Which alpha binoculars/spotting scope brands honor their products for a second-hand owner? (1 Viewer)

[Passakorn]

I am interested in getting alpha binoculars/spotting scopes from eBay due to the considerably discounted price (presumably there is no defect.). My understanding is that most second-hand products do not come with a warranty and the representative/company may not service the products if it is not for the original owners. I am wondering if someone could let me know if there are any bands (Leica, Zeiss, Swarovski, etc) that still have a transferable warranty to the second-hand owner or still stand behind their products to continue their service with a reasonable fee even for the non-original owner in case needed.

Thank you so much,

Passakorn

 

[Bino Steve]

Easy to find on their website. Only ones I know for sure are Leupold, Vortex, Maven. There are probably others. These companies don't care who owns it or who broke it. Send it in for repair or replace. Even if an old model.

 

[yarrellii]

I've never bought a first hand "alpha", but I've enjoyed many. In some occasions I did buy units that had some flaws (some time knowing it beforehand, some other times I didn't), so I've used the repair service under warranty many times. Swarovski, Zeiss and Meopta have been stellar, always repairing for free and, not only that, but also sending back the repaired unit for free and in some cases doing more than was initially intended at no extra cost and also including spare parts for free (say a brand new strap, rain guard, objective covers, etc.). This gives me peace of mind when buying a 2nd hand top of the range. I know that, even if the unit I buy is not perfect, it will be repaired and bring back to full usability.

I've also had good experience with Vortex. I once bought a Viper HD that looked good, but after using it for a while I found it to be slightly misallinged (I started having headaches after using it), so I sent it in and got a brand new unit. So, there you go, another reason to buy a 2nd hand Vortex with confidence.

On other occasions I've bought binoculars with missing bits, especially objective covers: sent an email to Zeiss and Steiner and in a few days got brand new covers for free, and I have to say the objective covers on the Nighthunter are a thing to behold, they're made of at least 2 or 3 different kinds of rubber and plastic plus a fabric strap, I wouldn't be surprised if they chared +30 € for them. So great service from Steiner there too.

 

[Richard D]

Warranties do vary from country to country and sometimes product to product.

I think for UK bought Swarovski it's 10 years from manufacture, and if it's a manufacturing defect rather than misuse they'll repair no matter whether you're the original owner or not. Outside of the warranty period they'll attempt to repair at a cost assuming they have parts available.

Some companies have a shorter warranty on armour (e.g. Zeiss) and most have a shorter warranty on electronics.

It's not unusual for the big three to go beyond their warranty commitments for fixing minor issues/supplying spares but obviously you can't rely on it.