To buy from an Authorized Dealer or E-tailer???

[Jon]

<font color='#000000'>Merry Christmas A/V Experts,

I am new to Audioholics.  What a great forum and wealth of knowledge.

I am getting an A/V receiver for Christmas (or soon thereafter) and need some advice on what to do an not to do.

One question that I want to answer early on is whether to buy ONLY from an &quot;Authorized Dealer&quot; or whether it is okay to buy from one of the discount e-tailers (as seen on searches on pricegrabber.com or dealtime.com).

I've been doing the most reading on the Yamaha RX-V2400 (thank you Gene for your great/in-depth review) and the Denon AVR-3803. I've seen 6ave (an authorized Denon dealer) has a good deal on the 3808. 6ave is also an authorized Yamaha dealer, but could not sell it over the internet (not sure why). However, several e-tailers (etronics.com looks like the most reliable as far as guarantees and returns) sell the 2400 for a good price ~$700, but are not authorized dealers.

What direction should I go?  Should this be a concern? What are your experiences here? I'd certainly like a lower price for whatever unit I buy, but don't want to be penny-wise and pound (dollar) foolish by buying from an unauthorized source.

BTW, I've read several threads on both the 3803 and the 2400 and am still undecided. I need to go somewhere and give them a listen. I'm open to other model recommendations.

Being a novice HT person, I have other questions regarding models and setup, but I'd like to determine where I should be shopping before proceeding further.

Thanks for your suggestions and guidance.

Jon</font>

 

[Talon Karrde]

<font color='#000000'>I am a new user and shopping for a decent a/v reciever as well.  I am looking at the Denon 3803, Marantz 7400, and Onkyo Integra DTR 7.4 or 8.4.  On Denon, Onkyo Integra, and Marantz's websites they all have the same warning.  Your manufacturer's warranty is void unless you purchase from an authorized seller.

So.... I guess it's, 'buyer beware' from etailer's.  Personally, these warnings kind of scared me away from the etailers.

Talon Karrde  

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[Rob Babcock]

<font color='#8D38C9'>You really do have to be careful buying from a non-authorized Etailer.  Some companies, most notably Denon, will not honor the warranty if you buy from a dealer that isn't authorized.  Is this a big deal?  Could be, you never know.  If I was buying a $200 CD player I'd probably chance it.  But if I was buying a $1000 reciever, I'd be a little leery.

It also depends on the vendor.  There are some mail order vendors and Etailers that will support the warranty themselves.  The trick is to investigate how solid they are and if their track record is good.  The BBB is one good indicator, as well as checking the sellers feedback (such as @ DealTime.com).

I have a lot of Denon gear, some bought online and some at a local dealer.  Most of the time I've been fortunate to have good luck from both sources.  Still, a year or so back I had problems with my Denon reciever, and I was dang glad to have local warranty service.  But I also paid several hundred dollars more when I bought it.

Penny wise but pound foolish is certainly the way to put it.  Unfortunately it's hard to really answer that one.  Very few pieces of gear I've ever bought have needed servicing (the rec was taken out thru no fault of it's own...), so overall buying online is safe.  But who knows, you could be the unlucky one.</font>

 

[Jon]

<font color='#000000'>Thanks Rob for your advice.

I called etronics to get their input regarding authorized vs. non-authorized and they said that they back the manufacturer's warranty. &nbsp;If there is a problem with the unit, the issue a UPS pickup to ship the unit to them; they in turn send it to a Yamaha service center to be fixed and then re-ship it to me. &nbsp;The also have a 30-day money back guarantee which covers the case of a defective unit (an NO restocking fees). They also offer an extended warranty program through Philips that picks up where the original warranty period expires. &nbsp;

This seems like a pretty good situation. I was starting to lean toward the discounted Denon 3803 from an authorized dealer, but now am more seriously considering the Yamaha 2400 from etronics. &nbsp;I'm going to the local Tweeter store this afternoon to listen to both units. &nbsp;

Given the comparable quality of these units (from what I've read), are there any features that separate one from the other, that would make one more attractive? &nbsp;The Yamaha's YPAO feature seems pretty nice as does the RS232 port. &nbsp;Does the Denon 3803 have similar features?

Thanks,

Jon</font>

 

[im timmy]

<font color='#A8A8A8'>the 3803 does have a rs232 port, but no parametric eq, thats something yamaha just came out with for the user. Ive got a 2400 but also considered the denon 3803, both were $799 through my dealer. I had a yamaha prologic in the past and was happy.For the money the 2400 has a few more features I thought. Faceplate, wattage, 3 zones vs. 2, eq testing, download both pdf and see for yourself. I think youll be happy with either one performance wise. Try to listen to both as well, goodluck and happy holidays!

</font>

 

[Guest]

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>

Jon : <font color='#000000'>Thanks Rob for your advice.

I called etronics to get their input regarding authorized vs. non-authorized and they said that they back the manufacturer's warranty.  If there is a problem with the unit, the issue a UPS pickup to ship the unit to them; they in turn send it to a Yamaha service center to be fixed and then re-ship it to me.  The also have a 30-day money back guarantee which covers the case of a defective unit (an NO restocking fees). They also offer an extended warranty program through Philips that picks up where the original warranty period expires.  

This seems like a pretty good situation. I was starting to lean toward the discounted Denon 3803 from an authorized dealer, but now am more seriously considering the Yamaha 2400 from etronics.  I'm going to the local Tweeter store this afternoon to listen to both units.  

Given the comparable quality of these units (from what I've read), are there any features that separate one from the other, that would make one more attractive?  The Yamaha's YPAO feature seems pretty nice as does the RS232 port.  Does the Denon 3803 have similar features?

Thanks,

Jon</font>

<font color='#000000'>The one thing I really don't like about your plan is you're going to Tweete, you're going to use their time and their retail space, that they pay for by selling things to people like you, and then you're going to go online and buy the product? &nbsp;I'm all for buying online, but I feel if you're going to buy online then you should have all the limitations of doing so. &nbsp;Otherwise, pretty soon there won't be anywhere to go listen to things. &nbsp;It's unfair.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>im timmy,

Where did you see a 3803 with an rs232 port?


http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/photo.asp?s=home&amp;p=AVR%2D3803&amp;f=AVR+3803+Back%2Ejpg&amp;c=2

thx,
Ross</font>

 

[im timmy]

<font color='#A8A8A8'>HELLO ROSS, i downloaded the pdf for the 3803 and it mentions that it has a rs232 port on it. check denons site or e-mail them

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[im timmy]

<font color='#A8A8A8'>ross, my mixup. the 3803 does have a serial port for 3rd party rs232 control for amx, creston, etc. It is not a true rs232 port, but rather a serial port that will do similiar functions. E-mail Denon and see if they will explain more about it.

</font>

 

[pam]

<font color='#728FCE'>Hi

I understand about Warranty but I have seen the Yamaha RXV-2400 in sale at 2000.00$ Canadian

. On e-bay, I can get the same box for 680.00$USD (878$CAD)

. So for the same price, I can get 2 receiver and still have more than 200$ to buy DVD/SACD.

Considering the number of time you need to repair, the risk is worth. Also, in two year, I can use my money to buy a newer receiver!!!</font>

 

[highfihoney]

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>
<font color='#000000'>The one thing I really don't like about your plan is you're going to Tweete, you're going to use their time and their retail space, that they pay for by selling things to people like you, and then you're going to go online and buy the product? &nbsp;I'm all for buying online, but I feel if you're going to buy online then you should have all the limitations of doing so. &nbsp;Otherwise, pretty soon there won't be anywhere to go listen to things. &nbsp;It's unfair.</font>

I dissagree 100%,alot of dealers like to blame the internet for the demise of brick & mortar retail stores but in reality its simply not true,there are many reasons their business is declining,huge mark up's of the gear they sell is the main reason but more reasons incluse snobby & lack lustre service from arrogant salesmen not to mention that we are now dealing with a world wide economy.

If i was a salesman instead of blubbering about somebody comming to my store to demo things they intend to buy on the internet i'd be figuring out ways to keep them comming back to my store to buy from me like not trying to treat every customer as the next big whale & giving them a price that makes buying online senseless.

I have little sympathy for the situation brick & mortar dealers are in,they've dug their own grave over the last 20 years.

 

[Voyager]

<font color='#8D38C9'>You really do have to be careful buying from a non-authorized Etailer. Some companies, most notably Denon, will not honor the warranty if you buy from a dealer that isn't authorized. Is this a big deal? Could be, you never know. If I was buying a $200 CD player I'd probably chance it. But if I was buying a $1000 reciever, I'd be a little leery.</font>

What if I was given the receiver as a gift and didn't know where it was purchased? Would the companies (Denon, Yamaha..etc) honor the warranty then? I can't imagine they wouldn't.

 

[markw]

What if I was given the receiver as a gift and didn't know where it was purchased? Would the companies (Denon, Yamaha..etc) honor the warranty then? I can't imagine they wouldn't.

To get warranty work done, you're gonna have to show a receipt. How do they know it wasn't stolen?

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Looks like HIfihoney was correct...he put tweeter out of business...