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Sawney Beane
 
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Default UPS Fraud in Furnace Parts

CBHVAC wrote:

"Sawney Beane" wrote in message
...
CBHVAC wrote:

"Sawney Beane" wrote in message
...
wrote:

The problem with Sawney's theory that this "mom and pop" internet
vendor is running a scam is this. UPS is not stupid. How many claims
for shipping damage do you think UPS will pay for one shipper before
they either refuse further shipments or call the cops for fraud?
Sure, a vendor could get away with it once in awhile, but it's kind of
hard to believe they could do it enough to make it worthwhile.

Suppose he normally buys them for $24 and sells them for $30.
Suppose he sells five a week, among 150 packages of various items,
each with a $6 markup. That's $900 a week for pay and overhead.
It's $30 from this item and $870 from the 145 other packages.

Suppose somebody at the Norton factory will sell him 50 QC rejects
with hairline cracks for $2 apiece. Suppose he has a sale at $26.
Online shoppers choose him and sales rise to 10 a day. Now the
markup is 10 x 24 x 5 or $1200 per week for that one item. $1170
of it is an increase in his profit.

This post, with trace and headers, sent to appropriate folks...

That's great! I've searched the web for a way to contact Norton.

When the ignitor disintegrated in the palm of my hand, I couldn't
believe the dealer's assertion that UPS was at fault. It seemed
most likely that it had come from the factory with cracks. I
wanted to ask Norton if the dealer's printed warning was correct in
saying the manufacturer's QC amounted to the random test firing of
ignitors.

The ignitor came in a padded box with another company's name, so I
also wanted to ask which company did the QC. The one I bought
locally came in a box from a third company. When I opened it and
saw it was made by Norton, I felt uneasy. I realized it was unfair
to mistrust Norton products without verifying what the dealer had said.

The dealer's warning says his visual inspection proved the ignitor
was free of defects. I think he knows better. I told him I'd
filed the claim against UPS as instructed and bought an ignitor
locally, but he never mentioned a refund, leaving me to expect a
refund from UPS. He sent me another ignitor after I asked him five
times not to send it because I had one.

I can imagine he would sell black-market rejects if he had a
source. It may be downstream from Norton where ignitors are tested
and rejects set aside in their padded boxes. Who would think to
post a guard over junk? What would prevent a vending-machine
servicer, for example, from taking some if he knew who would buy
them?

I received an ignitor with multiple cracks. The dealer blamed UPS
but also said most ignitors reach the consumer without being test
fired. I find it more plausible to believe I received a QC reject.
It implies that I can trust Norton products as long as they come
through honest dealers.

Thanks again for alerting Norton. Until I was nine, I lived within
walking distance of a Norton abrasives plant. A man I respected
worked there.


Your point?

I have one for you....we install upwards of 100 of those a year, for years
now.
I have only gotten ONE bad one out of the box. I installed 4 on one unit
before we found out about the recall on the Robertshaw controller.....
I sell to those that ask...no ones sent one back.


So you agree that an ignitor that came through normal channels
probably would not have arrived with three cracks.

Do you agree with my dealer that only a few random ignitors are
tested? I'll bet they're all tested, like light bulbs.

Oil from your hands and fingers DOES cut the life of the ignitor.


Are you familair with the recrystalized silicon carbide ignitors
made by Sealed Unit Products Company? They say that's a myth.

Just because you got a part, does not mean you got the full set of training
instructions for handling with it.


That sounds impressive. Where can I get the full set of training instructions?


You are one person, that needed ONE ignitor..while there are many of us in
here that see those day in and day out and never have an issue..


Exactly!

So..guess what? Sounds to me like the ignitor was fine when it left...and
you thought it would be cute to try to lift it out of the foam that is cut
to fit it in the box by the ignitor itself,


Would picking it up "by the ignitor itself" break it?

It sounds as if your experience with ignitors has been limited, so
let me fill you in. The two I bought, of two brands, didn't have
foam cutouts. Each had a rectangular prism of sponge that fit the
inside of the manufacturer's box. Each sponge was slit so that the
top and bottom could be separated like the pages of a book. The
ignitor lay in the slit. I had noted the FRAGILE labels on the box
and avoided taking chances.


or, UPS stepped on the little
box..


It was double boxed with no evidence of crushing.


Im not defending Norton, but rather, letting you know that just because you
got a bad one, no ones sending bad **** from the factory..if they were, no
one would use them since there ARE replacements out there that are ceramic.


Exactly! I was uneasy when I saw that the second ignitor was also
a Norton, but it wouldn't make sense for a manufacturer to be
haphazard with QC, no matter what the dealer says. I think the
problem is the dealer.