Do not buy any Sonus Faber used

Elberoth2 - I was once in the market for a car that was hard to find in the US. I found one, but it was grey market from Canada. I immediately walked away. Same with audio equipment. If I do not know where it comes from I either walk or decide to take a chance, knowing it may be an issue. And "imported from Canada" is very different than grey maket merchadise from Canada.

This policy is about grey market dealers trying to circumvent the SF distribution process, not general purpose sales. If you want to buy grey market equipment from outside Sumiko's territory, just be prepared for the possibility you might have to buy parts from the place of origin. There was a time when there was starting to be a problem with grey market SF speakers in the US. Sumiko shut down a lot of it, which I am fine with.

Incidently, my guess is that if you lived in Europe where you purchased SF speakers from an authorized dealer and moved to the US and brought them with you, chances are Sumiko would sell your parts through their authorized dealer chain.

For me its simple :

If you do not like the Sumiko/Sonus Faber policy, then don't buy the products. Note they are very upfront about the policy here on Audion and on their website.

Always think twice about grey market equipment.

Always ask the source of anything you buy.

Incidenly, I have 5 sets of SF speakers from Concertino Homes to Cremona. I have talked to them on multiple occassions and they have always been extremely helpful. Fortunately, I have never had to had any service.

Djohnson54 - This is about grey market speakers, not ones from authorized dealers.

Sumiko is perfectly willing to support used equipment, as long as it is not grey market. Nobody buying SF speakers from an authorized dealer should have any qualms about buying them and selling them. If you buy used speakers that originally came from an authorized dealer you are fine. But, if you want to buy from the grey market, then you need to be careful. In fact, supporting grey market speakers would hurt Sumiko's business, because it encourages people to buy from grey market sources, with the knowledge that Sumiko will bail them out if anything happends.

I totally agree that not supporting used equipment that originally came from an authorized dealer would be a bad business models. But that is not their policy.

Dtc,

12-05-11: Dtc
Djohnson54 - This is about grey market speakers, not ones from authorized dealers.

I believe I said as much above:

Note in the third to last paragraph they say that it has to have been purchased from an authorized dealer not that YOU have to have purchased from an authorized dealer. This is most likely aimed at the grey-market but I would check with them to be sure if I was about to buy used. After all, you don't really know where the seller originally purchased the product.

At least you understood my second point. I'm glad to hear that Sumiko is not that shortsighted.

This is not new. But I suspect that they just want to be able to say no at their discretion. I take it as their version of the “right to refuse service to anyone” sign in a restaurant.
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1258638486&openfrom&5&4#5

Djohnson54 - Sorry if I seem too aggressive about this. I am a huge SF fan and have had great experiences with SF dealers and with Sumiko. Sumiko is not against the used market but they are against the grey market.

I understand why distributors are sensitive to the grey market. There is not enough volume in the high end to support high end brick and mortar stores and a significant grey market. I have purchased SF both new and used. I just will not buy high end equipment that has come through the grey mark.

Enjoy.