Many states have laws that restrict companies’ from offering extended warranties on their own products (???).
Some companies can get very abusive about this giving you a years warranty for more than the cost of the item that is much less tricky to design or operate than a Glowforge. Otherwise your warranty ends as it goes out the door. There were laws about selling defective products and the fake warranty was their answer.
Has anyone gotten a firm answer on whether this extended warranty covers commercial use? The terms and conditions seems to indicate that there is a special commercial use warranty that is needed, but the terms are generic and not specific to Glowforge so I don’t know if the GF extended warranty is of the commercial or non-commercial use variety. Given that GF has heavily marketed and highlighted the use of GF for small business, I am shocked that there is not more information about this. Even the GF support staff don’t have the answer:
I’m afraid I don’t have an answer to your specific question about using your Glowforge for a commercial business…
The trouble with Square Trade and Asurion that neither supports business/commercial use.
i think I THINK they have business plans available, I also am waiting on some official word from glowforge, inc. on that
Jonathan
OK, official message from Glowforge Tech:
Here’s what the offer is: For the month of December 2021, we’re partnering with Extend to offer up to 3-year warranties for US Glowforge owners who are still under the original manufacturer’s warranty.
So as long as there is still an active warranty on the machine (and they are within the US), the printer would qualify regardless of whether it’s being used for business, a hobby, or anything else!
Looking for a clarification reply from Glowforge on the Warranty offer–
I really love the idea of the protection the warranty offered based on the announcement, but I want to be sure before I jump in with $1,199 for my Pro…
The announcement says the warranty includes basically everything, including the tube are covered in full…but the fine print (when you click the warranty link) under “What is not covered” 7.1.6 “parts requiring replacement or repairs due to normal wear and tear…and normally designed to be periodically replace by YOU during life of product” are not covered.
AND
What about all the crafters who sell their stuff on Facebook, Etsy, their own websites, etc.? Under what’s not covered section 7.1.13 “any product purchased for or used at any time for commercial purposes…unless a Commercial Plan has been purchased.” Is this a commercial plan, and are we covered if we ever use the Glowforge to make something we sell?I’m having the same issue. What did you have to do to resolve this?
Oh the way glowforge wants to resolve it is by me buying a refurbished machine for close to 4k. They just don’t care. I’m reporting it to the BBB.
[mycraftsandartstudio]
(Discussion of Dec 2021 Update - #48 by mycraftsandartstudio)
Oh the way glowforge wants to resolve it is by me buying a refurbished machine for close to 4k. They just don’t care. I’m reporting it to the BBB.
MY, that escalated quickly . . .
You can, of course, report anything you wish to the BBB which is a pretty lame organization in my experience. If you want people to understand why you are so upset, you could provide a more complete narrative. From what I can determine, you got a machine last January. It caught on fire a couple of weeks ago and the solution provided to you is to purchase a refurbished? Is that about right from your point of view?
It’s fairly unusual to be able to buy an extended warranty after the item is broken.
I received my Machine around the beginning of march of 2021; really like it and learned a lot from the various FB groups. My first issue ever. my machine caught on fire; I opened the lid and unplugged it and tried to get the materials out as fast as I could but everything was burning so it was hard to do.
GF stated that it was the material I used that caused the fire, but it was not. The head was not moving and was just firing a laser in the same spot. GF states that you can use any materials and that does not void the warranty, however, the way they get out of this is by blaming the customer for using non certified materials that according to them, it’s the cause of the problem.
I am still paying for that machine and for them to tell me that the solution is to buy a refurbished machine at almost $4k, it is absolutely ridiculous. Their customer service is practically non-existent and it takes forever to get an answer, even calling is a nightmare because in my experience, I called many times and after hearing their recorded message 3 times each call got dropped. When I finally was able to connect, it was just to leave a message and absolutely nobody called me back.
I am extremely upset and disappointed; I have to pay for a machine I don;t have, I can not afford to purchase another one. All the money I was going to make between last month and this one is gone as I have to decline so many orders and I practically don’t have inventory to bring to all the shows I signed up for therefore, losing money in those areas as well.
What was the material?
The first thing that was destroyed when some material in my Glowforge caught fire was the belt for the carriage plate. At which point the head was just firing in the same spot, since the belt was no longer connected to move the head back and forth. Luckily all I needed was to replace the carriage plate (which includes the belt and air assist fan that also melted) to get back up and running in my case. Which I paid for, since the fire was caused by my non-PG material (and my negligence).
For the short term, I would look around for a maker space near you or put out feelers on facebook for friends or friends of friends that may have a laser you can get some time on to remedy those situations.
From what I have seen over the years they have been out fires are pretty rare. Those that have destroyed the machines have been ignored long enough for the fire to really get going. As @dan84 pointed out the first thing to go will almost always be that belt as the fire will almost always start where the head is working. When the belt goes the head stops moving. If you lift the lid it will cancel the operation.
If you have a wet washcloth or a spray bottle of water any fire not engulfing the entire machine can be put out quickly and easily. Even before starting the machine will point out potential problem areas if found and ask if you want to go anyway and you have to push yes to continue. The machine is way over-cautious and in most cases not a problem but it is a signal to pay special attention.
There is a record of everything the machine has done, what the settings were etc. to give a diagnosis of any problems that the machine has. If your claim is wildly different from that record it would be obvious to anyone looking at that record.
A refurbished machine is often better than a new one especially as it was worked till something broke and then was fixed and tested again (often it was a misunderstanding by a new owner and there was nothing wrong at all). My new one was from the first months of production and I “made do” as I could and used the warranty just before it expired. What I got back was a “refurbished” machine indistinguishable from new containing all the minor mechanical design changes. Almost three years later I had a severe enough issue that it had to go to the shop for what totaled a bit over 1K as it was long out of warranty. The price was based on the estimated cost of repair. I opted for a refurbished machine and it was accurate enough that it did not need recalibration. And it too was indistinguishable from new.
The 1k was a chunk of cash but I got 7k worth of machine vs a desk ornament. You have a burnt desk ornament and have been offered a refurbished machine at well under retail price. You could sell it without opening the box and be ahead of where you are now or use it and pay attention during any cut with a spray bottle of water close at hand knowing exactly the cost of not doing so.
Also, a violated extended warranty is no better than a violated original.
What was the material and were you watching the machine when the fire started?
How long did the fire continue?
It sounds very much like the belt was damaged first, as others have mentioned.
it was wood and I was there in the room; it definitely was a faulty part but GF is blaming that on me so they don’t have to honor the warranty. The fire continued after I open the lid and unplugged it as the belt and other pieces were burning.
well, that’s your opinion and I respect it but I was the one here with the machine when it caught fire. They are offering me a refurbished version for almost 4K which I don;t have. I am glad you had a better experience than I did.
It was a lot harder than I would have thought to come up with the 1k. I am on SS only so it was hard, but as I am able to sell some I hope to sell more, where otherwise I could sell none. If they allow time payments, and if you already have a good marketing system you are better off than me. As noted any other Glowforge owner might just charge you per hour or piece to do the cutting and if the fire did not make the lid explode (if left long enough the fire will usually get to that, often the first notice to people ignoring their machine too long get ) you might still have a cheaper repair than new.
It feels sometimes like a nudist in a mosquito colony, with all the scams and actual conspiracies, (like all the Med plans charging $75 or more for meds that are a part of my plan, and they all did it at once, or making me go to the pharmacy when the meds are for the reason I cannot walk or stand except in intense pain, while happy to deliver all the other drugs). It is a long list of big and little things and that may indeed give me a different perspective on my issues and attitude with Glowforge. Dealing with the 3D printer company makes Glowforge look really good.
I hope you will find your best solution soon as tearing yourself up over anything hurts only yourself, and is about all you can really control. I can only make suggestions.