The Secondary Market

Bought a new Victory motorcycle from dealer A but brought it to dealer B for warranty service. Dealer B claimed they "don't do warranty service on bikes not purchased directly from them". Never did any business with them again (and reported them). Same can apply to audio equipment; questionable warranty claims can be 'pushed through' when processed through the original dealers network. Automobiles can be the same.
 
bfreidah said:
Bought a new Victory motorcycle from dealer A but brought it to dealer B for warranty service. Dealer B claimed they "don't do warranty service on bikes not purchased directly from them". Never did any business with them again (and reported them). Same can apply to audio equipment; questionable warranty claims can be 'pushed through' when processed through the original dealers network. Automobiles can be the same.
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Understood, but this was never a warranty issue. Strictly cash & carry so to speak. Some manufacturers don’t even want to service stuff on that basis, which mystifies me.
 
brad225 said:
People do have on ways of responding 2FG.

I once owned apair of Vandersteen W2 subs I used with my Spica TC 50 speakers. One was new and one was used.
I was puzzled when I discovered how they would happened to operate when connected to electronics differently that I had ever seen. So, I call and spoke with Richard Vandersteen.

I asked if it was normal for the subs to play when only the + wire was connected not needing both + & -.
He told me I was an idiot and it should be illegal to resell equipment.
I thanked him for his time and sold my subs.
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Wow, I no longer consider Vandersteen as a possible future purchase.

One question I would have of these manufactures is what exactly do the manufactures expect people to do with their current gear when they are looking to upgrade or change to something different?
 
W9TR said:
I have purchased the majority of the gear in my signature used. I tend to buy McIntosh electronics not because it’s the best, but because I can get service manuals and factory support when I need it. I also happen to like the McIntosh house sound, though it is not for everyone. They even have a trade in program where I can get up to 75% of the new price for a used piece of gear in trade in on a new more expensive item. I have taken advantage of this program a few times.

Smart manufacturers realize that people trade in gear frequently as they upgrade. It’s part of the scene. Always has been. Pissing off the customers of your used gear is not a great way to build a business.
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This among many other reasons is why McIntosh has one of the best resale values of any manufacture. I have sold several pieces of gear over the years. The pieces that always seem to sell almost immediately are McIntosh.
 
bfreidah said:
Bought a new Victory motorcycle from dealer A but brought it to dealer B for warranty service. Dealer B claimed they "don't do warranty service on bikes not purchased directly from them". Never did any business with them again (and reported them). Same can apply to audio equipment; questionable warranty claims can be 'pushed through' when processed through the original dealers network. Automobiles can be the same.
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That is weird. Maybe motorcycles are different, but I thought that dealers (referring to automobile dealers now) are required to do warranty repairs no matter where they were originally purchased. I thought this was part of their dealership agreements. The BMW dealer I worked for a short time in between contracts would gladly repair any BMW, no matter where purchased. They get paid from the manufacture. The service department was a huge part of their business.
 
Randy Myers said:
That is weird. Maybe motorcycles are different, but I thought that dealers (referring to automobile dealers now) are required to do warranty repairs no matter where they were originally purchased. I thought this was part of their dealership agreements. The BMW dealer I worked for a short time in between contracts would gladly repair any BMW, no matter where purchased. They get paid from the manufacture. The service department was a huge part of their business.
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That is why I reported them. At the very least, it's a bad business model for any company.
 
I'm not looking to argue or get into an argument however Audio Warranties are issued from the manufacturer not the dealers. Warranty statements are differ from different companies and this should be read and understood before making any claims about anyone.
Having said that many do say what the customer is responsible for as well as the manufacturer.
As a dealer I want to say that we don't get paid for doing service from any manufacturer and I have never been paid just to be clear. I think is an issue that many companies need to sort out as it isn't fair to ask anyone to work for nothing.
We always go out of our way to help as best we can anyone that is our client and has purchased gear from us. We are however under no obligation to get involved on gear we did not sell. We may and have but that would be our desire to help rather than had too.
 
BendingWave said:
I'm not looking to argue or get into an argument however Audio Warranties are issued from the manufacturer not the dealers. Warranty statements are differ from different companies and this should be read and understood before making any claims about anyone.
Having said that many do say what the customer is responsible for as well as the manufacturer.
As a dealer I want to say that we don't get paid for doing service from any manufacturer and I have never been paid just to be clear. I think is an issue that many companies need to sort out as it isn't fair to ask anyone to work for nothing.
We always go out of our way to help as best we can anyone that is our client and has purchased gear from us. We are however under no obligation to get involved on gear we did not sell. We may and have but that would be our desire to help rather than had too.
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Back when I managed stereo stores, granted a long time ago, manufactures would 100% pay for repairs. No one should be expected to work for free.

If manufactures no longer pay the dealer for warranty repairs I can understand why they might only want to repair their own customers. That is a bad by the manufacture but unfortunately it looks bad on the dealer.

Unfortunately sometimes customers are the problem. I remember times when we would teach customers and then they would take our price to a competitor to beat it. Some would actually have the nerve to come back and ask us how to set it up. It really takes balls.
 
My experience is entirely different. Electronics is usually sent to the factory or a repair center, somewhere. This can reflect badly on the dealer as these repair centers are generally slow and overwhelmed.
Speaker companies, not naming names, don't pay. Fixing subwoofers is a pair in the ---. Changing a tweeter in many cases is simple, not all, and some companies will not let you fix their stuff and demand it be returned to the factory, which is expensive and can require all kinds of labor.
This is life so ....
BTW when you buy used this is all on the customer, including the time to get an RMA etc.
 
BendingWave said:
My experience is entirely different. Electronics is usually sent to the factory or a repair center, somewhere. This can reflect badly on the dealer as these repair centers are generally slow and overwhelmed.
Speaker companies, not naming names, don't pay. Fixing subwoofers is a pair in the ---. Changing a tweeter in many cases is simple, not all, and some companies will not let you fix their stuff and demand it be returned to the factory, which is expensive and can require all kinds of labor.
This is life so ....
BTW when you buy used this is all on the customer, including the time to get an RMA etc.
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I remember when if you had a warranty issue, especially a true defect, you could go to the dealer and get an exchange. Then the dealer could do the same with the factory. That's when dealers had support. If the dealer is no help your no more than a warehouse and really no advantage over buying online. The dealer advantage should be service.

I wonder how going back to the old way where the customer goes back to the dealer is working for Parasound.
 
BendingWave said:
My experience is entirely different. Electronics is usually sent to the factory or a repair center, somewhere. This can reflect badly on the dealer as these repair centers are generally slow and overwhelmed.
Speaker companies, not naming names, don't pay. Fixing subwoofers is a pair in the ---. Changing a tweeter in many cases is simple, not all, and some companies will not let you fix their stuff and demand it be returned to the factory, which is expensive and can require all kinds of labor.
This is life so ....
BTW when you buy used this is all on the customer, including the time to get an RMA etc.
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I don’t understand why someone who had purchased a piece of equipment used would involve a dealer in obtaining service for that product, regardless of whether that dealer had originally sold it or not. Even if said piece was still under warranty (such as with Bryston), I would expect to have to deal directly with the factory myself. I wouldn’t regard it as the dealer’s problem to deal with at all.
 
2FarGone said:
I don’t understand why someone who had purchased a piece of equipment used would involve a dealer in obtaining service for that product, regardless of whether that dealer had originally sold it or not. Even if said piece was still under warranty (such as with Bryston), I would expect to have to deal directly with the factory myself. I wouldn’t regard it as the dealer’s problem to deal with at all.
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It's probably the same people who will call up a dealer and pick their brain for an hour and then turn around and buy the item from somewhere else just to save a few bucks.
 
Mr Peabody said:
I remember when if you had a warranty issue, especially a true defect, you could go to the dealer and get an exchange. Then the dealer could do the same with the factory. That's when dealers had support. If the dealer is no help your no more than a warehouse and really no advantage over buying online. The dealer advantage should be service.

I wonder how going back to the old way where the customer goes back to the dealer is working for Parasound.
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I think you are mixing subjects. An initial defect when purchased from an authorized dealer in my experience is never an issue. Warrant y work years later or when something was purchased elsewhere are very different subjects .
 
Michaels HiFi said:
Yeah - I hear the stories from dealers all the time.

I could never image doing that to a dealer. If someone takes the time to help me, they've earned my business even if it costs a bit extra.
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I think that common decency and respect have left the building and its not audio its everywhere. There are many really nice people and then there are the others, that is not going to change anytime soon when the race to the bottom continues
 
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