Recommendations and Complaints

Thank you for visiting ReplacementLightBulbs.com. The following are compliments and complaints from customers regarding our products and/or services. Customer identities are not provided for the protection of our customer's privacy. These emails and letters are unedited except to remove information not related to the compliment or complaint, to remove customer contact information or to add the country of origin.

Note: We shipped a no charge replacement after checking a couple of techincal things with the customer in an attempt to assess the cause of the failure to prevent a repeat failure.



I ordered a ballast a couple of days back, it has arrived and been installed. The directions for wiring were great the one is was replacing was totally different in dimensions and wire color but the directions made it simple. The shipping time was almostunbelievable it must have the very afternoon that I ordered it. Excellent service thanks very much.

Should the opportunity arise to work with Robert E. Reuter, Strategic Collaborations, LLC I recommend you resonsider.

Hey Ron,

I was going to order from you but you only process payment through Paypal. For some reason they want me to go through a bunch of steps to verify my account even though I have had it for 10 years or longer. Wanted to let you know that I am going to purchase the lights I needed from a different online vendor who can process credit cards directly because of the hassle that Paypal is causing me,.

Thanks

-=nick

Our response to Nick:

Hello Nick,

Thank you for your request and feedback. I appreciate your taking the time to send us an email explaining the problem you experienced.

You do not have to be a member of PayPal to check out through PayPal. You do not have to go through PayPal to pay online with our cart. We have both PayPal and Google options on every cart.

Most customers who pay through our PayPal cart are not members of PayPal and do not join PayPal. If you are an active member of PayPal then PayPal makes your transaction much faster, not having to key in your information.

If you use an email or credit card associated with your PayPal account you will be directed to your account. When you go to your PayPal account as a payment method then you are subject to your PayPal user agreement over which we have no control.

When you call in your order we process your card through our local bank, not PayPal.

To avoid the PayPal problem you experienced you can checkout through PayPal using your credit card not associated with PayPal and supply an email address not associated with PayPal, checkout online through the Google checkout option or call 800-692-3051 with your credit card order. Google, unlike PayPal, does have a sign up requirement but it should be fast and easy.

Thanks,

Ron

Wow! Thank you so much for your kindness. It's truly appreciated. Be sure I'll tell others about my happy experiences with your company!

Cheers!


Wow! Thank you immensely for the promptness of your response -- and the shipping of the replacement bulb. I am entirely pleased with your company, your product and your service!

Many thanks,

Kelly


Just a quick note to repeat what others have already said. Your company provides outstanding service. Your staff is courteous (I had to call to ensure there wouldn't be a problem shipping the order to Niagara Falls, NY rather than Toronto, Ontario where I live) and my very small order was handled very quickly.

Thanks!

Reg


Here is a link to a complaint, response and compliment too long to place here.


Awesome service and product guys-Just came in today-you guys have my bulb business going forward. First rate!!! A+


Maybe you would of got our order if you didn’t rip people off with 8.45 priority when it cost less than 6.00 up to 4 lbs. loser
(This customer had a lot more to say in later emails, most of which is not nice. If you are easily offended I recomend that you not read the exchange. It is mildly comical if you have a minute or so. To read the email exchange go here.)


Have arrived in Malawi; the lamps are working great and we' ve had many patients pass through the OR since I arrived last week. Thanks for your help.

Dear Kat:

Thank you for your prompt reply.

At your next business meeting, I would suggest that it be considered you offer alternatives to UPS for international customers. I regularly order materials from the US and have consistently found the cost of UPS’s services to be outrageous. For a recent order of $126, UPS assessed services charges of $39 for border clearances, custom charges taxes and various surcharges. This did not include the shipping charges. They seem to apply a minimum charge to every item and in the case of a small value item such as a bulb, the customs charge will likely far exceed the value of the product.

In a profoundly competitive and international world, it is time policies changed to do away with archaic practices like UPS’s. Unfortunately, not allowing any other shipper is a detriment to your business and may well be a significant barrier to your international sales.

I thank you for your prompt reply.

Sincerely,

Chris


Hello Chris,

Thank you for your feedback!

We used to offer USPS services as an option to UPS. I am so glad we discontinued the service. Most customers chose the cheaper shipping. The problem is that we had constant complaints and claims from impatient customers. The problem with USPS is that we have no control of the package once it enters the Canadian postal system. Some packages delivered quickly and some took weeks and occasionally months to deliver. We quickly started notifying all customers individually of what to expect with the cheap service since they did not usually read the international shipping information. You would think that the personal communication would help but the complaints, claims and constant requests to check the delivery status did not slow down, much less go away. We made the decision to discontinue the service that was the source of so many customer complaints.

We still get the occasional customer, like you, that has had a bad experience with UPS or Fedex and wants to avoid the costs associated with the more expensive and better services. There are usually three fees associated with importing a package; brokerage fees, duties and taxes. The fee that draws the complaint is usually brokerage. If your order is under $20.00CA in value with UPS Standard shipping there is no brokerage fee. If you ship with a UPS Air service like Expedited, Express or Express Saver the shipping includes the brokerage fees. Brokerage fees only apply to orders shipped with UPS Standard that are over $20.00CA in value. We have a special arrangement with UPS with Standard shipping. If the package is between $20.00CA and $200.00CA in value and delivered to a residential address then the brokerage fee is a flat $10.00CA. Please do not put a business name on your home address or Canadian customs will charge the standard brokerage fee. Duties are not usually a lot of money and if the product is manufactured in North America we fill out the NAFTA paperwork to avoid the duty fees. I understand that the taxes vary by province and we do not track these rates. You will know your tax rate better than we will.

Like you have experienced in the past we only charge you for the product and shipping. Any taxes and fees imposed in Canada are additional and collected at delivery. We do not monitor, collect or pay the taxes and fees of other countries.

All of the air services as provided by UPS, Fedex and DHL include brokerage fees in the shipping so all you have to pay at delivery are the duties and taxes imposed in Canada. Fedex and UPS added a less expensive Ground service option and these lower rates do not include the brokerage fees. With packages that are physically small, so have a low shipping rate with air shipping, and are very expensive you will occasionally find that paying more for Air shipping provides you a lower cost in the end. This is not the case with most light bulbs which are usually inexpensive and have to be well packed.

You seem to be under the impression that these fees are UPS fees and UPS is collecting and keeping these fees as a profit item. There are costs associated with importing goods into another country that are primarily a function of the Canadian government requirements. You are lucky in Canada. The taxes and fees imposed in some European countries will sometimes be more than the product and shipping. I recently had a Portuguese package for $13.20 worth of light bulbs revalued in Portuguese Customs and have over $90.00 in taxes applied to the order. The prices are on our website and we do not understate values to avoid taxes and fees. It was just crazy and not the first problem we had in Portugal.

We have no intention of dealing with the problems associated with cheap shipping. We have been down that road. We fully understand that we will lose some smaller orders because of this change. There was no impact on sales when we discontinued the USPS international service. We ship to Canada every day and usually a few packages per day to Canada, not just one or two.

Osram and Philips no longer make the product you are seeking. We carry the lamp in other brands. If you order two lamps there will be no brokerage fee with UPS Standard shipping, duties and taxes still apply. You will pay $21.48US for one pound shipping to V9B 3Y7. If you order a box of 12 you will still pay $21.48US for the shipping and can expect to pay, in addition to the duties and taxes, a $10.00CA brokerage fee at delivery provided it is delivered to a residential address. Regular brokerage fees apply when delivered to a business. If you want the package delivered to the business then you can pay $56.56 to $60.66 depending on the Air service for shipping and there will be no brokerage fee as it is included in these shipping rates. All other fees associated with duties and taxes will still be due at delivery, just no brokerage fee. You asked for a shipping rate without providing a quantity so I picked a couple of options without going into a lot of scenarios.

If you only want USPS shipping then there may be some other supplier that will provide that shipping service. Please be patient if someone uses this service for you and the package is delayed or they may learn the same lesson we did.

In a "profoundly competitive and international world" service, not just cost, is a factor to consider. I consider mail to be the archaic service. I do understand your point of view and in expressing our point of view I do not mean to discredit yours, only to express our reason for not implementing yours in our business. I understand that cost is important when I make purchasing decisions as well as when our customers make purchasing decisions. I also understand that it is not the only factor and I hope you understand our reasoning.

Thanks,

Ron


Hi Ron:

Wow, I’m incredibly impressed that you’d take the time to a) respond and b) respond so incredibly well!!! That is the most fantastic explanation I’ve received in a decade. (I thought we were the only company that did this!).

What you explained are the things that I, as an end user, will never see or understand so thank you for letting me know what it’s like on the other side. After years of paying as much or more in taxes & brokerage and the like on small repair parts you’ve given me a great tip on how to avoid this form of government extortion. I couldn’t agree with you more that service counts and for many clients, speed as well. Price is only part of the issue. I also understand that companies lose control of the speed and delivery once it crosses into the Canadian system. We absolutely love to hate our postal system and our government regulations about items that come in from other countries. You are quite correct, things, even with couriers can be held at the border for days or weeks with absolutely no explanation. On rare occasion, the product just never arrives. We don’t trust our postal system, I’ll only use it for very small value items I can afford to lose and I won’t use it for larger items such as equipment. We’ll only courier.

I understand your reasoning and it makes perfectly good sense explained as you have. You’ve restored my faith in humanity by taking the time, on a Sunday morning to let me know, on a measly $20 order why things are done as they are. I hope you own this company because if you don’t your boss should really appreciate what you’ve done.

Thanks again for the fantastic reply.

Sincerely,

Chris

Warning: Aviatex Supply Inc. San Antonio TX provided a PO and we delivered December 18th, 2018. As of January 1st 2020 they have not paid the bill and are not responding to requests for payment.


In reference to my recent order of six #1074 lamps....I can't Thank You enough!

What a valuable service you offer for those of us still using all these obsolete lamps!

Thanks Again,

Peter

Hi Ron

Just a big thank you for the sealed beams. They arrived in South Africa without any problems. Once again your service is commended.

Regards

Charl

Lady who took my telephone order today was great. Polite, seemed to know her bulbs and gave me confidence I'm getting the right bulbs for what I need. Thank her for me.

(You can post this testimonial if you like – part of the reason I ordered from you was the testimonials I read)

Just a quick note to say how pleased I am that I found your company when I searched for a replacement ballast for my standing lamp. I wrote down the existing ballast part number, EBCF-127-120V-LPF, and a Google search took me straight to that product on your web site. I ordered it Friday afternoon, received it halfway across the country today (Monday) and installed it – problem solved. Replacement was easy because I have butt splices and the colors on the new ballast matched those on the old one. $21 and ten minutes work beats $65 for a new lamp.

Thanks for the prompt and easy-to-deal-with service.

John



Ron,
Received the light bulbs yesterday,thanks for the excellent service, I will not hesitate to use your company in the future. By the way, love High Point, N.C. great little college town.
Pat


Received the bulbs and they work perfectly. Thank you so much for your work in locating these for me. I have thousands of slides from the 70"s to sort out. This will help immensley. You are to be commended for your customer serice and attention to detail. Again thank you!!! Is there anyone you would like this message passed onto as I feel it is important for your superiors t know the type of job you do for customers?


Hi Ron,

I just wanted to pass along my compliments on your company, its products and service. My in-laws were visiting from Canada, and we were using my father-in-law's ancient Argus slide projector when his one and only bulb blew. After searching on-line, we found replacementlightbulbs.com and found the bulb he needed. Your service was super fast, and we received 2 of the right replacements within just a couple of days. Because of you guys, we were able to finish watching the family slide catalog. Everyone was very impressed with the price and service we received.

Too often, good businesses only hear from their customers when they are unhappy. I just wanted to pass along something positive. Keep up the good work, and thanks!

John

Ron, thanks so very much for your excellent help yesterday (bad filament in quad lamp). Replacement ballast from you was fine. Lowes lamp “8694 UT 27W T4 3-1/4” 4pin” price = 9..84 w/tax now working fine.

Also, your website for the “27W” is so professional & was much help, especially the wiring info and comments.

I told my ENT Dr. about your business this am. They are always needing special bulbs.

Have a great day---you made mine yesterday.

Charlie

Hello, all=

I recently purchased a Ballast for FML27 from your website, and want to tell you that:

(1) I would not have had the confidence to purchase it were it not for the wealth of information you supply at the webpage for this item regarding installation of the ballast, including its exact size and shape and wiring details, and
(2) your ballast took less than a half hour for me to install and now the lamp works perfectly and better than it ever did with the original ballast.

Thanks for a fine product and a terrific website, which I have heavily bookmarked.

Jack
Idyllwild, California

I would like to compliment you on your quick and efficient service. We ordered 3 bulbs Wednesday evening and they arrived Saturday afternoon! And they are the right ones and work!

Thank You.

I just received my order of bulbs for my tractor. You did a very good job cross referencing them and I appreciate your help. They are a perfect replacement.

Thank you,

Concerning my order:
Lot of 5 FML27/65
Item #: Lot of 5 RKA2706 27W Lamp

Just wanted to say thank you for getting my light bulbs to me so fast (ordered on Thursday 28th July and received on Monday 01 Aug.). The arrived safe and sound.

I was lost without my reading light. Could not find them any where locally. replacementbulb.com had the best price on the Internet and loads of information.

Thanks again.

Best Regards,
Diana

The cheapest I can get here is $26 each + tax = $31.20 + deliverywhich I'll leave out

So the 12 lamps including tax in UK would have cost me = $374.40

Twelve lamps from you cost $50 + $87.92 shipping = $137.92

Import tax + UPS brokerage charge (for collecting it) = $28

So total cost of the 12 lamp shipment from you = $138 +$28 = $166

The lamps have cost me less than half what I would have paid here and I didn’t include the UK delivery charge.

Thanks for your assistance, you have a great company there, be proud of it!

Give my regards to all involved in the shipment and let them know it arrived safely.

Andy

Hi Ron,

Our next-to-last filmstrip projector bulb blew on Friday morning. I found your company online during lunch and my order was delivered Monday morning. That is a very impressive accomplishment. Thank you for the great customer service. I will order again.

Susan

Director

For Ron,

I received my bulb today and my lamp is finally back in service. I looked for days for one here in the Denver area, to no avail. You got it to me in 3 days! Thanks so much for the fast service. I will recommend you highly.

To whom it may concern:

We have a fiber-optic choo-choo train that our grand-kids just love and can hardly wait to see when they come over on Christmas - about 10 days before Christmas - the bulb burnt out - I knew how disappointed the kids would be, but had no idea how to find the bulb. I entered the bulb # in my computer and your website came up! I held my breath and placed my order - which I normally don't do with a site I'm not familiar with. To our delight - the bulbs were the correct ones and arrived BEFORE CHRISTMAS so the grand-kids did have their choo-choo train to gather around and watch!

Thank you for your prompt attention to my order (tracking # below). It was a very small order - but very big in the hearts of my grandchildren (11 of them 6 and under!!!)

If you have an email list please put us on it and know that we will use you from here on out.

Merry Christmas!!!

Vivian

I ordered 2 ea CXL/CXR 8V50W projector lamps for use on my Bolex projector. During the life of the projector [35 years] I have use 3 lamps [including the original Phillips 13113C/04, and two after market lamps] and achieved good use over many years. The replacement lamps I ordered arrived in good packaging and I put them to use. The first lasted a total of 3 hours, the other 1.5 hour. The lamps, marked Eiko brand, are obviously inferior product. Shall I throw them away, never order from you again, and put a stop on the credit card payment; or will you issue credit; or will you send replacements of proper goods that have a reasonable life.

Stephen

Note from Ron: This problem is usually caused by short on/off cycles.Here is part of the email reply we sent to this customer: The filament is more brittle when hot meaning it is easier to break. Make sure you do not jar the lamp when hot and this includes the application of electricity. A good rule of thumb is that once you turn the lamp off, leave it off for ten minutes with the fan running before you move the projector, adjust the height of the projector or turn the lamp back on. If you are running the little 50 foot reels and you are cycling the lamp by running the lamp for 3.5 minutes, turning the lamp off, setting up the next film and a minute later turning the lamp back on then I would be surprised if you got an hour and a half out of the lamp. Short on/off lamp cycles will cause premature lamp failure. Professionals who do video transfer cannot afford the time for the cooling cycle and they sometimes add potentiometers to bring the voltage to the lamp up slowly as opposed to flipping the light switch on or leave the lamp on for multiple reels and, as a separate step, rewind the reels later. The customer confirmed they used short on/off cycles and is convinced that it is not the problem. In my opinion the lamps were not defective, the operation was destuctive. The customer states that he is not at fault and will continue to operate the projector in a destructive manner convinced the lamps were the problem. We allowed him to return the lamps for a refund and I asked him not to purchase the next lamps from us as we cannot continue to be responsible for customer mishandling. There is only one manufacturer in the world that I know of that still makes this lamp and they do an excellent job with this lamp and others.

This week I ordered a ballast for a light from your company. I placed the order in the morning and within the hour I had a tracking number and within two days I had it in my hand. I cannot tell you how impressed I am with the service and the handling of this transaction. I have never had such service and I can honestly tell you I am disappointed I do not have a need for your products more often. Thanks again for the great service.

Ron,

Just a follow-up to thank you for your great service.

Your replacement ballast fits fine and works in the fixtures I needed to repair.

Thanks

you truley are one of the best around...love the light bulb jokes also ...
have any more of jokes page 44 .....lol...ooooooo

Rick

Hey Ron,

You've gone out of your way to help me here Ron and i really appreciate it, so much so that i went and showed my girlfriend your email :) she has much the same opinion as me there, thanks!
I'll take the info and have a look around my local shops, it helps a lot that i actually have a part number for it!

Once again thanks a million for your help and best of luck with your business..

Dave

Greetings!

Kudos to Ron Miller in Tech Support for his excellent customer service! He returned my telephone message promptly and spent a long time with me on the telephone yesterday helping me find a very obscure bulb. Ron is very courteous and extremely knowledgeable and your company is fortunate to have him. I placed the order online today and you can be sure I will recommend your company to my friends and family. Thanks Ron!

Sincerely,

Desirée

Hi Replacement Lightbulb Folks,

I just want to let you know that I think you are the best vendor I deal with in my capacity as Office Manager of the Digital Media Center. I research replacement and new equipment and parts for availability and favorable pricing several hours per week, and without fail, your company always has what I need, at the best price, and with the most prompt and reliable fulfillment.

Much thanks from a loyal (if infrequent) customer. -Deborah

I just wanted to send a special thank you. I had ordered 8 bulbs recently that I couldn't find anywhere here. One came broken. I called and the woman who helped said another would be sent. I received it today in perfect condition. I appreciate your sincere attention, the service, and no hassle. I would recommend your company to anyone.
Thanks again,
Vickie


Hello Kat,
I received my order last Monday and they of course work well.
I want to express my thanks to all that assited with this very small order and your service and technical help was of a very high standard. As an Import Exporter from many countries throughout the globe including the U.S. yours is one of the best service and dellivery system I have seen. My only regret is that I do not work in your industry.. Without wanting to appear patronising if you would forward this email to your superiors they should know that you are credit to them and the organisation.
Once again my thanks
Colin


Hi Rob:

I got the new bulbs and they are great. I used one and it works fantastic.

Thanks!
Raymond

Hello Ron
I just want to let you know that I received the osram light bulb yesterday. Thank you for your professional assistance and kindness. 
Take care and good luck with everything

This is a note to say thank you for the super service that I received on my order. The availability of the item information that was needed, the quick shipping and awesomely packaged product was wonderful.

I needed this bulb to review some very old footage of film on my viewer and it worked wonderful! Hard to believe that the little bulb would make a great recruit for finding lost childhood memories and family members that I did not have pictures of.

As this may seem a strange email……gratitude must go to you for getting this to me so quickly and efficiently! Thank you soooooooooooooooooooo much!

I come across vintage items that require bulbs (in the past did not believe they still existed)….so thank you and will make sure the business card and website information provided will be used again.

Have a blessed week ahead and weekend.

Colleen

Order Line: 800-692-3051
Technical Support Line: 336-882-2854
Fax Line: 336-882-2819

International Orders: Large international orders that require special shipping arrangements and quotes
in@replacementlightbulbs.com

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