Thread: Swarovski bino failure again

Originally Posted by Sarvo

Starting to wonder if NZ Swaro are the cheapest in the World for a reason ??

Never ends well when a commercial vendor starts bagging the other guys product on here.

Originally Posted by Moutere

Never ends well when a commercial vendor starts bagging the other guys product on here.

Ok fair cop in your eye – but was not my intent at all !!

Maybe my over pessimistic mind warns me of two things that do not add up with the New Swaro reshuffle post NZammo ??

1^st up Price
A lot of models offered here in NZ (maybe Aussie too) are circa retail $$ that a shop outlet in Europe has to pay from Swaro Austria factory.
2^nd It appears in last two years a lot more complaints about quality – failures etc

Now maybe – its just more interaction over social media like this – or people expecting more considering the $$ value ??
But – as you will see in an above post – I fronted up over another Brand
I ALSO support and favour this Brand – many on here can vouch for that !!

Originally Posted by Sarvo

Ok fair cop in your eye – but was not my intent at all !!

Maybe my over pessimistic mind warns me of two things that do not add up with the New Swaro reshuffle post NZammo ??

1^st up Price
A lot of models offered here in NZ (maybe Aussie too) are circa retail $$ that a shop outlet in Europe has to pay from Swaro Austria factory.
2^nd It appears in last two years a lot more complaints about quality – failures etc

Now maybe – its just more interaction over social media like this – or people expecting more considering the $$ value ??
But – as you will see in an above post – I fronted up over another Brand
I ALSO support and favour this Brand – many on here can vouch for that !!

Case and point.

Originally Posted by Moutere

Case and point.

Good reply (not)

Originally Posted by Sarvo

Ok fair cop in your eye – but was not my intent at all !!

Maybe my over pessimistic mind warns me of two things that do not add up with the New Swaro reshuffle post NZammo ??

1^st up Price
A lot of models offered here in NZ (maybe Aussie too) are circa retail $$ that a shop outlet in Europe has to pay from Swaro Austria factory.
2^nd It appears in last two years a lot more complaints about quality – failures etc

Now maybe – its just more interaction over social media like this – or people expecting more considering the $$ value ??
But – as you will see in an above post – I fronted up over another Brand
I ALSO support and favour this Brand – many on here can vouch for that !!

Whilst Swaro was with NZ Ammo for most people swaro was a dream. Once the ‘agent margin’ was taken out Swaro had a much more competitive situation.
I believe you are seeing on average more topics with Swaro for a couple of reasons, 1. A lot more Swaro gear in the market and 2, many who now buy Swaro have high expectations of a premium brand. So any failure comes to the surface in forums and discussion.
I like many have Swaro, S&B, Nightforce, March and Leupolds. I have a soft spot for all of them depending on the purpose.
NZ Ammo did for Norma what they didn’t for Swaro in my opinion.

I've had a few Swaro binos (all were perfect), a couple of Zeiss Victory's (one needed sending back), and a couple of Leicas (one had a tight, squeaky hinge).

My experience with Swaro has been stellar. It's widely considered that they've got the best quality control, and their customer service is without peer. I once lost the cap to the ballistic turret on my Z5 scope, and after sending Swaro an email, I got a new one sent to me in about a week. No questions asked; postage free of charge. Furthermore, I wasn't even dealing with the NZ branch, but Swaro USA. Just goes to show that they're all on the ball when it comes to customer support, and they don't discriminate based on your location or circumstances.

OP: after having had multiple failures with Swaro gear, you may be better served switching to another brand. Even if Swaro offers to make things right again (and they will get it right), chances are you'll harbor feelings of resentment towards them after all of this, and that may cloud your enjoyment of one of their products. Swaro makes great stuff, but in your situation you may be better off jumping ship to another premium brand. Purely for peace of mind.

I'm not knocking Swaro. I'll probably grab another one soon. But this is about the OP and what's best for him.

Edit: One option you could explore is the Swarovski Habicht 10x40. They're a porro prism bino, built to millitary spec. The design is bloody ancient, and all the niggles have been ironed out over many decades. They go for approx $1700. Definitely a good option if you want to stick with Swaro glass, but want a super reliable bino. They've got the highest light transmission of any bino on the market (96%). The glass is on par with the best Swaro, Leica and Zeiss have to offer, then some. The only downsides are: the FOV isn't as wide as the modern stuff, and the ergonomics are a bit dated. But that's more to do with your taste than anything.

Good luck.

Some nice info there

Just to be clear with everyone post isn’t intended to be brand bash Obviously some frustration on my end will come across a bit skewed

I wrote it up as a story of the facts as they are for what it’s worth people can take what they want from it I know when I was looking I didn’t see much real world tales like this more just this is better than that etc could help someone like me make that decision I know I looked over everything I could before finally deciding between two

To be fair yes customer service has been great replaced first set no problem and again there is a set there to replace this pair if I decide to.

I don’t think anyone is asking to much because of being a premium brand they have to simply function as intended they are after all designed to be used in a outdoor environment and ideally for more than a week or in the first case 5 weeks
I am not using these or any other binoculars unlike anyone else would so durability shouldn’t even enter the equation as they have virtually failed right out of the box would be easier to accept years down the track.

Do I have another go?I’m still deciding better part of me thinks I’m just asking for it if I do.
It’s a shame because other than quality they are a really nice Binocular with great glass

Cheers

Originally Posted by Southcity

Whilst Swaro was with NZ Ammo for most people swaro was a dream. Once the ‘agent margin’ was taken out Swaro had a much more competitive situation.
I believe you are seeing on average more topics with Swaro for a couple of reasons, 1. A lot more Swaro gear in the market and 2, many who now buy Swaro have high expectations of a premium brand. So any failure comes to the surface in forums and discussion.
I like many have Swaro, S&B, Nightforce, March and Leupolds. I have a soft spot for all of them depending on the purpose.
NZ Ammo did for Norma what they didn’t for Swaro in my opinion.

I’ve had nothing but stellar support for Swaro gear, whether from NZ Ammo, or from the current setup dealing direct to Swaro NZ. This includes damage and on another item, wear and tear. My Z5’s were from Eurooptics, a Z6 off eBay, and EL Range finders off eBay. All supported as if I’d been gouged and bought local.

I can’t / won’t comment on other brands as I don’t own them.

B