What's the next step? (1 Viewer)

[Neal Siva]

I'm wondering what I should do if this scenario took place. Just say I purchased a brand new JBL, Sony, Pioneer, etc. product from a person like at ebay. When he sells me the item, I don't get a receipt. Hence, when I go to a service station down the road, they'll ask me for proof of purchase in order to get warranty service. What should I do?

 

[Bill_Weinreich]

Unfortunately, Who you bought it from is probably not a authorized dealer. This usually means no warranty even though its new. Depending on the situation, you may be able to use the "it was a gift" idea, but that still wont prove when it was purchased (which is required for warranty purposes) and doesnt usually work.

Bill

 

[Alf S]

I was going to buy my Pioneer 811 on Ebay from a guy who says he's a wholesaler. I had the same concerns you did, so I emailed Pioneer, and they said warranty is void if purchased through an UN-authorized reseller like Ebay, or a pawn shop, etc.

I also checked with the online Better Business Bureau for NYC and found out the guy had a bad rating.

Needless to say I went to the local AV store with best net price (printed out) and they matched it and now I have a warranty and a receipt.

Alfer

 

[Marc Rochkind]

I would look at it this way: There are three levels of retailer:

1. Authorized dealer,

2. Unauthorized dealer, but reasonably well-known and with a good reputation, and

3. Unknown dealer, possibly just a private individual who somehow came upon some new stock.

I would expect a bigger discount from #2 over #1, and #3 over #2. You need somehow to estimate your risk of needing work during the warranty period. (Hard to do... need to take a guess.) Then, the discount needs to exceed the risk by some amount. I would think 150% of the risk, at least.

Here's an example. Say I can get a certain DVD player from #1 for $300, #2 for $275, and #3 for $260. If it needs service, being a DVD player, it will be expensive. The risk would have to be less than about $16 for me to want to save $25, and less than about $27 for me to want to save $40. But, I would estimate that the risk is greater.

So, I would pay the $300. Actually, before I did that, I would attempt to use the $275 and $260 figures to get the $300 guy down a bit. (Taking printouts of web sites to a retail store has worked for me, as it did for Alf.)

But, if I could get the same player from a #2 for $200, then I would do it. As for a #3, I'm not sure I would ever do it.

I've never bought any HT products from an unauthorized dealer, but I have bought expensive mechanical wristwatches that way, and I used this risk approach. Also, I bought some camera lenses gray market, but that was from an authorized dealer, who offers you a choice. (This seems to be unique to cameras: An authorized dealer also selling gray market products.)

 

[Greg_R]

One thing to mention is that some companies will service the product, regardless of where you purchased it (as long as the manufacturing date is still under warranty). Others (like Denon) will not even open up the box unless you have a receipt from an authorized dealer.