Consumer Alert! Costco Arlo Pro 2 Check this out before buying

[cshima]

John J

Hi . Thank you for choosing Arlo.

2:06:41 AM

My name is John your support expert for today. How can I be of assistance?

2:06:53 AM

Me

hi John

2:07:27 AM

John J

Hi Chad.

2:07:31 AM

Me

i bought a Arlo Pro 2 from Costco today

2:08:02 AM

John J

I see, what happened?

2:08:18 AM

Me

and I realized the base station is round

2:08:19 AM

I thought it was supposed to have a siren and USB ports

2:08:49 AM

John J

Can you give me the serial number of one of your cameras and the serial number of the base?

2:08:50 AM

Yes that is not the base for Pro 2

2:09:17 AM

Me

really? When it was advertised it had the siren and the USB ports off of your website

2:10:19 AM

John J

Yes that is correct, as what I said the base that you got is not the base station for the Pro 2. That is why also I asked for the serial number of the base station and the camera

2:11:06 AM

Me

How do I get what was advertised?

2:12:15 AM

John J

You need to contact the store for that one. Can you give me your email address for Arlo?

2:13:20 AM

Me

The station that came with the kit does not work with Apple Home Kit

2:13:20 AM

John J

Yes

2:13:24 AM

Can you give me the serial number of one camera and the base for me to verify if you got the pro 2?

2:13:45 AM

Me

okay, I'll send it in a minute

2:14:17 AM

John J

Thanks

2:14:21 AM

Me

Base Station Serial # Base Station

2:15:07 AM

John J

Thanks

2:15:22 AM

Me

Serial # here One of the camera's. Do you need the other 2?

2:16:11 AM

John J

Thanks, that would suffice give me a few minutes, by the way where did you buy the system?

2:16:49 AM

Me

Costco

2:16:58 AM

John J

Can you give me an email address that you want for the system?

2:17:17 AM

Me

Email here

2:17:36 AM

John J

Thanks, one moment checking the serial numbers

2:18:52 AM

Me

Thanks

2:19:03 AM

John J

Can you type the serial number of the cam again?

2:20:22 AM

It shows that its invalid here

2:20:28 AM

Me

okay

2:20:35 AM

John J

Thank you

2:20:40 AM

Me

Serial # Here

2:21:00 AM

Another Serial # here This is the other one

2:21:48 AM

John J

Thanks, let me check that one

2:21:55 AM

One sec

2:21:57 AM

Can you open the battery compartment of the cam?

2:23:24 AM

Me

this is the last one Serial # here

2:23:47 AM

John J

Got it,

2:24:46 AM

Me

Hey John, why do you need me to open up the camera?

2:25:07 AM

John J

I could not verify here the serial number here

2:25:38 AM

Me

wouldnt the serial number suffice?

2:25:39 AM

John J

Yeah the base worked but not the cameras

2:25:48 AM

Me

really on all (3) cameras

2:25:57 AM

John J

I think the base station can be verified here not the cameras. However the model of the camera should be stickered inside the battery compartment

2:26:19 AM

Me

I'm getting the Serial # from the website thats connected to the cameras

2:27:22 AM

how can this be wrong?

2:27:41 AM

purely copy and paste

2:27:58 AM

John J

Oh, have you added the cameras?

2:27:59 AM

To your account?

2:28:05 AM

Me

no, I do not

2:28:12 AM

John J

I just retrieved your email here its showing that you added them

2:28:38 AM

Me

It's only the (3) cameras that came with the kit

2:28:47 AM

John J

And yes they're the VMC4030P or the Pro 2 cameras

2:29:02 AM

Me

What does that mean John?

2:29:28 AM

John J

I just verified here that you do have the Pro 2 cameras.

2:30:39 AM

Me

I got it

2:30:46 AM

John J

However the base station is indeed not the designated base for the Pro2

2:30:55 AM

Me

so how do i get the correct base station?

2:31:19 AM

John J

Checking that here, hang on

2:31:34 AM

Me

Thank you John

2:31:43 AM

John J

You're welcome, Chad hang on.

2:33:41 AM

Do you still have the box?

2:35:18 AM

Me

Sorry, I threw it away already

2:35:51 AM

John J

Got it, one sec

2:36:13 AM

Me

I was just looking at the features on your website. Thanks

2:36:33 AM

John J

Yes, that is correct

2:36:49 AM

Thank you for patiently waiting on the line, did the whole system came with the same packaging/

2:42:38 AM

*?

2:42:40 AM

Me

Yes, It did

2:43:32 AM

John J

Thanks, give me another 3 minutes here

2:45:02 AM

Me

Okay

2:45:13 AM

John J

Thank you

2:45:21 AM

Me

Thank you

2:45:29 AM

John J

Thanks

2:46:04 AM

Upon checking here, you do need to contact the store for this one.

2:49:49 AM

Me

What, can the store do?

2:50:12 AM

Im sure, they will replace me with the same model with the same base station.

2:50:46 AM

Can you make this right from the Arlo end?

2:51:15 AM

John J

We do need to know the model number of the whole kit for us to verify

2:51:26 AM

Do you still have the receipt?

2:51:38 AM

Me

If not, you should not be selling this to Costco

2:51:45 AM

Yes, John I do

2:51:58 AM

John J

Can you give me the product line or the product title on the receipt?

2:52:29 AM

Me

?

2:53:15 AM

or?

2:53:44 AM

John J

Oh sorry the title of the product itself like ''Arlo security system?''

2:53:58 AM

Me

Arlo Pro 2 Indoor/Outdoor Wire-Free HD 3 ... - Costco Wholesale
Arlo Pro 2 Indoor/Outdoor Wire-Free HD 3 ... - Costco Wholesale
Arlo Pro 2 Indoor/Outdoor Wire-Free HD 3-Camera Security System Advertised as this

2:55:35 AM

John J

One moment

2:56:44 AM

Can you give me an image of the receipt?

2:59:03 AM

Attach it here

2:59:08 AM

Me

Okay, I got to do some work.

3:00:14 AM

John J

Thank you, take your time

3:00:36 AM

Your file has been successfully uploaded to the agent.

John J

Thanks

3:02:03 AM

Thank you for the image, can you contact costco for us to verify its model number. Because we have to check if costco packaged the kit or if its actual kit from us.

3:04:04 AM

Me

no, I will not contact Costco. Please make it right on your part John. Thank you

3:05:16 AM

John J

I see, however here is the thing Chad.

3:07:05 AM

We're not certain if the kit was packaged by Costco or us because sometimes they would include bundles of our products and put them on sale. That is why we need the model number for me to verify if the base station that you have is the appropriate one for the kit

3:08:56 AM

In addition, we're technical support here its a different team who ships out units to our resellers

3:09:30 AM

Me

What do you need John? I will dig up my trash. Just for you 😞

3:10:06 AM

John J

I think contacting Costco would be the best recourse, you can send them an email about this.

3:10:55 AM

Me

I bought it from Costco, However, It's your company's product. Personally, What would you do at 3:12am in the morning?

3:12:19 AM

John J

Yes, I understand that you can reach out to them later and you can get back to me through email and then I'll respond to you the soonest as i can.

3:12:53 AM

Me

If Costco is selling 1,000 of these products with the wrong base station, What is Arlo going to do about it?

3:14:13 AM

John J

We're going to see what we could do about that Chad. However, we do need the model number to verify if you got the correct base station.

3:15:49 AM

Wait, did you received an email about your purchase for costco

3:16:51 AM

Me

Please John, What model number do you need? I gave you the base station and all (3) camera's my receipt model number

3:16:56 AM

John J

I'm afraid that the receipt does not contain the model number

3:17:07 AM

Me

Where would the model number be on the box. I will go outside and look at the box....

3:18:37 AM

John J

One moment, checking

3:19:07 AM

Me

this it what it says on their website Model VCS3000C-100NAS

3:20:56 AM

John J

One sec

3:23:03 AM

The sticker should be on the bottom part of the box

3:23:13 AM

Me

Okay, I will go outside to retrieve the box

3:23:43 AM

John J

I think that number is correct

3:23:57 AM

Me

Please wait a few minutes

3:24:00 AM

John J

Checking now

3:24:00 AM

You may not retrieve it outside

3:24:07 AM

Me

Okay, Thank you!

3:24:20 AM

John J

Please stay connected, thanks

3:25:37 AM

Me

Okay, Im going to brush my teeth. I'll be back in 2 minutes

3:26:11 AM

John J

No worries, take your time

3:26:29 AM

Me

Hi John, Im back thanks

3:31:34 AM

John J

Thanks, still checking here, hang on give me another 3 minutes

3:31:47 AM

Me

okay

3:32:01 AM

John J

Upon checking here, I'm afraid that what you got on the kit is the correct base station. The box should indicate that its a different base station than the Pro one and should not contain the features of the Pro version. The model number for the one that is on the website is VMS4330P

3:35:50 AM

My apologies

3:36:29 AM

Me

Okay, How disappointed would you be? If were to buy a Arlo Pro 2 product, realizing you got something different. Im not picking on you, but your company should do something about it.

3:38:47 AM

John J

You got the Pro 2 cameras however the box should say that it does not have the features of the Pro 2 base station.

3:38:51 AM

Me

Why would you buy an Arlo 2 Pro with not the same features Arlo is showing on their website?

3:40:13 AM

John, How can we make this right?

3:40:53 AM

John J

The version that you have is the cost down version, its designed to buy the Pro 2 cameras only on an affordable price. The target market for the kit is that you can have the Pro 2 cameras on a cheaper price. Again, the siren and the usb is not a feature of the camera its a feature of the base station

3:42:00 AM

You can contact costco for a return, Chad.

3:42:22 AM

Me

Arlo should take off these features on their website because it's misleading. I have spent over an hour with you. Im going to sleep now. Thanks John. I know you really cant do nothing, but I would suggest you make a suggestion to your company to not sell this model to Costco.

3:44:31 AM

John J

My apologies for the inconvenience. Again the model is to have the Pro 2 cameras on a low price. The features like the siren and the usb back up is not included on the box as features of the system or in your manual too.

3:45:44 AM

Me

May I please use our conversation to post online?

3:45:47 AM

The manual in the box is basic. It could be shipped out with any system. Even the Arlo original

3:47:00 AM

John J

Yes, all of our wireless base stations and cameras ( except for the ultra ) are compatible for each other.

3:47:24 AM

Me

Do I have your consent to post this conversation online?

3:48:10 AM

John J

Could I ask for the purpose, Chad? If you have any complaints about the product you can contact our customer support team at customerservice@arlo.com

3:48:51 AM

Me

The purpose is to let the consumer know that if you purchase an Arlo Pro 2 at Costco, you will not get all the features listed on Arlo's website

3:50:23 AM

John J

I'm afraid that is inconsistent since it would depend on the model you would buy

3:51:09 AM

Again, the features is not included on the box.

3:51:23 AM

Me

weather if it's the box or the website it should be consistent. I'm sure if you bought something that was not what was featured on the companies website, you would be disappointed too.

3:53:37 AM

John J

I'm afraid that the website indicates that the siren and the usb is on the base station.

3:53:40 AM

I understand, Chad however there is not much I can do here

3:53:56 AM

What I can recommend is to contact Costco for return

3:54:13 AM

Me

John, I understand that you are not able to do anything, but I can I post our conversation on the internet to let the average consumer know what they will be buying from Costco?

3:55:35 AM

John J

Yes, you can.

3:55:53 AM

Me

Thank you John for hanging with me in this lengthy conversation at 3:55 am in the morning.

3:55:59 AM

John J

However, please know that you can buy the other model at costco too

3:56:13 AM

Me

have a great night and an awesome Labor day!

3:56:35 AM

John J

Thank you, have a great day too.

3:56:36 AM

Take care and bye for now

[brh]

@cshima,

I did a little research after I read your post and to my surprise you and John are both correct. To my amazement, it seems that Costco is selling the Pro2 cameras with a re-designed base that was designed to work with the older wire free HD cameras and this base does not have the features that the Pro and Pro2 base stations have. I am assuming that Arlo is selling these systems to bring down the price to consumers. Many people that do not own any Arlo products will probably not know the difference. In your case you caught it in time to return it to the store and get what you need, although I am sure at a higher price. I think the round base station is the VMB3500 which is an upgraded simpler version of the VMB3000. The VMB4000 is correct base for the Pro and Pro2 cameras with the features you want. There is also a VMB4500 for the Pro and Pro2 cameras but I do not know if it has all the features you want.

Long story short, pack it back up and return it for the system that has the features you need, or if you do not need them, realize you got a good price - your choice. I read the features list in the Costco ad on their website and it did not list the built in siren.

Brian

[TomMac]

Yes, the round baseis the model 3500....and tho it will work fine with the Pro2 cameras , it does not have the siren

( the model 4500 does not have a siren either... it looks like the Ultra 5000 base )

[cshima]

Thanks Brian for your feedback.  I was hoping Arlo would send a base station that was featured with all the Arlo Pro 2 cameras.  I really dont need the siren and USB ports.  For (3) Arlo Pro 2 cameras and a base station that works for $379, I'm keeping it 🙂  I can always buy the other base station later.  Do you know if the base station I currently have is compatible with Apple Homekit?  On Costco's website, It says that it is compatible  under specifications.

Thanks again,

Chad

[speedracer43]

---

@cshima wrote:

Thanks Brian for your feedback.  I was hoping Arlo would send a base station that was featured with all the Arlo Pro 2 cameras.  I really dont need the siren and USB ports.  For (3) Arlo Pro 2 cameras and a base station that works for $379, I'm keeping it 🙂  I can always buy the other base station later.  Do you know if the base station I currently have is compatible with Apple Homekit?  On Costco's website, It says that it is compatible  under specifications.

Thanks again,

Chad

---

Hey Chad, I bought the same kit. As far as HK compatible, no the VMB3500 base station is not HK compatible. Only the VMB4000 and 4500 are. I am taking mine back as I wanted a 4500 base station. I will complaine about false advertising and try to work Costco... 😉