Damaged Board

I recently ordered my first wakeboard after boarding off of a friend's all summer, and I was very excited to start boarding for my college's waterski/wakeboard team.

I got the board today and bindings today: 2006 Hyperlite State 140 cm w/ 06 State STD Bindings. I marveled at it for awhile, and finally decided to take part of the packaging off and discovered that one of the corners of the board was damaged. It appears to be pushed in quite a bit, and the material around it is cracked and chipped slightly. Needless to say, I'm pretty upset.

What should I do about this? It was shipped via FedEx and it appeared to be packaged alright (put in a cardboard box with another, smaller cardboard box capping on end. Ends capped with bubble wrap - no other packaging material used). Box was just taped a lot. I've already e-mailed the board shop I purchased from, but should I talk to FedEx too, or would Hyperlite maybe replace it (doubtful)?

I don't know how much having the corner pressed will affect riding, but it's a blemish I'm not willing to deal with. I might end up selling it if nothing else works. Sigh.



The damage is in the right corner.

Hyperlite is pretty good with this kind of stuff. give them a call. I would not be surprised if they ship you another board.

I really hope you're right. It was the 2006 model, with, in my opinion, a much cooler looking design than the 07. I hope they could replace it with a 2006 model.

I'm sure they will replace it for you.

I'm just concerned that the damage was - most likely - done during transportation from the shop to my residence. I haven't really ever heard of a manufacturer replacing a good for damage done during shipping under warranty.

Is Hyperlite really that consumer conscientious?

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quote:

Is Hyperlite really that consumer conscientious?

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Most of the major manufactures are. I know CWB has taken good care of me.

call them at this number: 800.938.4040. they should take care of you. no guarantee's on an '06 model though.

Go back to who you purchased it from and get them to take care of you. It should have been insured if it was sent by Fed Ex...so hang onto your box, call the shop / company you got it from and they should be able to resolve it. Typically, the factory won't do any warranty stuff like this unless they sold it to you directly. Where did you get it. If its from a dealer that really wants to keep your business they will help resolve this for you.

Bill @ Performance Ski and Surf.

Thanks.

I actually e-mailed the shop I bought it from immediately after taking off the packaging on one end and seeing the damage. I told them I would like it replaced (which is unlikely, as I believe it was the last in stock) or returned with a full refund.

I have not received a response since e-mailing them around 4:30 PM my time (2:30 PM their time - West Coast). When I purchased the board and needed to change the shipping address, however, I received a speedy response (20 minutes or so) even though the original e-mail was dispatched around 5:30 PM their time. I am a little concerned. If I don't receive an e-mail by tomorrow afternoon, I'll be calling. I will withhold the name of the shop for now, until the issue is resolved.

I have already begun looking at other boards in the worst case scenario that I cannot receive a 2006 model replacement. It's a shame, because I was very excited to have this board and very set on graphics. I would actually hate to trade up to the '07 model.

CWB obviously took care of me too.

JRL, your board actually looks delaminated?

You in wisco?

Hope it works out for you. But really, are you getting the board for the graphics or the performance? (Granted the black '06 is more "macho" than the white/lame blue of the '07- but firm up and ride!)

mike,

It's cracked around the indentation. It is difficult for me to explain. I'll try to post a new, clearer picture for you tomorrow morning. The material around the damaged area is cracked/splintered, and the seam where the edge comes down to meet the bottom of the board is ripped slightly.

Yep, I'm in good ol' Wisconsin (at least 8 months for school). Go to Madison, hoping to ride with the waterski/wakeboard team there this semester. I used to live in Hudson, WI right on the St. Croix river where I first experienced wakeboarding, until the parentals decided to move to Omaha after I started attending Madison. People give me blank stares around here about wakeboarding! :P

Ron,

Both. This will be my first board, and after reading about the State (with the design that is supposed to help edging on TS I believe - which I was never particularly great at), I was really sold when comparing it to other boards. The graphics really cemented the deal, since I dig the black board with the white accenting lines. I retract my "hate" statement since an '07 would likely be the same or better ride, just with different graphics. I just really, really like the '06 model.

As a side note, since this will be my first board, a lot of the technical hoo-ha goes right over my head. ;) I've tried doing my research to be semi-educated however, and have spent some time looking into different boards.

JRL, Madison has a HUGE wakeboard scene.

I live and ride there in the summer, with a boat on the water.

Trust me on this, all the wisco riders are over at www.midwestwakeboarder.com

Thanks for the heads up. I registered there a couple days ago under the name JRLState (in the anticipation that I'd be riding on the State ). Seems a little dead now (as is expected with a Wisco winter), but I did have a friend that went out and ski'd on a lake or river near Janesville just last week. I'm going to try and hit up the boat show at the end of January to look at those new Ronix boards they're supposed to have there I hear.

The blank stares comment was in reference to talking to the locals in the Omaha area. I expect Madison to have a good sized scene being surrounded by two lakes and all! Hehe.

Hey Jon,
I don't know the shop you are dealing with, but I would strongly suggest you just call them on the phone. You'll get alot faster response from them. As I mentioned earlier....KEEP THE BOX!! did you notice if there was any damage to the box itself? If so, you could actually start a claim with Fed Ex, but I think the burden of getting a refund / replacement will come down to the shop as they are the ones who will be responsible for this.

I know from personal experience, that if the shop you bought it from is busy.....the immediate needs of people inside the store can take precedence over online customers which shouldn't be the case, but becomes a fact of life....so do yourself a favor, call the shop to resolve this. Make sure also to get the sales persons name you work with. Often times customers don't do this and you'll want to know who and when you spoke to this person if you have any problems. If you still are locked into this color / year board let me know, and I"ll try to help you locate one. We have sold out of 06 States also....but sometimes if you "dig" hard enough you can uncover a "jewel". Good luck.

Bill @ Performance.

keep the box for sure. just went throught this with UPS and a shop in the northwest. New board is on the way. use the phone. and be cool about it. They'll take care of you.

I have the original box. The box is beat rather well. I'll post some pictures. On the half of the board I unwrapped, I see where the corner of the board literally cut through the bubble wrap that was supposed to be protecting it.

I'm getting ready to call the shop and see what can be done.

Thanks for all the help Bill (and everyone else, too). I very much do like the current board, but I am not totally against changing. I found another on eBay from a shop that used to be local when I lived in Hudson, so I will likely be giving them a call this afternoon.

Just got off the phone with a guy from the shop. They're being really nice about it, which is always good to hear.

The rep gave me a variety of options: return w/ refund (dunno about shipping - I'll prolly pay it), take the bindings off and return it for another board (he recommended 2006 HL 3DS 139, 2006 Era 142, or LF Team 139) and he additionally said that he would contact Hyperlite to see if they had a replacement board.

So far they've been nice about it, but I don't really know much about those other boards, so any suggestions would be appreciated. He also said the bindings would be mine to keep, and they're black and white.

Sorry 'bout the triple post, but here's a much clearer shot of a top-down view on the corner of the board.

Those are all three great boards, I have only ridden the 3DS and was a big fan, but the era has the cool brown fake leather top on it.

Enjoy tahoe mike....

you should not be paying shipping for this. this is not your fault. you do not pay shipping.

I am Kevin.

The era is a cool board no doubt, plus its hometown hero (from WI) Eric Ruck's pro model.

You'll almost always do better if you call them. They can ignore your email for ever, if you're on the phone it's a little more difficult.

Called the shop again just to see what was going on, and he said he'd received the pictures I sent and was waiting to hear back from Hyperlite to see if they had any 06 State boards left.

I've been looking at the other boards he recommended, but I don't know what I'm going to do quite yet. I was pretty partial to the state, but I'm not totally against changing.

So, update again:

The shop called Hyperlite, and they were all out of '06 models. So, they're gonna hook me up with an '07 Hyperlite State with the black/white top and lame blue bottom, which is starting to grow on me. Looks like I totally lucked out on this deal! Thanks everyone for all of your help and I'll keep you posted on what happens.

By the way, the shop was RDCShop.com out of Oregon I believe. Very helpful in the end and got everything straightened out in 3 or 4 hours after my initial call this morning.

Got my new deck yesterday and same thing....

Rough. I know how ya feel. Who'd you buy from and what kinda board and year?

I or somebody I know, have had good luck with Hyperlite, LF, and CWB. Def good for the industry to have that kind of customer service

All of the gear I receive is directly from the manufacturer. Hence, I didn't buy it. It's already being replaced.

Before you ship the board back shop prices first.
We sent a board back for a customer and UPS sent us a bill for $68.00 after talking to my rep. he offered to give my customer something to comp. him.
Normally the customer pays the shipping to the factory, and the factory pays the shipping back.
In your case the box it was sent in was not what they received it in before it was sent to you.

just got my damaged transcend platinum. this one didn't look like shipping damage because the box was fine. it is about an inch and a half crack right on the bottom next to the rail. looks as if the rail was hit on that side and caused the buckle underneath. already called the shop and they are talking about a swap, and i'm not paying for shipping. gotriver.com seems good so far.