Trail Cam Decision !!!!!!

Wheels · 09-10-2008, 04:37 AM

Ok. guys what would you do??? Cuddeback is NOT repairing my Expert that I already sent in once for repairs and has never worked right from day 1. (I let too much time go by and it is out of the 6mo. warranty. So here are the options they gave me.

1. Send in my cam and for $115 ( repairs + shipping) they will send me back IMMEDIATELY, a refurbished/repaired Expert.

2. Send in my cam and $115 dollars and wait 4 weeks to get my original cam back in a repaired/refurbished condition (hopefully it would work)

3. Send in my cam + $140 and they will send me a Brand New Capture. (if these are $200 then Cuddeback is giving me a $40 credit for my $400 camera.

4. OR....................do nothing with Cuddeback and see if I can have someone who knows how to build trailcams fix mine.

What would you do? Thanks for the advice. Mark.

Chug · 09-10-2008, 05:34 AM

Send them the $115 bucks, with the condition. That It now falls under warranty, & hope its a working Cam. Bad part, will be spending more time in the mail & shop then in the woods Catching critters.

hope it resolves fast.

Wheels · 09-10-2008, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chug

Send them the $115 bucks, with the condition. That It now falls under warranty, & hope its a working Cam. Bad part, will be spending more time in the mail & shop then in the woods Catching critters.

hope it resolves fast.

Yes..................They did say it would have a 6 month warranty.

Wheels · 09-11-2008, 04:16 PM

Still not sure what I am going to do? Any thoughts? Wheels.

osulogger · 09-11-2008, 06:10 PM

That is pretty tough Wheels.... now I know why you don't have your camera out.

I almost think I'd send the $115 and get a refurbished one with a 6 mo. warranty. They seem to be a great camera, perhaps you just got the one bad apple.

Good luck!

From the land of Big Sticks,

Osulogger

Joe · 09-11-2008, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by osulogger

That is pretty tough Wheels.... now I know why you don't have your camera out.

I almost think I'd send the $115 and get a refurbished one with a 6 mo. warranty. They seem to be a great camera, perhaps you just got the one bad apple.

Good luck!

From the land of Big Sticks,

Osulogger

That is what I would do as well. My Expert seems to work fine and I love having video. I did just order a Capture too but I wouldn't take the trade they are offering.

Good luck and hurry up and get some pics to post.

sooslaw · 09-12-2008, 05:24 AM

you would have $540 into a cam?? Geez man, how could they be that much better than some of the other brands to be worth that kinda money?? I feel for you casue i would be really right now.

Chug · 09-12-2008, 05:41 AM

Why such a short warranty?, The fail rate really high on them. A expensive cam from the start too. That would be red flag, for me.

My Moultrie, & SG550's, have 1 year.

OR gamble it, pay $115, soon as it arrives put it to work. With luck, does not fail.

I hope for the best.

Quack Attack · 09-12-2008, 05:51 AM

All of those options seem like an attempt for them to claim zero liability... What that tells me is that it costs them $115-$140 to manufacture, thus they keep you as a customer and it costs them nothing. They can do better than that.

Assuming you are in a reasonable time frame (such as under a year), and have already had issues that apparently they did not fix, I would Email a letter to the president of the company expressing my dissatisfaction with their product. I would also add some things about how you have heard many good things about the company and such. Maybe also ask them if they are really manufactured to only last 6 months.

Save the email correspondence and if you are not happy quote some of the responses and write a letter to the editor of a few outdoor magazines, CC'ing Cuddeback.

I have had to deal with Browning this way several times, as their policy seems to be ONLY grease the squeaky wheel.

On the other hand, if you dropped it from a ATV at 40mph, suck it up and pay the $115.

Wheels · 09-12-2008, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quack Attack

All of those options seem like an attempt for them to claim zero liability... What that tells me is that it costs them $115-$140 to manufacture, thus they keep you as a customer and it costs them nothing. They can do better than that.

Assuming you are in a reasonable time frame (such as under a year), and have already had issues that apparently they did not fix, I would Email a letter to the president of the company expressing my dissatisfaction with their product. I would also add some things about how you have heard many good things about the company and such. Maybe also ask them if they are really manufactured to only last 6 months.

Save the email correspondence and if you are not happy quote some of the responses and write a letter to the editor of a few outdoor magazines, CC'ing Cuddeback.

I have had to deal with Browning this way several times, as their policy seems to be ONLY grease the squeaky wheel.

On the other hand, if you dropped it from a ATV at 40mph, suck it up and pay the $115.

It is a 1 year warranty when you buy one................as soon as you send it in for repairs and then get it back, a 6 mo. warranty takes effect......If I dropped the cam or caused the damage in some way, I would certainly take responsibility.....................this cam is spotless and has less than 100 pictures go through it..........low miles, few hours, etc. I will more than likely send a letter. Thanks guys. Wheels.

Dave Smith · 09-12-2008, 07:59 AM

You could always send them a link to this thread and tell them that the eyes of the hunting community are patiently waiting to see how they handle this. You are offering them a great opportunity: they can fix your camera and make this right and keep you as a customer as well as pursuade many of us to consider buying Cuddeback in the future.
I personally own 8 cameras and none of them are Cuddeback. I have been on the verge of trying one out which could lead to buying many more in the future. So far, I'm not blown away with their customer service but I'm only hearing one side of the story. They ask alot for their product which is fine, but I would think they would bend over backwards to keep their customers happy. They don't have much competition right now, but that is about to change in a big way- they better be treating their customers like royalty.
Dave

Linejerk · 09-12-2008, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Smith

You could always send them a link to this thread and tell them that the eyes of the hunting community are patiently waiting to see how they handle thisDave

Ni! · 09-12-2008, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by osulogger

They seem to be a great camera, perhaps you just got the one bad apple.

I try not to say too much about Cuddeback because I know a lot of guys here like them, but there are LOTS of bad apples out there when it comes to Cuddebacks. Their Expert and No Flash models were a good idea with terrible execution. So many people ended up with cameras that either didn't work right out of the box, or died soon after. Read some of the other forums, like chasingame.com, where they talk a lot about trailcams and you'll see what I'm talking about.