<div dir="ltr"><p>Having been on both sides of this, I genuinely understand the frustration. It\u2019s also important to remember that many of the people you\u2019re speaking with at manufacturers aren\u2019t the ones making these policy decisions. Sometimes they\u2019ve simply drawn the short straw \u2014 and like the Secret Service, they\u2019re the ones taking the hits from installers and end users.</p><p>As an installer, your customer is usually on your back. When situations like this arise, you\u2019re often the one losing margin. What started as a profitable job can quickly become a break-even or, worse, a loss.</p><p>From the manufacturer\u2019s side, I\u2019ve also seen companies struggle or even go out of business because they failed to control unknown or open-ended costs. Freight and field support expenses can escalate quickly if they\u2019re not carefully managed.</p><p>One of the joys of living off-grid on solar is the peace and quiet \u2014 or at least that\u2019s the expectation. But part of that reality is that when you live five hours in the middle of nowhere, some things will simply cost more. Travel, freight, and service calls all carry a premium. If someone chooses to live in a remote location, that premium is part of the equation.</p><p>The challenge is that having that conversation with a customer upfront isn\u2019t easy. Being transparent about potential additional costs may turn some people away. However, avoiding that discussion can create much bigger problems down the road.</p><p>It\u2019s a tough balance \u2014 protecting your business while still delivering good service \u2014 and there\u2019s no perfect answer.</p><p>
</p><p>Steve Higgins</p></div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Thu, Feb 26, 2026 at 10:57\u202fAM Jason Szumlanski <<a href="mailto:jason@floridasolardesigngroup.com">jason@floridasolardesigngroup.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Steve, I don't know how that <span>can get</span> you anything but praise and respect.</div><br clear="all"></div><div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">\u200bI think it is completely reasonable to save costs by piggybacking on distributor orders. It all works better when the manufacturer, distributor, and installer work together to satisfy the end user, and sometimes each level of the supply chain takes a hit. </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">It reminds me of a distributor <span>(who</span> we no longer actively use) that continues to process warranty replacements for me for Mission <span>Solar, who</span> had a bad <span>bunch</span> of <span>diodes on modules we received.</span> They would send us credits well after we stopped doing <span>business</span> with them, and diligently assisted us with getting replacement modules. They even sent their company truck 2+ hours away to bring us new panels and pick up the <span>defectives</span> on more than one occasion. Fortunately, I think we have stopped seeing the failed diodes issue, but I am confident that the distributor would still assist us today.</div><br></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><br>Jason Szumlanski<div><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Roboto,RobotoDraft,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Principal Solar Designer | Florida Solar Design Group</span><br style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Roboto,RobotoDraft,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Roboto,RobotoDraft,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">NABCEP Certified Solar Professional (PVIP)</span><br style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Roboto,RobotoDraft,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Roboto,RobotoDraft,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Florida State Certified Solar Contractor CVC56956</span></div><div><font color="#333333" face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">Florida Certified Electrical Contractor EC13013208</font></div></div></div></div><br></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Thu, Feb 26, 2026 at 12:25\u202fPM Steve Higgins via RE-wrenches <<a href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div><p>Not that anyone asked for it \u2014 and I hope this doesn\u2019t come back to bite me \u2014 but here\u2019s a view from the manufacturer\u2019s side. These are my personal experiences based on more than 30 years in the industry, not the official position of Surrette/Rolls Battery.</p><p>I\u2019ve worked for manufacturers for the majority of my career. Back in the old Trace Engineering days, around 1995, I was fresh out of college (2-3 years) and new to the industry. I remember sitting in a meeting with upper management and asking this exact question. At the time, I believed that if something was determined to be a warranty issue, we should also cover the shipping costs under that warranty.</p><p>One of the senior managers explained it this way: manufacturers have to control costs carefully. Warranty is often the \u201cred-headed stepchild\u201d of a company \u2014 yet it is a necessary part of doing business. If it isn\u2019t managed properly, it can quickly become unsustainable and can definitely give the company a black eye. </p><p>A significant portion of the customer base in this industry does not live in urban or suburban environments. Many customers live in remote locations \u2014 often down a dirt road or in the mountains. Shipping to these areas can be extremely expensive. In some cases, freight costs alone can rival the cost of the product itself.</p><p>The perspective shared with me was that while we absolutely stand behind our product when there is a legitimate defect, a manufacturer cannot reasonably absorb unlimited shipping costs based solely on a customer\u2019s geographic location.</p><p>That conversation has stayed with me. Over the years, I\u2019ve come to better understand the balance manufacturers must strike between supporting customers and maintaining financial responsibility.</p><p>At Surrette, when we process a warranty replacement, we typically piggyback those shipments with normal distributor stocking orders. We do this at no additional charge. However, if a shipment needs to go directly to the customer, or if shipping originates from a distributor\u2019s warehouse to the end user's or installer's site, we do not cover those freight costs.</p><p>
</p><p>There are exceptions. Usually, for verified out-of-the-box failures, I can get shipping covered under warranty, but shipping to locations without loading docks or down a dirt road is usually a non-starter. </p><p>Steve Higgins. </p><p><br></p></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Thu, Feb 26, 2026 at 8:50\u202fAM Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar via RE-wrenches <<a href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif">
<p>Bill for everything ! </p>
<div id="m_7506780245790832363m_5677449515291507239m_5028707523673131788signature"><br>
<pre> </pre>
<pre><strong><span style="font-size:small">Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar
"we go where powerlines don't"
<a href="http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span id="m_7506780245790832363mt-tracked-link_0_1772131796176" style="color:red"></span> </a><a style="color:blue;font-size:11px;font-family:"Lucida Grande",Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:400;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" href="https://offgridsolar1.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span id="m_7506780245790832363mt-tracked-link_0_1772131796177" style="color:red"></span><span style="font-size:12pt">https://offgridsolar1.com/</span></a><a href="http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span id="m_7506780245790832363mt-tracked-link_0_1772131796178" style="color:red"></span> </a>
e-mail <a href="mailto:offgridsolar@sti.net" target="_blank">offgridsolar@sti.net</a>
text 209 813 0060</span></strong></pre>
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<p id="m_7506780245790832363m_5677449515291507239m_5028707523673131788reply-intro">On 2026-02-26 7:59 am, Laura Conchelos via RE-wrenches wrote:</p>
<blockquote type="cite" style="padding:0px 0.4em;border-left:2px solid rgb(16,16,255);margin:0px">
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<div dir="ltr">Hi all,
<div>I need to replace a Discover rack-mounted battery under warranty. When I started the RMA process, I was told I'd have to pay shipping costs for the replacement battery, which I found appalling. That, of course, is on top of the fact that they will not pay any cost for my labor or for the disposal of the battery. I'm in a rural area, so disposal is difficult. If anyone knows of a place to dispose of lithium batteries in Denver, please let me know. I can haul it up with me next time I go!</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I'm not as surprised that Discover is not paying for my labor. though that sucks. It's a fight to get Solaredge to pay for my labor for inverter replacements and I've never been reimbursed for module replacement. But the shipping really surprised me. I've never had to pay shipping for an RMA before. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>So I'm wondering what costs y'all are having to absorb when RMA-ing equipment these days? A guy at Discover told me that Sol Ark was now charging shipping for replacement products? </div>
<div> </div>
<div>It feels very bad to have to pass these costs onto the consumer when the equipment they purchased fails, so I guess these are costs I'm going to have to build into the initial install going forward. Thoughts?</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Laura Conchelos</div>
<div>Sandhill Solar LLC</div>
<div>Monte Vista CO</div>
<div> </div>
</div>
</div>
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