Defective QB Quantum Board LED by Rita/ Shenzhen Meijiu & Warranty Refused

What Happened?
I bought 2×800 FOTOP V1 full kits from Meijiu and received them in July 2018.

In March 2019, I purchased 1×800 FOTOP V2 kit and 2×25W Supplement Red Bars

Important to note that I drive my boards at only around 50% of max power. With heatsinks no less. So they should last longer than others.

In May 2019, one diode from the new 800 FOTOP V2 board went out. I was compensated for the full amount of the board at $125 since they prefer a refund over replacements. That was cool although it demonstrates lack of confidence in their own product. Shipping was not even mentioned so its not that, as I'd be cool with paying shipping.


In early June 2019, one of the older 800 FOTOP V1 boards had an entire string go dim and then subsequently went all out.


I felt it had been more than a year so I contacted Rita. True enough, she said there is nothing she can do if its over a year. I checked records and found that its within a year and contacted her back.

I was told that I'm the ONLY one with issues. A quick check on forums showed me more. I showed her pics i found online and she had nothing to say.

However, after waiting 4 days, she returned with a ridiculous math equation that divides the price of the board by 12 and refunding me $6! I still don't see the logic behind this equation unless they are admitting that their products only lasts 12 months! This was very different from the first board.

Two boards well within warranty and with the same problem. However, they are handled VERY differently. Does not make any sense or logic! Other than a scammer's mentality.

Two boards from two separate purchases are defective! You cannot even claim a bad batch as the culprit anymore! Yet, they try to wiggle out of warranty! Don't they have any sense of shame?

Their Logic?
Firstly, they said I've used the board for 11 months. Its actually less than that but whatever! Hence the calculation. But why wasnt the first defective board subjected to this calculation? Warranty is not the same as depreciation! One minute within warranty is still the same warranty unless otherwise specified, which they did not!

The best part is they asked me if Apple will honor the warranty in the same situation? Hell yes!

Then they tried to blame it on humidity but these are plant Grow Lights for petes sake! They transpire! Hello? Any decent grow light can withstand some humidity, as long as you don't spray on them! Besides, humidity cannot explain why I have both new and old boards going out? Shouldn't it be the old ones crapping out first? The only 100% good board I have now is an old V1 board sitting right in the middle, where it is most humid among all areas of my space. So....load of BS as well!

Seems like they didn't even bother coming up with a better excuse!

Rita literally told me she has hundreds of customers and I am free to say whatever I want! She was the sweetest gal before my board had issues!

Lastly, out of desperation, she accused me of fraud. Big mistake. I actually wish I'm technical enough to create that defect intentionally. Cos I'd be able to repair it. Unfortunately, me along with 99% of growers are not! But that really pissed me off!

Conclusion
I take back ALL my recommendations on Meijiu and their products. Shit can happen with any company's products but as long as they stand behind it, I'm totally cool. Its when you try to wiggle out of warranty and try to accuse me of fraud that I have to retaliate.

I only paid $80 for the board so its really not about the money. It can be cheaply replaced with strips. Some nutes costs even more and as growers, we easily spend thousands on our setup. So $80 is not even worth my time writing this! I could be growing more plants!

Besides, I have no reason to get this worked up because the lights are still very much usable. I lose a couple watts here and there but it should not matter much. The reason for this is a)She accused me of fraud and b)I don't want anyone else falling victim based on my past recommendations and c)No one likes to see scammers getting away with stuff.

There is absolutely no language barrier as I was communicating in their native tongue, which I'm fluent in.

Its obvious that Shenzhen Meijiu Lighting Co., Ltd. has serious quality consistency issues. Firstly, they don't like to replace cos its the same shitty stuff so why replace? Second, they seem very experienced in handling warranty issues that they have a protocol to follow. They will first make it look like its your fault and offer you $20 to shut you up. Then depending on how persistent you are, they will negotiate accordingly. Mostly will make you wait and give up. If you're like me, they come back to you with a math formula to pay you $6 lol! They can keep it!

I also had an exploding dimmer that I did absolutely nothing to, as well as a bad plug. So quality control does not seem like their strong suit! They buy their dimmers at less than $8 and sells it to us at $16. I would expect better QC than that at such profit margin. Needless to say, I bought my own replacement as they would not honor the warranty. Fun fact, I bought my replacement at half price from their supplier! Lol

I will not recommend them or buy from them anymore. In fact, I will recommend the direct opposite! Dirty buggers if you ask me!

 

Please start a thread to discuss about whether they are knock offs? I'd appreciate it.

In this thread however, there are NO knockoffs. We should be knowledgeable enough about QBs by now to know, that we should buy according to Specs, not brand. Who sticks the diodes on the board for us should not matter, unless they are like Meijiu. They all use similar machines so it all boils down to Quality Control measures and a sense of responsibility. Even HLG has defects but no one cares cos they take care of it. Not try to wiggle out of it! This is the real topic of this thread.

LED diodes on a PCB board is NOT a proprietary technology. Otherwise, TVs would be paying Royalties to HLG! Simple as that so I hope you get it!

Blurples are also LEDs on PCB so this is nothing new. HLG was probably the first to use that specific diode, at specific voltage etc. Then others joined in with slightly different offerings.

Most Chinese boards are run softer compared to HLG board so there is a difference in product offering. Honestly, I feel the Chinese actually improved efficiency of the boards by using 48V board/driver compared to 54V by HLG. You can kinda compare yourself to see that 54V is a little wasteful. But some wanna get the most out of their lights so you see, choices are good for us consumers.

The issue here is ONE seller, Meijiu that is a highly unethical seller. Just because they are in China, does not mean other companies are like them. I will still buy from China. Just NOT from Meijiu or Rita!

 

Go ahead then. Call them whatever you like especially if my explanation wasnt clear enough. Most people would get it off the bat though.

If these are knockoffs, report them and ask HLG to sue all those retailing knock offs in North America at least. Oh wait...they can't cos those are not knock offs.

You do realize the point of my thread, don't you? You can call them worse names and I wouldn't care. You are actually helping me. At the very least, you are helping to bump my thread. I was just trying to remind a fellow grower that calling these boards knock offs may not come off as a smart thing. Thats all. You are most welcome to continue replying with one liners. I'm all cool with that. Advantage of not being a competitive dude or perhaps born with a moderate ego. Whichever...

 

Would love to continue this discussion with you somewhere else but the above comments made my day! And I really don't wanna side track this thread. Forgive me if I'm not in the mood to argue on the definition of knock offs or the level of Chinese manufacturing. I don't gain anything for proving that facts are facts. I don't work for either side. I'm just a grower reporting a refused warranty on forums.

Taking a shot, making presumptions at my purchase decision after the fact, does not seem particularly cool though. I cannot prove all Chinese companies are like Mejiu anymore than you can prove they are not. They actually do have a good reputation though. You can check.

Most important of all, please read post 1. I was given a warranty and it was not honored. I had one that was! How was I to know they would turn dirty all of a sudden? I am pretty certain I had performed reasonable due diligence as a buyer.

If there has to be a victim here, it has to be me. Are you the type that blames the victim, after the fact?

 

Not the driver itself but the end result with the board and driver.

The boards being run softer is definitely more efficient?

I have not seen their equipment but it should not differ too much with others. Maybe they should start learning how to use them? Lol

The cheap solder sounds right, based on my defects. I actually believe this is the result of them saving on QC labor costs. I have witnessed several such cases.