Call Sumiko and explain the situation. Call SF and explain the situation. It would be interesting to hear what they both say. You should try to get past the first level of support. |
On one hand it is silly. On the other hand, this is a great opportunity for someone familiar w/ SF to start a small repair business. A win-win for everyone! |
UPDATE:
We can provide service, parts and repair if anything should go wrong with your Stradivari speakers, but it would not be covered under warranty. The Sonus Faber warranty is non-transferable, so used items are not covered, and Sumiko is not responsible for warranties on products that we did not import. But yes, if at any time you need something like replacement parts, we will be able to help you, but there would be a charge.
I received this email yesterday from Sumiko. This is following me contacting them, giving them the situation, the name of the company and the serial number of the Stradivaris.
The seller stated he will give me $5000 for the Cremonas (paid 9500 less than a year ago), so will need to decide. May bring my amp (Simaudio 600I) to the shop and listen to them and decide. Hmmmm, we will see. Just thought I would let you all know. |
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IMHO, Many had purchased new or used sonus faber from other countries. |
Harris4crna - That is good news.
My understanding is Sumiko started their stated repair policy when a large number of black market speakers were coming into the US. They just wanted to warn people that they would not support black market speakers. But they are willing to service used equipment purchased through authorized dealers. The policy they stated to you is consistent with my discussions with Sumiko, although I have never had to have anything repaired.
Warranties are quite commonly country specific. Warranty costs are included in the purchase price. Since Sumiko earned nothing for the sale, it is not surprising they will not honor a warranty. SF could try to intervene, but Sumiko's policy is following pretty standard warranty processes. The warranty situation is similar to Canadian cars brought into the US. They are often not covered by warranty in the US.
Thanks for the update. |
They are not covered, but no dealer can not refuse a full paid repair job ... |
Distributors can refuse a full paid repair job if they wish. Sumiko used this tactic to try to cut down on gray market product sales back when Tweeter was selling SF. There was one "dealer" in particular who was selling gray market speakers very openly on this site. There was other gray market product being sold from Europe. From what I can tell, the gray market for SF in the US has disappeared or been greatly reduced.
People may not agree with the practice, but there is no requirement for a distributor to sell parts or do repairs on gray market product. |
I have inquired about replacement grills for a pair of Sonus Faber Cremona Auditors and have not had any problems in talking to Sumiko. I am not sure what the problem is. I think the information in this thread is pretty outdated. |
I agree that a company should not honor warranty repairs on grey market product. They should however provide support out of warranty as they produced the product. Many of us afford higher quality audio gear by purchasing used. It only does harm to their reputation to refuse service to any owner of their product. I purchased some B&W's last year from this site which arrived badly damaged. The people at B&W North America helped me determine what parts were needed and I installed them myself without shipping them across country again. Thankfully they were willing to deal with me. Still fighting with UPS. They claim the original boxes and packing were insufficient. Actually in their hands that turned out to be true. |
Big Turkeys Gobble gobble!! |
Listen to Apdoc2004 - if in doubt, call Sumiko and ask. Most of what is on this thread is hearsay. |
From Sumiko's website.
PROVIDE SERVICE FOR PRODUCT NOT PURCHASED FROM AN AUTHORIZED DEALER. PLEASE CONTACT SUMIKO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING A DEALER. |
EBM,
I see you still have not received your prescription yet? What is taking so long??? |
Brf - that statement is under the Warranty section of the website. It basically says they will only honor the warranty if you purchase from an authorized dealer. Many companies will not provide warranty services for products not purchased from an authorized dealer. They also notes that the warranty is not transferable.
Once again, if in doubt, call them. |
Sumiko SF will not honor warranty. I called the when I bought my Cremona Ms in Italy. Ok, I may be able to see rationale if buying from a non-authorized dealer, but buying from a SF approved authorized dealer overseas should be credit enough to honor warranty. Also, I truly believe all companies should warrant transferable warranties when buy used. Now, if it is a money issue, than allow the buyer of used equipment to purchase warranty at a minimal price. We buy used equipment all the time. That's my two cents. |
Harris4crna - included in the price of anything you buy is an amount to cover the warranty. In your case, that money went to a dealer in Italy and on to Sonus Faber in Italy. Sumiko did not see any of that money. For them to do the warranty work for yor speakers they should get paid by Sonus Faber corporate to do it. My guess is they do not and that is why they do do warranty work for speakers purchased outside the US. It is actually a pretty common practice. Try buying a car in Canada and getting warranty work done in the US. Same situation. Also, warranty laws differ country to country, which further complicates matters. I agree it would be nice if all warranties were worldwide and transferable but most companies do not do that.
I recently bought an integrated amp for use in Switzerland. I purchased it in Switzerland for this very reason. |
Pathetic use of the fear factor. It's simple as an importer: No warranty work on a grey market piece. But sell parts and service as necessary, make a good profit on that, and don't hurt the reputations of the product, or your company, by refusing to help at all. |
I posted several comments on this thread January last year. Soon after that, I found out that my wife was pregnant, so I had to take of other business that were slightly more important than getting a repair work for my Concerto bookshelf. Fast forward to January 2014, I rewrote to Quadman who had responded to my post on this thread. To make a long story short, I am COMPLETELY satisfied with the repair work he did on my speakers. To repeat his words, he is not in the business of repairing SF speakers. However, any US user frustrated by Sumiko's policy should consider him as a valuable resource. I have a feeling that Franco would have approved of Quadman's service rather than seeing the beautifully crafted equipment unserviced and abandoned. |
