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FrozenGate by Avery

SciFi vs. Jet Lasers' and PLE Pro mini review

Wooski

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Feb 19, 2016
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Hello fellow laser peeps, thanks for the nice greeting. This will be my first real post so go easy on me and just let me kno if I break any rules (post in wrong place etc.). first off I gotta say sorry no pictures as I dont have a decent enough camera for beam shots.

This will be my story accounting my experience with SciFi and Jet Lasers' and a short review of the new laser from Jet that I just got (PLE-Pro 445nm 2W). I was going to leave out any part about SciFi Lasers, but people wanted to know what was going on (Did you get your laser yet?, shipping time?, etc) so I will try to keep it all short, try...

SciFi- on Jan 1st I ordered/ paid invoice for an arcane 2.0 445nm 2.8+W laser from Joker, he said it would be shipped in 5 days and arrive 4-7 days after that, lets just call that January 16th . This was my first red flag because I did a lot of research into the man A.K.A. Company and was told not to expect it for a month, and that it would most likely spend most of that time he quoted just in customs anyway, but this was a sacrifice I was willing to make after hearing about his ''good customer service'' and how everyone said how much they liked his hand built lasers. After a while with no tracking number or LPM readings (he kept saying things like “i will email you tomorrow or in a hour”) I finally dug a bit deeper and found other people in the same same situation as me -out hundreds with no proof anything had been built or sent after repeated attempts- so I directly told him I was very unhappy and so on...

PHASE 2; The tracking numbers. After being like a month into it and MUCH pleading, he finally starts giving me tracking numbers, 7 in total yes SEVEN, all bad or not working. Some of them just pictures of Israel Post packages with a sticker of a tracking number stuck (or laying) on it with no other info to be seen in the pic. They got more elaborate as they went on, and as I complained about them (generally, tho 1-2 were just a joke, like the one that had someone else name/ adress showing) * keep to the point *. After 2 months of waiting for packages to get out of customs only to see them pass my house and get delivered to Texas or Maine or Chicago or waiting a week for a tracking number that “will register in the system tomorrow” or “any hour now” I had had enough... I opened a paypal despute and got my $$$ back -note this- yet he still managed to get more of my time.

LAST STRAW; Joker offered a deal after refunding me- he would ship me a “prebuilt” laser at a discount, tho not the exact one I wanted, via FedEx (as his excuse every time was that the Israel Post was messing up his orders) and I would pay when I got it. Sound good? Not to me, sounds like more of the same, so I tweaked the deal to benefit me. I demanded a real working tracking number from FedEx (pic of the officially PRINTED label on the package with my name and address clearly showing with the tracking number, NOT HANWRITTEN in any way, (or a pic of the receipt they hand you after you ship would be just as adequate I told him) I even sent pics of old FedEx labels and receipts to show what I meant. As I have used FedEx many many times and NEVER had a problem, the way I saw, Its way beyond a fluke after the 7 bad numbers, if the same guy screws up with FedEx. Also I insisted on a deadline where I would walk away and not pay even if by some miracle I did get the laser. Joker said I would have the laser in 4 days with FedEx express so We decided a fair deadline would be 2 weeks altho he promised I would “have it by the weekend” HE GAVE ME ANOTHER BAD TRACKING NUMBER!!!! that was very suspicious to me as he sent me a pic of a tracking number with no info no name address etc. it just said fedex but the copyright had expired at least 3 years ago in 2013...

CAMEL'S BACK WAS BROKEN; I told him “I will not respond to your emails until you send me something proving you sent me SOMETHING!!! the deadline is fast approaching and then I will be free of your games.”. Of course it never showed up and I wound up giving him an extra week, but no dice. Those are the ugly facts, this is not to offend any SciFi fans ( I wanted I to been one), its just my (and others') experience. I will not dare to do business again with Joker unless I can confirm MAJOR changes in his way of doing business. To sum up what I have learned: Joker is not a thief but he is stupidly overwhelmed taking orders, building lasers, and answering emails (one man show). Others have had near exact experiences with him, up to a six months waiting. TO JOKER'S CREDIT; he was a step up from corp service, although he may ignore your emails and may not answer questions, at least you can talk to him. And JOKER PAID ME $30 EXTRA DOLLARS in my refund, but to me it was not enough to make up for my months time emailing him/ watching fake packages. LAST EMAIL – March 31 (seen on April 1st) almost exactly 4 months of the runaround. Why work with a shipping comp. that pisses off your customers or “looses your packages”? (he claimed to have sent 3 separate lasers to me). So whats really going on here?, you decide. I think customers would rather pay a little extra for shipping and not worry about customs, which brings me into part 2...

JET LASERS- The PLE PRO 445 2W was my first choice but the fact the Arcane was more powerful and cheaper won me over, if I had known I people were not receiving them... well hindsight is 20/20. My first Email to Gray at Jet Lasers I asked him about 4 or 5 questions, all which were answered in about 2 hours (I did email him late at night US time tho) thoroughly and honestly. I asked him what the realistic shipping time was, and he told me there was a 3 day lead time on what the website said. This was exactly correct and the shipping time was fast, but a bit expensive (almost $40 with DHL). All I know is it showed up faster than expected (no customs with DHL, and that's why they use it). I also asked if they had a faster shipping option, and he said he did (USPS) but strongly recommended not to use it due to possible customs issues. Under “My Account” I received constant updates on the whole order process; payment, shipping, random updates, etc. they shipped the batteries separately from within the US, which I received one day before the laser. To sum it up every single thing Gray said turned out to be on point and to the point.

PLE-PRO 445nm 2W- There is a good review on youtube so there is not much else I can say. After finally getting the well packaged -in bubble wrap and anti static packets- pieces out, I finally inspected the laser. It comes with an extension to use different batts; 16350, 18650, and 26650. it has a set of removable plastic spacers to accommodate the width of the different batts. The first thing I noticed was the size of it after attaching the extension (its massive, yet balanced). The second thing I noticed was the the build quality: FANTASTIC! PERFECT! Seriously. I could find NO FLAWS (Luck? Dunno?) and the quality is great (no sharp edges, buttons feel great with positive clicks, no marks etc) The threads remain silky smooth after multiple assemblies (all threads come with electrical conductive grease, I guess this also serves as anti seize compound, great feature). I've heard of someone having problems with a loose focus ring, but mine is tight and turns very smooth. I chose the key lock power with a Mechanical switch, instead of a button power switch and/or the electrical coded switch. Mine you turn the key to power on and you have a button for click and hold for beam on (beam off when released), and another button for click once for beam on then click again for beam off. (code switch has strobe and half power while sacrificing push and hold for beam on) The “holster” it came with I would call a sheath. Its made of nylon fabric in a military style with a nice para-cord rope with clip on the end, and also has some extra pockets. The beam is what I expected from my research into this type of laser (small rectangle spot), ALTHOUGH its much nicer than my other high power 445nm, (much brighter with better divergence). This brings me to my ONLY gripe (or wish) with this laser, this is that there is no notch/detente or stop at infinity focus, I knew this before I purchased it so it was not a disappointment (once I found infinity to my best, I marked it with a bit of tape on the focus ring). This laser can be run with a A/C wall outlet (with or without the batts installed I believe). It also has a few other features I'm not going to get into, like remote switch or tripod stand. If you are on the edge, you will not regret it, I love mine. I guess you all know what a 2 Watt laser is capable of so I'm not really gonna go into it. If I hold my hand still it will burn straight through a paper bag across my kitchen within seconds, without focusing it (infinity focus). Gotta watch the paint on the walls! When focused it will burn wood like you're writing with an invisible pen (a really nice pen on smooth paper).

I gotta thank Hakzaw for his advice and putting me through with Gray at Jet. If You have any ?uestions, just reply and I will answer them the best that I can, but remember I'm a laser noob so nothing too techy. Feel free to PM me if for some reason you feel the need. Anyways wish me luck and I hope this helps someone.
 





7 tracking numbers? Jeez.

It ain't that freaking hard to pay postage and get ONE tracking number. Good that you got your money back. That guy was nothing but a bad individual. His reputation and company are down the toilet now so no need to fear! :yh:

-Alex
 
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Good to hear about your positive jetlasers experience. They really are one of the best companies. And yes, sci-fi was a total joke. I also got a refund from paypal after 2 months of bs, lies and fake tracking numbers. The owner had a total meltdown and even started threatening members here.
 
Good to hear about your positive jetlasers experience. They really are one of the best companies. And yes, sci-fi was a total joke. I also got a refund from paypal after 2 months of bs, lies and fake tracking numbers. The owner had a total meltdown and even started threatening members here.

WHAT??? he was making threats at people? He seemed like a nice enough person that bit-off more than he could chew, then started telling lies and such to try and stay afloat... atleast thats the vibe I got.

I havent been paying any attention to whats been going on with the dude after cutting ties with him, it was like a total restoration of my interest in the hobby after dealing with Jetlasers, and I havent looked back at SciFi after receiving my PLE. I did just see some kind of apologises thread a second ago, under this one (from joker), but I figure its just more of the same old excuses. maybe Ill look and see what he has to say.

So you know the frustration of the runaround of Joker's jokes. Did you get a different laser after you got your refund? Just curious.
 


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