Yup, I know ‘em in a consumer/seller kind of way. Would not hesitate to do business with him. He’s been in the business for quite awhile, recently bought HTByTheSea.com, and I get the feeling he will do whatever it takes to make it work. Thinks the “authorized dealer” scam is an illegal price-fixing scheme. Here’s what’s happening:
The guy is getting his stuff from authorized dealers. Dealers get better prices on a volume of merchandise. Dealers buy more than they can sell and move the excess out of their backdoor and into his truck. All is legit, just not with the blessing of the manfs. He exists with the cooperation and blessing of authorized dealers.
Stuff from HTByTheSea.com comes with their warranty, not the manf’s. I believe it is identical to the manf’s. If you need any warranty work on the stuff you buy there, they request that you send it back to them. I don’t know, but suspect the warranty coverage may be working the same way he gets his merchandise, just in reverse.
Fwiw, he’s pretty sure manf’s know what is going on by tracking serial numbers. There is nothing the manf’s can do about it because it is totally legal. This is why manf’s invoked the scheme of limiting warranties to authorized dealers only, because of folks like HTByTheSea.com. Ironically, buying from there supports the manf, supports the authorized dealer, and supports free enterprise…all at once! What you need to consider is how comfortable you are with his warranty, as opposed to the manf’s warranty.
