Not sure why the previous thread was closed, but some of the responses there seemed quite illogical, and even somewhat alarming to me. After having been through some related time-wasting experiences, I thought some folks might appreciate another perspective for consideration, at least.
We’ve purchased a lot of equipment from Saelig over the years and we’ve NEVER received any test equipment that has not been in a factory-sealed box. If we had, it would have been returned immediately. But -- we verify with distributors, before purchase, that the equipment will arrive in factory-sealed packaging. Always. This prevents a myriad of potential issues.
For a long time now, none of the distributors we use have ever sent us new test gear that wasn’t factory-sealed.
There is no way I will trust a distributor who feels they know better than the customer how to evaluate, “test”, or upgrade firmware, unless they are a manufacturer-certified service center. Maybe the customer WANTS to upgrade the firmware themselves. I certainly would, rather than taking the risk that some intern’s first day experiments might be on my $20k instrument.
If any testing or firmware upgrades are necessary WE WILL DO THEM! Anything else that has to be shipped with the instrument can be shipped in a separate package – UNLESS we approve some other option. And yes, I’m willing to pay extra for this, if necessary.
If the package is not factory-sealed, we can only assume that any calibration cert is no longer valid (at least I would refuse to accept it), because there’s been no official manufacturer-approved chain-of-custody of the instrument that accounts for every detail of what happened to it once it was opened by the distributor. Did some other customer play with it for a while, was an employee taking liberties with it, or was it used as a demo-unit? In some cases the customer could check the run-time of the instrument, or see how much time it has been run by checking the remaining trial time on demo features. But why should the customer have to even waste time worrying about any of this?
There are enough variables as is without having to wonder what possible atrocities could have happened when some, let’s assume well-meaning – and I sincerely believe most are -- distributor starts messing around with your expensive, sensitive equipment. How do you know they don’t leave pieces sitting, opened, in a high-humidity environment for a few months, collecting dust, bugs, and who knows what else?
Did they run your instrument on regulated, filtered, power? Was the equipment subjected to any power surges, unsafe input levels, static discharges, pop spills, high G-forces (dropped)? Did you actually receive a demo unit? If you do end up having issues due to mistreatment, maybe they’ll be intermittent, or will only show up after the warranty has expired. Maybe certain ranges of the instrument will be out-of-spec due to some sort of damage. The instrument's lifetime may have been shortened. They even might have run down the time on any demo features.
It seems some distributors here actually “play around” with future customer’s test gear before they send it out, even allowing others to have a “play” with it. Completely unacceptable!! That’s just another reason to insist on factory-sealed equipment -- to prevent distributors who think they know better than the customer, letting their friends have a play with the unit you paid for.
Time is precious. I don’t want to have to worry about all the implications of receiving a piece of gear that is not factory-sealed.
If a unit arrives DOA, and is factory-sealed, then within a certain time period, the distributor should exchange it for a new, factory-sealed unit. If there are issues discovered after that period, then the best bet is to deal directly with the manufacturer, or a factory-authorized service center, thank you very much.
It’s hard to imagine Siglent’s end-of-line testing is so poor that they require distributors to open every box to make sure everything is working. If that were the case, we would never consider purchasing Siglent products in the future. Thankfully, I’m quite sure they don’t have such a silly requirement.
However, after seeing this thread, we’ll be checking directly with Siglent ourselves to verify this is not their policy, before purchasing any more of their products. Every Siglent piece we’ve received so far has been factory-sealed though, and I strongly suspect this will remain the case in the future. With a proper distributor, that is.
Just to be clear: Saelig has never let us down so far, and every single piece of test equipment ordered from them has been FACTORY-SEALED! We will also be verifying with Saelig that this is still their standard practice. If not, we’ll be purchasing elsewhere, but again – I can’t imagine Saelig opens up every piece of equipment they receive to “test” it. That seems rather absurd.
I strongly suggest that folks who don’t want to have to wonder what their equipment has been subjected to, verify with their distributor, before purchase, that they will receive it in factory-sealed packaging. If there are any issues, it’s much simpler to resolve because the variables of abuse-by-distributor, or even one of the distributor’s customers, is completely eliminated. If a distributor refuses to do this, then something is wrong -- I'd strongly recommend you purchase elsewhere.
There’s a reason for factory-sealed boxes being sealed with manufacturer-specific tape. There’s also a reason quality distributors sell “open box” units at a reduced price. If the seal is broken, the instrument should be considered used. Period.
Of course, feel free to do as you wish – good luck and good health to you all!
Now back to work...
Home
Help
Search
Login
Register
