[Febs]

JAG87, I have two thoughts on how you could proceed.

First, arguably, since you originally purchased on E series earphone, not an SE series earphone, the warranty that should apply to you is the E series warranty. (In other words, Shure should not be able to reduce the total warranty that applied to the product you originally purchased by substituting a product with a different warranty). Here is what Shure's website currently says with respect to the E series warranty:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shure Two-Year Limited Warranty Shure Incorporated (“Shure”) hereby warrants that this product will be free in normal use of any defects in materials and workmanship for a period of two years from the date of purchase. At its option Shure will repair or replace the defective product and promptly return it to you, or refund the purchase price. You should retain proof of purchase to validate the purchase date and return it with any warranty claim.

Contrast that warranty to the warranty as stated for the SE series:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shure Two-Year Limited Warranty As of May 1, 2007, Shure Incorporated (“Shure”) hereby warrants to the original consumer purchaser only that this product will be free in normal use of any defects in materials and workmanship for a period of two (2) years from the consumer’s original date of purchase directly from Shure or from a Shure-authorized reseller. At its sole option, Shure will repair or replace the defective product and promptly return it to you. In order for this warranty to be valid, the consumer must, at the time the product is returned, provide proof of purchase in the form of the original purchase receipt directly from Shure or from a Shure-authorized reseller. If Shure elects to replace the defective product, then Shure reserves the right to replace the defective product with another product of the same model or a model of at least comparable quality and features in Shure’s sole determination. If you believe this product is defective within the warranty period, carefully repack the unit, insure it and return it with proof of purchase, postage prepaid, to Shure Incorporated, Attention: Service Department, at the address below. Outside of the United States, return the product to your dealer or Authorized Service Center. This warranty is not transferable.

Note the warranty for the SE series is expressly limited to the original purchaser and also expressly notes that it is not transferable. However, the warranty for the E series earphones has no such limitations. I would argue that the warranty coverage to which you are entitled is the warranty that applied to the product that you originally purchased, the E500, which was transferable and was not limited to the original purchased.

Second, if it is true that the reason that Shure has made this change is to prevent people from exchanging counterfeit earphones for real ones, that concern should not apply in your particular situation, because the earphones that you are attempting to replace were provided to you directly by Shure. You should have received a receipt from Shure when your earphones were previously exchanged. That receipt should be sufficient to assure Shure that the earphone that you are exchanging is not a counterfeit, regardless of whether or not you have the original purchase receipt.

Good luck with this. I really hope that one of the Shure representatives weighs in on this thread. In the meantime, please keep us posted on any developments.

 

[JAG87]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elnero /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are you dealing with Shure USA or SF Marketing in Canada?

I spoke to both, first to SF Marketing, and they told me there is nothing they can do. If they replace them without an invoice, chances are that Shure wont refund them, and they will be out money.

The guy at SF Marketing (which by the way are much more compassionate people than Shure) gave me a number to call Shure USA and talk to them to see if I could get them repaired. I called and what a surprise, they want 325 USD to repair/replace them, because without an invoice they are considered out of warranty.

So I call the guy at SF Marketing again, and he goes wow I feel sorry for you and bla bla bla, basically he was being nice and all, but there is nothing he could do. The big boss changed its rules.



Quote:

Originally Posted by jsmithepa /img/forum/go_quote.gif Major ear-wax prob? Use 'em in pouring rain? Stop sleeping with them!

negative sir, this happened overnight while they were in the pocket of my jacket. I do not sleep with them. obviously they took a hit from something.



Quote:

Originally Posted by Febs /img/forum/go_quote.gif JAG87, I have two thoughts on how you could proceed. First, arguably, since you originally purchased on E series earphone, not an SE series earphone, the warranty that should apply to you is the E series warranty. (In other words, Shure should not be able to reduce the total warranty that applied to the product you originally purchased by substituting a product with a different warranty). Here is what Shure's website currently says with respect to the E series warranty: Contrast that warranty to the warranty as stated for the SE series: Note the warranty for the SE series is expressly limited to the original purchaser and also expressly notes that it is not transferable. However, the warranty for the E series earphones has no such limitations. I would argue that the warranty coverage to which you are entitled is the warranty that applied to the product that you originally purchased, the E500, which was transferable and was not limited to the original purchased. Second, if it is true that the reason that Shure has made this change is to prevent people from exchanging counterfeit earphones for real ones, that concern should not apply in your particular situation, because the earphones that you are attempting to replace were provided to you directly by Shure. You should have received a receipt from Shure when your earphones were previously exchanged. That receipt should be sufficient to assure Shure that the earphone that you are exchanging is not a counterfeit, regardless of whether or not you have the original purchase receipt. Good luck with this. I really hope that one of the Shure representatives weighs in on this thread. In the meantime, please keep us posted on any developments.

that makes perfect sense my friend, and I tried explaining that to them. I used to own E500s, so the E500 warranty should apply, but he said that I currently have SE530s, and that the SE530 warranty applies now. Yet they want to see proof of purchase of the original E500s

kinda contradictory no?

 

[elnero]

Boy, I guess I got in just under the wire then, SF Marketing replaced my E500's with SE530's in early to mid December because they finally succumbed to the infamous cable cracking, in addition one of the soft plastic pieces at the top of the driver housing where the cord enters came completely away from the housing as well. Just last week I sent them an email with some questions in regards to what happens with the warranty on this new pair but haven't received any reply.

 

[rean1mator]

that's lame. shure probably has replaced aton of these b/c these are definitely a design flaw with this model. same thing happened to me and they replaced with no request for documentation.

i ended up getting custom ear plugs made for them which doesn't require me to place extra pressure on the tip when inserting with the stock plugs.

the custom plugs fit right in my ear with very little need to force them in to get an air tight seal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAG87 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi all fellow head-fiers. you may recall that my thread about the e500s with the broken nozzle. thats always fun isn't it. well shure replaced them with se530s, and now they broke again. great. so I call shure, and now they have this new policy as of Dec 21 2007 that they wont replace them unless I show them an invoice. the date code on the plug is no longer a viable solution for warranty. I originally bought my e500s from a head-fier so I have no receipt. I am looking for a good soul that will either photocopy and mail me their E500 PTH invoice, or make a very good scan and email it to me. You will forever have my gratitude and 20 bucks extra in your paypal account. I promise. Feel free to send me a PM if you can help me.

 

[JAG87]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elnero /img/forum/go_quote.gif Boy, I guess I got in just under the wire then, SF Marketing replaced my E500's with SE530's in early to mid December because they finally succumbed to the infamous cable cracking, in addition one of the soft plastic pieces at the top of the driver housing where the cord enters came completely away from the housing as well. Just last week I sent them an email with some questions in regards to what happens with the warranty on this new pair but haven't received any reply.

send an email to daniel.lerouxREMOVE@sfm.ca and he will answer you. hes the nicest guy I have ever dealt with, and he will nicely tell you that you need an invoice or no dice. by the way they replaced mine in november, and the policy is in effect from Dec 21.

 

[elnero]

That's who I dealt with in December and who I sent the email to last week. He was great in dealing with the replacement in December so I figured he was the best person to contact with my questions, frankly I'm rather surprised by the lack of any response.

 

[Peddler]

Well I am in the same situation now. Just got an e-mail from Shure advising me that they won't do a warranty repair without the original receipt. I am going to have to attempt a home made repair on them now - any advise on the best way of repairing these cracks? The cables are still working at this point in time and the crack is a few inches away from the phones themselves.

I have to say that my recent experiences with both Shure and Etymotic have left a bad taste in my mouth and I feel that I shall NEVER buy any of their products again and cannot in all honesty recommend them to anyone anymore. I am now the proud owner of the Triple.Fi 10's and they have user-replaceable cables - sensible design strategy - anyone know if UE would send cables without asking for the phones back if they were to crack too?

Once again, I feel that I CAN NO LONGER RECOMMEND SHURE OR ETYMOTIC HEADPHONES TO ANYONE BECAUSE OF THEIR POOR RETURNS POLICY.

The problem I have with Etymotic is that I am not a useless **** - I am able to change the cable myself. They won't let me do that - insisting that I send the phones back to them to have a cable replaced - this cost me nearly as much in customs charges as a replacement pair off e-bay would have cost - that JUST SUCKS!!!

The problem I have with Shure is that they are selling a product that clearly has design flaws - the price they are quoting for a non-warranty repair is just fuc***g outrageous - shame on them for shirking away from their responsibility to honour their customers. The E500's sounded great - really mellow and comfortable - I'm really REALLY upset by their attitude towards their customers - guess I know where we all stand with that company. How can they justify charging $345 for a replacement cable - if I was in the States I would be consulting you guys about a class action suit.

I will now be changing my avatar - the only way I can protest.

 

[Al4x]

shure is unfortunately putting off the people who buy its top end product,

shouldve been a recall

 

[uncletank88]

This might sound a little underhanded, but given shure's method of handling the issue at hand, it might not be too out of the question. Here is my idea, buy a pair of Se500's from an authorized retailer to obtain an invoice and return the purchased pair for a refund. I'm not sure how many Shure authorized retailers will allow the purchaser to return an unopened pair for a full refund, but I am sure at least a few will do this. The obtained invoice could then be used for 2 years and if need this could be done again once the invoice initially obtained expires.

Just a thought

 

[jinx20001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncletank88 /img/forum/go_quote.gif This might sound a little underhanded, but given shure's method of handling the issue at hand, it might not be too out of the question. Here is my idea, buy a pair of Se500's from an authorized retailer to obtain an invoice and return the purchased pair for a refund. I'm not sure how many Shure authorized retailers will allow the purchaser to return an unopened pair for a full refund, but I am sure at least a few will do this. The obtained invoice could then be used for 2 years and if need this could be done again once the invoice initially obtained expires. Just a thought

its possible but you dont wanna go buying a set not knowing wether you can return them or not without invoice, best thing to do would be to email a few stores, such as the apple store for example and ask if they do returns without the invoice. 99.9% of the time they will say you cant get cash back but you can exchange it for something in store.

so if theres something you want, such as a new ipod or something you would have your invoice for your earphones and a new ipod, problem solved

if you dont want something in store your a little bit stuffed

 

[Low Fidelity]

Quote:

This might sound a little underhanded, but given shure's method of handling the issue at hand, it might not be too out of the question. Here is my idea, buy a pair of Se500's from an authorized retailer to obtain an invoice and return the purchased pair for a refund. I'm not sure how many Shure authorized retailers will allow the purchaser to return an unopened pair for a full refund, but I am sure at least a few will do this. The obtained invoice could then be used for 2 years and if need this could be done again once the invoice initially obtained expires.

Honestly, its a shame this is happening. You've got a product with a retail price of half a thousand dollars and you have to "fraud" your way to warranty replacement.

I'm really, really glad I picked up livewires over the e500/e530s.

 

[jinx20001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al4x /img/forum/go_quote.gif shure is unfortunately putting off the people who buy its top end product, shouldve been a recall

and no it shouldnt have been a recall, its a small percentage of people with the problem and the problem is not the cable but that small percentage that has greasy oily skin that dry's on the cable causing it to stiffen resulting in a split, now yes i am kidding its down to shure and what they have put in the cable not the person using them it should have been avoided, im not sure but i cant imagine they had a sweaty greasy teenager at hand to test the cable on, this is the reason shure has been so good to replace them, if they had a greasy test dummy it could have been solved.

anyway my point being a recall was not needed because the situation is just too small, its just huge on this site, about 38% i recall somebody said to me a while back going by the cable polls, which is fairly huge if it was outside of this site, but this is a site for the gathering of headphone/earphone owners and its to be expected that everyone with the problem reports here. so 38% is fairly small even on this site where you would expect so many more if the problem is so big it needs a recall

 

[jinx20001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Low Fidelity /img/forum/go_quote.gif Honestly, its a shame this is happening. You've got a product with a retail price of half a thousand dollars and you have to "fraud" your way to warranty replacement. I'm really, really glad I picked up livewires over the e500/e530s.

but your decision should not be swayed by the warranty, but by which is the better headphones, now i wont get into a discussion about what is better, for me its the shures but for you its bound to be the livewires.

chances are if you brought your shures this year then you are unlikely to have any of the problems which are most common, the cable for instance. if you brought your shures in 07 or 08 this is most likely not an issue anymore.

the livewires are goo dont get me wrong, i love mine and they do offer a nice flat sound, but theres flat and amazing such as ue10 and then theres flat and flat such as livewires, theres just nothing to point out and say ''hey now that sounded good'', with the shures or ue10 you can get that reaction easily.

but anyway i said i wouldnt discuss the sound, my point being if your decision to get livewires is made all the better because of this warranty issue then your missing the point of choosing earphones.

without ranting on, let me point out i know you never chose the livewires because of the warranty of the shures but im simply saying you shouldnt believe one set is better than the other due to warranty

 

[Al4x]

i dunno, when your spending £200+ on a set of iems, i want to be sure that if they break im covered!

im just lucky i like my triple fis better that the se530s

 

[elnero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinx20001 /img/forum/go_quote.gif and no it shouldnt have been a recall, its a small percentage of people with the problem and the problem is not the cable but that small percentage that has greasy oily skin that dry's on the cable causing it to stiffen resulting in a split, now yes i am kidding its down to shure and what they have put in the cable not the person using them it should have been avoided, im not sure but i cant imagine they had a sweaty greasy teenager at hand to test the cable on, this is the reason shure has been so good to replace them, if they had a greasy test dummy it could have been solved. anyway my point being a recall was not needed because the situation is just too small, its just huge on this site, about 38% i recall somebody said to me a while back going by the cable polls, which is fairly huge if it was outside of this site, but this is a site for the gathering of headphone/earphone owners and its to be expected that everyone with the problem reports here. so 38% is fairly small even on this site where you would expect so many more if the problem is so big it needs a recall

I've been thinking about this and a few things don't add up for me in regards to this explanation. First off, I don't have oily skin, in fact I tend to fight rather dry skin. Second, when I noticed the cable on one side was cracked/split or whatever you want to call it I also noticed that the soft plastic piece on the top of the driver housing where the cable enters was actually coming away from the housing. It was only a matter of days before that came completely off revealing what appeared to be an older crack because the wire itself was showing a bit of green. That part of the cable didn't actually even touch my skin because it was covered by the soft plastic piece, plus it wouldn't even move as much as other parts of the cable because it's would again be limited by the soft plastic piece.