[ro-76]

Just a heads up to any of you considering buying a pair of high end IEMS. Be very careful of Etymotic and their warranty.
 
I have a pair of HF2s that are less than a year old, purchased from a reputable top-rated ebay seller. Hf2s come with a 2 year warranty, and they were launched around 18 months ago, so all hf2s should be less than 2 yerars old. I needed to have them serviced, so I called their customer service.
 
They now will not honor any warranty unless purchased from an authorized dealer. The warranty is non-transferable. That means that any purchase except directly from an authorized seller voids the warranty.If you buy a pair on these forums for example, the warranty is void, even if the product is brand new and was originally purchased from an authorized dealer.
 
I looked a little deeper and searched for dealers in the NYC area. Adorama.com is a very reputable dealer of photo equipment etc for over 30 years and known for great service. They carry a full range of etymotic products, but they are not listed as an authorized dealer, so presumably no warranty.
 
Etymotic say that there are counterfeit products out there and that's the reason for this new policy. I would be very surprised if any counterfeiter could produce anything like a real pair of etymotics, given their unique design. Even if there are counterfeit versions, surely etymotic service personnel would know immediately once they inspect the product.
 
This gets even murkier. If you are unlucky enough to have bought a genuine pair of etymotics from someone not on their list of dealers, they will allow you to "launder" your purchase by returning the product to them and paying $107 plus shipping both ways for a new official product. You can pay twice for the same product. The same HF2s sell on Amazon for $121 shipped free - cheaper to buy a new pair.
 
I post this message as a warning to potential buyers. I typically try to buy good brands of consumer products such as Canon, Apple etc, because I believe that the premium you pay for a good product if worthwhile when it comes to service. I have read some good reports online about etymotic service, but evidently that has changed. If you are going to buy one of their products, beware that you may not have any warranty despite buying in good faith from a reputable seller.
 
 

 

[rangerid]

This is common sense and most people are aware of this. If you purchase from ebay of course they are not going to be covered unless the seller is an authorized reseller and like wise if you purchase from forums. You should be smart enough not to tell them you have purchased from a forum if you do have valid proof of purchase.
 
The same goes for every other company for every other product.... Ety is an EXCELLENT company and their policies are no different than many other headphone companies. I think you should change the title as it is very misleading. 

 

[ro-76]

Quote:

If you purchase from ebay of course they are not going to be covered unless the seller is an authorized reseller

 
They do not cover any ebay purchase or amazon marketplace purchase, authorized or not.
 
 

You should be smart enough not to tell them you have purchased from a forum if you do have valid proof of purchase.
 

 
Isn't that dishonest and possibly fraudulent?
 
 

The same goes for every other company for every other product.... 

 
 
With respect, this is not how it goes for every other company. 
 
Apple will warranty any product purchased from anywhere provided it is within the warranty period.
 
Canon for example have numerous authorized sellers on ebay. 
 
 

Ety is an EXCELLENT company and their policies are no different than many other headphone companies. I think you should change the title as it is very misleading. 

 
 
I bought my HF2s expecting good service and that's not what I got. The fact that they will sell me a new pair in exchange for my current HF2 is a cynical attempt to make me pay twice for the same product.
 
The title of my post and all the content is not misleading. It is 100% true. You can make your own judgement, but I want make readers aware of my experience at the hands of etymotic service.
 
 
 

 

[richard]

The first sentence of the first google hit I got for "etymotic warranty" is an etymotic page which starts with "Etymotic Research, Inc. automatically warrants the following products against defects in material or workmanship from the date of original purchase from an authorized Etymotic distributor or reseller."
 
Are you saying you purchased from an authorized dealer or reseller?  If not, why do you expect service?

 

[rangerid]

I am not going to argue here. The point is, you purchased from an ebay seller who is not an authorized Ety Reseller and Ety refused the warranty repair. Sounds fair to me. I am out. 

 

[goodvibes]

Quote:

 
They do not cover any ebay purchase or amazon marketplace purchase, authorized or not.
 
 
 
Isn't that dishonest and possibly fraudulent?
 
 
 
 
With respect, this is not how it goes for every other company. 
 
Apple will warranty any product purchased from anywhere provided it is within the warranty period.
 
Canon for example have numerous authorized sellers on ebay. 
 
 
 
 
I bought my HF2s expecting good service and that's not what I got. The fact that they will sell me a new pair in exchange for my current HF2 is a cynical attempt to make me pay twice for the same product.
 
The title of my post and all the content is not misleading. It is 100% true. You can make your own judgement, but I want make readers aware of my experience at the hands of etymotic service.
 
 
 

I hate when guys join headfi just to get even due to their own mistakes. All you're doing is displaing the same lack of judgement you had with your purchase. Nothing wrong with buying on ebay if you understand that no manufacturer warrants without an authorized sales reciept and you feel that risk is worth the purchase but you can't have it both ways. Grow up and start taking responsibility for your own actions.
 

 

[ro-76]

Quote:

 
Nothing wrong with buying on ebay if you understand that no manufacturer warrants without an authorized sales reciept and you feel that risk is worth the purchase but you can't have it both ways. 

By your rational, every etymotic product sold on your forums has no warranty either. 
 
The warranty should be based on the actual product, not on where you purchased it, as with most consumer products. If etymotic believe that have a good product, they should back that up. 
 
They are willing to cover it if I pay $107. That says that they acknowledge that it's genuine, but that they want to punish customers for not buying from their people. It's anticompetitive.
 

 

[ubercaffeinated]

Nothing has changed with their customer service - it is still great - and this is why a lot of us warn new buyers to buy from authorized dealers. What's a few more dollars for piece of mind. 
 
The same thing applies if you purchase from Westone, Shure, or any other well known American companies, they will tell you the same thing - buy from their authorized dealers or be **** out of luck when you need servicing. 
 
If you want to blame anyone, blame your ebay seller for not telling you this and make this a cheap lesson for yourself in the future. It doesn't matter if you buy or don't buy from Ety again. Warranty rules are in place for a reason and are pretty universal with all the major IEM/headphone brands. 
 

 

[ro-76]

Quote:

The same thing applies if you purchase from Westone, Shure, or any other well known American companies, they will tell you the same thing - buy from their authorized dealers or be **** out of luck when you need servicing. 

 
Not true. Ultimate Ears replaced a pair of earphones for me about 2 years ago based on a photo that I emailed them. Didn't ask for proof of purchase and I didn't even have to return the product. 
 
 

If you want to blame anyone, blame your ebay seller for not telling you this and make this a cheap lesson for yourself in the future. It doesn't matter if you buy or don't buy from Ety again. Warranty rules are in place for a reason and are pretty universal with all the major IEM/headphone brands. 

 
If I do buy another pair of etymotics, I'll still but them from eBay if they are better value. I'm not paying a 70% premium to Etymotic on the off chance that they'll need to be serviced within the warranty period. I could probably buy another new pair now for less than the discount I got with my first set. ie two pairs for less than Etymotic force their authorized dealers to sell for. Do you really pay the ticket price? I'm sure they love having you as a customer. 

 

[Blue Boat]

This is pointless OP.
 
 
You bought the HF5 from an unauthorised reseller, the product died on you, Ety won't fix it.
 
You bought a TF10, it died on you, UE was so kind so as to replace them no questions asked. 
 
So now you're mad Ety isn't honouring the warranty on a product you got from an unauthorised reseller?
 
 
 
Am I the only one not getting this? 

 

[Shoulon]

Sennheiser Ftw.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

Quote:

 
Not true. Ultimate Ears replaced a pair of earphones for me about 2 years ago based on a photo that I emailed them. Didn't ask for proof of purchase and I didn't even have to return the product. 
 
 
 
If I do buy another pair of etymotics, I'll still but them from eBay if they are better value. I'm not paying a 70% premium to Etymotic on the off chance that they'll need to be serviced within the warranty period. I could probably buy another new pair now for less than the discount I got with my first set. ie two pairs for less than Etymotic force their authorized dealers to sell for. Do you really pay the ticket price? I'm sure they love having you as a customer. 

 
No, I never pay true MSRP - I wait for the prices to drop on Amazon and buy it there cheap. Amazon is an Ety authorized dealer.
 
Same with Westone - I usually wait for a 20-25% off coupon and buy from earphonesolutions, a Westone authorized dealer. 
 
Doing this allows me to get the cheapest price on a real product that the maker backs with full warranty. 
 
Buying from a ebay source that isn't an authorized dealer is like the modern day equivalent of buying speakers from the back of a white van - sure you save money up front, but are you really saving money in the long run if you run into issues and need to use warranty? And do you know if your product is even real? And even if it was real, what if you got a B stock item that wasn't supposed to be sold.
 
This is common sense, as posters before have mentioned.
 
You can be mad all you want, but if you keep purchasing from unauthorized sources, you'll likely get burned again and the money you think you will be saving will be a wash considering all the frustration you go through. 
 
UE was nice to you that one time. It's at their discretion to do whatever they want. But even UE has an authorized dealers list - they didn't have to do anything for you either.
 
 

 

[ro-76]

Quote:

This is pointless OP.
 
 
You bought the HF5 from an unauthorised reseller, the product died on you, Ety won't fix it.
 
You bought a TF10, it died on you, UE was so kind so as to replace them no questions asked. 
 
So now you're mad Ety isn't honouring the warranty on a product you got from an unauthorised reseller?
 
 
 
Am I the only one not getting this? 

I don't like Etymotic forcing me to buy from a small group of dealers who only sell at the MSRP. Isn't that distortion of the market? If you're ok with that, you're entitled to your opinion. 
 
 

 

[alv4426]

 
Quote:

 
If I do buy another pair of etymotics, I'll still but them from eBay if they are better value. I'm not paying a 70% premium to Etymotic on the off chance that they'll need to be serviced within the warranty period.

Then why are you even complaining?


Quote:

 
 
Same with Westone - I usually wait for a 20-25% off coupon and buy from earphonesolutions, a Westone authorized dealer. 
 
 

Don't get me started with earphonesolutions I just had my first bad experience with an online seller thanks to those people. And no I wont get into it but next time Ill take my chances buying from amazon w/o warranty like usual, difference is I wont be complaining on Headfi if the headphones break on me during the non-existent warranty period.

 

[rangerid]

Quote:

I don't like Etymotic forcing me to buy from a small group of dealers who only sell at the MSRP. Isn't that distortion of the market? If you're ok with that, you're entitled to your opinion. 
 
 

Wow, I don't even know how to reply to this. Don't like the price? Don't buy it.... 
 
Posting this thread does absolutely nothing except showing everyone what a bad judgement you have made in buying from an unauthorized and therefore should be a wake up call to everyone including the OP to buy from an AUTHORIZED DEALER.