Connor.M
Candidate
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« on: March 28, 2017, 04:26:00 AM » |
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Please note this post has been altered to comply with Forum rules, all any mention of competitors names & products have been redacted
Ultrasabers Purchase: Bellicose TRI LED (Consular Green) with Obsidian Soundboard 3. Flash on clash (Green) Blade: Heavy-Grade (non-ultra-edge) 37”. Cost (with shipping): $364.24
The Other Guys Purchase: (Light only) 12W (White). Blade: Mid-grade (ultra-edge equivalent) blade 37”. Cost (with shipping): $300.00
Ultrasabers – The Saber Lead time & delivery: This was my first purchase of a lightsaber from any company, and I went a bit overboard for my ideal budget. The lead-time for the saber was 3 weeks, and it arrived in a little over a month. The Saber: The LED is incredibly bright (hint: do NOT look into the LED!), and shines beautifully at night, and nicely enough during the day to still be able to tell what it is. The blade was finished in standard aluminium silver. It is a very sturdy piece, and suitable for heavy duelling. I found it to be a little chunky at times, even for my big build, which made swings / tricks that little more difficult, but nothing too bad. If you are of a small build I would recommend one of the thinner handles for sure.
The only problem I have had with this saber came with the motherboard. The way that you change the sound fonts is to install the software onto your computer and plug in the saber with a micro-USB Port. This port is what, unfortunately, snapped away, presumably during a bit of heavy duelling. This could easily have been prevented with some pre-care to the saber, I have since invested in some small rolls of Velcro which cushion the whole batterypack/motherboard nicely in the handle, preventing bangs and knocks.
Pro’s: Cheaper (overall) than most equivalent companies. Fast turnover. Sturdy enough, great sound.
Con’s: Bulky to wield. The Saber-holder slotted into the handle needs tightening after duelling. Shoddy work on the motherboard.
The Other Guys This was my second purchase. Having owned the Ultrasaber for about a year by the time I bought this, I spent a lot more time choosing what I wanted, deciding what was necessary and what was not. I opted for light-only, as I found that sound invariably drains the battery faster, without adding much effect in a loud comic-con filled hall! Lead-time and delivery: Initially the lead time was given 6-8 weeks. After 10 weeks on 05/01/17, I emailed off for an update, and was sent the following reply on 09/01/17:# Hello! We are reaching out to you today because your order has been effected by a temporary parts shortage, which will cause a delay with your order. I'm very sorry for any inconvenience or disappointment this may cause you! We expect to have all of the parts we are out of stock on ready for our technicians to use by February within the next 2-4 weeks. We understand the frustration that can be caused by a delay, and would like to offer you 25% off on your next order“
Brilliant! A short delay, understandable if the company receives a large amount of orders out of the blue, and a 25% discount off a future order! More than happy, I accepted this without delay. It was a further 8 weeks until I received my saber, and when I did, I was more than disappointed to find that my white LED had in fact been installed as a Frost White, which despite the name, is a bright vivid lighter shade of blue. I emailed back, a little more than annoyed, but offered for them to send out the new correct LED for me to install myself. I received the following reply:
Hello! We're sorry to hear this, we are unable to issue return shipping labels for international customers however we can offer you an in-store credit for $50.00 to help compensate for the return shipping fees. Please return this for our industry leading warranty service. Please only send back the hilt/items in need of repair/exchange. Warranty services are given top priority and currently have a 1-4 week lead time, you will be notified via email when your service is complete with a return tracking number.
This was, of course, unacceptable given that I would have to pay further shipping fees to get it back from the UK to the USA, just for my saber to arrive as ordered! I rebutted their response This went back and fourth for quite some time, to the point where the point-blank refused to accept any responsibility for their botched order.
The Saber: Very strong build quality, beautifully intricate design and very well balanced. The LED is indeed incredibly bright, and on closer inspection appears to be wired & soldered very well. Suitable for heavy duelling. The handle itself is quite a chunky build, but as above this appears to be a theme with me. It is longer, definitely a two-hander with a long blade. The blade itself, being ultra-edge equivalent, disperses the light almost completely evenly throughout the blade, whilst standing up to heavy punishment. Personally, preferred to Ultrasabers blades.
Pros: Great build, quick customer service replies via email, generally good at compensating. Saber is beautiful.
Cons: More expensive than competitors, wracked with problems throughout the purchasing experience, more stress than is necessary
Conclusion: Whilst I cannot say that my experience with THAT OTHER COMPANY is standard, it certainly has put me off buying further sabers from them. Their blades are gorgeous, and they have a wider variety of parts & extras than their competitors. However, I will be going to Ultrasabers for my big purchases in future.
Ultrasabers: 8/10 Competition:6/10
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