How do the grow shops handle WARRANTY REPLACEMENT OF EQUIPMENT?

Yes I do have experience is this.. unfortunatly. A good store will give you a replacement while the old one is sent in. When it matters I always rec a store over the web.

This here is a big difference between a good store and a shit store. I live in the woods surrounded by trees, deer, and greedy fucks, so I use the internet a lot. It is a numbers/luck game. I save $100/per ballast. When went bad, I sent it back. Dude said it would be a few weeks - it was a few months. As usual, I was fine for awhile, then I blew up one day. After a few emails and a tantrum or two, that store owner said, I understand - this IS bullshit. I will buy one out of my pocket and send it to you now. When I get yours back I'll have a new one. If you ever have a problem let me know, I'll send it next day. Now I am happy and I send him money all the time. That is tinyspondworld on ebay. I now have his personal number and I can text him for prices and he hooks me up every single time.
As with any business you need to cultivate business relationships with store owners and employees and it will always help you in the long run. I know all the stores in my area and I frequent them to keep shit good, but when it comes to the real equipment, ballasts, hoods, bulbs, shit like that, I go online.

Scan and save your receipts, maybe right store and date on equipment to keep track if you start buying a lot of shit.
Hope that helps a little.

In my experience with a failed ballast under warranty is that they don't get replaced, they fix it on the spot and send you home with the same ballast you walked in with. If they cannot repair it it will have to be sent out to the manufacturer to be repaired while you wait without a ballast.

These are the kind of things you need to ask the store BEFORE you make a purchase, not after...

Cool guys...thanks for the responses. I think the only things I will buy @ the grow shop will be my ballast and other small items because if my ballast goes out under warranty, I want it replaced immediately. It would kill me a little on the inside if I lost an entire grow b/c a ballast crapped out on me and I couldn't get it replaced same day. Thanks again fellas.

I can tell you how I handle them. How the warranty goes really depends on the supplier it comes from. Some suppliers are very good at handling warranty issues and some just plain suck. I send the customer home with a loaner.
I then have to fill out a Return merchandise authorization, then wait for them to approve it and send me a shipping label. I ship the bad ballasts and wait to hear from them. The good ones will issue me a credit in which i buy The customer a new ballast. Everyone's happy. Now, I try not to buy from places that are hard to deal with on warranties. BUT, sometimes customers want a brand and I have to go to that supplier to get it.
for example, Had to return a magnetic that was humming loudly. I sent the RMA request and was told to ship it to them. It cost me $22 to ship it back. A week later, they tell me I have a credit, I tell them great, send me a new ballast.
plus I spent $22 I got the ballast, but not the $22. Which is about what i made on the original sell. I took care of the customer, But lost money doing it. SO, I try not to buy from that supplier.
You should get to know your local store owner,I try to be tight with my customers,Were in this together after all. I know how important it is to have your shit working, so a loaner is always a great Idea. It isn't ALWAYS the store's fault.