Greetings RIU community
My name is Edd and I am the co-owner and founder of VIPAR. I am breaking my own rule by posting on your forum so I will try to keep this as short and to the point as possible. My belief is that these forums should be free from bias and commercial agenda. Growers yes, sellers no.
A user on this forum had brought this thread to my attention and in particular the posts of another company owner concerning VIPAR. Here, I will personally address 3 points to said owner (Eraserhead) and then I will be on my way.
1. "Vipar: Evergrow (take a look, they didn't even bother to change the spectrum, ratio or layout from Evergrows' standard spectrum)"
https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/633304-if-you-new-led-want-58.html (3rd post down)
In the future, know the facts before you pass judgement. I find the "They didn't even bother to change the spectrum" part to be the most offensive. We have worked and still do work very hard to make sure our products are the best that they can be for the price that we offer them.
- You are right, our products are manufactured at EverGrow. The same place yours are.
- You are right, our products are the NOVAs. The same lights that you used for your last series.
- You are wrong. That spectrum is definitely "ours" (If a spectrum can be anyone's?) and one that we had tested extensively. EverGrow requested to use it for some of their products. We said yes. If that equals more growers around the world getting better results, I personally don't care who uses it.
Our aim is to provide growers with a low cost alternative to many of the higher cost, branded offerings. You have your products. We have ours. Let's leave it at that. Your products should be good enough to stand on their own without constant intervention on a forum. That's how we do it.
Now I hate to resort to the way that you seem to conduct yourself here, but in this instance I feel it is perfectly just to do so. I checked back through your old forum posts, and found this:
2. "Any word on Vipar's "Bridgelux" or "Epiled" parts numbers? I emailed them, and got the same answer you did, and I specifically asked for parts numbers. I don't want to ruffle his feathers too much, I asked, and got what he wants to tell, I'm leaving it at that."
https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/486179-led-companies-w-links-115.html (Last post on the page)
Could you send a screen shot, as you have done before, with the reply that you had received? I would be interested to see it as neither myself nor my colleagues have received any messages concerning part numbers. We have only ever been asked about the brands that we use. And if you had specifically asked for parts numbers, we all would have said - Sorry, we don't have part numbers nor bin codes. With top bin LEDs comes great costs and that is not what we are about. We are about providing affordable LED grow lighting and many of our customers see cost as a massive factor. If quality is an issue, you are protected by a 3 year warranty. If performance is an issue, we offer a standard 30 day returns policy and have increased this to 90 days for those growers that need added peace of mind.
Your efforts at trying to debunk us as a credible company won't work as we don't pretend to be something we are not. We're not going to pretend that we use the best LEDs in the world nor do we have parts numbers, etc. If that means losing a sale, then so be it. Honesty wins every time.
We do actually have a few customers requesting Cree LEDs, Osram etc. We have been pointing them to Plant Photonics for some time now, but they have recently sold out. I had heard about your company and was considering getting in touch with you when I saw your new product as I would have happily sent some customers your way. Sadly the way you have conducted yourself on this forum has prevented this from being.
I shall end with a post that I found that you had posted before:
3. "And, I get "worked up" when people say things that are not true that have to do with me. I work hard at what I do, and spend a lot of money on research and development. I take offence when some guy just states all these things as fact when it is nothing more than a misinformed lie.... If someone says something about me or something that is mine and it is not true, I will defend it, and I will prove it."
https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/604523-leds-go-3.html#post8449886 (2nd post down)
Sounds like me. I feel like that. It's not nice, therefore I wouldn't do it to anyone else. You don't like people doing it to you, yet you do it to others? How does that work?
My advice to you - Concentrate on your own products and help out people out if they need it. But posting things about other companies that you actually have no idea about is not good practice. You assume that every company lies about their parts and diodes, as if every company is trying to convince the customer that their LEDs are the best. Well I can tell you now, and I will restate again that we
don't use the "best" LEDs in the world, nor do we have parts codes and bin numbers. You must understand our customers, our business model and what we are about before you try to take the higher ground and harp on about part numbers and bin codes etc...Our customer want value, and that is what we give them. For those that require top end LEDs, with the data to back it up, there are plenty of companies out there to choose from.
With over 1000 happy customers and not a single return, we must be doing something right. I mean, the way people go on about Chinese diodes you'd think they wouldn't grow anything at all. There is a place in the market for everyone, and the grower has a multitude of options to pick from, with a price to fit every pocket. LED grow lights are usually more expensive if they have new features or offer good power economy. If that is what you are after - Great. Be prepared to pay more upfront, and a little less over time due to the running costs. If you don't want to pay so much to begin, and would prefer to pay a little more over an amount of time - then fair enough. It just depends on how you look at it and what you perceive as "Value".
The LED grow light market is vast, with room for lots of companies. There is no need to attempt to sully another companies reputation unless they are purposefully being deceiving and even then I feel this should be left to non sellers to decide. Concentrate on the great features of your light rather than trying to pick everyone else's apart. In the long run, you will be better off for it.
