Bad Quark Chromosphere on arrival?

[Minhlead]

3 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

They send prepaid labels

Dave

They send you prepaid label for all 6 times you return and then ship them back to you free of charge? Where did you buy your quark from? Icstars official store or a 3rd party dealer?

[Davey-T]

3 minutes ago, Minhlead said:

They send you prepaid label for all 6 times you return and then ship them back to you free of charge? Where did you buy your quark from? Icstars official store or a 3rd party dealer?

Bought it from a dealer originally but they stopped selling them because of QC issues.

Dave

[Minhlead]

Just now, Davey-T said:

Bought it from a dealer originally but they stopped selling them because of QC issues.

Dave

Oh. The SCSAstro I presume? I heard the late owner of SCSAtro have some quarrel with Daystar. After the dealer stop selling the quark Daystar came in and handle the warranty for you? If so I think the CS was not so bad? 

[Davey-T]

7 minutes ago, Minhlead said:

Oh. The SCSAstro I presume? I heard the late owner of SCSAtro have some quarrel with Daystar. After the dealer stop selling the quark Daystar came in and handle the warranty for you? If so I think the CS was not so bad? 

No a different dealer that gave up before SCS, just did warranty claim direct with Daystar.

The problem was Daystar seemed happy to keep sending out substandard units without bothering top check them.

Dave

[Minhlead]

5 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

No a different dealer that gave up before SCS, just did warranty claim direct with Daystar.

The problem was Daystar seemed happy to keep sending out substandard units without bothering top check them.

Dave

That's really suck to hear. I am curious too. They can simply do the check up and skip spending hundreds on shipping fee, wasting valuable resource. Why would they not? 

[Minhlead]

Okay so I heard back from Daystar.

They told me that the lab was reassured that the defects was not there when it ship. But the packaging was still intact, the original shipping label and the transparent ducktape underneath them is still intact when I got them. I check with the courier and they told me the item went through Vietnamese custom without opening (I attached a photo of the shipping package when I received it below).

So I really confused as to what went wrong. 

Anyway, Daystar offered me a replacement with free shipping back and forth. I want to exchange it but I really does not want to wait for another 2 months for around the world shipping. But I guess I have no other options. Thank guys for your help and moral support. Really needed it.

Edited January 13, 2021 by Minhlead

[Sunshine]

We’ll all cross fingers and hope you get a good one next time. If not then you can bet I’ll be livid for you and I’ll call Daystar with some choice words lol.

 

[Minhlead]

6 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

We’ll all cross fingers and hope you get a good one next time. If not then you can bet I’ll be livid for you and I’ll call Daystar with some choice words lol.

 

You are too kind. Fingers crossed here too.

[Davey-T]

15 hours ago, Minhlead said:

Anyway, Daystar offered me a replacement with free shipping back and forth. I want to exchange it but I really does not want to wait for another 2 months for around the world shipping. But I guess I have no other options. Thank guys for your help and moral support. Really needed it.

Good result really, fingers crossed the next one is OK, it must be really annoying for you as you probably have lots more sunny days than us in the UK, we could easily go two months without seeing the Sun 
Keep us updated on the eventual result.

Dave

 

[Nigella Bryant]

I went for a second hand Lunt after reading the bad QC of Daystar. Never looked back and my Lunt is a 2011 pressure tuned model. Hope you get sorted out.

[astro_al]

18 minutes ago, Nigella Bryant said:

I went for a second hand Lunt after reading the bad QC of Daystar. Never looked back and my Lunt is a 2011 pressure tuned model. Hope you get sorted out.

I also went down the second hand Lunt route after sending two Quarks back. Hope your replacement is a good one. 

[Minhlead]

On 13/01/2021 at 22:45, Davey-T said:

Good result really, fingers crossed the next one is OK, it must be really annoying for you as you probably have lots more sunny days than us in the UK, we could easily go two months without seeing the Sun 
Keep us updated on the eventual result.

Dave

 

So my rodeo with Daystar wasn't ended as expected (kinda).

After my last update here. I sent an email to Daystar explaining that after testing it with the sun, I feel that I cannot accept the filter and want to exchange it.

 Daystar send me an email saying this

Which really [removed word] me off. Not only they refuse to acknowledge the problem. They suggest me to get a Quantum PE instead. What kind of suggestion is this? If I got 10k$ to shell out to a Quantum PE I would not waste my time with Daystar and get a 152mm double stack and be done with it. 

I understand that every solar filter have some degree of unhomogenity in the etalon. But what i am disputing is the unhomogenity and scratches on the trimming filter, which is not supposed to have them. And my Quark have these problems on arrival no less. And suggesting that scratches, blotches that cannot be cleaned in a collimated light path will not affect the view is just nonsense.

But yesterday I was having something else occupied my mind and did not have time to response to Daystar.

Then today, out of the blue they send me another email telling me to ship it back. 

So I guess it is settled for now. I'll be shipping the filter back to Daystar and hopefully get back a better one without problem.

Thanks for your helps, guys.

Edited January 14, 2021 by Minhlead

[Sunshine]

This makes me wish you'd ship it to me so i can drive there and bounce it off their foreheads,

[Minhlead]

19 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

This makes me wish you'd ship it to me so i can drive there and bounce it off their foreheads,

Haha. Thanks but I surely hope it would not come to that. I was livid when I got the email but after calm down I was ready to accept my fate, just that I will recommend every one of my astrophotography folks to stay away from Daystar. Here in VN we have a growing community of DSOer and some of us are eyeing solar observation/imaging as the next step. I am the first to jump the gun but others will follow suit if the result is promising.

[Davey-T]

There have been folk that have had problems with the Quantum filters so that would be no guarantee.

Dave

[Minhlead]

8 hours ago, Davey-T said:

There have been folk that have had problems with the Quantum filters so that would be no guarantee.

Dave

i thought it is guaranteed with the PE grade etalon?

[Davey-T]

3 hours ago, Minhlead said:

i thought it is guaranteed with the PE grade etalon?

And yet they still manage to supply faulty ones 

Dave

[Minhlead]

14 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

And yet they still manage to supply faulty ones 

Dave

Yet them seems really confident with their QC. 

[Davey-T]

1 hour ago, Minhlead said:

Yet them seems really confident with their QC. 

They always have, reminds me of some big national companies I worked for where the advertising department was a separate entity completely divorced from reality 😂

Dave 

[rcwinter]

Daystar Customer Services

Bit of a long one but worth a read and may make you giggle , I am over it now.

Like many I too have dealt with Tiffany (Customer Services ) at Daystar  directly when getting my filters restored , both Quark and Quantum  very frustrating and awkward to work with, no wander some importers / dealers decided that dealing with DS and the service they got was just not worth the trouble, I do not use them directly anymore. 
 

For example a year or so ago I sent two Quantum's back for restoration of the blocking and trimming filters, one belonged to me and the other a friend, we thought it was a good Idea to send them together to save on shipping etc , one was a warranty repair and mine was to be paid for, they went off  in a nice peli case to protect them from damage one their journey,, eventually more than 6 months later with more emails than you can shake a stick at, they were dispatched back from Daystar, I tracked them back and waited with great anticipation of their arrival.

UPS dropped them off, my heart sank when he handed me just a Jiffy bag, yes, they both arrived back in a single Jiffy bag seperated by a single plastic bag and a silica gel bag , my heart sank further when I opened the bag and peered inside you can imagine that banging together on the trip back destroyed both the labels and scratched the filter bodies, I was so upset and went on a rant with Daystar, I evetyally got my pelican case back, which they forgot to use for the return journey,  

Daystar did compensate me for the trouble they caused and apologised by putting in the peli case, two new labels an oily rag to wipe the filter body clean when replacing the stickers and a Werthers Original Sweet ( yes just one ) 

Jyst my ditty, hope you enjoyed it, it makes me giggle now , but at time just very disappointed after parting with a large amount of money for my repair to be treated so badly  By what is supposed to one of the best in which you put your trust and belief in. 
 

I do like Lunt customer services, albeit Bresser in Germany , but they were responsive and you got support 

 

 

[david_taurus83]

Note to self. 'Never buy a Quark'

[Nigella Bryant]

Lunt/Breeser have been brilliant. I'd bought a second hand Lunt. It's a 2011 model so I thought best to ask about changing the O'rings. Bresser posted two pairs free of charge for my Lunt. Still going strong today.

[AdeKing]

4 hours ago, rcwinter said:

Daystar Customer Services

Bit of a long one but worth a read and may make you giggle , I am over it now.

Like many I too have dealt with Tiffany (Customer Services ) at Daystar  directly when getting my filters restored , both Quark and Quantum  very frustrating and awkward to work with, no wander some importers / dealers decided that dealing with DS and the service they got was just not worth the trouble, I do not use them directly anymore. 
 

For example a year or so ago I sent two Quantum's back for restoration of the blocking and trimming filters, one belonged to me and the other a friend, we thought it was a good Idea to send them together to save on shipping etc , one was a warranty repair and mine was to be paid for, they went off  in a nice peli case to protect them from damage one their journey,, eventually more than 6 months later with more emails than you can shake a stick at, they were dispatched back from Daystar, I tracked them back and waited with great anticipation of their arrival.

UPS dropped them off, my heart sank when he handed me just a Jiffy bag, yes, they both arrived back in a single Jiffy bag seperated by a single plastic bag and a silica gel bag , my heart sank further when I opened the bag and peered inside you can imagine that banging together on the trip back destroyed both the labels and scratched the filter bodies, I was so upset and went on a rant with Daystar, I evetyally got my pelican case back, which they forgot to use for the return journey,  

Daystar did compensate me for the trouble they caused and apologised by putting in the peli case, two new labels an oily rag to wipe the filter body clean when replacing the stickers and a Werthers Original Sweet ( yes just one ) 

Jyst my ditty, hope you enjoyed it, it makes me giggle now , but at time just very disappointed after parting with a large amount of money for my repair to be treated so badly  By what is supposed to one of the best in which you put your trust and belief in. 
 

I do like Lunt customer services, albeit Bresser in Germany , but they were responsive and you got support

I remember you telling me this story when I collected the Baader Cool Ceramic wedge that I purchased from you, and I mentioned that I was considering getting a Quark. 

It was a combination of your story and hearing of the problems that @Davey-T  has had with his that made me vow never to buy a Quark. 

In the end picked up a used Lunt LS60 with 50mm double stack (2010) and like Nigella says above I've not had a problem getting new O-rings and a replacement blue ITF filter from Bresser in Germany, excellent service.

Ade

[david_taurus83]

Are Daystar aware of the bad press they receive on forums like this?

[Minhlead]

1 hour ago, david_taurus83 said:

Are Daystar aware of the bad press they receive on forums like this?

I do believe they do. Infact I am suspecting one reason that change their mind about how to handle my returning of the filter is that they saw my post here and your supports.

Edited January 16, 2021 by Minhlead