CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

nuttall_chris

I tried to order the "free" tripod adapter for the Spyder sensor. On checkout it said that they would contact me later with a shipping quote to Canada. I just got an email from them stating that shipping would be $30. Shocked

I think I'll stick with using some tape...order canceled.

Has anyone else ordered the adapter?

Chris.

ecrabb · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 1:32 pm Post subject:

Damn, that sucks. Thanks for reminding me, though. I forgot! Will order this AM.

Maybe I could order yours for you at my in-laws address or something and post it to you (or whatever cheapest method is).

SC

**kal** · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 1:39 pm Post subject:

Thanks for posting Chris - I never actually followed through myself with ordering the free tripod mount and I'm glad I didn't now... they probably use FedEx or UPS.

Kal

nuttall_chris · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 1:45 pm Post subject:

They use UPS. I replyed back to them with the following comment;

Person99 · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 4899 Location: Flower Mound, TX

When I saw this thing, I assumed it was one of those scams where they charge you excessive shipping and handling. Kind of like the stuff on TV with "free" replacements for life--you just pay the outrages shipping and handling with each order!

**kal** · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 1:54 pm Post subject:

But in this case the scam is with UPS as UPS does actually charge at least $15 to ship something from US to Canada. I doubt the Spyder2 manufacturer is making any money on this. I also suppose they have no incentive to ship more of these things cheaper (other than keeping customers happy). They'll probably tell you that if you want to calibrate a projector you should get the SpyderTV package for more money which comes with different software and the tripod mount.

Anyone from the US order the free mount? How much was shipping?

Kal

danOO00 · Joined: 22 May 2007 Posts: 70 Location: Putnam County, NY

FWIW big rubber bands work fairly well for attaching the spyder to a tripod.

I was quoted $15 shipping in the US on the site.

dropzone7 · Joined: 12 Jun 2007 Posts: 1069 Location: Charlotte, NC

I forgot all about the tripod mount and can probably make do without it anyway. On a positive note, I just ordered the Spyder yesterday, did the free budget shipping and it's scheduled to deliver tomorrow!

nuttall_chris · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 2:23 pm Post subject:

I just received another email from Datacolor, they said they will make an exception and ship with USPS and charge me $15.

Not free but good enough.

Chris.

**kal** · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 2:28 pm Post subject:

That's pretty nice of them actually to bend the rules that way. It should be CHEAPER than $15 but what the hell. At least you won't get dinged at the border.

danOO00: I like the rubber band idea. I'm going to add it to the guide.

Kal

ecrabb · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 2:52 pm Post subject:

nuttall_chris · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 2:58 pm Post subject:

ecrabb · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 3:02 pm Post subject:

Interesting. On the website, it says you need the serial number on the software and on the sensor to order the mount. I wonder if they changed the requirement and raised the shipping charges or something.

http://spyder.datacolor.com/product-og-tri.php

Person99 · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 4899 Location: Flower Mound, TX

ecrabb · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 3:53 pm Post subject:

Don't everybody run over and try this because I don't know what's going to happen... But it looks like they don't have the programming set up right for this item. Plus, if everybody else does this, it they might kick everybody's order out. Give it a day or so and let's see what happens with my order... Read on...

Just out of curiosity, I thought I'd add a second tripod to see if it would add more shipping. Not only didn't it add shipping, but it didn't even add the $5 for additional mounts like they say it costs. It also made me put in my payment info a second time. So, since I had to put in payment info just out of spite, I went back and added a THIRD mount, put in my payment info again, and completed the order... for $15. We'll see if they revise the price after the fact - if they can even do that. I assume if it's a big deal and somebody catches it, they'll just cancel the order and ask me to re-order.

I might have a couple of mounts to send to people for cheap, though! Wink

SC

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

Well if you end up with spares, keep me in mind. Smile

I have a plastic mount that GEBrown made, but I'm always afraid I'll strip out the threads on it...

ecrabb · Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 5:33 pm Post subject:

Guys,

UPS dropped off the padded envelope from Datacolor yesterday. Yes, a padded envelope. The tripod mount is a crappy piece of molded plastic - not in the silver color I ordered to match the Spyder I have, but in metallic blue. It's a total piece of crap. It fits on the Spyder, but only loosely and barely holds it on. I haven't priced injection molded parts in commercial quantities, but just looking at it, they can't have more than $2-3 dollars in it. It's a piece of plastic, a suction cup and a brass threaded piece molded into the plastic. It probably weighs only a couple of ounces.

I received only one as opposed the three I ordered using their POS cart solution that deletes all payment info if you leave the payment screen to update quantity. Anyway, no email or phone call. No note in the envelope. No explanation of why I was only getting one. Nothing. Good thing I didn't actually NEED three of them.

So, we have $3 for the part (I'm just guessing, I but I think that's generous for what it is), $7.31 for the UPS Ground shipping (that's retail - no discount), .50 for a padded envelope, .50 for merchant fee on $15 CC charge and you're at $11.31. Round up to $12 and I'd guess Datacolor is actually making about $3 on every one of these tripods they give away for "free". Even if they're paying $6 ea. for the parts (which would be highway robbery) and they're literally not making anything, why in the HELL wouldn't they just send them out USPS so you could give them away "free" for $8 instead of $15??!?!

After this stupid little exercise, I'm actually feeling pretty good about getting rid of the Spyder and buying the more expensive Eye-One.

After my glowing review, anybody wanna pay me $15 for the tripod mount? I'll even send it via USPS to your location to save you...er, me money! Wink

SC

Person99 · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 4899 Location: Flower Mound, TX

**kal** · Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 9:10 pm Post subject:

ecrabb · Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 11:30 pm Post subject:

Kal, I'm well aware that there's a lot more to it than what I posted, but I sort of started with the assumption that the webmaster, customer service (whatever THAT is), accounts receivable, and the shipping people all had to be there to do their jobs whether they sent out "free" tripod adapters or not. They're certainly not unlimited resources, but they are sunk costs with respect to this offer.

Consider that I also used UPS' retail non-discounted shipping price, rounded up on the padded envelope and transaction fees, and was more than generous on the part itself. Seriously, the real cost of this thing can't be more than a few bucks in a large quantity, even if you include some of the up-front designing and tooling. It's like one part off a tree in a plastic model, but a little nicer (just a little), and with a 5-cent suction cup and a 10-cent brass threaded receptacle molded in. It doesn't even fit snugly onto the Spyder. It's like a third-party afterthought hack.

Hell, I don't know. If they run the rest of the company like they run the shipping and QA departments, maybe they paid $30 for each POS adapter and they're LOSING $15 on each one.

Sorry, I just have a major case of sour grapes because I ordered the Spyder, then paid $15 for the damn tripod adapter and only THEN found out the quality control on the product sucks and that there's a 66-75% chance that what I bought is a POS, won't work correctly... and that I need to get rid of it and buy another one that's twice as expensive. "Annoyed" doesn't begin to describe my attitude toward Datacolor.

SC