I had a good repair experience with Bausch & Lomb/Bushnell.  My 10 X 42s
were nowhere near as expensive as Swarovskis, but I like them (besides, we
have another year and a half of college tuition to pay...have to set
priorities).  The knob for the right eye focus no longer ratcheted when
adjusted, so I kept knocking it out of focus with my finger when I focused
with the main knob (sorry, unsure what the proper names are).  I mailed the
binoculars to Bushnell with the $10 handling fee.

Six days later, I received a postcard telling me that the binocs had been
received.  The same day, I got the binoculars back, with the troublesome
knob tightened, and various other things cleaned and adjusted.  I fully
expected to wait 3-4 weeks, so I was pleasantly surprised.

Susan Eaton
Kirkwood, ST. Louis CO., MO
[log in to unmask]


>From: Edge Wade <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Edge Wade <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Binoculars--Price and Repair
>Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 16:02:48 -0500
>
>This is a plug.  I do not have a financial interest in Swarovski; I will
>not gain from this plug.
>
>In early 1999, I bought a pair of 8X30 WB Swarovski binoculars in
>anticipation of a 3-week trip to Attu.  They were expensive, by my
>standards, especially with the Attu trip to pay for.
>
>A year later, I fell over my own feet and a crack in the Pope's
>sidewalk.  Result was a broken ankle and a severely bent focus mechanism
>(on the binocs, not me).  The former is a story on its own, but I fixed
>the focus wheel, temporarily, with a fruit knife.
>
>As soon as I was back home I sent the binocs to Swarovski's Rhode Island
>repair shop (after all, I was slowed up a bit anyway by the ankle.)  In
>less than 3 weeks, they were back, basically as good as new--and at no
>cost other than the shipping from my end.
>
>This year, the 4-year old binocs developed a loose left eyepiece, a
>definite annoyance during the Alaska trip.  Home again, I called the
>folks in Rhode Island and sent them off (the binocs, not the folks).
>
>And then I fretted.  Went to NY and back using old binocs--half the
>birds flew before I could focus.  Home.  Fretted some more.  Hope to
>leave on a trip.  No binocs.
>
>Yesterday, nearly four weeks from when I packed and patted  them gently,
>they came back.
>WOW!
>
>The center rod has been realigned.  There are two new eyepieces.  The
>entire outer casing--everything you see on binoculars but the
>lenses--has been replaced.  I have an essentially all new pair of
>binoculars.  I even checked the serial number to be sure they were mine!
>
>AT NO CHARGE.
>
>If you are considering a new piece of optical equipment, factor in
>potential repairs when you consider the price.
>
>My binoculars have been a bargain!
>
>Edge Wade
>Columbia, MO
>[log in to unmask]
>
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