Deserthawk0769
New Member
Good Day Everyone!
We are all in the photography hobby & majority of the hobbyist will likely at one point in time invest in a Dry Cabinet. While all Dry Cabinets has the same primary function, the same cannot be said about the way the companies ( or representatives ) honour their commitments to their warranties.
I purchased a TOTECH Dry Cabinet ( so called Toyo Living representative as least based on the info of their website ) on 7th February 2021 after doing an intensive research on the Internet. The item was finally delivered 20th May 2021 on after the first unit was rejected as it was badly damaged during shipment when it arrived on 1st April 2021. Item was shipped from Totech Shanghai. The unit was bought on Lazada from Totech’s Singapore ( Not a Representative but a Subsidary ) & it clearly stated it ( in a few places ) has a 7 years warranty. I bought one of the more costly brands ( available on Lazada at that point in time as I didn’t want a unit that spoils just a few years later. And nobody carries Toyo Living anymore. I guess I am very wrong )
On 7th February 2025, I contacted Totech Shanghai ( as Totech Singapore has closed ) for warranty claim after I noticed the Hygrometer showed a RH of 70%. Their representative Kerry Hou swiftly replied saying the standard warranty is only 2 years & she quoted US$90.00/- for the Drying Unit ( EXW, China ) & freight would cost an additional US$50.00/-. I attached all the screenshots & showed her the unit does carry a 7 year warranty. After a few email exchanges she eventually acknowledges seeing the various screenshots indicating a warranty of 7 years but said it wasn’t from Totech Shanghai.
I searched around & finally found the company that took over the duties from Totech Singapore namely : KIAST Pte Ltd. I called them up repeated & left numerous messages before I got a response from them 3 days later after asking the receptionist to highlight the non-responsive nature of their service staff to higher management. I don’t know if she really did but next day I got a response.
I spoke to Alvin who identified himself as the Totech Local Distributor & told him about the faulty Dry Cabinet. I submitted all supporting screenshots ( including chat confirmation from Totech Singapore ). He said he will contact Totech ( I presume it is Totech Shanghai since it is HQ ) & got back saying the Dry Unit only has a warranty of 2 years & the cost to replace is S$250.00/- ( including shipping but excludes GST ) & if installation is required add another S$50.00/-.
NOTE : There was NEVER at any point in time it was mentioned that the Dry Unit has only a 2 year warranty. It was just stated on a few places that there is a 7 Year Warranty on the Totech Singapore Sales Thread on Lazada. As a matter of fact, it is still stated as 7 years as of this very minute.
After a few chat messages, of which Alvin from KIAST Pte Ltd still refuses to honour their commitments of a 7 year warranty saying the warranty is only for manufacturing defects & there is only a 2 year warranty for the Dry Unit.
Quite frankly, the Dry Unit is the ONLY working item in a Dry Cabinet. If there is any warranty, it will be for the Dry Unit & nothing else. The rest of it is just metal cabinet, plastic shelves & sponges which totally don’t warrant a 7 Years Warranty. Should there be any defect, it can easily be detected once the item arrives & don’t need such a long period of time.
Besides, if I can’t even claim warranty for the Dry Unit which is so clearly stated as 7 years, I will most likely have a tremendous amount of difficulty claiming warranty if the door hinge broke, glass shattered or shelving cracked since it will be extremely difficult to proof it is Manufacturing Defect.
In the end, I decided not to pursue the warranty & conclude that I got cheated. However, the bad experience of companies & representatives dishonouring their clearly stated warranty period will not be forgotten. Most importantly, I pen this in the hope that fellow hobbyists will be aware of such situations & be very mindful of who they purchase the Dry Cabinets from especially the one that uses Toyo Living ( Market Leader’s name ) as a strong backing. I believe they only represent the Industrial Dry Cabinets & NOT the Consumer ones.
We are all in the photography hobby & majority of the hobbyist will likely at one point in time invest in a Dry Cabinet. While all Dry Cabinets has the same primary function, the same cannot be said about the way the companies ( or representatives ) honour their commitments to their warranties.
I purchased a TOTECH Dry Cabinet ( so called Toyo Living representative as least based on the info of their website ) on 7th February 2021 after doing an intensive research on the Internet. The item was finally delivered 20th May 2021 on after the first unit was rejected as it was badly damaged during shipment when it arrived on 1st April 2021. Item was shipped from Totech Shanghai. The unit was bought on Lazada from Totech’s Singapore ( Not a Representative but a Subsidary ) & it clearly stated it ( in a few places ) has a 7 years warranty. I bought one of the more costly brands ( available on Lazada at that point in time as I didn’t want a unit that spoils just a few years later. And nobody carries Toyo Living anymore. I guess I am very wrong )
On 7th February 2025, I contacted Totech Shanghai ( as Totech Singapore has closed ) for warranty claim after I noticed the Hygrometer showed a RH of 70%. Their representative Kerry Hou swiftly replied saying the standard warranty is only 2 years & she quoted US$90.00/- for the Drying Unit ( EXW, China ) & freight would cost an additional US$50.00/-. I attached all the screenshots & showed her the unit does carry a 7 year warranty. After a few email exchanges she eventually acknowledges seeing the various screenshots indicating a warranty of 7 years but said it wasn’t from Totech Shanghai.
I searched around & finally found the company that took over the duties from Totech Singapore namely : KIAST Pte Ltd. I called them up repeated & left numerous messages before I got a response from them 3 days later after asking the receptionist to highlight the non-responsive nature of their service staff to higher management. I don’t know if she really did but next day I got a response.
I spoke to Alvin who identified himself as the Totech Local Distributor & told him about the faulty Dry Cabinet. I submitted all supporting screenshots ( including chat confirmation from Totech Singapore ). He said he will contact Totech ( I presume it is Totech Shanghai since it is HQ ) & got back saying the Dry Unit only has a warranty of 2 years & the cost to replace is S$250.00/- ( including shipping but excludes GST ) & if installation is required add another S$50.00/-.
NOTE : There was NEVER at any point in time it was mentioned that the Dry Unit has only a 2 year warranty. It was just stated on a few places that there is a 7 Year Warranty on the Totech Singapore Sales Thread on Lazada. As a matter of fact, it is still stated as 7 years as of this very minute.
After a few chat messages, of which Alvin from KIAST Pte Ltd still refuses to honour their commitments of a 7 year warranty saying the warranty is only for manufacturing defects & there is only a 2 year warranty for the Dry Unit.
Quite frankly, the Dry Unit is the ONLY working item in a Dry Cabinet. If there is any warranty, it will be for the Dry Unit & nothing else. The rest of it is just metal cabinet, plastic shelves & sponges which totally don’t warrant a 7 Years Warranty. Should there be any defect, it can easily be detected once the item arrives & don’t need such a long period of time.
Besides, if I can’t even claim warranty for the Dry Unit which is so clearly stated as 7 years, I will most likely have a tremendous amount of difficulty claiming warranty if the door hinge broke, glass shattered or shelving cracked since it will be extremely difficult to proof it is Manufacturing Defect.
In the end, I decided not to pursue the warranty & conclude that I got cheated. However, the bad experience of companies & representatives dishonouring their clearly stated warranty period will not be forgotten. Most importantly, I pen this in the hope that fellow hobbyists will be aware of such situations & be very mindful of who they purchase the Dry Cabinets from especially the one that uses Toyo Living ( Market Leader’s name ) as a strong backing. I believe they only represent the Industrial Dry Cabinets & NOT the Consumer ones.
