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Magicshine...

7K views 62 replies 29 participants last post by  Jaydude 
#1 ·
If you didnt already know...

Magicshine will not warranty their product if you buy from an Ebay retailer. Or communicate at all regarding the matter.

How do I know this? Because Magicshine will not answer any of my six emails that I have sent to them about my four month old light that I purchased. Which I sent to email addresses:
Sales@magicshine.com
&
Service@magicshine.com

I have also emailed the seller which is here.
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices
They have not responded to my email either.

So if your considering purchasing a new light and decide to buy a Magicshine please buy from an actual retailer that will handle the warranty for your purchase. Otherwise you might end up with a $150 paper weight...

I also want to apologize to everyone that's tired of hearing how crappy Magicshine is. It's just that this is the only recourse that I have.

So Buyer Beware...
 
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#21 ·
I get that you are miffed about the warranty issues, but come on, it's a freaking Chinese company. That's why it was so cheap. It was cheap because you bought a cheap Chinese product off a shifty eBay seller.

That's why I bought mine from GMG. I knew I was buying a cheap light, but I also knew that I was buying from a U.S. company that takes as much action as possible to be there for their customers. So that eliminated much of the inherent risk for me in buying a cheapo Chinese product.
 
#29 ·
Geoman replacing 6 sh*tty batterys with 6 Panasonic celled battery's on his dime made a fanboy out of Me:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: Geoman gets all My business. Did any other MS sellers take care of their customers to that extent not even close:thumbsup:
 
#55 ·
You've already posted your displeasure on another thread, zenmster. Perhaps you should practice some zen and chill out. You aren't the only frustrated person awaiting battery replacement. Perhaps you should stop making purchases online if you can't deal with chances that you might get burned. I'm sure we've all been burned and deal with it in an *adult* manner.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for your help Scar!
Probably not going to email the guy again, I already sent him an email to his email address that was linked to his paypal account. I have also tried to file a claim with paypal aswell. Probably won't go anywhere either...
I'm just another consumer buying cheap china stuff, when I should've just bought another from you.
 
#7 ·
Yeah, I guess at 45-60 bucks for a similar product that generally sells for 100++++, you just take your chances.

It is tempting though, isn't it.

Maybe the best thing at this point is to buy another $50 XML clone and you'll at least have 2 batteries, chargers, etc. and hope to get through this Winter before you decide on another light. Of course, if that's the only light you use make sure you have a decent small torch w/ 300+ lumens. You can get them for 20 bucks and 2 rechargeable 18650's and a charger for another 10 bucks or so.

I broke down and ride now w/ a Dinotte dual XML-3. Wow, hella bright. Run em both on the bars and either a torch or the $45 clone on the head.

MB
 
#9 ·
What's wrong with your light?

Maybe some of the guys over on the DIY mtbr forum can help you? I'm sure they'd have some helpful suggestions.
Thanks for your help guys. Unfortunately I bought the newer MJ-868 thinking that maybe they stepped it up a bit in quality, and actually until it quit working I was impressed with the fit and finish. Really for what you pay it's allot of bang for the buck.

I'm not sure what's wrong with it, the battery life indicator still lights up but the light will not turn on. Probably a bad driver board.

I still can't get over the fact that they will not respond to my emails. All of which were nice except for the last one were I threatened to bring this sort of practice to the attention of the MTBR community, and still no reply...

They won't even respond to this thread were they are a sponsor...
Once again buyer beware. Unless your a DIYer stay clear of this product, spend the extra dough and buy a higher quality light.
 
#10 ·
Hey, I like my Magicshine, but because I bought it from a SHOP, they won't warranty the exploding batteries. My LBS bought a few sets and I got mine there. Magicshine won't talk to me.

Frustrating, but I figure if they were really concerned about the exploding battery rumor, they'd do more about it. I rely upon their inaction as evidence that they're comfortable with me using the product as they put it in the stream of commerce.
 
#16 ·
Hey, I like my Magicshine, but because I bought it from a SHOP, they won't warranty the exploding batteries. My LBS bought a few sets and I got mine there. Magicshine won't talk to me.

Frustrating, but I figure if they were really concerned about the exploding battery rumor, they'd do more about it. I rely upon their inaction as evidence that they're comfortable with me using the product as they put it in the stream of commerce.
I just purchased the MS mj-880. EBasil-Did you actually have an exploding battery issue or any other issue with MS? I decided to try MS because there were quite a few positive posts with this product here at MTBR.
 
#11 ·
head over to the DIY forum, someone should be able to help you, especially if you can take it apart (unscrew the back) yourself to post some pictures. A multimeter and some hand holding should get you a diagnosis at least, these things aren't very complicated.

For anyone considering a Magicshine - buy it from Geoman. His customer service is beyond words.
 
#18 ·
That's a good metaphor and Dell might be even better: Dell sells direct, and you can buy them through stores like say, Best Buy, and you can buy them from some dude on the internet.

Many of us bought our Magicshines from shops that bought them from Geoman. Geoman says, "oh, since you supported a local shop that we sold to, we don't honor the warranty". So, an outfit that has otherwise good customer service, falls flat and screws the customer, the very instant there's no paper trail leading directly to them and their insurance adjuster thinks they're off the hook .
 
#19 ·
A few things you need to consider with Magicshine.
First, they are a Chinese company located in ShenZhen China. They are somewhat small and there are only a few people in the company that speak English and only one who speaks it well. There ability to answer e-mail sent directly to them is limited.
If you had to send a light back to them the shipping would end up costing as much as the light, not to mention the wait. Service is provided through authorized resellers here in the US. (there are only a few of us) though we all limit service to the lights we have sold.
I have been after Magicshine for some time to try and control the number of little E-Bay sellers. There is an explosion of seller that get a hold of a dozen lights and put them on E-Bay to make a little extra grocery money. Don't expect service if you buy from these sellers. Consider a few extra bucks spent with a legit seller to be insurance.
Magicshine has improved there quality considerably since they first came out and are a descent value. I've sold thousands of them and have less than 1% with any problem.

Jim Harger
Action LED Lights
 
#20 ·
Magicshine should still be held to the same customer service standards as everyone else. They sell their product here, they take our dollar without hesitation. They advertise a warranty but then they don't back it. I have no sympathy for the fact that they don't speak english, they have no sympathy for me and my broken light that they profited from...

This is just poor business practice.
 
#22 ·
I think the problem is that people don't realise how much of the cost of bike lights is decent parts and an effective warranty. They see lights (and many other things) as just appliances, where cheaper is "better". MS lights are down in the disposable toaster range because they use cheap parts and have no warranty. You can save money and buy it from the cheapest place you can find or you can pay extra for the same product plus a warranty from an authorised reseller. It's up to the consumer to make that choice and it's a great choice to have, but there's no point complaining when the consequences of choosing the lowest price comes back to bite you.

It's also not that surprising when the authorised resellers don't want to assume the cost of fixing lights that they did not receive any profit from. They're not charities.
 
#26 ·
This is exactly the route I took. I just bought my first light, and I started out looking at Magicshine as an inexpensive way to try out night riding to see if I liked it and was going to do it very often. Their performance/price ratio is impressive, but I was definitely concerned about quality. The Gemini Xera seemed to be really well thought out and backed by a good company with an active presence here on mtbr, so I paid a bit more for that (bought from Action). Still really an excellent performance/price, I think better than just about anything out there, and for me the best value when you balance all the factors.
 
#27 ·
Either way you shake it Chinese or American the product support is still *****. Hell even harbor freight the Chinese tool store will back up there products. Sounds to me like even geoman is taking it in the shorts whenever these thing break. Again going by the if I do a 70% mark up and only 10% come back then I have a 60% profit margin. Also how many folks are like shortbus and just throw their hands up after getting blown off? I myself will stay away from magicshine all I hear about is how they break with no support.
Buy a ameba from scar on here and be happy, I have friends that said hey I have had this for over a year and the light sometimes flickers, guess what got replaced for free and was overnighted back to the customer. Not the big corporation that has money to spare cause they make **** products, nope it was the guy that builds the light in the garage in his spare time and has no profit margin. Steer clear of this crap company (magicshine) as long as people keep pumping money into them and they blow off a warranty when they break things will never get fixed. (end rant)
 
#33 ·
Sounds to me like even geoman is taking it in the shorts whenever these thing break. Again going by the if I do a 70% mark up and only 10% come back then I have a 60% profit margin. Also how many folks are like shortbus and just throw their hands up after getting blown off? I myself will stay away from magicshine all I hear about is how they break with no support.
)
Blown off by who? I think you're comparing e-bay support which apparently = 0 (W/ certain sellers), w/ GM support which many report to have been excellent.
Look, I could not care less what anyone is running, who you're buying from, what your riding... hell, I really don't even want to talk to other riders in general (that's why I night ride:eekster:) but GM has provided me with great custie service and I guess that's all I really came here to say, I'm out...
 
#32 ·
+1
Yeah, I guess I am a "fanboy." I do compare the two because quite honestly I've had great service from both.
Couple questions, did you research lights before purchase? Did you research MS on MTBR? Did you read the recall threads? If not I guess you should have.
If you did then you'd know that GM went above and beyond in a situation many feel he didn't have to do a thing with other than walk away. Personally, the reason I went with GM in the first place (for cheap Chinese lights) was the reputation the original owner who passed away had. I bought a couple of months before the recall. When I read about the recalls I thought I was screwed, and I had talked a friend into MS through GM as well.
After I read the threads I figured the people who had issues with the batteries were not overseeing them while charging and rode with the recalled batteries until I had another light source. Then I returned them and got a better battery for nothing. My friend had the same experience.
I'm still riding them and feel that as long as GM is in buisiness they'd help me with any issues I had. I bought MS, a cheap- ass light system after riding NightRiders for years. I knew I was getting a light made in China and expected it to be a hell of a lot cheaper (quality) than it was. Add GM service and the new batteries after the recall, I'm happy as a pig (fanboy) in *****. I might have close to 100 rides with just more than $300 spent.
So yeah, sorry you're bitter cause you made a mistake. I'm charging my batteries right now and riding tomorrow. Good luck, I hope it works out for you.
 
#34 ·
I also own an Amoeba. I bought the MS in a pinch because my Night Rider handlebar light failed right before a 24hr race that I had entered. I guess I expected more.
I wasn't trying to insult when I said fanboy, I was not aware of Geomans loyal customer base.
I also started this thread to make people aware of the whole ebay thing and Magicshines poor customer service. That is all.
Thanks for the kind words dude.
 
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