[REQUEST] Insteon Group Buy

[mikei-ma]

SmartHome Pro is running an extra 10% off sale this week on all Insteon. Any dealers out there willing to do a group buy for us? I lost my SHP account when I wasn't able to make the minimum buy last year (slow year) and I do hate buying at full retail

I have a job that requires about 50 insteon switches.. anyone game?

 

[electron]

Worth a shot, I am sure others would like to join if SH would be willing to do something. I'll contact SH and let them know about this thread.

 

[Quixote_1]

Hopefully your shipment doesn't end up in Zimbabwe.

 

[Digger]

You have to be careful here. The warranty is for the original purchaser (unless it changed). My brother in law is still exchanging failing devices that he installed for customers a few years back. He no longer installs them but he helps his customers get warranty exchanges since SH refuses to honor the warranty to the end user.

Insteon is to high maintenance for a pro to install in my opinion.

 

[apostolakisl]

I would buy 5 or 10 more switches, especially if the price was right. While I have never had a problem with any of the switches made in the last 2 years, I would still like the warranty. I am especially interested in adding some dual band switches into the mix.

 

[Digger]

The warranty is posted as

Seller warrants to the original consumer purchaser of this product that, for a period of two years from the date of purchase, this product will be free from defects in material and workmanship and will perform in substantial conformity to the description of the product in this Owner's Manual. This warranty shall not apply to defects or errors caused by misuse or neglect. If the product is found to be defective in material or workmanship, or if the product does not perform as warranted above during the warranty period, Seller will either repair it, replace it, or refund the purchase price, at its option, upon receipt of the product at the address below, postage prepaid, with proof of the date of purchase and an explanation of the defect or error. The repair, replacement, or refund that is provided for above shall be the full extent of Seller's liability with respect to this product. For repair or replacement during the warranty period, call the INSTEON Gold Support Line at 800-762-7845 with the Model # and Revision # of the device to receive an RMA# and send the product, along with all other required materials to:

and

The above warranty is in lieu of and Seller disclaims all other warranties, whether oral or written, expressed or implied, including any warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Any implied warranty, including any warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, which may not be disclaimed or supplanted as provided above shall be limited to the one-year period of the express warranty above. No other representation or claim of any nature by any person shall be binding upon Seller or modify the terms of the above warranty and disclaimer.
Home automation products have the risk of failure to operate, incorrect operation, or electrical or mechanical tampering. For optimal use, manually verify the device state. Any home automation product should be viewed as a convenience, but not as a sole method for controlling your home.
In no event shall Seller be liable for special, incidental, consequential, or other damages resulting from the possession or use of this product, including without limitation damage to property and, to the extent permitted by law, personal injury, even if Seller knew or should have known of the possibility of such damages. Some states do now allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts and/or the exclusion or limitations of damages, in which case the above limitations and/or exclusions may not apply to you. You may also have other legal rights that may vary from state to state.

So would you be considered the consumer? My Brother in law has a Pro account but they say he is the consumer. He was told a "distributor" is not a consumer but a "dealer" is. But I think it depends on who you talk to at SH as everyone I used to talk to had a different "twist" on things. Matt P in Customer Service was pretty reasonable but I dont know if he is still there.

 

[mikei-ma]

Perhaps we can just get martin to hold a one day sale for us

 

[apostolakisl]

As I understand, if you buy from a distributer (like Home Depot), you have to return it to HD, not directly to SH if you have a warranty issue. I could be wrong on this, but every time I have returned stuff for warranty exchange, SH has always needed to line up the item with a purchase I made directly from them.

 

[Digger]

As I understand, if you buy from a distributer (like Home Depot), you have to return it to HD, not directly to SH if you have a warranty issue. I could be wrong on this, but every time I have returned stuff for warranty exchange, SH has always needed to line up the item with a purchase I made directly from them.

If you do a group buy on someones Pro account then that person has to make the return should you have a problem in 6 months etc the it seems to be set up. They become the Home Depot so to speak.

 

[apostolakisl]

If you do a group buy on someones Pro account then that person has to make the return should you have a problem in 6 months etc the it seems to be set up. They become the Home Depot so to speak.

That's what I figured. So, whoever has the "distributer account" of record needs to be reliably available in the future.

I would have to see just how cheap the switches could be had to jump into this. SH usually has one or two 20% off sales per year which is when I buy all my stuff (plus free shipping with $200 order). So the savings would need to put that 20% to shame.

 

[Quixote_1]

That added proxy coupled with the fact that SmartHome doesn't know what the hell they are doing sounds like a nightmare worth avoiding. I couldn't even coordinate orders with them online in conjunction with phone calls. I feel sorry for the sucker that will undertake the role of buyer. Ten percent? hah! Not even worth 20.
I have (or had) a pro account with them after winning a gold in the "getting-dicked-around" Olympics, and I've still decided to tell them to stuff it.

Now I will live 7 years longer.


Edit: ...but I wish them luck, because maybe they will drive down the price of UPB and Z-Wave devices if they last long enough.

 

[MichaelPem]

ok folks shall we start a group buy list or can we move the other one to here where i think it is more appropriate

 

[LarrylLix]

Canadians would be  foolish to deal with SH.
 
They charge exorbitant shipping rates, don't ship until weeks later, and when a $30 part goes bad, they demand you pay for return shipping that will cost you more than the part did. You can kiss all your brokerage fees and taxes good-bye, also
 
aartech.ca is the best for Canadians buyers, with their excellent prices, policies and  service for replacing parts.  For me, price doesn't matter with  SH anymore anymore.
 
Good luck with the effort. I hope it works out for others. Insteon is an excellent protocol, and Insteon products are mostly well made and better looking, maybe the best.