# Reliable replacement lamp vendors?



## kadijk (Jan 23, 2011)

I am shopping for a new lamp for my Panasonic PT-AE 4000. It seems that the net is full of vendors, and most claim to be authentic resellers, or suppliers of OEM lamps. And yet most warn of the other guy selling fakes and copies and cheap knock offs. 

Does anyone have a vendor, preferably Canadian, that they would recommend? I sourced direct from Panasonic, then from Visual Apex, and then from Projector Lamp Source Canada, and then from My Projector Lamps.ca. It seems to be a mash up of prices and integrity, and who knows who is telling the truth.

Is there any way to validate a seller of authentic lamps? Worst case scenario is that I buy from Panasonic, which was by FAR the most expensive(at least double of the rest).

I would appreciate any feed back on this issue. Thanks

oh, and , Merry Christmas!


----------



## mechman (Feb 8, 2007)

You could call them and verify that they do in fact sell OEM lamps. You could also find out what their return policy is just in case they dupe you.


----------



## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

I have not been buying lamps for a couple of years now, but DM was reliable. Others were B&D and ACME. 

Many vendors claim to sell original lamps but actually sell rebuilt or replacement lamps that have a very high failure rate or don't work right out of the box. Another issue is actually getting the right lamp. Some may have the same numbering but actually are different versions with different voltage requirements. 

If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Post the pricing and part numbers from the vendors that you call and see if anyone has direct experience with them.


----------



## phillihp23 (Mar 14, 2012)

This is an area I will have to visit some time in the near future. Seems, as usual, the simplest tasks sometimes become the most complicated. It is unfortunate that there are a lot of companies out there looking to make a quick buck and take advantage of people by selling products, that are not truely what they are marketing them as. Depending on how sticky this gets when i need to replace my bulb, it may just end up being the simple but expensive sure way, through the projector manufacturer. After all, whats a projector without a bulb :yikes:


----------



## jgourlie (Jun 16, 2012)

I ordered lamps from amazon.com out of the us and had pretty good luck....Although I had to ship to sweetgrass to pick it up....I guess that does't help you for going Canadian, but it is an option.


----------



## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

When you order from Amazon, make sure that you know who the primary vendor is. You may get lucky or you may not. 

When I left the repair industry, the last estimates that I heard were that about 40% of lamps sold were not original manufacturer parts and most of those had very high failure rates and compatibility issues. I still keep in touch with lots of friends in the business and they tell me that the problem seems worse than ever. A majority of the lamp business that many servicers get are bad replacement lamps.

In the case of Panasonic projector lamps I know there are some remanufactured lamps out there that have caused problems. I would be very suspicious of pricing that is less than half of the Panasonic part from an authorized distributor like Encompass or Andrews.


----------



## kadijk (Jan 23, 2011)

I really appreciate the comments and advice. I did call a local-to-me repair shop, and they source direct from Panasonic. Price was around $600. I emailed Eastporters for a price, because they don't list them on line. They warned me about cheaper prices than theirs, because they sell at the lowest price Panny will allow-around $430 plus shipping. Most of the other vendors I visited online were all listing the same part number, but none used the term OEM. Most say "replacement". The average price from most of the others is around $250. 
My first thought is to avoid the sites that only sell lamps. They have the least to loose in a very muddy water industry. Any online store that sells projectors, screens, home automation etc has a lot to loose with a "bad sale" or by acquiring a "bad reputation". 
The confusing thing is that most of the cheap guys are referred on the Visual Apex web site, and Projector Central, which I thought would be more discerning and reliable than they seem to be. 
I think it's going to come down to a phone call, a conversation, and ultimately not paying the cheapest guy online for a sub-par lamp that'll burn my house down. 
I'll let you know what I discover in the next week or so.


----------



## phillihp23 (Mar 14, 2012)

Visual Apex is known for great customer service. A local washington state company. I would give them a call and see what their thoughts are. They would have a lot to lose if they stear you the wrong way being in the projector business. Some of the adds on there site may unfortunetly be due to advertising revenue.


----------



## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

Good advice. They are a sponsor and it is always a good idea to start with reputable dealers.


----------



## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

I also agree, Im sure Visual Apex will ship a bulb to Canada, they certainly are not far. Its who I will be buying one from when the time comes for my AE4000. Did you contact Visions Electronics in Lethbridge (I would think they have a store there) as to their prices on a bulb?


----------



## tcarcio (Jun 27, 2007)

I just ordered a new lamp from www.apexlamps.com and was assured that the lamp itself is OEM and only the housings they use are replacements. I will have it on wednesday. They also have a 180 day warranty on many of their lamps which is pretty good.


----------



## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

I have not heard good reports about lamps from Apex. You may be getting a lamp from any of the manufacturers that they buy from. Just because it comes from an OEM who makes lamps for some manufacturers does not mean that it is the right lamp, nor the best lamp for your set.


----------



## tcarcio (Jun 27, 2007)

lcaillo said:


> I have not heard good reports about lamps from Apex. You may be getting a lamp from any of the manufacturers that they buy from. Just because it comes from an OEM who makes lamps for some manufacturers does not mean that it is the right lamp, nor the best lamp for your set.


Well I guess I will find out on wednesday. They have a 99.8% positive feedback rateing on Ebay so they must be doing something right. Also with a 180 day warranty I would imagine they would have a lot of returns if they aren't what they say they are.


----------



## kadijk (Jan 23, 2011)

Quick edit to my comment earlier...it looks like visual apex does sell lamps. I thought that they only referred on to other vendors. Projector Central is the one that refers on. I don't want to say anything negative about a vendor who may prove to be reliable. 
As for Visions...they told me to go online. Not super helpful with that sort of thing.


----------



## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

kadijk said:


> As for Visions...they told me to go online. Not super helpful with that sort of thing.


No surprise there  they are a horrible business in my opinion and Im surprised that they are still around. I bought my AE4000 from them as they had the best price but their sales people are awful.


----------



## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

tcarcio said:


> Well I guess I will find out on wednesday. They have a 99.8% positive feedback rateing on Ebay so they must be doing something right. Also with a 180 day warranty I would imagine they would have a lot of returns if they aren't what they say they are.


the probably do have lots of returns and just replace them when they don't work. If they don't work the second time the user often concludes that the set has some other problem. I have seen many of these scenarios. The users who don't give up on their sets often bring them to servicers (which is what I used to do) and we found many times that it was just either the wrong or bad lamp. The better ebay vendors just refund these users so they keep the numbers up. It's the ebay game...buy cheap parts at such a low price that you can afford the returns, talk nice to the customer, and eat lots of inventory. The ebay rating rules, so if the margin is there you eat it. It is just not possible with original OEM parts in most cases.


----------



## tcarcio (Jun 27, 2007)

OK, I got the new lamp from Apex and installed it about ten minutes ago. Visually it looked correct and the bulb had the same name,Osram, and same numbers as the original. It also has that smell you usually get with a new bulb as it first heats up and to me that is a good sign. I will run it pretty much constantly this weekend and I will post what I see as far as any problems, if any, as it breaks in.


----------



## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

Probably the OEM lamp if it looks clean. The rebuilt ones are often rather sloppy in terms of the alignment of the arc tube and the cement at the base.


----------



## tcarcio (Jun 27, 2007)

It looks as clean as the original so I am happy for now.I am running it on high fan to keep it cool and I will post as to the performance and let everyone know how it works out....:T


----------



## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

I purchased my first replacement bulb from Pureland Supply for my Epson 1080p and I have been very happy with the performance and durability of the bulb. I just ordered my replacement bulb for the same projector from them as my old one is coming up on replacement time.


----------



## tcarcio (Jun 27, 2007)

100hrs on the bulb I got from Apex and so far so good.......:wave:


----------

