Sunpak TocadTocad America, Inc Sea&Sea Sunpak makes super-cheap but inherently defective professional camera tripods but does not own up to it Nationwide

I opened a brand new Sunpak tripod for its very first test shoot with a professional camcorder, as soon as I unlocked the handles to extend the legs and then lock them, the handle broke.

Thought maybe the handle just came off but then I looked at the blood and bits of plastic on the floor and realized it had exploded and cut my hand.

I realized that handle was probably defective, so I poked at the other two handles on the other legs, and sure enough they broke even when I opened them (I closed my eyes because I suspected they would break).

This tripod was not used for more than 3 minutes, it was literally brand new.

I immediately contacted Sunpak, and they refered me to another company called Tocad which handles American problems.

I had to message them several times and asked for a RMA (unfortunately, the tripod was in storage for several months and no longer under warrenty).

Eventually, however, I did get a reply and they said they would take a look at it, so I shipped it to them (certified with signature of course).

A week passes by.... two weeks go by, no response. I messaged them and called them, left messages, and no response.

It's at this point I realized their products are a cheap SCAM.

I remember vividly buying that tripod from Bestbuys for next to nothing, was only $19.99 or something. I thought it was a deal, but it was nothintg more than a shotty scam.

I looked online and realized that other protographers experienced the same problem

These tripods only break after a certain aging period (and mine was stored in a cool dry place for months in its original box). Most customers who are not professional photographers see this as a deal and will buy it because it is, admittedly, cheap. But you get what you paid for.