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  #46  
Old 08-28-2014, 08:01 PM
tamiller1952 tamiller1952 is offline
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Originally Posted by Nailpicker View Post

I suspect that differs from manufacturer to manufacturer. Taylor has quite a few regional authorized repair luthiers that can do warranty work. My authorized warranty repair shop is 200 miles from where I live. When I had a potential minor warranty issue (the Taylor rep talked me through how to make the repair myself) on one of my guitars, the person I spoke with on the phone even recommended a local, non-authorized luthier who has a national reputation. Every company approaches things differently.
I imagine it differs according to the problem too. I called and told them the problem and wasn't given the option of taking it to a repair center. I was told to ship it directly to the repair dept at the factory.
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  #47  
Old 08-28-2014, 08:19 PM
Fireside_Guitar Fireside_Guitar is offline
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I have shipped two guitars in for warranty. A Blue ridge BR-160 and a Eastman E-8D. I took both guitars down to the USA from Canada to ship. I paid shipping costs to the warranty depot for both guitars and both companies paid return shipping.

The Eastman guitar should never have passed through quality control with the issue it had but that's the cost of internet buying and I new the rules.
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  #48  
Old 08-28-2014, 11:53 PM
AZLiberty AZLiberty is offline
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The only think I have ever had repaired under warranty was firearms. In one case I paid shipping to the manufacturer, in the other they paid.

In both cases they paid the shipping back.

It's really simply why they won't pay. They don't want to be in the business of fixing guitars, but making them. They want you to take it to an authorized 3rd party repair shop instead.
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  #49  
Old 08-29-2014, 07:48 AM
BGS BGS is offline
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Originally Posted by AZLiberty View Post
It's really simply why they won't pay. They don't want to be in the business of fixing guitars, but making them. They want you to take it to an authorized 3rd party repair shop instead.
I suspect this may be the most accurate answer!
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  #50  
Old 08-29-2014, 08:13 AM
fngrpck fngrpck is offline
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I've had warranty work done on my Larrivee guitar and at least they cover return shipping from their factory. BTW I've always found Larrivee customer service and warranty work to be excellent!
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  #51  
Old 08-29-2014, 09:22 AM
tamiller1952 tamiller1952 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AZLiberty View Post
The only think I have ever had repaired under warranty was firearms. In one case I paid shipping to the manufacturer, in the other they paid.

In both cases they paid the shipping back.

It's really simply why they won't pay. They don't want to be in the business of fixing guitars, but making them. They want you to take it to an authorized 3rd party repair shop instead.
Repairing guitars under warranty isn't a business, it's a part of the price of doing business. I was told by the manufacturer to send the guitar to them. I was not given the option of having it looked at or repaired locally.
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  #52  
Old 08-29-2014, 09:24 AM
tamiller1952 tamiller1952 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fngrpck View Post
I've had warranty work done on my Larrivee guitar and at least they cover return shipping from their factory. BTW I've always found Larrivee customer service and warranty work to be excellent!
And that may wind up being the case as I'm going to ask them to cover the return shipping. If they don't I'll just be out more money. I knew the deal when I sent it, but I can still disagree with the policy.
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  #53  
Old 08-29-2014, 03:59 PM
bohemian bohemian is offline
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Warranties are based currently on state and federally mandated laws.

Warranties are given to cause a purchase by removing fears of later expense in the case of failures of the product.

Warranties are now a marketing ploy.

Warranties are not the "price" of doing business, it is a cost of doing business.

The cost of warranties is packed into the price.

The amount is calculated by historical records of the average cost of repairs per unit spread over the total numbers of products and a hedge factor built in.

Every purchaser of the makers products pays for warranty repairs even though their specific product does not fail.

What drives up warranty costs and frequency is poor manufacturing techniques, low quality materials , poor design, and substandard quality control
Other factors are untrained, incompetent repair persons.

What manufacturers bank on is that most customers know little about a product and what constitutes a failure and don't use the warranty.
They also bank on the first customer reselling the product nullifying the first warranty... this is not true in the case of the auto industry (and others) where the warranty is on the vehicle, not the owner.

One day the instrument industry might mature and have a transferrable warranty as did Tacoma and Sullivan banjos and a couple others... some with a small transfer fee.
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  #54  
Old 08-29-2014, 04:03 PM
bohemian bohemian is offline
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"It's really simply why they won't pay. They don't want to be in the business of fixing guitars, but making them. They want you to take it to an authorized 3rd party repair shop instead. "

I believe it is more complex than that. Many other factors.

Why is it third party, wouldn't that be second party given that Martin "authorized" them.


Were I a manufacturer, no one would be authorized without having attended very specific training classes given by the manufacturer. That is the way it works in most industries.
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  #55  
Old 08-29-2014, 04:35 PM
tamiller1952 tamiller1952 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bohemian View Post
Warranties are based currently on state and federally mandated laws.

Warranties are given to cause a purchase by removing fears of later expense in the case of failures of the product.

Warranties are now a marketing ploy.

Warranties are not the "price" of doing business, it is a cost of doing business.

The cost of warranties is packed into the price.

The amount is calculated by historical records of the average cost of repairs per unit spread over the total numbers of products and a hedge factor built in.

Every purchaser of the makers products pays for warranty repairs even though their specific product does not fail.

What drives up warranty costs and frequency is poor manufacturing techniques, low quality materials , poor design, and substandard quality control
Other factors are untrained, incompetent repair persons.

What manufacturers bank on is that most customers know little about a product and what constitutes a failure and don't use the warranty.
They also bank on the first customer reselling the product nullifying the first warranty... this is not true in the case of the auto industry (and others) where the warranty is on the vehicle, not the owner.

One day the instrument industry might mature and have a transferrable warranty as did Tacoma and Sullivan banjos and a couple others... some with a small transfer fee.
Warranties are based currently on state and federally mandated laws, which are based on moral concepts.
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  #56  
Old 08-29-2014, 06:48 PM
AZLiberty AZLiberty is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tamiller1952 View Post
Repairing guitars under warranty isn't a business, it's a part of the price of doing business. .
And paying a 3rd party to fix it rather than disrupt your factory is also good business (it's more cost effective). This is why Taylor and Martin (and other larger companies) have authorized third parties to do the work.
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  #57  
Old 08-29-2014, 09:02 PM
tamiller1952 tamiller1952 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AZLiberty View Post
And paying a 3rd party to fix it rather than disrupt your factory is also good business (it's more cost effective). This is why Taylor and Martin (and other larger companies) have authorized third parties to do the work.
In some cases they have third parties do the work. Not in my case however.
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  #58  
Old 08-30-2014, 11:40 AM
lfoo6952 lfoo6952 is offline
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Originally Posted by tamiller1952 View Post
Good points. This guitar was purchased from a brick and mortar store locally and I didn't bother to contact them about the repair as I didn't think it had anything to do with them and the warranty states that it must be returned to the factory anyway. I called the company, they told me to return it and they'd call when it was received. I shipped it in the original factory box with additional shock padding as requested, overnight express with insurance for the retail value. They got it the next morning. The guitar was registered to me and I have the original receipt so there was no question about whether it was covered. When they received it they called immediately and said it waw obvious the guitar was well cared for, the crack was due to a bad glue joint, everything else was within factory specs and they'd fix it and call me for the shipping payment when it was done in approximately 4 to 5 weeks.

I'm sure they get guitars every day that are dried out, scuffed up, dropped, filed down and adjusted out of tolerance, with owners that demand they pay shipping and fix it for free. That's just not the case here. I've never even suggested to them that they pay shipping, nor argued for free services, etc. I just think it's an unfair policy that could/should be changed.
Tom: sorry to hear about your misfortune but would the shipping costs have been avoided if you brought it back to the store you bought it from, and have the store take care of the shipping?

By the way, not all guitar manufacturers make you pay for the return. When I shipped my guitar to Santa Cruz Guitars for a neck reset they paid for the return shipping.
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  #59  
Old 08-30-2014, 06:54 PM
tamiller1952 tamiller1952 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lfoo6952 View Post
Tom: sorry to hear about your misfortune but would the shipping costs have been avoided if you brought it back to the store you bought it from, and have the store take care of the shipping?

By the way, not all guitar manufacturers make you pay for the return. When I shipped my guitar to Santa Cruz Guitars for a neck reset they paid for the return shipping.
I doubt if that would have made a difference but the store is about 80 miles away so the cost of driving back and forth twice would nearly pay for the shipping. It wasn't the store's fault and they gave me a great deal so I hate to involve any more of their time.

I just hope the guitar comes back sounding like it did when it left with a repair that can't be seen, and I expect that to happen. I love the guitar and don't plan on selling it but I didn't want the crack to get any larger and if anything else was going on with the guitar they'll find it.
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  #60  
Old 08-30-2014, 07:44 PM
bohemian bohemian is offline
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"Warranties are based currently on state and federally mandated laws, which are based on moral concepts"

So happy you believe that, however, not only do I not drink Kool-Aid, I don't eat jello . : )

Nice myth.

It's all economics.
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