[spraggih]

I just received my Grado SR80s (US) and I recall seeing the warranty saying Lifetime. I will re-check the box and let you know - maybe if you do not send to Grado directly (i.e., send to retailer, others) then warranty is limited.

 

[adhoc]

Over here in asia, a RS-1 weighs in at $1200 singapore dollars, which works out to roughly USD$727. And unlike the USA MSRP, you never find hefty discounts.

Don't blame the distributors, blame Grado Inc.

 

[wush]

I notice Headroom only mentions blocking sales to England. I guess the rest of the UK is alright then?

 

[kontai69]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spraggih I just received my Grado SR80s (US) and I recall seeing the warranty saying Lifetime.

Are you sure? I just looked at the warranty paper that came with my recently purchased RS-1 and it says...
"Grado warranties that if your Grado Headphones prove to be defective within a period of one year from a verified date of purchase, Grado will provide without charge the parts and labor to remedy any such defect."

 

[warpdriver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clutz To be honest, I don't understand what is going on with the pricing of headphones in Canada. Sennheiser HD580s at Tom Lee Music is about $450, and the 600s are quite a bit more than that. At the same time, Tom Lee has the AKG k24p's for $45 (after tax), which is a good price compared to what you can get them for in the US. Tom Lee also has good prices on the Audio Technica headphones they carry. Hi Fi Centre quoted me a price of $399 for SR-225s when I asked and $299 for the 125s - that's even way more than the Bay Bloor Radio charges for them. The Sound Room in Vancouver is charging over $500 for Beyerdynamic DT880s, but you can get them for about $250 CDN from Jan Meier.. So far that means that Beyers, Grados, and Sennheisers seem to be way over priced in Canada, but the AKG's may be reasonably priced. I believe Long and McQuade has AKG products at very reasonable prices. So it doesn't seem like it's strictly a Grado thing. It's a Canadian thing.. I don't get it.

Welcome to the world of Canadian Distributors

It's worse in the case of Grado's because ALL USA dealers are NOT allowed to sell to Canadians (except for the HF-1's)

SR-60 MSRP $129 CAD
SR-80 MSRP $169
SR-225 MSRP $295 CAD
RS-1 MSRP $999 CAD

Considering that our dollar is trading at around $0.86 USD, we are paying way too much for Grado's.

Similarly, Canadian dealers are selling Beyer DT880's for the full $450 MSRP, and Sennheiser HD650's are selling for $650 MSRP CAD.

Frankly, whenever the price discrepancy gets so large, I will go out of my way to buy from the US directly (either buying used, online, buying when visiting USA etc). It's my way of saying that I won't tolerate this kind of pricing structure. Luckily, with dealers like Headroom offering fast shipping to Canada, I can actually get the headphones faster and cheaper from the USA.

 

[dhp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chri5peed Putting a lifetime warranty on something with such shoddy build quality would be idiotic. Everyone and their dog with Grados would be getting more free repairs than units sold.

I haven't heard of too many Grados dying on their owners

 

[Miller-8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wush I notice Headroom only mentions blocking sales to England. I guess the rest of the UK is alright then?

That's what I was thinking

 

[kwitel]

I have a question here that may or may not be a stupid one (i may be missing something):
Canadians are always commenting on the high price of Grados...why dont these people just hop on Ebay and buy them there?
Or, do none of these people know anyone in the US that can go buy them for you and then just ship em over there??
You have to be out of your mind to pay double the price of anything's normal retail price.

 

[MarkKLC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwitel Canadians are always commenting on the high price of Grados...why dont these people just hop on Ebay and buy them there?

There aren't too many new Grado's on EBay, and some people like me are paranoid about ebay

I keep beating myself on the head for not going for an MS1 instead of an overpriced canadian SR60 though. Next time, forget about the 225's... I'm going for MS2's.

PS: Hi-Fi Centre in Vancouver quoted the RS1's as $1100 ($950 USD) and SR225 as $400 ($345 USD)... oh, and don't forget to add the 14% tax onto that

 

[AlanY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwitel I have a question here that may or may not be a stupid one (i may be missing something): Canadians are always commenting on the high price of Grados...why dont these people just hop on Ebay and buy them there?

Yes, eBay is a godsend for Canadians! Especially now that the Canadian dollar is worth much more than it used to be relative to the US dollar.

I would never buy Grados at a Canadian dealer. I bought the SR-225 I used to have on eBay, and I sold them there. Even "mainstream" consumer electronics is usually much cheaper for Canadians on eBay. I was looking at Harman/kardon home theatre receivers and the new ones are still about 40% off the local list price even after you account for shipping.

The only sad thing is that because there have been a lot of scams, a lot of sellers in the US no longer are willing to ship internationally. I have enough feedback on eBay (100% positive) that usually if I ask the seller I find that they'll make an exception for me. Audiogon is different. People there are much less willing to make exceptions.

Also, a lot of Canadians think there are "duties" on goods coming across the border. That's usually because they've been scammed by UPS Canada, which charges outrageous fees and calls them duties (it's easy to end up paying $100 to UPS to ship an item, once you factor in both shipping and all their invented charges). This sometimes scares Canadians off of eBay. As long as you buy things shipped via USPS or FedEx Express, there are no unreasonable charges.

You can sometimes find Grados on Canuck Audio Mart (a site like Audiogon), but eBay is better for a lot of mainstream consumer electronics. More Canadians should use eBay!

 

[Drakemoor]

Lets face it, if Grado headphones were sold in the UK at they're relative US price they would be considered an absolute bargain, when i saw the price of alessandro's after buying my 225's i nearly choked

 

[squall2072]

I bought my RS-1s from ebay, couldn't be happier. I only thought about doing it because the seller was recommended by people here. I understand the worry about scams etc especially with the R-10's that keep popping up.

The main reason other than scams is that Grado warrantys are void basically if you by from an ebay seller. The warranty can only be used with a receipt from a Grado dealer. So basically make sure you get a good dealer on ebay and make sure you see the Grado's before hand (we don't want to see another late friday edition)

but with all the cost benefits (half price compared to the UK!!) I'd go with my ebay seller everytime.

Also remember we have For sale boards here and most of us are good people, that could save you money too!

 

[Miller-8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drakemoor Lets face it, if Grado headphones were sold in the UK at they're relative US price they would be considered an absolute bargain, when i saw the price of alessandro's after buying my 225's i nearly choked

Not really. We've been conditioned into being ripped off. Grado build quality isnt that great.

 

[squall2072]

Yup, we're suckers in the UK, that why I'm fighting back. LOL, not as though it'll make any difference but were are constantly told that our petrol prices are basically the highest in the EU (definately much more than the US)

Lucky Yanks! I envy you, and all the Americans I've ever met have been friendly and polite. You walk down a street here at night or daytime and someone is asking for a fight!? What the Hell?

Anyway... (end of rant) the only headphones I've heard of with a lifetime warranty are the Koss brand. Sennhiesers are 2 years I believe. I don't know many things that come with a lifetime warranty, although I wish they did.

 

[spraggih]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kontai69 Are you sure? I just looked at the warranty paper that came with my recently purchased RS-1 and it says... "Grado warranties that if your Grado Headphones prove to be defective within a period of one year from a verified date of purchase, Grado will provide without charge the parts and labor to remedy any such defect."

Kontai - I stand (actually I am sitting) corrected. I saw the words "Limited Warranty" and thought it read "Lifetime"... both words do start w/ "L", so I am not too wrong.