1) Call the manufacturer and see if in fact the warranty is valid if the unit is purchased from this dealer.
2) Without a warranty it is 'almost' like buying used, but some manufacturers/dealers will not provide services for stuff which was 'grey market' goods (althought they will provides services for used stuff originally purchased thru their normal distribution channels). So be wary, check 1st. |
Dealers have been known to lie to make a sale. This will come as a shock to some. In this case, I would heed the mfg. not the dealer. The chances the mfg. will honor the warranty in this case are slim & none, & Slim left town. |
This dealer wouldn't be on eBay selling Gallos, would he? I purchased a pair of Gallo Dues from these guys and got suspicious when the SNs on the speakers did NOT match the ones on the box ("factory sealed boxes, never opened" - yeah, right). A quick call to Mena at Gallo confirmed my suspicions. Turns out these guys made up their own serial number stickers and pasted them onto the Dues - sleazy bastids.
But, check this out, because I cooperated with Gallo and provided them with all the info. they requested, they agreed to honor the warranty in full - *very* cool.
Caveat emptor, dude.
-RW- |
Often times, they will state the warranty will be honoured with the seller and they will handle any repairs. Not a great help when most of the sellers aren't in for the long haul and are often out of business when your gear breaks down. |
ask for the serial # and call the Manufacturer and go from there......... |
Liars? Are you referring to American Theater by any chance Porziob? I almost made the mistake of purchasing new Polk Audio speakers from them. You know the saying...''if it's too good to be true, it probably is,'' Found out from the manufacturer (Polk) that they are NOT authorized dealers and there would be NO WARRANTY. The dealer would of course probably say i'm wrong about this, but the real truth comes from the manufacturer does it not ? No way I can encourage this dealer now. |
well at least American spent the time to sell/speak to you.
I called them a while back to purchase a Sony ES DVD player and was told they don't waste their time on DVD players less than $1000, Hang up. |
Yeah, that's the way to do business. It's not unusual for some one to test the waters with a small purchase, before committing big money, especially with an internet vendor. Sheesh! |
If the manufacturer says the dealer is not authorized, and if the dealer ssys that they are authorized, then one of them is wrong. Now who is more likely to know whether there is a manufacturer's warranty or not? I would think it would be the person who is actually honouring the warranty, i.e. the manufacturer.
I would buy nothing from a business that lied to me on such a fundamental point. If they lied to you about that, what else have they lied about? |
This whole authorized v. unauthorized dealer business is BS, IMO. The manufacturers are just as responsible for this problem as the "unauthorized" dealers. It's not hard for a vendor to find out who's selling their products and how those products got to those dealers.
The truth is that some manufacturers don't want to sacrifice sales by having a strictly policed distribution channel so they basically create two categories of distribution - authorized and unauthorized. They sell unwarrantied product at a discount to distributors who then sell them to unauthorized dealers. I can think of several top tier electronics manufacturers who participate in this sort of practice.
IMO, it's a bit myopic because you are certainly not building brand loyalty by denying a customer (who may have been lied to by the dealer) warranty service. I guess that's what it takes to compete in CE. |
This is my second post. We will see if it gets through.
In line with Tim916's post, perhaps the reason why manufacturers "turn a blind eye" toward the unauthorized channels is that the units entering said channels may not be 100% meeting spec like the units that make it to "authorized" dealers. Instead of taking a yield hit, they sell at reduced costs with out any warranty...
seems a bit illegal (if true) but that is way out of my comfort zone...
just a thought...but it is odd isn't it... I mean how hard is it to know your distribution channels?
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Simply answer is "NO". If the seller is an unauthorized vendor, you can pretty much gurantee that the manufacturer is going to be very hesitant about doing warrenty work. The reason why is that manufactuer is going to wonder, just where did the seller get "their products" and were these products "factory seconds", "gray markets", ect? One of the biggest problems happening nowadays, especially in products that come from China, is that a lot of products that are not good enough to go out the front door, are often "snuck out the back door" and are illegaly sold to the "unwitting buyer", from "unauthorized vendors". Of course, these vendor have no problems telling you that their products are "new" and come with a "warrenty". Of course, when something goes wrong, the buyer often gets a "rude awakening". Basically if the seller is not an authorized dealer, then I'm going to assume his products are not "first rate, authorized" products and as such probably have no warrenty attached. |
hmm wonder just how much audigon inventory is circulationg around that originated from unauthorized resellers?
I hope someone with more expertise in this area would say something, as most of this is speculation on my part. |
"hmm wonder just how much audigon inventory is circulationg around that originated from unauthorized resellers?
I hope someone with more expertise in this area would say something, as most of this is speculation on my part."
I think most audiogoners know what they buy is used and doesn't include a warrenty. Also, most buy from individuals who are not resellers (authorized or otherwise) or dealers, but are just hobbiest like themselves.
Indeed, I believe if you are a dealer or re-seller you're suppose to mention that fact. Of course, if somebody has an ad on audiogon, and inply in their ad, that warrenties apply, and they are not an authorized dealer, then I WOULD check with the manufacturer, because in most cases the warrenty only apply to the orginal purchaser. |
The problem with service on 'grey market' products exceeds getting manufacturer warranty service on new(er)stuff. Most realize that this isn't going to happen. Nor do many manufacturers allow transfer of warranty to a new buyer.
The major problem, IMHO, for the unwary buyer is getting service on grey market products from either the manufacturer or their designated repair facility at all, the avasilability of which is critical for some exotic components, where the repairer would need a schematic to do the work, without regard to who pays the bill. One of their reasons for doing this is to provide support for their dealer network and discourage grey market purchases.
FWIW, used buyers beware! |
Sonicbeauty: I have come across a dealer selling gear that they claim have full manufacturer warranty on them. What if you find out from the MANUFACTURER that this dealer in question is not an authorized vendor? Would you buy anyways? Let me begin by asking you for some quick advice first myself. Sometime ago I saw something on a shelf in in a some shop. Should I buy it? :-) Seriously, this forum is about information exchange and just as we expect to receive help from the knowledge pool here, we should contribute to it by giving precise information: product, manufacturer name, dealer name, price offered. Needless to say, this will also bring in more precise and informed advice. There is nothing wrong with buying from unauthorized dealers as long as you know what you are getting and it is priced accordingly. Good dealers will not lie about being authorized. Items that are "B stock" or "Refurbished" will be marked so and not offered as new A stock. The vendor will likely offer their own warranty. Should you trust it? Depends on the product and the vendor. Some vendors have earned our trust: personally, I may hesitate with someone totally unknown, but I would consider a warranty from respected names like J&R, or my local Audio Consultants and Saturday Audio. However, I would also factor in that certain products may be easy to repair at a generic but competent shop (for these, even manufacturers may use a local shop for warranty work); others, especially new complex designs, are best shipped to the factory. That is why precise details are important. If the vendor's warranty does not inspire confidence, then you should regard the item as not only "used" but also "as is", and buy only if it is priced accordingly. |
