Falcon Lifetime Warranty...is a scam. Caveat Emptor.

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I have to agree. Got turned onto Falcon 5 or 6 years ago. Really liked the first one I bought, so I bought a second one. I now have 4 of them, one purchased used. Over the last year one of the 4-14's had the focus knob come off while shooting my .308, and the one 5-25 had the eyepiece come loose, so that the reticle would bounce to a different spot every shot. Looked into the warrantee and basically discovered that I'd kissed goodbye about a thousand bucks. Vortex Viper starts at about $650, but at least they have a bulletproof warrantee. It is not an FFP scope, but at least in 5 years I'm confident that I'll still have a usable scope. This has actually cost me even more money, because I now have absolutely no confidence in the 2 Falcon's that I have left, and would not depend on them for anything other than plinking at the range.


They are really nice for tactical 22lr builds.
 
If I understand correctly, the newer Falcons have a lifetime warranty too but apparently that's being called a scam cause you can't claim it without a proof of purchase. When the Canadian distributor for Leupold claimed Leupold's warranty was void in Canada if the scope wasn't purchased through him, that wasn't a scam ,, huh ?

My own scope has no warranty. I'll just have to settle for the fact that its still working ;) .

Yup, and in fact I have 2 leupolds, bought probably 15 years ago, still have the boxes but receipts are long gone.
The lifetime warranty means squat because leupold canada won't touch em, they have to be sent to the US for the same service that could be performed here. Dumb

I'll never buy another leupold product in my life, no matter the quality or price.
 
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Yup, and in fact I have 2 leupolds, bought probably 15 years ago, still have the boxes but receipts are long gone.
The lifetime warranty means squat because leupold canada won't touch em, they have to be sent to the US for the same service that could be performed here. Dumb

I'll never buy another leupold product in my life, no matter the quality or price.

You should have no problem with fifteen year old Leupolds getting serviced in Canada no matter where they were bought. Are you saying they turned you down?
 
Based on the serial numbers, I was told by email that the scopes had to go to the US for service.
I didn't follow up after that. I also have a prismatic that they won't touch because it's a newer US model that wasn't imported the "right" way. I got it off the EE so live and learn I guess. I have scopes on the rifles I use already so don't fret much about the leupolds.
I'm running elite 6500's and Nikon Monarch 3's and super happy with those.
 
Based on the serial numbers, I was told by email that the scopes had to go to the US for service.
I didn't follow up after that. I also have a prismatic that they won't touch because it's a newer US model that wasn't imported the "right" way. I got it off the EE so live and learn I guess. I have scopes on the rifles I use already so don't fret much about the leupolds.
I'm running elite 6500's and Nikon Monarch 3's and super happy with those.

What exactly is wrong with these scopes? I've never heard of anyone being denied warranty on a 15 year old leupold...maybe Korth will chime in on this one. Did you contact Korth? Prismatics are not covered by a lifetime warranty.
 
What exactly is wrong with these scopes? I've never heard of anyone being denied warranty on a 15 year old leupold...maybe Korth will chime in on this one. Did you contact Korth? Prismatics are not covered by a lifetime warranty.

there is some scopes that Korth wont touch and the worst is that they wont ship it to USA so you have to ship directly to Oregon and then wait for them to get the approval for re-export the item.

Korth is not importing too all the scopes that they (Leupold) are selling in USA ....
 
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I'm afraid I don't see the problem here. A budget-level scope is offering a lifetime warranty, but they require you to provide proof of purchase...so what? Many, if not most, products require proof of purchase for their warranty coverage. It's not convenient, particularly when one has become accustomed to no-questions-asked coverage from such as Leupold and Bushnell, but if I buy something and think that I may need warranty work in the future, I will keep my receipt. If I learn that the manufacturer doesn't require me to do so, great, that's a bonus, but it's not something that I automatically expect.

It's not even "buyer beware", but more a case of "buyer be aware"...a totally different thing. The company website is in no way being misleading by not explaining this issue. The website is a marketing tool for the manufacturer to sell their product...they don't put up the website hoping to convince you to buy one of their scopes second-hand. Expecting them to go to lengths to explain warranty coverage on merchandise that was sold years earlier simply isn't realistic.
 
This thread has strayed quite a ways from the original topic. Let's keep it focussed.

Almost 3 years away from the original topic....... :)
I guess a new thread about Korth and the changes in recent years at Korth would be better for sure.
 
I'm afraid I don't see the problem here. A budget-level scope is offering a lifetime warranty, but they require you to provide proof of purchase...so what? Many, if not most, products require proof of purchase for their warranty coverage. It's not convenient, particularly when one has become accustomed to no-questions-asked coverage from such as Leupold and Bushnell, but if I buy something and think that I may need warranty work in the future, I will keep my receipt. If I learn that the manufacturer doesn't require me to do so, great, that's a bonus, but it's not something that I automatically expect.

It's not even "buyer beware", but more a case of "buyer be aware"...a totally different thing. The company website is in no way being misleading by not explaining this issue. The website is a marketing tool for the manufacturer to sell their product...they don't put up the website hoping to convince you to buy one of their scopes second-hand. Expecting them to go to lengths to explain warranty coverage on merchandise that was sold years earlier simply isn't realistic.


Please read where I make mention of the fact that they were advertising lifetime warranty on their website with no mention of a receipt or any other obligation to the buyer. It is widely accepted that if a company offers something that they should back it up rather than make excuses when an issue arises. They made the receipt requirement after some years had passed, effectively screwing over all past buyers who didn't know they needed to save their receipt. How many keep folks feel the need to keep receipts for leupold or vortex?
 
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Please read where I make mention of the fact that they were advertising lifetime warranty on their website with no mention of a receipt or any other obligation to the buyer. It is widely accepted that if a company offers something that they should back it up rather than make excuses when an issue arises. They made the receipt requirement after some years had passed, effectively screwing over all past buyers who didn't know they needed to save their receipt. How many keep folks feel the need to keep receipts for leupold or vortex?

Sometimes companies get bought and the new owners change the deal.... not sure in this case but either way it can suck for the original purchasers if they loose out.
There are many "lifetime warranty's" out there that are far from complete and extremely limited when you read the fine print.

Did you never get any satisfaction in your case? Cleaning out the inside of the scope should be a fairly basic repair.
 
Based on my experience with the brand, in the event of a problem, the company in England is no help whatsoever. The warranty is only as good as the merchant in Canada handling the product. Businesses in Canada have come and gone. If a business drops the line, you are on your own.
 
Again, if I think I will need warranty, I will keep the receipt. I would hazard a guess that in the past, when no receipt was required, that fact was not trumpeted on the website. It's not as though they always said "no receipt required" and then changed that policy. But if that were the case, well, as someone said above, a warranty is as good as the seller/importer or whoever you need to deal with to get the service.

I would keep the receipt on a new Leupold, although I wouldn't expect to need it. I would buy a used Leupold with less hesitation than some other brands, simply because I would expect less chance of a hassle if warranty was required. Based upon my experience with Leupold service, I would feel relatively safe, but if you want or expect full coverage forever, no questions asked, no future changes ever...you're pretty much out of luck. Nothing is risk-free.

Vortex? Based upon my experience with a few of their products, I doubt I would even fold the receipt up...just stick it on the fridge door under a magnet for easy and quick access.
 
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