Sapphire Warranty is a Joke!

[Zim]

<RANT>
My 2 month old Sapphire X800 died and I went to SapphireTech.com to see about getting an RMA. Well, there was no mention of it so I emailed their tech support. In return I got a request for information such as serial number, part number, and a copy of my receipt. The request was from a company AlthonMicro. So I emailed these and in return received a RMA form to complete with another request for my purchase receipt. Having completed this and returned yet another copy of my receipt, I get another email aking for the par number. At this point I had a conniption and phoned the company. I ended up getting my RMA number PLUS a request for $15 to process the RMA! Unbelievable!
</RANT>

 

[Zbox]

holy crap a fee to process an RMA for a product of theirs that went bad??? "BBA" cards are looking more and more like a good $50 insurance policy

 

[ayabe]

That's pretty damn lame, hopefully they will process it quickly and not try to screw you any further.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Yeah that's pretty annoying for a 2 month old product. You weren't able to return it to the store you bought it to? Bit of a pain there!

 

[Genx87]

Abit does this also,25 bucks to have them replace a defective product.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: Genx87
Abit does this also,25 bucks to have them replace a defective product.

Is that for Video Cards? Because for motherboards you can either to an advanced RMA for I think $15 (they send you a new mobo first, then you return the defective one in that box), or you can do a free one if you send first.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Genx87
Abit does this also,25 bucks to have them replace a defective product.

Abit is barely still in business

. . . they are getting bought, hopefully

However, paying for a RMA really sucks . . . i bet they don't print that on the box or in their warranty info.

If you really feel it is unfair, pay it by CC and do a charge back

 

[TheSlamma]

That sucks


I've never had as good of PC part support as BFG myself, my 128meg 5900 went bad back in the day, I got a 5950 256meg back in return.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: Zbox
holy crap a fee to process an RMA for a product of theirs that went bad??? "BBA" cards are looking more and more like a good $50 insurance policy

Not much insurance though - one lousy year on parts that run pretty hot at the high end.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: Genx87
Abit does this also,25 bucks to have them replace a defective product.

I'd rather have that, and a 2-3 year warranty, than one year with free returns. If I pay $500 for a card, I expect to have the option of using it more than 12 months guaranteed.

I like Sapphire, and their try/buy bundle. I'd buy them over BBAs cheater warranty ANY day.

 

[Zebo]

Seeing Red in more ways than one eh? Checked your idle mem use before and after installing drivers yet?

If ATI was a responsible company they'd pull thier licence instead rewarding Sapphire by having them build their BBATI cards. More evidence I'l probably never buy ATI again no matter how fast they are. Essentially This card is "as is" to the unsuspecting customer who thinks they are getting a warranty.. You get a better warranty buying a used XFX in forsale forum.

 

[Bull Dog]

Althon Micro handles the warrenty process for Sapphire in the US. They charge a $15 handling fee in part becuase your supposed to RMA your card through the company (e-tailer) you purchased it from in the first place. Which is fine unless the etailer goes bust right after you mailed your card to them. Don't ask how I know.

 

[SketchMaster]

Originally posted by: Bull Dog
Althon Micro handles the warrenty process for Sapphire in the US. They charge a $15 handling fee in part becuase your supposed to RMA your card through the company (e-tailer) you purchased it from in the first place. Which is fine unless the etailer goes bust right after you mailed your card to them. Don't ask how I know.

Let me guess, Edazz.com?

 

[kylebisme]

Originally posted by: Zebo
Seeing Red in more ways than one eh? Checked your idle mem use before and after installing drivers yet?

If ATI was a responsible company they'd pull thier licence instead rewarding Sapphire by having them build their BBATI cards. More evidence I'l probably never buy ATI again no matter how fast they are. Essentially This card is "as is" to the unsuspecting customer who thinks they are getting a warranty.. You get a better warranty buying a used XFX in forsale forum.

Heh, and you can't even get a warranty from Nvidia.

 

[Sonikku]

Try EVGA next time.

 

[golem]

Originally posted by: TheSnowman

Originally posted by: Zebo
Seeing Red in more ways than one eh? Checked your idle mem use before and after installing drivers yet?

If ATI was a responsible company they'd pull thier licence instead rewarding Sapphire by having them build their BBATI cards. More evidence I'l probably never buy ATI again no matter how fast they are. Essentially This card is "as is" to the unsuspecting customer who thinks they are getting a warranty.. You get a better warranty buying a used XFX in forsale forum.

Heh, and you can't even get a warranty from Nvidia.

How could you tell if it was the chip from Nvidia that was defective or the board surround the chip?

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: TheSnowman

Originally posted by: Zebo
Seeing Red in more ways than one eh? Checked your idle mem use before and after installing drivers yet?

If ATI was a responsible company they'd pull thier licence instead rewarding Sapphire by having them build their BBATI cards. More evidence I'l probably never buy ATI again no matter how fast they are. Essentially This card is "as is" to the unsuspecting customer who thinks they are getting a warranty.. You get a better warranty buying a used XFX in forsale forum.

Heh, and you can't even get a warranty from Nvidia.

Is that so? Link me to an nvidia made card for retail sale and I'll check the warranty on it.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: golem

Originally posted by: TheSnowman

Originally posted by: Zebo
Seeing Red in more ways than one eh? Checked your idle mem use before and after installing drivers yet?

If ATI was a responsible company they'd pull thier licence instead rewarding Sapphire by having them build their BBATI cards. More evidence I'l probably never buy ATI again no matter how fast they are. Essentially This card is "as is" to the unsuspecting customer who thinks they are getting a warranty.. You get a better warranty buying a used XFX in forsale forum.

Heh, and you can't even get a warranty from Nvidia.

How could you tell if it was the chip from Nvidia that was defective or the board surround the chip?

LOL you don't have anything nvidia on that x800 - it was a bad joke. nV's OEM's have far better warranties. XFX is transferable and lifetime for example.

 

[apoppin]

From the Sapphire Forum:

How Long Does Sapphire take with Warranty Issues?

That's the way it goes if the reseller doesn't do a straight swap.
Be prepared for a wait of up to 4 weeks if the card is send to Hong Kong, that's the usual delay, but as it's nearing the Xmas period, it may take a while longer.

Gr33nGecko
Super Moderator

:Q

4 weeks!

ouch . . . better make sure your e-tailer has an exchange program . . . with ATi, it's about a week turnaround.

And i got 3 years on my BBA x850xt . . . when did ATi shorten their warranty?

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: Genx87
Abit does this also,25 bucks to have them replace a defective product.

The only time I had to pay them $25 was because the "defective" product was out of warranty already and/or I don't have the original receipt.

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: apoppin
4 weeks!

ouch . . . better make sure your e-tailer has an exchange program . . . with ATi, it's about a week turnaround.

And i got 3 years on my BBA x850xt . . . when did ATi shorten their warranty?

I think with the x1K cards they started giving 1 year warranties.

 

[Zim]

At this point they don't know what is wrong with my card... but I think do. It was in a computer that got damaged during shipping, and the video card got kicked out of its slot. There are two of the gold contacts (that go into the PCI-E slot) that got partially shaved off, and probably aren't making contact because they are half the lenght they should be. I'm hoping this will qualify for a warranty repair. If they fix it, it will be $15 well spent. However, irrespective of my specific case, their warranty is still pretty shabby.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Zim
At this point they don't know what is wrong with my card... but I think do. It was in a computer that got damaged during shipping, and the video card got kicked out of its slot. There are two of the gold contacts (that go into the PCI-E slot) that got partially shaved off, and probably aren't making contact because they are half the lenght they should be. I'm hoping this will qualify for a warranty repair. If they fix it, it will be $15 well spent. However, irrespective of my specific case, their warranty is still pretty shabby.

you don't have to wait 4 weeks do you?

i'd rather spend the money than wait - if i had the choice
and i guess Sapphire isn't charging the $15

 

[Zim]

Originally posted by: apoppinyou don't have to wait 4 weeks do you?

They quoted me 3 weeks, and I don't think I have much of a choice.

 

[lavaheadache]

Originally posted by: Zebo
Seeing Red in more ways than one eh? Checked your idle mem use before and after installing drivers yet?

If ATI was a responsible company they'd pull thier licence instead rewarding Sapphire by having them build their BBATI cards. More evidence I'l probably never buy ATI again no matter how fast they are. Essentially This card is "as is" to the unsuspecting customer who thinks they are getting a warranty.. You get a better warranty buying a used XFX in forsale forum.

well said man! I have my xfx gtx in the ft section with a double lifetime. btw, my response isn't meant to advertise my thread or thread hijack. had to throw in the disclaimer.