Do not buy any Sonus Faber used


Sumiko just announced that
"IN ADDITION, SUMIKO WILL NOT SUPPLY PARTS AND/OR SERVICE FOR ANY SONUS FABER PRODUCT WITHOUT PROOF OF PURCHASE FROM A SUMIKO AUTHORIZED DEALER IN NORTH AMERICA ".

What a curious statement . Can you imagine Volkswagen refusing to provide parts for their own cars, no matter where they were bought? I do hope other distributors will follow. It would surely drive the prices down considerably on Audiogon for used gear.
limono
Peterayer,
I see it totally different way. US distributors for Sonus Faber are probably substantially more greedy than ones from other countries so that it makes more sense to purchase from overseas+ expensive shipping! INSANE.
I've seen on ebay lots of smashing deals on new Grand Piano for low $2k ranges from overseas that saves at least $1k vs. buying new from US dealers/distributors.

Nevertheless, I'd like to encourage owners('goners) of US purchased models share necessary purchase information with ones that need to order parts for their used models so this nonsence is at some magnitude newtralized.

The moral behind it should state: A cork shouldn't help S-holes from being 'penitrated'-).
The way I read it, it is talking about warranty issues, as a couple of others pointed out. I am sure you can still get replacement parts, they just won't be covered under warranty.

You also don't necessarily have to go through the American distributor, either. A friend of mine just bought a replacement part for a foreign make CD player on ebay, and installed it himself. He got the part much more inexpensively, and the international shipping costs would have been passed on to him by the distributor, anyway.
The whole point is they are not just talking about warranty issues. They are sayint they will not work an ANY product, nor supply parts for any product not purchased from an 'authorized' dealer. So if your able to get you used one fixed is a big question mark. And also would be bad for resale.
If I had to guess, I would say that this is aimed at both the gray market and the re-sale market. If just gray market, then no warranty service would have been sufficient. I think it's brand suicide, or at least distributor suicide, but what do I know?
I use to be a Sumiko dealer in the 1980s and early 90s and they were great to deal with; that was then, this is now. When I called them to get the thread size for spikes for a REL sub the told me to call a dealer; not only are they the importers BUT THEY OWN THE COMPANY! A couple of years ago I ask about being a dealer again as they have a lot of good lines; they gave me the name of their west coast rep [ I had dealt direct in the old days]. I called him but I never heard from him; I told them this and they just said call again. I will tell you one secret I have learned the hard way; if they won't call you back when they want your business FORGET about them calling you back when you need help.