Birddog Distributing a SCAM- Stay Away from them. Rip Offs

I'm sorry that you had problems with your lights. We warranty all our products and are glad to work with our customers to try to resolve any issues that may arise.

I also wanted to point out that we have over 6,000 sq. feet of warehouse space where we store our directly imported products. Many of which bear our copyrighted brand name. Not sure where you are getting your info from, but that source is incorrect.

Mike Wolfe wrote:

The company says that they warranty all their products and are glad to work with customers to try to resolve any issues that may arise, but, the truth is they do not stand behind their claims of LED rope lights being factory tested for 10,000 hours. I purchased a 164' spool of LED rope lights for almost $400 and have used them sporadically for less than 100 hours. They are starting to fail in numerous 3'sections. Now I am told by Birddog that they only warrant these things for 30 days. Spend the extra money and buy quality lighting from someone else. This is a rip off.

Do you ever think there will be a time when we can trust people and know that they are being honest

RE:Do you ever think there will be a time when we can trust people and know that they are being honest?

When greed and money are the motivators, I don't think so..........

Once again, I am sorry that you had problems with your lights. The LED's are rated by the factory for 100,000 hours on average. This does not mean every LED will last 100,000 hours. It's simply an average life rating, not a guarantee or warranty on every individual LED.

In a 164' spool there are nearly 2000 individual LED's. Even with the highest quality available the odds are against us. With that many LED's 1 or 2 are likely to fail before 100,000 hours causing sections to go out. We proudly offer a 30 day warranty on all our lighting products. We gladly stand behind our products and warranty them from defects during that time period. We even occasionally make exceptions, in the interest of customer service, if a problem arises shortly after the warranty period.

We sell quality products and have operated with honesty and integrity for the past 7 years. We believe in the quality of our lighting and apologize if you were confused or didn't understand the warranty.

I wanted to mention in regard to our reputation...our A+ Better Business Bureau rating speaks for itself.

Feel free to visit their site to verify our rating or you may follow this link:
http://www.bbb.org/montana/business-reviews/l...

SOOOO....you give a thirty day warranty on a product and in the same breath you say that they MAY last 100,000 hours? What kinda double talk is that? An A+ rating? Didn't know there was such a thing. Is that like super, dooper, pooper good? Yeah your LEDs are really efficient, in fact some don't use any power at all!

Fhone Phreak wrote:

SOOOO....you give a thirty day warranty on a product and in the same breath you say that they MAY last 100,000 hours? What kinda double talk is that? An A+ rating? Didn't know there was such a thing. Is that like super, dooper, pooper good? Yeah your LEDs are really efficient, in fact some don't use any power at all!

No double talk, I'm simply stating that the LEDs have a factory rating of 100,000 hours ON AVERAGE. Some may last 200,000 some may last 50,000, but on average, they last 100,000. That statement doesn't imply any warranty or guarantee on the length of life of every single one of the 2000+ LEDs in a spool. Our 30 day warranty is completely separate from any ratings and is offered through and paid for by the company because we stand behind our products.

As for the BBB, it's obvious that you are not familiar with their rating practices. It's not a joke. It's a serious rating that many consumers trust and rely on. It is earned by practicing business with the highest standards and something any legitimate business strives for.

I spoke with them twice, was told an owner would call me, emailed the owner, and yet no response. The rope light they sold me started an electrical fire and nearly burned down a wood frame pergola.

I originally ordered a 65 foot spool of white LED last November. After installing the original spool, within a month, it began losing sections at a time. I called, and even though we were slightly past the 30 day warranty, they agreed to send me a new spool and charge me for shipping. Irritating, but not worth the time and effort to argue about it.

I then installed the new lights last November, in an outdoor, wood frame pergola in the track I purchased from them). A few days ago, I noticed about 12 feet of section not lighting, and upon inspection, saw that the LED strand had in fact not only melted and burned through, but started the pergola on fire. Had it not been for the recent rain and damp wood, the entire structure may well have gone down, and perhaps spread to the house.

First, I realize that these goods come from China, and like tainted Chinese drywall and poisoned dog food and children’s toys, quality control is not shall we say, a priority. However, they are selling this stuff, and therefore have a liability in doing so. As a small business advisor and owner myself, I felt they should be aware of this, and quite possibly if this happened to me, it has or will happen again. If it were my business, I would want to know, and make corrections. No response from them.

I asked for either a new spool if they have secured new manufacturers, or a refund, so I can purchase a better quality product elsewhere. I even sent pictures of the melted rope light and fire damage on the wood. No response.

This customer contacted support on Monday. This complaint was left on Wednesday. We do the best we can to respond to our customers in timely manner, but correspondence from the owner is rare and does not happen that quickly. The manager did in fact contact this customer that same week. The owner later replied by email.

We are taking this issue very seriously. Apparently the customer expected an immediate reply and when he did not receive one he launched a smear campaign against us through various avenues of the internet stating that we would not respond to him. We did in fact respond to his complaint in what we consider a timely manner. The operations manager contacted Mr. Caruso and left a voice message 4 days after his initial contact with us. On September 28, the owner replied to his email. We informed Mr. Caruso that we were very concerned about the issue and that we have never experienced this problem before with a properly installed product in more than 7 years of sales. We advised him that we would like to investigate to try to determine the nature of the problem and to determine if the melting was in fact caused my manufacturing defect. Mr. Caruso replied that he was out of town and led us to believe that he preferred to complain about the time it took us to respond rather than address the issue. We are hoping he will cooperate once he returns.

Although we believe that Mr Caruso exaggerated in his explanation of the "electrical fire", we do recognize an inherent danger in the situation he experienced. Once our investigation is complete, we will be happy to refund the full purchase price should the problem be related to a defect. Also, if this should be the case, we will take measures to ensure that this issue does not arise again.

We also had issues with this company. 5 sets of lights that bought from them are deffective and they expect us to pay to have them shipped back. Ohh, also they want to charge us a 15% restocking fee when I told the manager to just give me a refund and I'll take my business somewhere else. I guess they restock defective merchandise! I understand a restocking fee if I had changed my mind and don't want the lights anymore, we did want them but not when they expect us to pay for shipping not 1, not 2 but 5 defective sets back. When I spoke to the manager her answer always was "company policy", she did not care about anything I had to say. I asked her if she will do anything about my complaint or take it to anybody else who can change company policy. She just said that I can write a letter to the owner Josh. I think she should get with josh and try to resolve the issue and them get back with me once he makes a decision about what they can or cannot do in my specific case. That would be better customer service.

Jany

These scammers sent me a used worn out throttle and brake assembly for a bike and charged me a 15% restocking fee. They refused the delivery because no RMA # and then lied to the postal service about opening it.
Dont waste your time or cash on these small time crooks
Spend your money elsewhere

We offered to replace the defective lights. When the customer refused and told us that she wanted to return all the lights, not just 5, then we informed her of our restocking fee. The restocking fee was for the working lights that she wanted to return, not for the defective ones. We attempted to point this out, but I don't think she understood. I regret that any of the lights were defective and we have a standing offer to replace them for no charge.

Whoever made this forum is a genius, ORDER NUMBER 21911 and ORDER NUMBER 22550. The first order was for 2 spools of LED ribbon/strip lights, both came without the 3M double sided tape. They mailed me the tape, which is some knock off cheap brand that wouldn't hold a feather up. It put my project on hold for 4 days due to the snail mail they used at there convenience since it was cheap for them. Also then I had to get my buddy to help me put that god forsaken cheap tape on the spool only to find out it isn't gonna stick. Had to go to Home Depot and buy my own double sided tape. On to the Second order, order a 65' of LED Rope light spool, first 4' do not light up, about another 30' in another 4' segment doesn't work. Then they want to tell me I have to pay return shipping, People from China that I order from on eBay provide better service then you people. I just didn't have 2 weeks to spare on the shipping time, so I ordered local and wanted to give ya'll another shot... This is for Josh, Since you glout so much on your A+ rating. Go do some research on both of my orders. And then tell me how your company doesn't deserve an A+ rating. A+ rating my.... Control your arrogant employees who aren't courteous and your products quality control.

I bought over a 1000.00 worth of rope lights from Birddog in April of 2009. I installed them June of 2009. When I went to the lake in April of 2010 I had four sections out. This was less than a year and far less than the 100,000 hours Birddog claimes them to be good for.By fall of 2010 I had eight sections out,and now in June of 2011 I have 21 sections out. I called Birddog and talker to Hagen Schmidt and he said the warranty was for30 days only. I ask him about the 100,000 hours, he said they {should} last that long. I did not see the 30 days in their adds only the 100,000 hours. I called the BBB, and they called Birddog and they stuck with the 30 days. I ask Hagen about a bad run of lights, he said they had one but this was not them.Hope you will learn from my mistakes, I should have done my homework.Ronny cooper Knoxville, Tn.

so glad I found this thread. Got one of their cards in a mailer and was considering a purchase for a project. Thank you all for your honesty. Cheaper is not always better!!!

I bought a string of lights from Bird Dog three years ago. They go around my deck and are on a timer so that they go on every night for a few hours. I couldn't be more pleased with them. They look great and have performed flawlessly.

Give us back our Lightstorm Displays we want them for christmas.. Another great product Birddog had offered 3 years ago, but not now
:((

Yikes. I just bought from a different company. Scary stuff in here.

About a year ago purchased a few hundred feet of various colors of led rope light as well as the RGB. My only complaint is that there are not better controllers for the RGB. I installed all if in a gentleman's club where it is in use for 18 hours a day. I haven't run into any problems yet. After reading this forum I'm convinced that installation is probably the biggest problem. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to do it but if its not done correctly you can easily short out sections of your lighting.