Vortex Customer Service and warranty...Outstanding

FYI.....

Cant say enough about the customer service and warranty. Had an issue with my Viper binos. I sent them in on Monday. Got them overnighted back and fully repaired 4 days later. Crazy fast turnaround, no charge. They definitely stand behind their products.

Practice makes perfect.

Thats what I`ve always heard.

Yep. It’s no secret that Vortex has a warranty that is second to none. Nobody has a single bad thing to say about that part of their business model. We’ve all heard hundreds of stories about their phenomenal customer service and limitless warranty. But, does that say more about their warranty or more about their product quality?

When I’m in the field with thousands of dollars invested into a serious hunt that requires the utmost from my equipment, a warranty doesn’t do diddley squat. I need a robust product that will deliver in the most demanding conditions. Vortex does not make that product. So, if it makes you happy to buy their products and send them in to be fixed all the time, then knock yourself out. That’s just not my idea of a solid hunting investment.

I have been using their products for 30 years and have never had to return even one of their products so far. They make a wide range of price point for the market so if you buy the cheapest they make I would hazard a guess it would more prone to failure under use.
I have bought products from them that I have been disappointed in or didn’t meet my expectations but they never failed so I moved them on down the road.
At the same time I haven’t really been a fan boy of Vortex either but recently that changed a little.
Read that here and read to the end because my first post only tells half the story.
https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/8939331/vortex-exceptional-cs#Post8939331

I have since bought another of their Gen III scopes and can say they are top tier.

You saved me a bunch of typing.

I have owned for the past 7 years VORTEX products. 3 scopes, 3 pairs of binos and a range finder.. Recently to my surprise my 10x40 diamond backs showed a defect.
I'm at my cabin with no computer capability. I called customer service and was amazed with the support. Couldn't print a label so they sent one. They paid all freight and I had a new pair in less than a week.

Common sense tells you if you have a chronic quality problems with this amazing customer service you will not survive as a business very long

I switched all my optics to Vortex after routinely getting the run around and horrible customer service from Bushnell, Leupold and other products.

If your blessed with unlimited financial resources and can buy the ultimate best in all your toys. I can see not going to Vortex. However their product cost is reasonable and having their products for 7 years, being retired and hunting every day of the season, and only having one quality issue I'll stay with a manufacturer who stands by their products and keeps me in the field for maximum enjoyment,

I'm sure it's just engrained in me from my career, that any firearm or optic I own, I may have to trust my life to it. Because of this, I will not own anything made by Vortex. I will settle for a lot of things but not those items.

I can certainly understand that position. I also understand that most people on this forum are sniping whitetails under a feeder at 100 yards. That’s fine, and Vortex makes plenty of products to suit that sort of endeavor. I do plenty of that and enjoy it. However, I do some actual hunting, and I’ve taken Vortex along for that ride. They have failed me in that scenario. They have also failed many others in that scenario. In each and every case, they have honored their warranty. In each and every case that warranty did absolutely nothing to fill that tag. Reliability fills tags, not warranties. Use whatever the hell you want to, but the people that actually use their equipment avoid Vortex.

And if you want to make this a financial issue, there’s plenty of products out there that are just as good for the same money or less.

I’m thankful to have never made my equipment choices in the same manner that you have, but I also feel like when it really matters, reliable is the most important function. To me, at least, that’s number one. And I dare anyone to convince me that Vortex is reliable.

I’d like to hear the vortex customer service call of someone asking them to reimburse them for their bear license and hunt costs because their product failed in the middle of a hunt

Now that would be some customer service.

I have a couple cheap Vortex scopes, under $200. They are unacceptable in low light. The wash out is insane, they are alomost useless in a lowlight situation, which is primarily when you need them the most. During the day when the sun is high and the light is bright they are clear and work well but that is not good enough.

Between myself and my buddy who guided hunts over 16 years, we've sent back several Swarovski scopes, Leica binos, a Zeiss spotter, a couple of Leupold scopes, and a Sig bino/rf. They all have customer service departments for a reason. What Vortex did for it's customers when they got screwed over by Liberty Optics is beyond what any one of them would have ever done. You Vortex hater's need to come to grips with that fact. Just spent 10 days whitetail hunting in the TX Panhandle. The Fury AB's are a superb piece of equipment.

I’m going to hold the equipment at least partially responsible for my miss in Canada this year. It picked up a tree at least 20 yards in front of the moose that wasn’t directly in the line of sight of the animal. That said, prior to that I’ve used vortex binos with great success.


Myself and my business partner both own the Fury’s and his has helped take stone sheep, Marco Polo sheep and a slew of African game.

I do not care for their scopes.

[color:#FF0000]^^^^^

I would argue that (to some degree).

Yes, IF you build a horrible product....eventually everyone will quit buying it.

But you can build a subpar product (quality wise) charge twice what it is worth and do just fine 'warranty wise' BECAUSE:

Vortex has figured the 'replacement' cost into the original retail cost of the item sold. So IF the product comes back....its no loss to them. Most of the products won't come back, so that is good profit.

I would be much happier IF Vortex would simply put more quality into their products and offer a 'limited' warranty. I am in the same camp as the others who want reliability, not a 'great' (no questions asked) warranty that you've already paid for and might be more likely to have to use.

I think this has been pointed out but if you get Vortex’s upper lineup of products they are of equal to or better than a most any Leupold/ Burris/ Bushnell/ Nightforce/ Sig Sauer

I have two of their Gen III scopes and I sold a Tangent Theta to buy one of them because the Vortex is so close there was just no way to justify the extra 2500.00 for a TT when the Vortex is just right there with it.
I recently saw a list of scopes used by shooters in the World 22 Rimfire PRS championships in Italy. Vortex was the most used by a long shot.
I shot a match today and I would guess half the shooters were using Vortex with all other brands filling in the rest…. I was using a Zeiss S5 5-25x56

Matches aren't exactly a demanding setting for an optic compared to a Western state/Alaskan hunt.

Slightly different demands but I would say opposite… I probably twisted the elevation knobs parallax and power today more than an average hunter would in 10 seasons. Everything has to run perfectly and return to a perfect zero on every stage and on a couple stages I dialed twelve times in under 2 minutes.
It would be true that if my scope went down I would at worse be out a few hundred dollars in entry fees hotel gas etc and not 1000’s like an out of state hunt but most times there is a backup setup just in case.

Good to know! im fixin to order a new .22 scope for a new Ruger American here, good to see
factory support! Been happy with my 10X vortex binocs i got few years back. No complaints sofar!


Good luck....

I had a great customer experience with them too.

Everyone has had a great customer experience with Vortex because everyone has had to contact them. My grandmother even loves their customer support, and she doesn’t even own an optic. That’s how awful their products are!

That's pretty freaking funny!

Thank you for understanding my humor.

Autozone/ORiely sell cheap, lifetime warranty a lot of their parts, and then make it easy to get replacements (you know "free" crap, what everyone calls customer service these days) because they are bad and know they will fail... Sounds like the same model...

That business model is based on the fact that most people don’t keep their vehicles long enough for the same part to fail twice. On top of that......how many people can keep up with a receipt that long?

It is one thing to make good product, it is another thing to make decent product that the average joe shmoe can afford to use. There are a lot of low budget hunters and outdoorsmen that use vortex gear because it IS cheap and they know WHEN it goes bad the company will take care of them. For them, it IS a value for their money.

I have heard horror stories about swaro, leica, bushnell, etc not honoring a warranty for something that was just beyond the one year or a couple years old and then the person is out thousands or more, and still out good optics. These companies do not have lifetime unconditional warranties, though I realize Bushnell does on some select pieces.

It is very easy to take a personal view and try to apply it to everyone and bash a company online because they have a tremendous warranty and great customer service. But try to take the higher road and realize this company exists for everyone, not just you. They are allowing countless people to enjoy nature.

I personally have had the same pair of vortex binos and have no need to switch, they have been flawless and I haven't babied them at all. Am I lucky? Maybe. I have a different brand rangefinder and spotter. I wanted something better in those that vortex wasn't going to provide me.

Reading threads like this really highlights what a first world problem is...be happy and be glad we have choices.

My customer experience reference was not due to any fault with the product. It was regarding lost binocular lens covers...my fault. Must have fallen off while hunting. They sent me replacement eyepiece covers no charge. That was pretty cool of them.

Texas Buckeye where did you come from with reason and and rational thought!!!

Based on the comments I set up an appointment with an psychiatrist hoping to cure my poor judgement. Thanks for your input. I cancelled the appointment.

That's some funny stuff right there.

I was just sharing an experience but as always, naysayers will do what naysayers do. I own Leupold etc as well. I am sure if I had posted about Leupold customer service or Swarovski, I would hear the same junk.

There is no product that is 100% free of potential damage or malfunction unless it lives in your closet or gun safe. No such animal. When it does happen, see if you get it back in 4 days. no questions asked, no receipt ....Oh, and not just you, but whoever happens to own it down the line...
Say what you want, but I would rather have a company that stands behind its product. Too many companies overcommit and underdeliver when it comes to standing behind their products.

Funny you mention Leupold. People forget that they fix their products with no questions asked. But you don’t hear about that because not every person that buys their product needs to send it in for repair.

The one performance constant with optics is that you will get exactly what you paid for.

100 % agree with ya Phis, here my experience with Vortex. Bought a Strike Eagle 25x56 with alumination turret dial from a well known retailer, during installation on my rifel the person didnt use the right tool and damaged the turret cap only where the battery goes for alumination in low light. They said sorry and that this was the only one they had in stock. Needless to say I was pissed but decided to take it anyway and deal with it myself. Later, I decided to call Vortex, they answered right away without having to go thur channels. Told them of the issue and requested a new replacement cap only for the turret. He said he would send me a whole NEW complete scope instead. I said just the turret cap would do fine but he repeated again if I wanted a NEW complete scope. No just the turret cap. Enough said. Ive had several over the years without fail issuse.There's plenty different ones to choose from out there but I'll choose Vortex.

The last post had nothing to do with the quality of Leupold customer service. Ergo.....you missed the point

The point was about folks hijacking a post like this one to bash companies they dont like and tell us how good their gear is (ahem). If you dont like Vortex, the solution is simple, don't buy it. Since my life doesnt depend on my binoculars, I guess I shouldnt comment on what is and is not good customer service.

Anyway....It's really not that big of a deal......no one cares.

##I should have known better

I’m sure glad folks on here warned me about ATN before I spent money on one. That’s what a forum is. An exchange of information, experiences and opinions that are learned.

^^^^^

If you feel strongly that your thread has been "hijacked"...then by all means report it to a Mod.

It is understood that the main subject matter was intended to be 'Customer Service' (per your title) but in the body of your text you mention 'warranty' also....which by default brings with it product quality.

When discussing product quality, certainly it is fair (if not necessary) to make comparisons.

I am glad that most folks feel Vortex's warranty and customer service are good/great. I have my own (one time) experience with them that is contrary to that....but in the end did receive a replacement (twice actually before they got it right).

It is simply my opinion that many folks are lured into buying Vortex products based on an attractive Warranty Policy rather than the strengths (or lack of) of any quality concerns. I like to see folks be 'informed buyers' and to that end...it is well to seek out the experiences and opinions of others.

Threads like this one are sure to go off on small tangents. If they go completely off the tracks, the very capable Mods will take care of it.

As does Burris. I wouldn't know how good or bad the Burris or Leupold customer service is, because I've never had to use thier warranties. I have had to use both Vortex and Nikon's warranties. Yes. Vortex has unbelievable customer service. Nikon, not so much. But, Nikon doesn't make scopes anymore, so that's moot.

So how do you explain away the fact that I had 3 different Leica 3200.com's and none of them would range past 600 yards on oilfield tank batteries? One of them wouldn't range past 200 yards when the temps got near freezing. I've sent back 2 Swarovski 1" tube riflescopes because my Tikka 7Mag smoked the erectors in both of them. Price = performance isn't necessarily true by a long shot.

Humm, so lets look around online and see how many are down talking Leica and Swaro for their product reliability compared to Vortex.

I hope the OP has good luck with his replacement, otherwise he'll be needing another one in the future.
The folks that have had good luck with lower end Vortex are much lower numbers than the folks that have had good luck with other brands like Leupold, Leica, and Swaro.

Not everyone can afford higher end optics, we all know that and understand it, but to have issues with almost every lower end product Vortex makes should pretty frustrating to those that own them and I would be raising cane to get them to address that not just accept it and keep sending in products to repair or replacement. They obviously are using cheap components or they couldn't afford to replacement them so often.

I truly hope his replacement does not cost him a deer or any other species he is hunting.
Good used higher end products are out there and much cheaper than new. I bought my Swaro binos through Cabelas bargain basement, sent them in for new glass, they replaced it for free, and had like binos for half the cost of brand new.

Yep.

I own and use a few high end binos myself. The indisputable fact is, Leica, Zeiss, and Swaro sell a miniscule amount of glass compared to Vortex, Leupy, Athlon, Bushnell, and Nikon. Obviously more people will have trouble with those. If you think the "alphas" don't have problems your kidding yourself.

I think even you would admit that Vortex's marketing philosophy works extremely well.

I know they have problems , on occasion. I'm talking about lower end Vortex. It is well known that their higher end stuff is much better.

Never had to send in my Swaros again in say 25 years, Leicas I own have never been send in.
We have Leupold scopes on all of our rifles and only one has had an issue, I lost the end piece off of it.
35 years of Leupold and not once had a failure, Swaros still working great after 25 years.
If your higher end glass has had lots of issues then might be the user, not the glass.

How many times has your Vortex been in, if they are lower end?

Yes Vortex has great marketing, readily admit that.

Miniscule amounts of glass sold, humm, not believing that. Miniscule amounts going in for repair, yes I believe that.
Google sales for Vortex, Swaro and Ziess for 2022 and let us know what comes up, I did.

Again I hope the OP does not have any more issued that cost him an animal.

The way I look at is if anyone on here was going to Africa to hunt the big 5, because they won a grand prize in the DSC or someplace like that, who here would choose Vortex for their primary and backup rifle scopes if you could choose any optics free of charge? It's the trip of a lifetime and you may very well have a charging cape buffalo in your lap. If anyone says Vortex, than we have fundamental differences in worldly viewpoints, which is okay.

You're dumb as a box of rocks if you actually believe that crap.

Vortex, Leupy, and Bushnell sell more optics in one month than Swaro and Zeiss do all year. What you believe is irrelevant, what matters are facts.

If they were free none of the scopes mentioned in this thread would go on my hunt.
I only noticed Swarovski/Leupold / Vortex/Leica mentioned.
I certainly wouldn’t pick Swarovski as their turrets are not up to the standards that their glass is…I love their binoculars but scope wise they are not robust.
No go on Leupold either. They have gotten better glass the last few years thanks to competition from the likes of Vortex and many others but weak turrets have plagued them on most of the hunting lineup but competition scopes are better again due to losing market share they made improvements.
I would take Tangent Theta since they would be free or maybe a ZCO since that’s the only brand I haven’t owned yet.

Just saw this posted on another forum …will rest my case

Today at 12:04 PM
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#36
i just sent a Z6i in. Had it on a a 270 for about 70-80 rounds. Curious to see what they say when it comes back. The turret internally must’ve come completely apart. It would adjust POI at all and it happened just out of nowhere.

Yes, I am first to say it has worked well for THEM. And hopefully now that they have built a successful business....they will slowly bring more quality into their lower line products.

They can (and do) happily repair/replace defective items. Even items that through no fault of theirs were damaged.

And all of this marketed as (at no cost to the consumer) but the fact is, you paid for the replacement in the retail cost of the item to begin with. All that made possible by using cheap components and charging more for them than they should be worth.

But the 'idea' that a product will be replaced "FREE" (no questions asked if it can't be repaired) is what sounds so appealing to folks.

Hell....there are folks that would take syphilis as long as it was 'free'. And in the end....your 'free' replacement is the same low quality optic as the first one (the lower end models).

Just saying if you need/want to buy an optic very much manufactured to a 'price point' do your homework.

Vortex has always offered a good looking optic and typically a product with a lot 'features' for the price. But IMO it is at the expense of lasting quality. Which may be fine for a lot of folks. But please don't be a sucker and think that out of the goodness of their hearts....they are offering a fantastic warranty for sake of their customers. You already paid for it.

Yes just like all the other optic companies with warranties

My experience with Leica customer service and warranty was very poor. Leica carries a 3 year warranty on the electronics of the range finding binos and mine failed within the first year. Almost 6 months for them to get returned to me and they were not fixed. Multiple phone calls, emails, and I finally told them to keep the binos as I will just take the loss. Amazingly, I received a new set of binos within two weeks.

A few years ago, I had a Nikon Monarch rifle scope leak. I got a coupon from Nikon to use toward another product line as they no longer replace or repair scopes. I lost on that deal.

I will need to use the warranty service with Vortex after hunting season. I have a Razor LHT rifle scope that has an issue with the side focus knob and illuminating switch. I have replaced the battery and the switch still does not make contact all the time and the reticle light has the appearance of a half moon.

Has anyone here ever said any differently? Consumers don't give a crap about any of that, other than the fact that Vortex (Athlon, Leupy too) will repair or replace it forever, quickly.

.

How long have you been hunting and using that Vortex glass, anywhere close to 30 years?
Oh my, name calling now. Have a better argument? Vortex does not sell more than other high end glass, just Google their numbers it comes right up.
https://www.zippia.com/vortex-optics-careers-1442366/revenue/
https://www.zoominfo.com/c/swarovski-optik/168740574
https://www.zeiss.com/corporate/en/about-zeiss/present/newsroom/press-releases/2022/annual-report-2021-22.html#:~:text=Oberkochen%2C%20Germany%20%7C%2014%20December%202022%20%7C%20ZEISS%20Group&text=Revenue%20rose%20by%2016%25%20to,period%3A%2030%20September%202022).

In all fairness no one has hard numbers especially on Vortex, unless you are their raw goods supplier and did a credit app but then you arent getting full numbers just Banking ref.

Swaro is private also, even though they do release numbers I don't think they break out NA numbers for sport optics.

Ive also never seen Zeiss group break out sport optics but I do now it is a fraction of their over all revenue .

So this argument will continue to be circular with no winner


I have two swaro scopes that are sink weights because swaro no longer warranties them. Ive never had that problem with Leuppy or Vortex.. Zeiss warranty was good but slow

Tasco for the win. They make junk and I doubt any other optics company grosses more money than they do annually.

Evidently this box of rocks doesn't know some folks treat their equipment harder than others, or doesn't take care with it like everyone on the planet.
We all treat our equipment the same? Hardly.



"The indisputable fact is, Leica, Zeiss, and Swaro sell a miniscule amount of glass compared to Vortex, Leupy, Athlon, Bushnell, and Nikon. "
Let's see some numbers .

For what it’s worth I have owned a huge number of different brands. I have had only 2 failures......one was a Swaro and the other a Simmons. Thought I had a bad Weaver at one time but it was just a bad gun.

Of all my scopes the one that has seen the most use is my Vortex Viper 6.5x20 sitting on a 6.8 AR. It has been my primary rig for probably 10-12 years. It sees more rounds through it every year than all my other guns combined. If I thought for one minute the scope was a weak point I would swap it out for something else in a heart beat. Dropped two pigs with it yesterday. KNOCK ON WOOD!! LOL!

I would think there is probably some truth just do to price point as the US sub 500 market is probably the highest % of sporting sales but its not an indication of quality. unless Swaro/Leica/zeiss break out their US sporting numbers and Vortex goes public , its just a giant circular argument, that going to never have a winner. From a sku size and limited scope sales I would assume and from what I heard from their old rep group Leica is irrelevant outside of Geovid sales.

some day someone will make a scope with swaro glass and NF reliability and Vortex price point, just not today unfortunately.

They are owned by Vista outdoors, i couldnt find their revenue breakout. I think I reas, they are just a rebranding importer, but who knows.

The 3 different Leica 3200.com's were NEW units that didn't work.....got any more great examples from MY personal use? Funny thing is I don't remember seeing you around anywhere when I was testing any of them, or the two Swaro scopes for that matter, or the Zeiss spotter that wouldn't focus and only took Zeiss 8 months to get it fixed and returned. Let's hear some more.

I was part of the G&O program for Leupold, Meopta, and a short time with Swaro. I'm likely much more familiar with the market than you are Wytex, but keep guessing, you're doing good.

I agree. You can walk in any sporting good store in America and ask what optic they sell the most of. I guarantee is ain't S, L, or Z by a long shot. The alpha market is very, very small.

"If your higher end glass has had lots of issues then might be the user, not the glass."

"You're dumb as a box of rocks if you actually believe that crap."


Guess what, you have crap for brains if you think everyone treats their equipment the same.
Put that scope on a rifle that sits in a blind and never gets dialed, doesn't hit the filed in inclement weather and compared the use to say yourself, the big expert long range hunter.
That guy in a blind may never change or dial his scope for a shot longer than 100-150 yds. Yet there you are out in the elements hunting hard and using the long range scope as it is designed for. Any chance you would have more issues because you use it more than the guy in the blind
No chance you might have more issues with your equipment than the guy in the blind?
Give me a break, you know that is very possible and can likely happen.

We all know folks that break or misuse everything they own. They complain that nothing lasts or is build like the old days. Yet, when you see them use equipment or tools you know why they don't last, the user is the problem not the equipment.

My argument is about lower end Vortex optics, you brought in Bushnell, Athlon and others, I did not.

I'm still waiting for numbers on Vortex compared to the higher end glass companies and electronics were never mentioned or brought up by myself. Those have nothing to do with scopes. You keep saying they sell miniscule amounts of good glass so show us the numbers.

Question for those that have used this great warranty , which I have never said was bad.
Do they repair your damaged scope or send a new one, on the lower end stuff?

If they send a new one out why is that, no components are worth saving and repairing, or just not up to snuff to repair ?
How many times when you send in that better quality glass do they just send out a new one, not ever in my case .
If they can afford to just trash what is damaged and send a new one then maybe their components are not the highest quality and it is easier and cheaper to just replace.
There is a reason for that.

You keep bringing up your higher end Vortex, this is all about lower end .
Do you use lower end Vortex optics?

A bunch of wasted hot air. Not surprised coming from you. Do yourself a favor and go back a read the OP before embarrassing yourself any more than you already have. There's zero mention of "low end" Vortex stuff except in that empty mind of yours.

Then I came back with this.....



....and your brilliant response was this.....



No remind me how my own personal experience with high end glass is "user error", when the Leica's were brand spanking new. I'll wait.