For anybody out there deciding on which $250+ composite bat to purchase, don’t forget that when you are buying that expensive stick, a large chunk of that money is going toward the warranty, and since thats the case with all bat manufacturers, make sure that not only is it top notch equipment you are buying, but also make sure you are receiving the best service possible. From being a consumer of many high quality products for a long time, I can say that not only is Easton the best bat manufacturer from a customer service perspective, they are the best ‘company’ I’ve ever dealt with.
In 4/2008, I purchased a $250 LCN8 youth composite bat (pictured above) for my nine year old son. The bat was incredible right out of the wrapper knocking the ball at least 20-40 extra feet than the old bat. All was good until 2 months later. He hit a bullet triple over the right fielders head, and after looking at the bat when the game was done, there was a huge crack on the inside half of the barrel. 2 months, and bat #1 was gone (still able to hit very well with it, but the umps won’t allow a cracked bat to be used in a game). While Easton offers a 1 time replacement within 400 days of the purchase of the bat, It worried me that a 9 year old kid could ruin a bat in 2 months.
I contacted Easton by phone and explained the situation, and my concern that should he ruin another bat in 2 months, we just invested $250 to RENT a bat for 4 months and have nothing. They told me that model did have an issue with cracking, so they would send the upgraded 2009 model (LCN11) our way and that should ease our concerns. I shipped out the old bat, and on the 10th day from sending it, I had the brand new bat in hand and was very excited… Until we took that bat out of the wrapper and starting hitting. It had the pop of a $40 aluminum Target quality bat. I took my son out, and we both took turns trying to beat the ball up with it to break it in thinking it might just be a different bat that isn’t so hot out of the wrapper. After about 200 hits, it was just obvious this bat had a sweet spot about the size of a dime. I thought we were out of luck and would need to go purchase a different bat from a different manufacturer…
But just to make sure, I called Easton again advising them I have their 1 time replacement bat, and it was dead out of the wrapper, and asked if there are any options I have all the while thinking they could easily tell me to send it in for inspection, and then say there is nothing wrong with it. The rep admitted that every once in a while you can get unlucky and have a dead bat. Based on the fact I’d only had the bat less than a week, they didn’t even ask me to send the bat in for inspection, and instead are sending me in a brand new replacement (2 day delivery) and including prepaid postage for me to send my dead bat back their way. I’ve never heard of a company going off the honor system with such expensive equipment, but they have taken the loyalty I’ve always had to their brand (I have one of their slowpitch composites, my daughter has a fastpitch composite), and now that loyalty has changed to an exclusive relationship. As long as they keep making quality products, I will keep buying them.
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