[Tianxiao Qiu]

At least I wouldn't recommend others to purchase Iriver product anymore. And, please tell me where can I find the dealer who is selling a much cheaper price than US. And all Apple devices have Chinese build-in, my friend. Just mentioning if you don't know.

When I paying $3000+ and get this kind of customer service is way below my expectation. Why I can't buy devices with Chinese in North America?

 

[Tianxiao Qiu]

reality check again for those who buy things and feels they deserved a special treatment

So you will tell me where can I buy a cheap Spk from a dealer? Any other examples with different language settings? Please don't slap your own face.

 

[beaux]

Iriver is offering a very stressful warranty policy for us customers. I bought a sp1000 music player 5 months ago in mainland China since only the device been purchased in China has the language choice of simplified Chinese. So I didn't buy it in North America. But now, It has some issues in its battery that stop the charging progress all the time. I send an email to the Iriver customer service in North America. They said "AKCS US team is required to process the unit as an Out-of-Warranty service based on the purchase information that’s given. " This kind of warranty service is so disappointing.

Have you tried to ask a third party for help?

 

[Obscene0324]

Have you tried to ask a third party for help?

Even if this will temporarily solve the problem, it will blow the warranty all in one. Not wise at all.

 

[beaux]

Excuse me, but that's just a terrible-ass solution. When I buy a DAP for $3,000, I expect my service to be better than your average electronics company. None of the other brands (with the exception of the WM1Z) sells a portable electronics device as expensive as those from A&K. A better comparison would be something like Leica lenses (many of which are in the same price range as a SP1000), and Leica will cover shipping costs to Germany if you are still under their global warranty. Sony will allow for cross region repairs at discretion as well, and I've successfully done so for both their DAPs and Vaio's.

People travel. I'm in China at least twice a year and spend months in SEA and Europe on business trips. And this is probably true for a lot of people who own high-end portable DAPs. Are you telling me that I have to stick to one country to buy AK products because of some weird policy restriction that makes my warranty void for anything but the physical country I got it from?

Now I've been a A&K user for a while (AK300, AK320 + amp, SP1000) and this policy worries me about buying from A&K in the future. My SP1000 is from a US dealer, and if mine breaks on a long trip in Beijing or Hong Kong, am I just going to be out of luck and without a DAP for weeks, if I don't want to pay hundreds of dollars in shipping costs? That's pretty unfortunate.

If you want to punish importers that's fine, but not allowing discretion over policy for people who actually travel and live in more than one country (I know Tianxiao and he's a college student in the US) is a bad idea. If the likes of Leica, Zeiss and Hasselblad can offer repair exceptions, so can (and should) A&K.

Hi friend, Stopping thinking about it. If iriver fulfills your requests, the cost finally goes to customers and you end up buying a 5000 DAP. Iriver is incomparable to Sony Apple Samsung which have billions customers in the world.

 

[beaux]

Also automotive manufacturers have the same policy, even Ferrari guarantee the warranty in the same country of purchase. If you buy a Ferrari in US the warranty won’t be valid if you bring the car to Canada.

Let's hope Canada joins in States.

 

[Rlin987]

Let's hope Canada joins in States.

Is Ferrari a CE? Think before making statements.

 

[Obscene0324]

As much as I empathise on whats happening to you, there are some reality checks here :

1) When you buy things overseas, you know you are taking on some risks when it comes to post sales situation.

2) Most if not all vendors, they dont have unified or streamline post sales services like APPLE : meaning regardless where you bought your device, you cant just send it in to the local service center and expect them to service you as if you are a local customer. This due to costing, tax and accounting issues. Eg how do you account for a device that is sold in china where the profit is "localised".

3) I personally have purchased things from overseas and I either send it back to the dealer who sold me the device and wait or I talk to the manufacturer and deal with them direct. Either ways, I have to incur more costs (shippings etc) and (waiting) time.

There are always some exceptions but those are far and few. There's nothing to be disappointing once you understand how things work and manage your expectations.

PS : I am very sure that you probably got your SPK at a much cheaper price in china as compared to buying them in US.....so there you go

I do personally own a pair of Sp1000cc. Their sound quality, aesthetics, and other functions (such as streaming) are undisputedly the best that this market can provide in this time and space. But... As the name of this forum implies. The Sp1000 is a "PORTABLE Source Gear". It's meant to be carried here and there, and likely to do so overseas. So is it for me. I've bought mine back in mainland China and brought it to the States.

I haven't experienced any malfunctions yet, but what TianXiao experienced back there is more than disturbing. Even if this restriction is listed on the warranty, it doesn't mean as customers we cannot complain, and by means protest against it. By any reasonable standards, this restriction is not a good one nor a fair one. It most likely stems from the faults of AK and their vendors. It is unsettling to know that, as customers, we'll need to pay extra for their quarrels.

And for your claims on the different retail price in the US and China... The MSRP of Sp1000 in the US is 3499, while in China it's 25888RMB. Let me do the math for you, 25888RMB roughly equals to 3698$. AK products are actually priced higher in mainland China. If you're looking for a cheaper AK product, mainland China is probably the last place to look at. In fact, the grey-market for SP1000 or other AK product in mainland China typically comes from Korea or Hongkong.

Besides, if you feel unfair about others getting a cheaper Sp1000 than you did. What about people who bought a Sp1000 on discount? Should they be penalized for doing that?

Also, upon what I've learned from retailers that I'm familiar with. The Sp1000 is, in fact, the best selling DAP over 2000$. Much more than Sony's or any others. AK must have earned buckets of money out of it. Also, though it's often forgotten nowadays, Iriver was, in fact, one of the very first to join the portable audio market. Their mp3s were some of the most well-known back then. Therefore, AK, or say Iriver is by no means a small firm. It would be absolutely astonishing to know that they are unable to provide a global warranty. There are many much smaller firms who provide a global warranty.

 

[Rlin987]

I do personally own a pair of Sp1000cc. Their sound quality, aesthetics, and other functions (such as streaming) are undisputedly the best that this market can provide in this time and space. But... As the name of this forum implies. The Sp1000 is a "PORTABLE Source Gear". It's meant to be carried here and there, and likely to do so overseas. So is it for me. I've bought mine back in mainland China and brought it to the States.

I haven't experienced any malfunctions yet, but what TianXiao experienced back there is more than disturbing. Even if this restriction is listed on the warranty, it doesn't mean as customers we cannot complain, and by means protest against it. By any reasonable standards, this restriction is not a good one nor a fair one. It most likely stems from the faults of AK and their vendors. It is unsettling to know that, as customers, we'll need to pay extra for their quarrels.

And for your claims on the different retail price in the US and China... The MSRP of Sp1000 in the US is 3499, while in China it's 25888RMB. Let me do the math for you, 25888RMB roughly equals to 3698$. AK products are actually priced higher in mainland China. If you're looking for a cheaper AK product, mainland China is probably the last place to look at. In fact, the grey-market for SP1000 or other AK product in mainland China typically comes from Korea or Hongkong.

Besides, if you feel unfair about others getting a cheaper Sp1000 than you did. What about people who bought a Sp1000 on discount? Should they be penalized for doing that?

Also, upon what I've learned from retailers that I'm familiar with. The Sp1000 is, in fact, the best selling DAP over 2000$. Much more than Sony's or any others. AK must have earned buckets of money out of it. Also, though it's often forgotten nowadays, Iriver was, in fact, one of the very first to join the portable audio market. Their mp3s were some of the most well-known back then. Therefore, AK, or say Iriver is by no means a small firm. It would be absolutely astonishing to know that they are unable to provide a global warranty. There are many much smaller firms who provide a global warranty.

Agree with your points.

In addition, I personally think that if buyer cannot find a cheaper price and other buyers can buy with better deal, it's buyer's fault for not doing market research. Even in NA, the most obvious deal is Audio46 10% first time buyer discount.

 

[Obscene0324]

reality check again for those who buy things and feels they deserved a special treatment

According to your chart. By buying a Sp1000 I've traded "cheap" for "good" and "fast". So now, if the post-sell service which typically lies under the category of "good" isn't there. Who should I blame? Myself???

 

[beaux]

Is Ferrari a CE? Think before making statements.

Don't you know what jokes mean? Think hard before posting

 

[Rlin987]

Don't you know what jokes mean? Think hard before posting

Then stop making terrible joke.

 

[beaux]

I do personally own a pair of Sp1000cc. Their sound quality, aesthetics, and other functions (such as streaming) are undisputedly the best that this market can provide in this time and space. But... As the name of this forum implies. The Sp1000 is a "PORTABLE Source Gear". It's meant to be carried here and there, and likely to do so overseas. So is it for me. I've bought mine back in mainland China and brought it to the States.

I haven't experienced any malfunctions yet, but what TianXiao experienced back there is more than disturbing. Even if this restriction is listed on the warranty, it doesn't mean as customers we cannot complain, and by means protest against it. By any reasonable standards, this restriction is not a good one nor a fair one. It most likely stems from the faults of AK and their vendors. It is unsettling to know that, as customers, we'll need to pay extra for their quarrels.

And for your claims on the different retail price in the US and China... The MSRP of Sp1000 in the US is 3499, while in China it's 25888RMB. Let me do the math for you, 25888RMB roughly equals to 3698$. AK products are actually priced higher in mainland China. If you're looking for a cheaper AK product, mainland China is probably the last place to look at. In fact, the grey-market for SP1000 or other AK product in mainland China typically comes from Korea or Hongkong.

Besides, if you feel unfair about others getting a cheaper Sp1000 than you did. What about people who bought a Sp1000 on discount? Should they be penalized for doing that?

Also, upon what I've learned from retailers that I'm familiar with. The Sp1000 is, in fact, the best selling DAP over 2000$. Much more than Sony's or any others. AK must have earned buckets of money out of it. Also, though it's often forgotten nowadays, Iriver was, in fact, one of the very first to join the portable audio market. Their mp3s were some of the most well-known back then. Therefore, AK, or say Iriver is by no means a small firm. It would be absolutely astonishing to know that they are unable to provide a global warranty. There are many much smaller firms who provide a global warranty.

When compare prices in these two countries. I think it is unfair to ignore sales tax in the US which is calculated separately when you place an order. That said, the MSRP should be almost the same. However, Chinese authorized dealers are more willing to offer huge discounts than the US. (You can at least have 10% mark down in US shop but not as much as in China). Overall, price in China is actually more competitive. However, if you spend most time in the US, buying in the US is a wiser choice.

 

[lights]

To be fair as someone who has been using iriver products (and their warranty a couple of times) since the H300, their service isn't what it used to be.

Also some people might remember back then they were releasing players that were genuinely cutting edge for a fraction of the price and included Sennheiser headphones, carry case, belt clip, audio cables and wall charger.

 

[Obscene0324]

When compare prices in these two countries. I think it is unfair to ignore sales tax in the US which is calculated separately when you place an order. That said, the MSRP should be almost the same. However, Chinese authorized dealers are more willing to offer huge discounts than the US. (You can at least have 10% mark down in US shop but not as much as in China). Overall, price in China is actually more competitive. However, if you spend most time in the US, buying in the US is a wiser choice.

Well, even if the MSRP is roughly the same. If Chinese dealers are more willing to give discounts. How is that my fault? Or the fault of anyone who bought a Sp1000 in China? From its deepest essence, the amount of discount that Chinese dealers give have no difference from a special discount which someone might enjoy in the States. If you are unable to receive such discount upon your purchase, the fault is not on me, or anyone one who bought a Sp1000 in mainland China. Nor is it the fault of someone else who bought an even cheaper Sp1000 in Hongkong or Korea. I see no reason why this difference in retailing price could even become the ground for an argument, and why this could from any degrees or angles justify AK for not provide a global warranty.

No matter which dealer I bought mine from, it is always the same for AK, who ultimately provides repairing. And AK gets roughly the same profit or at least the profit that they see fair no matter where I bought it from.

Also, I've bought my Sp1000 much before coming to the US. Buying something that causes 3k$, designed to be carried around, and realize that it does not provide Global warranty is incredibly outrageous. Apparently, this did not prevent me from buying a Sp1000. But it will postpone me on my next AK purchase, and probably expel many other potential customers. I do know several of them who turned away from Sp1000 or other AK products purely because of the underwhelming after-sale services.