Non-factory Warranty Discounters, what's the deal? (1 Viewer)

[Jack-R]

I see all these great prices on HT equipment from outfits that cover the serial number with their number and honor the mfg warranty themselves. My questions are 1) where does this equipment come from? 2) Is it truly authentic? and 3) How can these people offer such low prices?

 

[Doug Drake]

The answers depend on the credibility of the company you are buying from. Assuming they are a reputable outfit..

1) They buy inventory overstocks from authorized dealers, in many cases. The dealers will over-order to get a price break from the manufacturer, then sell off the rest to these channels. That is why the serial number is often destroyed, to prevent tracing it back to the authorized dealer it came from.

2) It is authentic (see disclaimer above).

3) They offer the low prices because they are not subject to the "suggested" pricing of the manufacturer like authorized dealers are. Plus, they often don't have physical plant or staff to support, and they may not have any repair facility, farming it out to an independent if they need to perform their own "warranty" work.

Caveat emptor.

Doug