4 ms·

It would be interesting if there were standard warranty terms (no fiddling with the tiny print) and shops had to post the product's price/warranty-year ratio al

It would be interesting if there were standard warranty terms (no fiddling with the tiny print) and shops had to post the product's price/warranty-year ratio along with the regular price. Maybe it would promote some competition, as people would start to think in the longer-term cost.

marcosdumay 8y ago
The energy consumption one has only a set of standard measurements. Many countries require that the seller do the measurement and place the results on a large tag. Nothing more, and worked wonders.
- inflatableDodo 8y ago
  That's a great idea.
semi-extrinsic 8y ago
At least one local store chain has a own-brand LED bulb, where the name of the store is printed on the bulb, and they advertise a 10-year warranty. I've gone in and returned probably a dozen such bulbs without any receipt, just saying "hey, these are your bulbs, you say 10 year warranty, this is broken and they only came to the market 5 years ago". Of course this only works now in the early days. If the date of manufacture was printed along with the store name, it'd be problem solved forever.
- tialaramex 8y ago
  The LED lamps I use in my bedroom are serial numbered. When one dies they can see when they sold it and authorise a free replacement if it qualifies. I thought the last one to die had qualified, but when I got as far as pulling out my records I realised the one I'd been thinking of was actually still in its box yet to be installed, so this one lasted almost double its warranted lifetime.
wjnc 8y ago
In Europe you can. I've always saved receipts and boxes of lamps (both for inventory and waranty purposes). It's been trivial to return lamps and get free replacements even after the 2 yr default warranty by claiming it broke to soon and giving a quick calculation how with say 4 or 8 hours a day I couldn't have hit the hourly mark at that point in time. Must have gotten at least a dozen free lamps. It is uneconomic neurotic consumerism on my part though. But I sure do hate how old fashioned bulbs were made illegal based on surely false economic lifetime projections of LEDs. On top of that half of the year I'm central heating and I couldn't care less what the source of my heat is.
- iforgotpassword 8y ago
  Huh? Here in Germany you get 6 months for any type of bulb. Everything else is voluntary.
  - kalleboo 8y ago
    https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/dealing-with-customers/consumer-contracts-guarantees/consumer-guarantees/index_en.htm https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/dealing-with-customers... > EU law also stipulates that you must give the consumer a minimum 2-year guarantee (legal guarantee) as a protection against faulty goods, or goods that don't look or work as advertised. In some countries national law may require you to provide longer guarantees. If the package says something like "10,000 hours" and you haven't run it for that many hours and it dies in 2 years you can get it replaced by EU law
    - wjnc 8y ago
      In the Netherlands (my country) this is interpreted as that you have a right to a functional product for the usual lifespan of a product. After the two years guarantee you're supposed to share the repair costs proportionally. The boxes of bulbs state the expected lifespan (most home appliances do not) so that's an easy starting point. Plus I guess my local DIY-shop just doesn't want to haggle with me and just gives me the replacement each and every time since I'm the only one asking. I'm unsure about how my online LED-supplier will react if in 3-5 years my LEDs burn out, but I've tried to choose a respectable brand and supplier.

marcosdumay 8y ago

The energy consumption one has only a set of standard measurements. Many countries require that the seller do the measurement and place the results on a large tag. Nothing more, and worked wonders.

inflatableDodo 8y ago
That's a great idea.

semi-extrinsic 8y ago

At least one local store chain has a own-brand LED bulb, where the name of the store is printed on the bulb, and they advertise a 10-year warranty. I've gone in and returned probably a dozen such bulbs without any receipt, just saying "hey, these are your bulbs, you say 10 year warranty, this is broken and they only came to the market 5 years ago". Of course this only works now in the early days. If the date of manufacture was printed along with the store name, it'd be problem solved forever.

tialaramex 8y ago
The LED lamps I use in my bedroom are serial numbered. When one dies they can see when they sold it and authorise a free replacement if it qualifies. I thought the last one to die had qualified, but when I got as far as pulling out my records I realised the one I'd been thinking of was actually still in its box yet to be installed, so this one lasted almost double its warranted lifetime.

wjnc 8y ago

In Europe you can. I've always saved receipts and boxes of lamps (both for inventory and waranty purposes). It's been trivial to return lamps and get free replacements even after the 2 yr default warranty by claiming it broke to soon and giving a quick calculation how with say 4 or 8 hours a day I couldn't have hit the hourly mark at that point in time. Must have gotten at least a dozen free lamps. It is uneconomic neurotic consumerism on my part though. But I sure do hate how old fashioned bulbs were made illegal based on surely false economic lifetime projections of LEDs. On top of that half of the year I'm central heating and I couldn't care less what the source of my heat is.

iforgotpassword 8y ago
Huh? Here in Germany you get 6 months for any type of bulb. Everything else is voluntary.
- kalleboo 8y ago
  https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/dealing-with-customers/consumer-contracts-guarantees/consumer-guarantees/index_en.htm https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/dealing-with-customers... > EU law also stipulates that you must give the consumer a minimum 2-year guarantee (legal guarantee) as a protection against faulty goods, or goods that don't look or work as advertised. In some countries national law may require you to provide longer guarantees. If the package says something like "10,000 hours" and you haven't run it for that many hours and it dies in 2 years you can get it replaced by EU law
  - wjnc 8y ago
    In the Netherlands (my country) this is interpreted as that you have a right to a functional product for the usual lifespan of a product. After the two years guarantee you're supposed to share the repair costs proportionally. The boxes of bulbs state the expected lifespan (most home appliances do not) so that's an easy starting point. Plus I guess my local DIY-shop just doesn't want to haggle with me and just gives me the replacement each and every time since I'm the only one asking. I'm unsure about how my online LED-supplier will react if in 3-5 years my LEDs burn out, but I've tried to choose a respectable brand and supplier.