Do people have their swaro's routinely serviced? (2 Viewers)

BoonHogganbeck · Oct 30, 2017

Question: Do people periodically send their binoculars back to Swaro for occasionally service/maintenance?

I've had my EL's about 12 years now. They have been well used, but also well cared for.

Somewhere around year 5 of my owning them I ran across a Rep in the field who suggested that since they were 5 years old I should send them in for a "tune up" or something or other. He didn't look through them or anything, just kind of suggested it.

Needless to say, they were fine then, and today they still perform great to my eyes. So I never sent them in.

That being said, do people do this? Should they occasionally go in for a checkup? Or should they only be sent in for service when something is noticeably wrong?

Opinons? Advice?

Pileatus · Oct 30, 2017

BoonHogganbeck said:
Question: Do people periodically send their binoculars back to Swaro for occasionally service/maintenance?

I've had my EL's about 12 years now. They have been well used, but also well cared for.

Somewhere around year 5 of my owning them I ran across a Rep in the field who suggested that since they were 5 years old I should send them in for a "tune up" or something or other. He didn't look through them or anything, just kind of suggested it.

Needless to say, they were fine then, and today they still perform great to my eyes. So I never sent them in.

That being said, do people do this? Should they occasionally go in for a checkup? Or should they only be sent in for service when something is noticeably wrong?

Opinons? Advice?

Someone asked me about this and I looked at their aged EL. No problems, flawless function and great view. Why pay the freight and wait for 6-8 weeks if there's nothing wrong?

Synaps · Oct 30, 2017

Does the focus mechanism periodically need lubrication, or is it made of materials that don't need any grease or whatever replaced?

Gijs van Ginkel · Oct 30, 2017

From about 1990 up to now I have used quite a few Swaroski binoculars in the deserts of Africa, the mountains of Asia and Europe, in blistering heat and severe cold, snow and rain, high temperatures, strong winds and heavy rain and none of them ever gave problems, did not need any service, all focussers worked perfectly allright.
Gijs van Ginkel

denco@comcast.n · Oct 30, 2017

Synaps said:
Does the focus mechanism periodically need lubrication, or is it made of materials that don't need any grease or whatever replaced?

I had several Swarovski's that had poor sticky focusers that would turn easier in one direction. I sent them to SONA several times and they would come back pretty smooth but in a few months they would get rough again. So I think they do lubricate them. It might be wise to send them in just to get the focuser checked and lubricated. In my experience at least the non field pro models of Swarovski's are prone to focuser and diopter problems. When my binoculars came back from servicing they seemed to be optically sharper also. I think they check the optics and collimated them.

jring · Oct 30, 2017

Hi,

don't fix what is not broken. Even if we assume that Swaro service is perfect and never makes mistakes, there is two trips over the pond which may well ruin or loose your bins.

Joachim

cycleguy · Oct 30, 2017

When you send them in, do you insure them? for the full amount? Who ships and how much to insure a $2K -$2.5K item?

CG

james holdsworth · Oct 30, 2017

Who wants to be without their bin for weeks / months? Who wants a perfectly good bin to come back with a new problem?

As discussed here and elsewhere a few times, if it is fine don't mess with it.

jring · Oct 30, 2017

cycleguy said:
When you send them in, do you insure them? for the full amount? Who ships and how much to insure a $2K -$2.5K item?

Hi,

one would certainly insure the bins when sending them in for support. It will probably cost extra but can be done.

The problem is that in case of damage or loss, the insurance company will pay based on current market value of a used item which might not be what it costs you to get a similar pair.
Also getting money back will mean a lot of paperwork.

And there have been cases of optics coming back from repair which were worse than before - although usually not with Swaro.

Joachim

Maljunulo · Oct 30, 2017

james holdsworth said:
Who wants to be without their bin for weeks / months? Who wants a perfectly good bin to come back with a new problem?

As discussed here and elsewhere a few times, if it is fine don't mess with it.

This is pretty much how I feel.

I live within driving distance of Swarovski in Rhode Island, but I doubt they take walk-ins and I don't think they offer "while you wait" service.

Foxy · Oct 30, 2017

I had a problem with the eyepiece fitting on my scope due to it being dropped and I sent my bins at the same time for something but can't remember what. They had been well used since I bought them in 1996 so at least 15 years old. What came back in both cases was immaculate. I actually thought they had replaced everything but the part with the id number. Couldn't praise them highly enough. The bins were repaired under their lifetime guarantee and the scope damage repair cost me £180. Outstanding work.

denco@comcast.n · Oct 30, 2017

jring said:
Hi,

don't fix what is not broken. Even if we assume that Swaro service is perfect and never makes mistakes, there is two trips over the pond which may well ruin or loose your bins.

Joachim

In the US Swarovski service is usually done at SONA here in the states unless it is something serious.

denco@comcast.n · Oct 30, 2017

cycleguy said:
When you send them in, do you insure them? for the full amount? Who ships and how much to insure a $2K -$2.5K item?

CG

You have to ship them yourself to SONA and pay the shipping costs yourself. Probably the best way is USPS Priority and choose insured for the full value that way if something happens you get reimbursed for the value of the binoculars or what you paid for them. It costs about $45.00 to ship them but it is worth it to get your binoculars checked out. My 10x50 SV's were out of collimation and they were sharper when they came back. After that many years yours could well be to especially if they suffered any blows or knocks. It just makes you feel better to know they have been checked out and sometimes Swarovski will update things on your binoculars for no charge. The Swarovski rep was probably correct in saying to get them serviced. Swarovski will pay to ship them back to you and they might even cover the service. They will probably re-armour your binoculars if the armor is beat up because it is easy for them to do. The armour pops off very easily. Don't worry about your binoculars coming back with a new problem. I guarantee Swarovski service people know what they are doing. After all they build the binoculars. They will come back pristine. Even the lenses will be spotless.

Jonno52 · Oct 30, 2017

Only had my 10x42 SVs a couple of years, but it would never occur to me to get them routinely serviced. Bins of this quality and at this price point should last a lifetime without servicing. If they don't, send them back certainly, Swaro have a deserved reputation in dealing with any problems without charge.

jring · Oct 31, 2017

[email protected] said:
Probably the best way is USPS Priority and choose insured for the full value that way if something happens you get reimbursed for the value you insure the binoculars for.

https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/503.htm#ep1063624

See 4.1.1 Additional Insurance-Priority Mail Express:

"...is limited to the actual value of the contents, regardless of the fee paid, or the highest insurance value increment for which the fee is fully paid, whichever is lower."

Cheers,

Joachim

denco@comcast.n · Oct 31, 2017

jring said:
https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/503.htm#ep1063624

See 4.1.1 Additional Insurance-Priority Mail Express:

"...is limited to the actual value of the contents, regardless of the fee paid, or the highest insurance value increment for which the fee is fully paid, whichever is lower."

Cheers,

Joachim

My experience has been if your item is lost USPS insurance will reimburse you for what you paid for the item when you purchased it. They don't depreciate the value of the binoculars or whatever it is you are shipping based on age like some car insurance companies do. I don't think there is a "Blue Book" for binoculars or is there? How would they determine the used value? Let's see a used 2005 Swarovski EL with a slight ding on the left side and over 1000 miles of birding a year with a worn out focuser on it should be worth $1200.00?

https://cashmoneylife.com/how-to-file-an-insurance-claim-with-usps/

jring · Oct 31, 2017

[email protected] said:
My experience has been if your item is lost USPS insurance will reimburse you for what you paid for the item when you purchased it. So if you bought some Swarovski binoculars 12 years ago and have the receipt or can prove how much you paid for them they will pay you that amount. They don't depreciate the value of the binoculars or whatever it is you are shipping based on age like some car insurance companies do. I don't think there is a "Blue Book" for binoculars or is there? How would they determine the used value? Let's see a used 2005 Swarovski EL with a slight ding on the left side and over 1000 miles of birding a year with a worn out focuser on it should be worth $1200.00?

https://cashmoneylife.com/how-to-file-an-insurance-claim-with-usps/

Hi,

well, the link is certainly nice instructions on how to file a claim but the example is claiming $125 repair cost for a guitar bought used and damaged in the mail... If the person had successfully filed for the new price of the guitar, that would be interesting.

And actually there is a way to calculate depreciation of items for insurance purposes. See

https://www.claimspages.com/tools/depreciation/hobbies-sporting-goods/binoculars/

which fits your $1200 estimate for a 10 year old EL pretty nicely.

If you have experience that USPS will reimburse you for the new price of a used object, please let us know. Used items lost during shipping from the seller to you need not apply, in that case the actual value is obviously the sales price you paid.

Joachim

Gijs van Ginkel · Oct 31, 2017

Normally I buy binoculars in a binocular shop and if something is wrong I return it to the shop keeper and he/she is responsible for the repair including mail costs. In the end I have to pay the shopkeeper if any costs are involved.
Gijs van Ginkel

denco@comcast.n · Oct 31, 2017

jring said:
Hi,

well, the link is certainly nice instructions on how to file a claim but the example is claiming $125 repair cost for a guitar bought used and damaged in the mail... If the person had successfully filed for the new price of the guitar, that would be interesting.

And actually there is a way to calculate depreciation of items for insurance purposes. See

https://www.claimspages.com/tools/depreciation/hobbies-sporting-goods/binoculars/

which fits your $1200 estimate for a 10 year old EL pretty nicely.

If you have experience that USPS will reimburse you for the new price of a used object, please let us know. Used items lost during shipping from the seller to you need not apply, in that case the actual value is obviously the sales price you paid.

Joachim

Your correct USPS insurance will not pay you the new price for a used item unless you happen to sell it for the new price. They will pay you what you sold it for. It makes me wonder if you sold an item that because of it's rarity it sold for more than the price you paid for it would you still get the as sold price. A lot of people like me just self insure anymore because USPS claims are a real hassle to get any money out of them. That calculator for depreciation is interesting. I don't know how valid it is but you could use that to calculate how much you should pay for used binoculars. Used binoculars value are usually determined by other things like rarity and market value so I think it is over simplified.

chill6x6 · Oct 31, 2017

Question: Do people periodically send their binoculars back to Swaro for occasionally service/maintenance?

I would never consider it unless there was an issue...

Do people have their swaro's routinely serviced? (2 Viewers)

Well-known member

"Experientia Docet”

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Consulting Biologist

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

John (a bad birdwatcher)

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Registered User

Similar threads

Users who are viewing this thread