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one big scam


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Results 1 to 8 of 8
  1. #1
    dputt88 - Reefkeeper CR Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Romeo MI
    Posts
    873
    First Name
    Doug
    Awards Tank of the Month - January 2013 Tank of the Month Post and Reply Award - Finding Nemo PAR contest Fishbowl Drawing Winner - Summer Swap Fishbowl Winner (Red Dragon)

    Default one big scam

    so yesterday when i came home from work the white lights on my t5 fixture were out ( frag tank). and with me being sick i took the day off and when i got bored i took it apart to see what was wrong. by simple deductive reasoning while checking the t5 i found that it was a ballast of mine that had gone bad. so i removed the bad ballast and went online to find another one using the model number printed on the ballast.

    the first site i checked was a site call www.directpowersupply.com and they had the ballast for sale for $20 + shipping. i was relieved that i was going to be able to fix my fixture for a reasonable price.

    but first i thought i should call aquatic life first, to see if the will just send me another ballast. i called them and explained to them how i came to find that it was the ballast that was bad, they even said that was a perfect way to determine the problem. then they told me that a new one would be $60+shipping. i said sorry i found it much cheaper somewhere else and we said good bye.

    before buying from this other site i did more googling and everywhere else that had them in stock was fish related and wanted at least $50 for one ballast. so i went back to the direct power supply website and looked into them, i was trying to make sure that this site was current and that i wasnt going to be sending my money to a business that is no more. and i found that they were owned my Lifetime products Co. ( you know the guys who make the folding tables and chairs)

    so i tried calling them to place my order, but the line remained busy for hours. so i gave in and just paid online. when i sent paypal it told me i had sent money to Lifetime products (customersupport@petstarz.com)
    notice the host name of the email address.. this caught my attention, and i noticed the phone number for the paypal account was different than the one on the website. so i called it....

    you wont believe it but the phone number on the paypal account was the customer support line for aquatic life, the people who wanted to charge me $60 + shipping in the beggining.

    clearly they are just ripping off hobbyist while sell the same product for 1/3 the price on their other non-aquaria related site.


    fyi this direct power supply site has a lot of equipment on there that is used for aquatic life so if your aquatic life fixture stops working you should go to this site.

  2. #2
    dputt88 - Reefkeeper CR Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Romeo MI
    Posts
    873
    First Name
    Doug
    Awards Tank of the Month - January 2013 Tank of the Month Post and Reply Award - Finding Nemo PAR contest Fishbowl Drawing Winner - Summer Swap Fishbowl Winner (Red Dragon)

    Default

    Just got the shipping notification, shipping from aquatic life....

  3. #3
    MizTanks - Reefkeeper
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    U.P. of Michigan.
    Posts
    8,444
    First Name
    Jamie
    Awards Photo of the Month - October 2012 Photo of the Month Post and Reply Award - Winner of the first PAR Contest. Monthly Giveaway Winner

    Default

    Wow very interesting. My ballast went out last year after having it for just over a year and they sent me a new one free of charge.
    There's nothing like being a Reefer! www.upmmas.com

  4. #4
    Coral Frenzy - Reefkeeper CR Sponsor
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Shelby Township, MI
    Posts
    104
    First Name
    Ken

    Default

    That stuff is so frustrating.

  5. #5
    dputt88 - Reefkeeper CR Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Romeo MI
    Posts
    873
    First Name
    Doug
    Awards Tank of the Month - January 2013 Tank of the Month Post and Reply Award - Finding Nemo PAR contest Fishbowl Drawing Winner - Summer Swap Fishbowl Winner (Red Dragon)

    Default

    the darn ballast they sent me doesnt even work!!

  6. #6
    MizTanks - Reefkeeper
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    U.P. of Michigan.
    Posts
    8,444
    First Name
    Jamie
    Awards Photo of the Month - October 2012 Photo of the Month Post and Reply Award - Winner of the first PAR Contest. Monthly Giveaway Winner

    Default

    That sucks
    There's nothing like being a Reefer! www.upmmas.com

  7. #7
    dputt88 - Reefkeeper CR Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Romeo MI
    Posts
    873
    First Name
    Doug
    Awards Tank of the Month - January 2013 Tank of the Month Post and Reply Award - Finding Nemo PAR contest Fishbowl Drawing Winner - Summer Swap Fishbowl Winner (Red Dragon)

    Default

    New ballast shipping today. Funny thing is that the invoice I had was aquatic life so I called them. At first they didnt want to replace it. They said everything is tested before it leaves. I told them this is how ive been troubleshooting and this is the result there is no way that it is not the ballast.

  8. #8

    Default

    I like this story. I have seen similar things with various pet related products. Take a simple thing and label it turtle or reef and volla....price hike.
    Just out of curiosity. How do you check a ballast? I am going through a box of 30 old lights trying to salvage parts for retro fits. Any good sites I could follow to pair ballasts to light setups?

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