HELP Electrocompaniet stole Christmas


What a mess:
After finally deciding that spending money on the latest EMC-1 parts mod, I contacted Electrocompaniet's distributor back in October to arrange to bring my EMC-1 MkII to him directly in PA so as to avoid RT shipping risks and expense for this 50 pounder. All was set for a Christmas week mod, as I was to be in NJ visiting my relatives that last week.
I called on Christmas eve to arrange a drop-off time, and was told that Christmas Day noon would be fine, but that I had to arrange the deal through a dealer! Yikes! So I remembered Fathers & Sons and called them, arranging for the paperwork and profit to be credited through/to them. Fine. So I drove 2 hours through a nasty winter storm to arrive at Warshaw's house, where he said he'd NOT perform the mod if my EMC-1 didn't have a serial number on it, as there was a grey-market guy in New York who sold a few of these this year. I assured him that mine indeed had a serial number, was produced in spring '01, and bought used by me in summer '01. He said OK, and lugged the player into his house, saying he'd call me in a couple of days to pick it up. Great!..............
I returned to NJ and watched the storm intensify....
Two days later I called to arrange a pick-up hour, and Alan told me that he did NOT perform the mod because the player had been originally sold by a Danish dealer, and NOT through him, so he had made a decision to NOT support any players not originally sold thorough him. No warranty repars, parts, nor mods!..............
I was stunned, couldn't convince him to make an exception since he had never asked me to provide a serial number beforehand, and I went through a total of a half-day of driving through a storm to accomplish this mod.
He just told me to come pick it up at my convenience. I glumly arrived on Saturday and retrieved my untouched puppy, where Alan said that unfortunately I had to share the victimization of the gray-market. I asked if I should contact a Danish dealer to see if a board-swap could be done (of course thinking he didn't really know the answer), but he thought that Electrocompaniet wouldn't support my player either! I asked with some incredulity what was going to happen with all the players that people have when they move from one country to another (!), but he said that this policy was the only way they have of penalyzing the gray market.... I suggested that in THIS CASE he should have installed the mod because of his lack of due diligence in assessing the production/sales history of this particular CDP, ESPECIALLY given my enormous effort in delivering it to his doorstep on Christmas Day.... I left sadly but gracefully.
WHAT SHOULD I DO? I contacted the Danish dealer but he's not responded. Should I contact Electrocompaniet directly and try to arrange a board swap or purchase the parts mod "kit" and instakllation directions (I'm pretty familiar with boards and soldering)? Should Alan have acted differently? Isn't the world getting small enough so that internationally-sold products should have protected lives independent of sales point?
PLEASE HELP!
A Happy and safe New Year to all!
Ernie
subaruguru

Showing 4 responses by chichiuno

I say lets pool to get ernie a new Emc1 Up player, I am willing to donate $1k, what does everyone say? any others willing to contrubute? call me below!

Anthony
Aberdeen Components
6315820677
I buy alot of greymarket video and camera gear from those dealers that you see from NY. Most you see are those strickly mailorder ads in Magazines. Most are located in Brooklyn Ny, by the shipping piers. I went to alot of these
middle of no where hole in the walls, where they do not allow customers go (find to their Secret locations (but wad of cash in hand, makes them very weak, lol). You can get brand new gear, with a third party warentee" Being aware it's grey, but new, I am aware if the product fails, or needs repair, I will take a loss. so this if figured in to the "SAVINGS". Being that I always had very good luck with Electronics, Warentee on such never bothered me.
I did however had a Canon lens go to crap, costed me about $450, I just threw it a way. with high End Audio gear, I am carefull with, usually on a purchase, I will obtain Serial numbers, and contact the manufacture yo find status of warentee, and it is legit, before purchasing. It is Buyer beware, before purchasing ANY product used or New, do some research on the item, First step it to ask seller for a serial number, their way of a responce will give you a good insight what your dealing with....
Could be worse, the Player could be on a Hot list, then you would of taken a really good loss. As the player would of been returned to the rightful owner..... check out Tag McLaren site!

http://www.tagmclaren.com/great/sounds.asp

So look at the bright side, you still have a player!
You cannot target Electrocompaniet, Many other manufactures
has the same policy, Some manufactures even post warnings of grey market sales, and warentee issues with grey market.
its a buyers beware type of issue, For everyone , for any product. As far as the other units, thats not the issue here....Ernie had expressed much liking in Electrocompaniet EMC-1, went to great lenghts to get it upgraded,Ernie been a long timer here, and likes the product, so I do not mind to contribute..... last thing Alan would of thought it would be a grey unit at his doorstep. It's a a bad situation for both parties, But Alan does have the right not to service product... he did take the time and Money to import the product. And he is the USA distubutor...