Meopta Warranty

[ChasingSqwach]

Hello -

I just thought I would share my experience so far with Meopta's warranty and post updates along the way for anyone researching this brand.

I purchased a set of 15x56 meostars recently. They didn't seem super comfortable on the eyes and when I looked away from the glass it seemed to take my eyes forever to adjust back to normal. I called Meopta to see what their thoughts were - they stated that the bino's may have been knocked out of collimation and to send them in and they would check them out.

I paid shipping and shipped them to Florida. After a few weeks i started considering my bear hunt plans and wondered if they would be back in time. I emailed Meopta asking an ETA. Apparently it is a 12 week minimum for a warranty turnaround. The glass needs to be shipped across seas before it can even be assessed. I sure wish i would have known this, i would have just returned to vendor and purchased a new pair somewhere else. Instead now i'm going into my bear hunt without 15's. Oh well. Not the end of the world.

I do think they will repair at no charge and their customer service has been very responsive so far. I am just very disappointed in their turnaround time, I wonder where this stacks up to competitors. I have a pair of Meopta 10's that i love and I don't think i would trade for any glass out there at this point so hopefully it is worth the wait.

 

[sndmn11]

Have you been working with Erik M?

 

[ChasingSqwach]

Yep and so far he has been great to work with.

 

[lilharcher]

Zeiss has always shipped me an immediate loaner pair if they have needed extended time during a repair claim. I hear this is pretty standard with other manufacturers as well. I would specifically ask if they have a loaner pair them could send you in the interim. GL

 

[MtnW]

This is what you will deal with some of these smaller more obscure companies. Meopta is a middle tier company.I am surprised that there is a market for many of these smaller companies and some US optic retail companies are pushing these products, having much of their lines being made in China. Wait and see when some of the Chinese brands need service, 12 weeks will probably seem fast if you get service at all.

 

[Nethero]

This is what you will deal with some of these smaller more obscure companies. Meopta is a middle tier company.I am surprised that there is a market for many of these smaller companies and some US optic retail companies are pushing these products, having much of their lines being made in China. Wait and see when some of the Chinese brands need service, 12 weeks will probably seem fast if you get service at all.

Meopta is a Czech company with products made in Europe or Japan, or assembled in the USA from Japanese parts... And some would argue that they really are a top tier company, they just aren’t the “big three” and have really been quite nonexistent with their marketing in the US. But to each their own.

I have experienced 8 weeks with Zeiss and am currently being told expect 12 weeks for a spotting scope from Leica. It might have been sent to Germany for all I know.

 

[MtnW]

Yep, know Meopta is Czech, just not a major player in the US and lacking the support staff. As others stated , Zeiss, Leica and Swarovski would send you a loaner if the item was purchased new from a US Authorized dealer and still under warranty. No other companies I know of will do this.

 

[Rodéo]

Yep, know Meopta is Czech, just not a major player in the US and lacking the support staff. As others stated , Zeiss, Leica and Swarovski would send you a loaner if the item was purchased new from a US Authorized dealer and still under warranty. No other companies I know of will do this.

Maven will too. I can vouch for that

 

[MtnW]

Maven will too. I can vouch for that

That’s great to hear. Not familiar with Maven, if Maven is willing to do that they will have loyal customers.

 

[JGRaider]

Yep, know Meopta is Czech, just not a major player in the US and lacking the support staff. As others stated , Zeiss, Leica and Swarovski would send you a loaner if the item was purchased new from a US Authorized dealer and still under warranty. No other companies I know of will do this.

Zeiss didn't in our case. The focus dials on my buddy's spotter went tits up in September a couple of years ago. Best Zeiss could do was a 6 month turnaround and zero offer of a loaner. Meopta service and support are superb. Several different optics companies, including Zeiss Leica, Trijicon, and Nightforce thought enough of Meopta to have them be the OEM for their products. That says alot about a company's reputation for high quality products.

 

[sneaky]

This is what you will deal with some of these smaller more obscure companies. Meopta is a middle tier company.I am surprised that there is a market for many of these smaller companies and some US optic retail companies are pushing these products, having much of their lines being made in China. Wait and see when some of the Chinese brands need service, 12 weeks will probably seem fast if you get service at all.

This post is such utter BS I don't know where to start. Meopta isn't some middle tier company importing shit from China. You confuse them with Vortex. Meopta produces part of their line here, and the rest in Europe. They produce products for many other alpha glass companies, including Zeiss. They've made the Cabelas Euro line for decades and have a strong presence here stateside. Their weakness has always been that they don't advertise here like the other companies do.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[sneaky]

Yep, know Meopta is Czech, just not a major player in the US and lacking the support staff. As others stated , Zeiss, Leica and Swarovski would send you a loaner if the item was purchased new from a US Authorized dealer and still under warranty. No other companies I know of will do this.

Meopta sent me a replacement scope in 3 days, from FL to ID, so I could make a hunt. Even though the problem with the original scope was of my own doing. So, I'll add them to the list of companies that will do the same if asked. I've had quick turnarounds with Kowa as well. Swaro times are dependent on whether the repair can be made stateside or has to go back to Europe.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Montana Slim]

This post is such utter BS I don't know where to start. Meopta isn't some middle tier company importing shit from China. You confuse them with Vortex. Meopta produces part of their line here, and the rest in Europe. They produce products for many other alpha glass companies, including Zeiss. They've made the Cabelas Euro line for decades and have a strong presence here stateside. Their weakness has always been that they don't advertise here like the other companies do.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

...beat me to it. Meopta makes much of the glass in 'alpha glass'. I have an old S1 overseas right now. Erik and others have been top notch to deal with.

 

[MtnW]

I would not be very happy having new binoculars fail right before a hunt and being told it will be a minimum of 12 weeks before they would even be assessed yet alone fixed . Not offering you a demo replacement for your hunt for your new failed binoculars in my opinion makes Meopta a second tier company. I am not a optics fanatic and tend to upgrade only every 5-7 years and not being critical of Meopta but I have owned or currently own two pair of Zeiss, 4 pair of Leica binoculars , 2 Swarovski spotting scopes , and 2 Leica spotting scopes. All have had zero quality control issues out of the box . I have never had a issue or problem with these three brands and they all received rugged use. In the past we have had our dealer offer us the opportunity to take demo new model glass on mixed bag hunts to check out their new glass hoping we would upgrade when we got back . I would put some pressure on Meopta to make things right on your new binos. Companies hate negative reviews on the internet of their products that have failed. Today with the internet there is way more consumer exposure.I am pretty sure that if those were my binos and I had purchased them for a specific timed hunt , Meopta or the selling dealer would be replacing them either with a demo to use or a replacement pair pronto. I have seen many companies be a penny wise and a pound foolish when it comes to customer service. I am sorry you have to deal with this problem.

 

[ChasingSqwach]

Thanks everyone for the response. I do want to clarify that I have been very happy with Meopta as a whole other than this slow turnaround time and in my eyes they are very competitive with the big 3 when it comes to glass. They definitely are not a small-midtier company as mentioned above, they produce glass for Cabelas and Nightforce so I would venture to say they produce more binoculars than most of the big 3 (could be wrong, i'm sure someone will correct me).

I followed up with Eric regarding a loaner and he is having one sent out to me ASAP. Problem solved. So far Meopta has stepped up and done a great job.

 

[MtnW]

That’s great news ! Glad Meopta is finally stepping up. A lot of my career has been dealing with manufacturers , many don’t want to take care of things until they are pressured and exposed especially on social media. I have had to go presidents of companies before to get resolution when mid management just would not help and was playing stall tactics. Not sure why Meopta didn’t just handle your problem in the first place. As long as one purchases products new from a manufacturer’s AD you should not have issues getting a warrantied item replaced or at least be offered a loaner as in your case. Unfortunately the squeaky wheel gets the grease. It will be interesting when some of these other (not Meopta) companies that are selling Chinese optics start having warranty failures, then we will all be reading about how cheap prices do not equal quality and the selling dealers getting called out for replacement. Personally I don’t have time or the patience to deal with quality control issues that are not handled on the front side by manufacturers.

 

[sndmn11]

I followed up with Eric regarding a loaner and he is having one sent out to me ASAP. Problem solved. So far Meopta has stepped up and done a great job.

That was going to be my suggestion. I have become acquainted with Erik over the past few years, NOT warranty needs I don't own anything Meopta, and he is top notch.

 

[HntnFsh]

When I bought my Meostars a couple years ago I asked Eric personally about loaners if anything went wrong. He assured me they would do that if at all possible. Glad they stepped up for you!

 

[JGRaider]

That’s great news ! Glad Meopta is finally stepping up. A lot of my career has been dealing with manufacturers , many don’t want to take care of things until they are pressured and exposed especially on social media. I have had to go presidents of companies before to get resolution when mid management just would not help and was playing stall tactics. Not sure why Meopta didn’t just handle your problem in the first place. As long as one purchases products new from a manufacturer’s AD you should not have issues getting a warrantied item replaced or at least be offered a loaner as in your case. Unfortunately the squeaky wheel gets the grease. It will be interesting when some of these other (not Meopta) companies that are selling Chinese optics start having warranty failures, then we will all be reading about how cheap prices do not equal quality and the selling dealers getting called out for replacement. Personally I don’t have time or the patience to deal with quality control issues that are not handled on the front side by manufacturers.

If you had half a clue as to what you're talking about with regards to Meopta, you wouldn't have bothered responding in the first place. As most know, Meopta was the OEM for several optics companies including Cabelas, Zeiss, Leica, Nightforce, Trijicon, and maybe a couple of others. When the original OEM contracts expired with these companies, that's when Meopta started coming out with new products for the American market and started becoming more "front and center" in terms of brand recognition. The more people used them, the higher their reputation got, and the more recognizable their high quality products and customer service became. It was an obvious step up from OEM status. Meopta is one of the few companies in the world that is capable of manufacturing and grinding/polishing their own glass in house. They are a true alpha company.

Here's another lesson for you. When Bass Pro took over Cabelas, Meopta had been making the Cabelas Euro/Instinct line of optics for a few years already. Bass Pro gave the "screw you" to owners of these products, even though Cabelas had their ironclad lifetime guarantee on them. Bass Pro negated that warranty out of thin air. Meopta had no obligation to honor the warranty because Cabelas was, but decided to honor the warranty anyway, out of good will, with no legal obligation to do so. That's taking care of customers IMO.

 

[ChasingSqwach]

If you had half a clue as to what you're talking about with regards to Meopta, you wouldn't have bothered responding in the first place. As most know, Meopta was the OEM for several optics companies including Cabelas, Zeiss, Leica, Nightforce, Trijicon, and maybe a couple of others. When the original OEM contracts expired with these companies, that's when Meopta started coming out with new products for the American market and started becoming more "front and center" in terms of brand recognition. The more people used them, the higher their reputation got, and the more recognizable their high quality products and customer service became. It was an obvious step up from OEM status. Meopta is one of the few companies in the world that is capable of manufacturing and grinding/polishing their own glass in house. They are a true alpha company.

Here's another lesson for you. When Bass Pro took over Cabelas, Meopta had been making the Cabelas Euro/Instinct line of optics for a few years already. Bass Pro gave the "screw you" to owners of these products, even though Cabelas had their ironclad lifetime guarantee on them. Bass Pro negated that warranty out of thin air. Meopta had no obligation to honor the warranty because Cabelas was, but decided to honor the warranty anyway, out of good will, with no legal obligation to do so. That's taking care of customers IMO.

No need to be hostile; however I agree with you in regards to Meopta being a great company with Alpha glass.

They will repair the Cabela's Euro's but they will charge you the cost. I emailed Eric about this earlier this year. Much better then leaving you high and dry but still a slightly unfortunate situation for Cabela Euro owners. Fault all being to Cabela/Bass Pro, not Meopta.