[Bugsmasher]

I have some of the good old Mushkin 'Special' 2-2-2 PC3200 memory which has failed according to Memtest86.exe (over 10,000 errors @400 mhz 2.0 cas, 2000 errors @ 333 mhz 2.5 cas).

These sticks come with a 'Lifetime' warranty.

Unfortunately without a receipt (this set was a gift) they will charge $30 for a processing fee and I have no guarantee they will send back the same quality ram. On their support forums I have found people complaining about receiving standard 2.5-3.0 cas memory in return for sending in the Special 2-2-2 memory.

In short Mushkin sounds pretty cheesy to me at this point.

Has anyone else dealt with Mushkin before? Before paying them money so they will stand behind their 'Lifetime' warranty I would like to know if they are truly as cheesy/cruddy as they sound or if I can at least depend on them to do the right thing?


Yep, I am annoyed with Mushkin. Yep, yesterday I cancelled an order for Mushkin memory and placed it for some Patriot instead. Yep, the outcome of this will determine if I buy Mushkin memory again.

[splat]

My first ddr stick was mushkin ordered from their site. It arrived doa, and they crossshipped me a new stick overnight. I was impressed, but that was 5 years ago or so.

[Bugsmasher]

Edit: Just to be clear as to why I am posting this I think the way hardware companies treat their customers is important, particularly on a site like this one. Mushkin I feel has failed in its customer service efforts.


Update:

Apparently its going to cost me $30 to get Mushkin to stand by their warranty. The person I spoke to - Chris - was very nice and seemed to be trying to be helpful. I have to admit I am fairly disappointed with the outcome since I normally consider shipping a legitimate cost of warranty work but I dont consider a $30 'fee' to be legitimate.

The memory I will be getting in exchange is indeed some quality memory - Redline 4000 3-3-3-8 according to Chris but the timings are much more lax and the voltage requirements are much higher....so all in all its pretty much a wash.

Final thoughts- I think this will definitely sway me from buying Mushkin memory for the time being. I like their products but see no reason for the charges associated with warranty work. They justify the expense saying that there have been fraudulent warranty claims associated with dead or refurbished memory sold on Ebay. I think thats a pretty weak excuse since they simply need to mark their refurbished or dead memory as such before selling it.


Final Score:
Me: -$30
Mushkin: -1

[splat]

Originally Posted by Bugsmasher

They justify the expense saying that there have been fraudulent warranty claims associated with dead or refurbished memory sold on Ebay. I think thats a pretty weak excuse since they simply need to mark their refurbished or dead memory as such before selling it.

I think you are looking at that the wrong way. Mushkin is not selling refurbished ram on ebay, random people are. So people are buying memory they are told is "Mushkin" on ebay. And without your receipt of purchase, how is Mushkin to know that you aren't one of those random people? You might be the most trustworthy person in the world, but Mushkin doesn't know that, and for every 1 person like you who has a legitimate claim, I'm sure there are 10 consumers who are trying to scam them, whether the consumer making the claim knows it or not. Yeah it sucks, but it isn't Muskin's fault. If you got the sticks as a gift, then simply ask whoever got them for you for the receipt, or ask them to return the ram.

[Bugsmasher]

The gift was from Christmas 2 years ago so I doubt that person would still have the receipt around...at least I dont keep receipts from 2 years ago. It may seem cheap to be complaining about it but it is a Lifetime Warranty after all. Not to mention the fact that I would need to contact someone out of state and ask them to dig through receipts from 2 years ago? I think not, I think I will suggest Patriot next time

Mushkin stands out in this regard, most of the other major manufacturers do not require the receipt. This is why I say that I will look elsewhere and why Mushkin fails in its customer service....by comparision to other manufacturers. Most system builders do not warranty their systems for lifetime. Instead they only warranty them from a month to a year or possibly more depending on extended warranties. If a person doesnt buy an extended warranty then the Mushkin warranty is worth what? A month? A year? Not exactly 'Lifetime' in either case. Most resellers wont even attempt to dig out that receipt from more than a year ago.

Their memory and financial exposure is exactly the same as other memory companies in terms of fraudulent claims yet they choose to handle returns in a format that costs the customer while those other companies do not. That is the failure I refer to.

If the defective memory I have currently was Kingston, Crucial, Patriot, A-Data, OCZ, G-Skill, etc there would be no charge and no hassle.

That is the reason I am disappointed. I cannot change the fact I was given Mushkin memory. I can however make sure I do not put anyone I build a system for in the same situation. How? Buy non-Mushkin memory.

I dont doubt the quality of their products understand. I also dont doubt their good intentions. I do however question their decision to make working with them more difficult and expensive than their competion.

[splat]

Are you really sure that every other memory manufacturer would let you exchange your ram straight up, no questions asked, without a receipt? My personal experience with every single company I have ever dealt with says otherwise. I have never been able to send a product back to a manufacturer without a receipt and get a straight up exchange.

Personally, I think you are lucky they are even offering you Redline (their top of the line) sticks for $30. Yes, it sucks that you have to dish out any money at all, but spending $30 is better than spending $200 (or whatever the true retail cost of new sticks is) any day.

[Avg]

I've dealt with them before, and they have been the best company to deal with by far.
I had pc4000(UTT) redline sticks which went bad after almost a year after I purchased them, got in contact with them and got it replaced but the new sticks went bad within a week, so I contacted them again and told them that I have been trying to get the redline sticks running stable since I bought them without success, well they then replaced the sticks for 2x512mb of pc4400 TCCD.
I only had to pay for shipping, also you have to take into consideration that good DDR sticks aren't as easy to find as they were about a year ago, some have been discontinued and what was kept for replacement has been exhausted.

[Duonger]

James-

These fee that was accessed is for proof of purchase. We are still sticking with our warranty to replace the product for you. Even upgrading it to a better current performance module since we no longer produce the modules you currently have. We have been hit with many fraudulent claims of products that were our but once we got it back it wasnt.

While all memory companies are exposed with fraud in a similar way, Mushkin does stand out from other companies in that it does require a receipt (unless you buy direct from Mushkin, of course.) However, Mushkin also prides itself on running a very fair and consistent operation and this is why our return rates are less than 1/4 of that of the industry. Fraud is fraud and we feel protecting ourselves in this way is very fair.


We are sending you a new set of memory for $30, that being said you can look at it, $30 for 2 yrs of usage and a new set is a killer deal. Chris and I spoke and he was very coordial and you understood our processes. If you think this is unfair now, we would gladly refund your $30 and wish the best luck.

Tom

[Bugsmasher]

Follow up

I wanted to say that despite my disagreement with the fee associated with Mushkins warranty support I have been pleased so far with their handling of the situation. Chris and Ian are the two names I have worked with up to this point and both have been courteous and helpful. To be completely honest they have gone above and beyond in taking care of my situation to date. Its funny but I get the idea its a fairly small office with good communication from speaking to them several times and as such gives me much more confidence in dealing with Mushkin.

I have actually just begun the actual warranty process and will post back with my thoughts when its complete.

I still dislike the no receipt policy but can say at least to this point if you adhere to the requirements of the warranty there is no mickey mouse business when dealing with Mushkin. That is a strong point in their favor.

[splat]

Glad to hear. Definitely keep us posted.

[datura3]

I have dealt with them before when overclocking some redlines about a year back. One stick was bugging out at fsb 220 and the other one was hitting 270 stable. I told them that and they sent me a new stick. I felt like I was binning ram for free. I'm very happy with them and will buy from them again.

[Bugsmasher]

Follow up:

I received the replacement XP4000 Redline 3-3-2-8 memory a couple days ago and last night was able to put em into a system and they are kicking right along. I will miss my 2-2-2 but due to the lack of BH6 chips there simply was no other option.

I appreciate the efforts by Cris, Ian, and Tom in regards to resolving the issue. Getting in contact with people at Mushkin has been surprisingly easy in all honesty which is definitely in their favor.

I will do business again in the future with Mushkin and think that most probably the most effective way to do so is to buy direct. I think this would remove the cause of my issue while allowing me access to their quality support and products.


Even with that said however......I sure hope my last pair of 2-2-2 'Special' sticks dont give up anytime soon Its some great memory