGT is a stand up co, sorry to hear about ur problem-that can be fixed for under $20, but I see ur point.

 

[LoudBlunts]

joepro...what the hell are you talking about....


why would a retailer check something before he sells it? LMAO!!!! that is like walmart opening up your bag of skittles to make sure there arent more reds than greens...sealing it back up and trying to sell that shit!!!

that is like me going to barnes and nobles and me getting mad at them because they sold me an xbox 360 magazine and the demo disc that came with it doesnt work or the disc is plain with no decorations.... yall are ridiculous


you all are retarded. how can you hold a retailer at fault for something he didnt fabricate?

 

[DND]

joepro...what the hell are you talking about....


why would a retailer check something before he sells it? LMAO!!!! that is like walmart opening up your bag of skittles to make sure there arent more reds than greens...sealing it back up and trying to sell that shit!!!

that is like me going to barnes and nobles and me getting mad at them because they sold me an xbox 360 magazine and the demo disc that came with it doesnt work or the disc is plain with no decorations.... yall are ridiculous


you all are retarded. how can you hold a retailer at fault for something he didnt fabricate?

I don't know why you're pissed about here? People aren't entitled to their own opinions and yours is the only one that matters? The thread was simply informing people about what he thought was bad business. Period...people can take it or leave it. Yet we are all retards for having an opinion.

 

[LoudBlunts]

who's pissed? lol...let me know where i can find one of those internet emotion meters....


retarded was used loosely.... obviously i dont think joepro is retarded.

 

[smokingbot]

So did you buy it through the HTG website or ebay?

 

[joepro]

first, this is an on going issues with some of the ballast sold.(right or wrong?)
facter in issues that are not reported on MBs, now the % just went up.(right or wrong?)
His ballast had missing parts!(again, not the first time Ive herd that)
Hire a guy/kid to open and test a ballast when their shippment comes in.
how meany ballast do you really think they sell?...yeah,Im sure the % rate of sales are the same as walmart/skittles and way above xbox360 sales.(and you edited huh?)

..hold the retailer at fault for something he didnt fabricate?
lets call it for what it is, its cheap shit with a sticker on it.
heres how it works out, they send you a ballast(shippin $)
and you ship it back for whatever reason(more ship $..and time)
they "check" ur ballast for problems and ship you out another ballast.
why not just save this guy that EXTRA money and time and check it before shipping?

I had an issue, a small problem and I called up to bitch.without question they said to just ship it back,no worries at all.I was like wow, that was pretty easy.
now one might look at it as these fuckers are really nice,pretty kool guy,I'd buy from again.
On the other hand, maybe they dont check them on return.they just toss em out becasue they are from china.Paid like a nickel each and as a 100 million of them in his basement-shocked that everybody hasnt called with issues.

small cos like this one can/should check before shipping.
My hydro store opens and checks all ballast/lights before it sold.
Alternative Garden Supply - Hydroponics & Indoor Gardening Super Store

 

[six8]

sounds like some of you guys dont appreciate consumer info as well as accountabilty for suppliers(regardless if they manufacture it or not). this kat is just explaining his experience. a good co. would/should happily accept returns for faulty products w/o charging shipping. why should u have 2 shell out xtra $$$ to get a faulty product sitation rectified. cost the co. nothin, but cost u xtra time and $$.

 

[fdd2blk]

i had problems with HTG. i sent them 4 emails. it's been 2 months. i never received ANY type of reply. NO i don't just have to call him. HE needs to answer his email. i will NEVER use his services again. my mind is made up. my 2 cents.

 

[LoudBlunts]

i most definitely agree he needs to answer his damn email.

you sell me this shit online....why the hell cant you communicate with me online....

i broke down and called...lol

 

[fdd2blk]

i most definitely agree he needs to answer his damn email.

you sell me this shit online....why the hell cant you communicate with me online....

i broke down and called...lol

i have a box of his shit on my back shelf in my shop. used once.

 

[LoudBlunts]

i'd ebay that shit...lol