plaza lama ripped me off

Simon & Nicky · #1 02-18-2005, 11:31 PM

I bought ten "long life" low energy light bulbs in Plaza Lama the other day (because they were on special offer). When I got them home two were broken and one needed repair. Of the eight left seven have since died in a fraction of the time a normal light bulb lasts. I am left with one.

My advice to anyone going to Plaza Lama in the next few days is do not bother buying light bulbs from there - they suck.

Lambada · #2 02-18-2005, 11:53 PM

You didn't take them out of the box & shake them to make sure you couldn't hear broken filament.......before you puchased? Hmmmm...........

PJT · #3 02-19-2005, 12:47 AM

Buyer beware, no matter what you purchase on the island; it is always in your favor to test the item in the store before you walk out with it. There should be outlets near the checkout for you to test the bulbs.

Regards,
PJT

Eddy · #4 02-19-2005, 01:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon & Nicky

I bought ten "long life" low energy light bulbs in Plaza Lama the other day (because they were on special offer). When I got them home two were broken and one needed repair. Of the eight left seven have since died in a fraction of the time a normal light bulb lasts. I am left with one.

My advice to anyone going to Plaza Lama in the next few days is do not bother buying light bulbs from there - they suck.

While I do agree that the bulbs are worth crap, I have bought several over the past month and they always check them 1 by 1 before giving them to me. Are you certain they didn't break on the way home? Either way, I'm not buying any more "cheap ones" there or anywhere else.

AZB · #5 02-19-2005, 09:27 AM

Those cheap brand low wattage fluorescent bulbs last shorter than my relationships (less than a week). They are worth crap. I went to USA and bought myself name brand bulbs ex: GE. My bulbs got anywhere from 2-4 yrs on them and they are still going strong. Always stick to the name brand (costs more), they will last forever.
AZB

Simon & Nicky · #6 02-19-2005, 09:31 AM

These are long life fluorescent bulbs. Most would have worked if they tested them, the fact remains that they are supposed to last ten times longer than a normal bulb and they are all (bar one) knackered. Perhaps at best they lasted on average fifty or so hours - and no there's nothing wrong with my power supply, - and yes I know you have to take everything out of the packet here and check it (I saw someone checking corn flakes the other day).

I still prefer to think that when I buy something it will actually work and be in one piece. If everyone stopped the rather strange habit of opening boxes and taking stuff apart in the shop and then only putting half of the stuff back in the box we'd all get along so much better.

planner · #7 02-19-2005, 10:18 AM

I had the same experience - but tested bulbs before leaving store - in several different stores. I was looking for specific wattage and bulb sizes. Bought 2 at Price Mart in Santiago, 2 in La Sirena and 3 in a Ferreteria in Puerto Plata.

ONLY 1 IS STILL WORKING !!! And it has been less then 2 months. I will have my friends bring them in from Canada or U.S.

Snuffy · #8 02-19-2005, 11:16 AM

This is the Last Market. This is the bottom of the barrel market. Importers look for the cheapest products to import and then they mark them up higher than you would find the same quality product in the USA or elsewhere. And they take the faulty, damaged, and rejected products that are sitting in the back of a warehouse, import them here, and sell them as perfect. They also buy from factories anything that was not manufactured correctly...for example....a large batch of toothpaste is discovered that the formula was not correct for say 10,000 tubes. Those are not sold on the first world market. But they are okay for this market. What is scary is that you have to beware of the food you are eating also. Just as long as it sells.

You have to inspect everything very closely and then you will still get ripped off from time to time.

We have bought several electrodomestics that were expensive but which failed after a few months. Just try to get a replacement or repair with the guarantees here.

MrMike · #9 02-19-2005, 12:15 PM

House wiring here is very sloppy, often done by people who have no idea what they are doing. So even IF the power grid was stable the life expectancy of electronics, and light bulbs in particular would be very low. As it is the grid is not stable and therefore buying the cheapest light bulbs you can find and replacing them regularly is probably not a bad idea. If you find them burning out too frequently, you should have your house wiring checked, chances are it is not grounded at all and may even have some wires crossed, short circuits, electrical wire of too fine a gage for the load being put on it and all sorts of rediculous things.

Have a good electrician with trustworthy references check your stuff. (be careful though, many electricians, esp. on the north coast moonlight as burglars)

chadfisher21 · #10 02-25-2005, 09:08 PM

Yes, I have had problems with merchandise purchased at Plaza Lama recently as well and not little things like light bulbs things like furniture. Their exchange policy is crap and in almost all the sotres they will refuse to give you back your money. This is a big problems I have had living here. They will want to give you a nota de credito. In my opinion do all you can to get your money back unless there's something you want. They will tell you they won't but keep fighting until you do. I have been successful in most incidents in the past. Pricesmart is the only store I know of that will give you your money back without asking questions.