In the entry for today, we wanted to provide you with some insight into the Torrey LPC-40L price computing scale. The scale does price computing functions and is NTEP approved, legal for trade. Now in full disclosure we heavily promoted this scale a few years back and we do still offer this scale to customers who wish to purchase it. However, we are not big fans of the brand.
PROS
The LPC-40L scale is a great deal and affordably priced. The scale is built very well and has a rugged enclosure. The display is visible to both the scale operator and the customer. The display has a bright green backlight which makes it very easy to read, however the display can be a little hard to read without the backlight. The power is provided by standard 110VAC power and/or the internal rechargeable battery. Generally speaking the LPC has been fairly reliable. Over the years we have sold several scales that were also the lowest priced in the marketplace and they were constantly needing parts and always received terrible reviews by customers. However, the LPC40L has been fairly popular with customers and typically if something does break on the scale, it is usually something that can be repaired or replaced fairly easily.
CONS
In our experiences, the LPC-40L typically has the following parts failures: keypads, battery, power issues. When we have one of these scales come in for repair, it is usually either a battery or keypad issue. Every so often it will be something to do with the power, either the AC adapter or the plug where the power adapter plugs in has come loose. Now the repair costs for something like that can range anywhere from around $25 to $100 including the labor. So if the repair is around $100 you have to decide if it’s worth repairing the scale or just spending a little more money and buying a new scale. The weighing platter is a little awkward and high compared to most similar scales. This is fairly common on all Torrey counter top scales. If you need to weigh items in a different unit other than pounds, it can be tricky to change the weight units. But, our real issue with Torrey is the manufacturer itself. This is one big reason we stopped promoting their product. Several years ago our main point of contact left the company and once that happened, the replacement person had no interest in working with us on any issues that inevitably come up. The sales support was simply non-existent in our opinion. Any problems that we found with the scales that we received were basically “our problem” once we had purchased the scales. So, at that point we made the decision that there are better products in the marketplace to offer our customers and most definitely better manufacturers to work with.
In conclusion, there is no doubt about it, the Torrey LPC-40L is a great deal at least when it comes to up front costs. However, based on our experiences there are certainly better quality scales in the marketplace and there are certainly better scale manufacturers in the industry to work with. Now things may have changed over the past few years, so who knows maybe Torrey is a great company by now. But in our opinion, if you are looking for a good high quality scale to use at the farmers market or a scale to weigh candy by the pound, we would recommend a different item if you can afford it.