Excellent service by Aqualung. Not

[runsongas]

Went to AL website, went to "Find a Dealer", put in my zipcode, got a list of dealers. There is no indication whether that dealer is authorized to sell online or not.

This needs a fix I think.

The issue isn't just buying online. It is also buying from a dealer in another country that is not authorized to sell in the US/Canada that is part of the issue.

 

[kelemvor]

Except the shop iexa bought it from was NOT authorized to sell it in Canada. same thing if a US customer bought a reg from Europe and tried to get it warrantied in the US.

Aqualung's own website says the store is an authorized retailer.

 

[runsongas]

Aqualung's own website says the store is an authorized retailer.

Sure, but for europe from what I understand.

The way I understood OP's original post is they bought a reg from europe, they went diving, it had an issue. They took it to a LDS in canada, the lds in canada said the hp seat was bad, kicked it up as a warranty issue with AL. AL asked for proof of purchase to cover it under warranty. OP provided proof of purchase but the original retailer was from Europe. AL denied the warranty claim since they bought it from a shop in Europe but live in Canada and the warranty in US/Canada only applies if you buy it from a LDS in US/Canada. The online sale is a different issue. Might not be a problem if the original retailer was from North America at least like DRIS. Maybe have to ship it back to DRIS to ship it to AL. Would be the same outcome if OP bought the reg while on vacation in Europe instead of online.

 

[kelemvor]

If Aqualung is going to have stipulations like that which invalidate the warranty from their listed authorized dealers they should at a minimum state it in large print on the site when you go to check if a dealer is authorized. What is a customer supposed to do other than check with the manufacturer before purchase? Demand the retailer provide a copy of the contracts between the store and the manufacturer? That doesn't sound reasonable to me.

If they want to punish someone for the sale, it should be the retailer - not the customer. Regardless of where she lived, she paid the store, who paid aqualung.

I thought grey market was usually when some company buys a product from a manufacturer in a region where the manufacturer sells it cheaper (which is shady on the part of the manufacturer in the first place), then that buyer imports it into a different region and sells it for more than it would have sold in the original market but less than the second market normally sells the product for. That's not what happened here.

 

[runsongas]

the way i understand it, grey market involves any sale that is not illegal, but is not through an authorized channel. The shop in europe should have warned iexa when buying that warranty support would involve shipping it back to europe. I think a few of the european online retailers actually will not ship to the US/Canada anymore because of the issue.

 

[diver0008]

I am in Canada and have many AquaLung products. I purchased them all in Canada either from an LDS or from a Canadian on-line retailer. I have had truly exceptional, fast, and hassle-free service from AquaLung Canada for parts and service, far beyond my expectations.

I would not expect that if I went south or overseas to bypass the established chain of distribution (grey market). The regional networks, and authorization of dealers exists for a reason.Without it, anyone could buy and sell anything anywhere. No manufacturer could manage that chaos. By circumventing the manufacturer's authorized system of distribution to save a few bucks you relinquish your right to the excellent service a registered product bought through an authorized dealer includes.

But I have been in business for a long time, and understand the rules.

In the OP's case here, the true culprit is the vendor who sold outside of his region, cheating his fellow dealers in other regions out of their entitlled share. The OP is certainly a victim, not of Aqualung, but of an unscrupulous vendor. A hard lesson to learn, and one not to forget.

I would hope that the vender gets taught a lesson too.

 

[undrwater]

The issue isn't just buying online. It is also buying from a dealer in another country that is not authorized to sell in the US/Canada that is part of the issue.

From the OP:

I went to Apeks website and the seller IS the official distributor. I asked dive shop to contact them again. Next week I've got an answer - the seller was not authorized to sell regs online.

AL did not inform the OP that they could not authorize warranty repair because the item was purchased outside of North America. They told the OP that the dealer is not authorized to sell online. AL doesn't state on their website one way or another. How is the OP to find out?

 

[undrwater]

The regional networks, and authorization of dealers exists for a reason.Without it, anyone could buy and sell anything anywhere. No manufacturer could manage that chaos.

Murky Waters indeed! ;-) That's globalism, isn't it? It's the consumer's job to find value where they wish within the rules.

By circumventing the manufacturer's authorized system of distribution to save a few bucks you relinquish your right to the excellent service a registered product bought through an authorized dealer includes.

The manufacturer in this case did not inform the consumer of the "authorized system of distribution". That's the manufacturer's fault, which, if real, seems shady. The vendor as well is being shady, I agree there.

If the vendor was willing to sell a product to someone in North America, then they should also be willing to support that product. AL should be attempting to get the vendor to pony up, but at the same time serving and educating the customer.

 

[runsongas]

I'm not convinced it would be likely a shop in europe is the official distributor for canada. it doesn't add up to me.

AL does have weird rules about online sales, but I can only see that being an issue because OP took it back to a different LDS for the warranty support. OP should be taking this up with the shop where they bought the reg in the first place.

You wouldn't buy a samsung laptop from Amazon and then complain samsung won't let you return it at best buy.

 

[diver0008]

I thought grey market was usually when some company buys a product from a manufacturer in a region where the manufacturer sells it cheaper (which is shady on the part of the manufacturer in the first place), then that buyer imports it into a different region and sells it for more than it would have sold in the original market but less than the second market normally sells the product for.

"Grey market" is generally considered to deal in items being sold into regions into which they were not officially distributed. Warranty services are managed and provided by the regional distribution companies, local sales offices of the manufacturer, or authorized service centers who forward billing for their services on warrantied items that have been registered as being sold under authorization by the manufacturer to the manufacturer.

If you cut out this middle man for one who sells cheaper because they know they will never need to devote a penny of overhead to service, you end up in this grey area, which for manufacturers is actually quite black.