Dakine’s Warranty Claims

Warranty handling is where companies lose money but make names. Most of the claims easily eat away all of the profit from the initial sale and then some. It’s how much money the company is willing to burn to honor their promise shows their priorities.

Dakine offers a Limited Lifetime Warranty against manufacturing defects for most of the products sold in North America and 2 years on gloves, kites/windsurf gear and products sold outside of USA and Canada. I had a chance to experience Dakine’s Warranty process with a pair of Step-Up Gloves purchased and reviewed earlier this year.

After several months of normal use the seam on the palm of one of the gloves started to fall apart. Typically I wouldn’t bother returning a small ticket item such as glove, but it was relatively new and it was clear to me that the problem was a result of the manufacturing defect.

Warranty Claim Process

The process with Dakine’s warranty department looked like this:

• Email to [email protected] describing the request
• Canned response from Dakine describing what damage qualifies for warranty and 10 item list of what information they require to start the process (see full text below). Clearly they use the same email response for bags and gloves. I received email on Monday which makes it 1 business day turnaround
• Email back to Dakine with all the information they requested including picture of the damage and PDF with the sales receipt
• Within 24 hours a response with Return Authorization and mailing address
• Phone call from Dakine informing me about the outcome of the claim – they fixed the glove and sending it back. After taking into account the shipping time I estimate that they have handled the repair within a day or two
• Item arrived in the mail repaired to my satisfaction – the seam looks like factory made

Email Response – Information Request

Below is the text of the email from Dakine’s customer service listing the information they require to handle the warranty claim.

Hi,

Thank you for contacting Dakine in regards to your bag. Dakine packs and bags come equipped with a Limited Lifetime Warranty as described at; http://www.dakine.com/CustomerService/Warranty.

The warranty basically covers your pack against any manufacturer defect, for the life of the bag. The warranty does not cover wear and tear.

I would like to get a few more pieces of information from you, so I can make a decision on whether we can warranty your bag or not.

Please reply to me with the following information, completed as best you can.

– Your name
– Mailing Address (Street, City, State, and Zip Code – NO PO BOXES)
– Phone number
– 9 digit item number located on a small white tag (0000-000-00)
(packs / bags – located main compartment)
(gloves – located in the wrist)
– A full detailed description of the issues you are having (even if your photos show it)
– Color (even if photos show it)
– Size (if applicable)
– Photos of the condition and the issue
– Name of the shop where you made the purchase
– Proof of purchase or approximate date of purchase

After I hear back from you, I will make a decision on warranty based upon the Limited Lifetime Warranty covenant.

Thank you and have a great day.
…………………………………
U.S. Warranty

Conclusion

Overall my warranty claim with Dakine was a positive experience. There was no unnecessary jumping through hoops or arguing over the fine print. They did a good job with the repair and my only cost was one-way shipping (under $2 first class mail).

If you have a question or customer service story of your own, feel free to share it in comments section below.