ALT bubbler not as described. What would you do?

[WatTyler]

I've just received my new mini oil bubbler from Aqualab Technologies after patiently watching the tracking for the last 10 days, and I'm disappointed! The bubbler is meant to have 3 difffusion holes at the bottom of the stem, and some reviews on ALT even had 4 holes in theirs, but mine has just 2.

I don't think this is enough. It's virtually just a down stem! I think the maker just forgot to make the third hole, as the two are off centre and you can see where the 3rd should be. I've hit it with just water and it's pretty gluggy- I just wish I had a 3 hole example to compare to to see how much difference it makes. Anyone got any opinion on how much difference it will actually make?

I think I'm going to email ALT, as I shouldn't really have any bad feelings when receiving my new toy- it should be a happy time- and see what solutions they offer.

It cost me $35 dollars to ship it over. That means that to exchange it will cost around $70 in shipping (I'm expecting this to be at ALT's expense) which is nearly as much as the piece is worth ($110). Do you think it would be reasonable to suggest that ALT give me a $70 discount instead? I'd be more than happy with the bubbler at $40 plus shipping, but that doesn't seem quite right to me. Is this a reasonable suggestion?

It would also mean that I get to use my bubbler now, instead of waiting probably another month. But if the 3rd hole would make the diffusion that much better then maybe I should exchange and wait......

 

[Pappy]

Bummer! In a piece that size I'm not sure the extra hole will make that much difference. Curious to see what ALT does but I don't expect they'll offer a $70 discount.

 

[Lip465]

2 holes in the stem, 1 in the bottom makes 3 diffusion holes? Regardless it's not worth going through the hassle of sending it back and asking for a discount you probably wont get because 1 hole isn't going to make it diffuse much more. Plus it's a vapor rig, you want less diffusion for oil and it'll be fine for a vaping.

 

[SkollIstKrieg]

I had this happen with 2 Jake Wilson inlines they sent me. Neither looked anything like the picture(different amount of slits/diff colors) I sent both back and got a refund. Expect them to make u pay shipping + a possible restock fee if you ship it back. Sometimes just reselling it is the way to go...

 

[lepstadder]

Call them for sure,

I ordered a silk screen set from them and it was not stretched properly, they made it right

 

[WatTyler]

Thanks for the replies

2 holes in the stem, 1 in the bottom makes 3 diffusion holes?

hmmm, no, it's certainly missing a hole- the bottom is sealed- rounded like a test tube, with 1 hole coming from the right, and 1 from the front. It really needs one coming from the left too to look balanced or finished- I don't think it would bother me so if it were left and right, or front and back.

1 hole isn't going to make it diffuse much more.

That's reassuring to hear. Mathematically it's 33% less diffusion, and only slightly better than a single downstem. However, I don't have the experience with these wee oil rigs to know.

Expect them to make u pay shipping + a possible restock fee if you ship it back.

If this is the case I'll be pretty disappointed with my experience with ALT- I see it as a manufacturing defect, an unfinished component, rather than natural variability in the design. I guess maybe there is where ALT and I might differ in opinion. I say that their descriptions on ALT are pretty basic, and if the piece does not fit that basic description then the buyer has been mislead. Pictures are variable reflecting one particular example of a design, but the description should hold true throughout.

Anyway, I've emailed so we'll see what they say.

 

[ilovebOObs]

yeah i made my first purchase from ALT and i'm extremely disappointed. I ordered a ash catcher and a few other connection joint pieces. the ash catcher came with a flea bites and the joints looked poorly made, emailed them like a week ago with no replies yet. man i feel like they picked out all the worst looking parts this will be the last time i ever buy anything from them.

 

[WatTyler]

So it looks like I've finally found a resolution with ALT. I'm sending it back at their expense for a full refund of all charges.

For their opening gambit they offered me 10% discount on the piece ($11), which is less than their annual sale and quite an insult to be honest. I explained that I required free shipping and 15% discount on the piece, which I think is a reasonable discount for a piece that is this unsatisfactory.

They then offered 20%, $22, which I still refused. It was their error to send me a faulty piece without checking it first (how hard is that?), and so their responsibility to cover the shipping. Why should pay for their oversights and mistakes?

They then offered 30% off on the value of the piece, but they wouldn't pay for their error in shipping it. I again refused sticking to my initial offer of free shipping and a small discount, or return the piece to them at their expense for a full refund. They chose the latter, which will cost them more. Hope they learn their lesson and check their orders in future before they ship them half way across the globe.

But I am happier with this outcome to be honest- I couldn't look at the piece without seeing the ugly unfinished hole on the down stem.

So whilst it's resolved, I don't think I will be shopping with ALT again. It's not a particularly pleasant experience having to negotiate hard for something you've already paid for. They don't seem to overly care for customer satisfaction or their own moral responsibilities, just what ever they can get away with (just look at their terms and conditions). They also stopped replying after offering the initial discount and I had to chase them up. I wonder if I would have had any success at all if I hadn't had the protection of my credit card provider. Perhaps that's unfair, as it's been resolved. It's just not nice having to work so hard for it.

So I'm back in the market for a highly portable budget mini oil dome rig (direct injection). Any one got any ideas?

I've found this one on High Priority Glass for $99 (+$50 shipping )

It looks better made than the Green Goddess from ALT (which actually looks very little like it's picture- there's just a resemblance), although I do prefer the squatness and forward lean of the green goddess, as opposed to the sleeker look of this. Unfortunately I already have an 18mm ti nail so would rather something in 18mm rather than 14mm, but I'll go with 14mm if I need to.

I've also checked Kulture and RX Industries but they don't seem to have anything that fits the bill.

That's all I've been able to find online so far. I'm not very good.

So can anyone advise anywhere else? Someone must've seen something on their travels? Please share with me if you have. TIA

 

[OhTheAgony]

So they just tried to bargain their way out of a refund first aye? That's pretty appalling. Good for you for hanging in there, most of us would have caved in at one of their earlier offers I'm sure.

I emailed you this one earlier before you bought the other BL at GC but perhaps you forgot it. I think this would make a great oil rig if you can find a dome yourself elsewhere: nr 1

And of course the Toro copy: nr 2

 

[WatTyler]

Cheers OTA, they're both a little bit bigger than what I've got in mind though. I'm thinking a stout, thick and sturdy 6-8 inches and I'm thinking that a direct injection (the male joint) should be a bit more robust and portable over the longer term, rather than a female joint and adaptors.

 

[OhTheAgony]

Hadn't even thought about the joints, oops.

But I'm afraid we don't have anything that small in your size today then anyways. I'll get back to you if I think of another one but nothing comes to mind right now.

 

[FLskwat]

http://www.fuckcombustion.com/viewtopic.php?pid=191411#p191411

That's what your looking for Wat!



EDIT: oops, not the same price range, sorry, should have red more!

 

[WatTyler]

mmmm, that's really nice FLswat. It is what I want. Great size. What kind of price was it? I expect i'll find it far too much for this purpose. I've just never had one of these crazy expensive pieces of glass and I expect I'd find it too precious to take out of the house when I really wanted to.

 

[Sour Deez]

I was looking at same bubblers as you wat. I liked the second one more then the first but it was sold out i believe when i was looking. Then i went to this smoke shop around me, and was really surprised half their product was bho related, considering its unheard of around me. But they had these bad ass new sheldon black concentrators but wouldent budge on $225 price tag. Finally we got talking about him making a piece, he showed me a couple he did, they looked nice. He told me $120 so i went with it. Should look similar to the second one just 18mm, showerhead downstem and a flat mouthpiece. Pretty basic but thats all i wanted, something portable.

I dont know why i told you all this, just got to rambaling, but it is tough finding a decent little piece for a good price, and buying glass without seeing it is iffy too. Both my bong and my oil globe came with defects, and if i saw it first i might not of bought em. They prob sent you the shitty one cause you were all far away.

 

[SD_haze]

High priority glass definitely has more affordable/more variety of small oil rigs than ALT.

I'd use their advanced search to find "rigs/bubblers"--> at your price range

 

[StickyShisha2]

without starting a Ti nail vs. Quartz nail debate, what do you think of this thing?
http://www.highpriorityglass.com/brands-k-o/k-o-domeless-ti-nail-18mm/

nail for rig for use without a dome

 

[FLskwat]

@Wat: As stated by SD-H on other thread, though it is a micro the base is really cool for 200% stability, the glass is sturdy as hell, and it is SO efficient, and portable I would totally recommend...
About pricing, 300 bux -10% I got from Chris! http://www.fuckcombustion.com/viewtopic.php?pid=191659#p191659

@ Sticky, I have both and will jump in the debate... hihi!
So IMHO,
Ti nail:
Pros: Will flash vaporize all your dab with no residue at all (no lost vapor escaping from the dome after inhale)
Cons: Can support more heat and you will sometimes "pass that temperature limit" from which your terpenes will vanish as soon as your erll will contact the Ti Surface... and you'll get only the oily flavors!

Quartz Nail:
Pros: Aesthetics IMO ^^, Flavor as either it has less heat retention either you will be afraid to heat it too much...but you will always get the flavors!
Cons: Breakable, and leaves more residues/sometimes there is some vapor loss, after the inhale...from the residues...


I have red a lot about the domeless nail and the cons I see are:
-Lot of tane to heat that mass of Ti.
-Possible danger with such a glowing exposed mass o Ti and stoners around
-Aesthetics
But I would love to hear more about it!

 

[Bouldorado]

doubt you have a boromarket sub, but there are a LOT of those little direct inject rigs on there. some are pretty pricey but I've seen some clear ones for ~100. lots of artists on there too so you could possibly get a cheap custom. a bm subsricption may or may not be worth it to you, but I consider it paid for after my one BM purchase of 185.

 

[WatTyler]

I've toyed with the idea of a BM subscription, but I've a feeling it might be dangerous and lead me into collecting pieces I don't need. I reckon that if they were to let me look at the listings then I wouldn't be able to resist! I guess $50 is worth it if you pick up a bargain, but not if you end up paying retail prices.

Anyway, the saga with ALT continued. After telling me to send the piece back I sent ALT the link to purchase the online return shipping for me. They then decided that they weren't going to pay the return postage, despite the fact that I had been quite clear about this all along.

At this point I replied in no uncertain terms that I would raise a dispute with my credit card company if they did not take responsibility for their error.

All went quiet for a couple of days whilst I guess the matter was passed to a higher ALT authority. A new email then arrived apologising profusely, explaining how my custom and support was valued, and offering me the free outward shipping that I had originally requested, plus a 20% discount on the piece (I had originally asked for 15%).

Why this couldn't have been settled as soon as the issue arose I don't know. Did it really have to resort to threats?

As it is it's quite lucky that I failed to place my order with High Priority Glass for the bubbler pictured above- I tried online to pay with 3 different credit cards and all were refused due to an 'AVS mismatch' with my address or something. HPG aren't much better- no reply to my contact form, so I called and explained my payment issues. I left a number and email address and the 'technical guys' were meant to get back to me and sort it out. I've heard nothing back. That's a total of three calls trying to complete this purchase- the first on saturday talking to the most helpful salesman ever, but he couldn't talk to me about shipping/customs issues and asked me to call back monday. The other two times have been a whole lot less engaging and helpful, and my last call unreturned. Well if they don't want my money...... (maybe they've heard about me from ALT through some kind of glass retailers guild)

So what will I do now? I suppose I will stick with the ALT bubbler. It's just as well High Priority were too incompetent to collect my payment otherwise I'd be in something of a difficult situation. The ALT offer isn't bad- $22 discount, plus $35 shipping= $57, meaning the piece actually only cost me $88 delivered. Probably actually still more than I would be prepared to pay for it if offered that option as a 'second' in a shop alongside properly finished models, but I guess I could live with it. Any alternative delivered to the UK is going to be much more expensive, and that's the aspect I should focus on.

So am I a nightmare customer? ALT might disagree, but I don't think so. They should take responsibility for their poor procedures and not giving pieces the once over before shipping them out. It shouldn't be down to me to pay the price for their mistakes, or accept a shoddy unfinished piece (and nor should their customer service leave me feeling like I constantly need to justify myself like this on this issue).

I suppose the moral of the story is that ALT are chancers and to stick to your guns if you genuinely feel that you're in the right.

edit:

I also want to add that aside of the debacle with the unfinished diffusion holes, that this is the piece I ordered from ALT:

But I received this:

That alone is enough to really piss me off. I do much prefer the former design- much more stylish. However, between my ordering and starting this thread they have changed the picture. It was still the old picture when my piece arrived, but I knew that the pictures on ALT of individual glass pieces were variable so put it down to that. Now that they've changed the picture it seems that they were well aware that what they were sending out was not the style of piece pictured and that the design had significantly changed enough to warrant new photos. I just really can't believe how they run that shop. I just don't know if I can ever purchase from there again- it seems it's completely 'pot luck' as to what you will receive for your money.

 

[Sour Deez]

ha i knew they changed the style of that bubbler. I went to look at it last night was like uhhh this is different. I actually like it better, i would of just bought that one instead of getting one made. The first was has to much of a lean going on, the oil could flow right off the nail i feel.

 

[2hi]

...Anyway, the saga with ALT continued...

This is strange reading this as I have a friend who's had problems with his GG rig from ALT, his had a hairline crack around the base and leaked, I also noticed the glass on the bub was all over the place. Ahh the old AVS mismatch with HPG, the pain that has caused lol, I'm sure they've sorted it out now as I pointed out to them they were loosing loads of orders due to this. I own an AI shower head DI 14mm oil rig, which I use with a HMK curve but have found the best way to get a decent piece of glass without paying the earth is to shop at ETSY or find lampworkers through facebook. I'm just waiting on a worked oil rig for $100, look for the up and coming artists, if you've heard about them, its probably too late.

 

[2hi]

ha i knew they changed the style of that bubbler. I went to look at it last night was like uhhh this is different. I actually like it better, i would of just bought that one instead of getting one made. The first was has to much of a lean going on, the oil could flow right off the nail i feel.

With a rig like that it doesn't matter as you always hit it in your hand and therefore compensate the angle with your wrist, it wouldn't feel right taking a dab with it sat on the table. I see where you're coming from and that's one of the reasons I got the rig I did, it's only when you own one you realize you only ever toke from it when its in your hand.

 

[aero18]

ALT doesn't care too much about items being delivered that are not up to standard or are not pictured. Once in the past I bought a SYN tube that was scratched all over, and to me, that was unacceptable. I shipped it back and they accepted it, but right after receiving the piece they put it back online to sell to another unsuspecting person.