Why not buy more optics from Europe? (1 Viewer)

[jaymann]

So the difference between buying from a USA dealer vs European dealer is that in case of repair the optics need to be sent back to Europe (Austria in case of Swarovski). It only costs $39 via UPS or DHL. I will actually prefer my optics to be serviced in Austria.
Am I missing something? Will I need to pay duty every time optics are sent back and forth?
If there are no other costs, then why not save money by buying from Europe?

 

[BKoh]

So the difference between buying from a USA dealer vs European dealer is that the optics need to be sent back to Austria in case of Swarovski. It only costs $39. I will actually prefer my optics to be serviced in Austria.
Am I missing something? Will I need to pay duty every time optics are sent back and forth?
If there are no other costs, then why not save money by buying from Europe?

According to this thread below, Swarovski Optik North America provides a limited lifetime warranty if bought through an authorized dealer in the US and Canada:

Swarovski Bino warranty?

Hi All! I wanted to start off saying that you guys have been very helpful in my search for some binoculars. I'm looking at some Swarovski EL 10x50 or 12x50. I hope to be able to test some out this weekend and get them ordered next week! But.... I was under the impression that Swarovski had a...

www.birdforum.net

 

[Maljunulo]

How do you get the instrument to Europe in order to have it sent for $39?

Are you saying that if you buy from a European dealer you can send it to Austria from the US for $39?

Perhaps I am missing something here.

 

[jaymann]

How do you get the instrument to Europe in order to have it sent for $39?

Are you saying that if you buy from a European dealer you can send it to Austria from the US for $39?

Perhaps I am missing something here.

Correct. For $39 you can ship it to dealer or manufacturer directly. I am pretty sure Kahles will take care of my binoculars even after 10 period is over.

 

[Conndomat]

So the difference between buying from a USA dealer vs European dealer is that in case of repair the optics need to be sent back to Europe (Austria in case of Swarovski). I will actually prefer my optics to be serviced in Austria.

Hi,

I am sure that Swarovski has just as good people in the USA as in Austria, the service should be the same. Swarovski is a professional company, they certainly don't have any amateurs under contract in the USA, there are of course exceptions everywhere. IMO, it makes no sense for you Americans to send the glasses to Europe, it also harms the environment ...

Andreas

 

[jaymann]

Hi,

I am sure that Swarovski has just as good people in the USA as in Austria, the service should be the same. Swarovski is a professional company, they certainly don't have any amateurs under contract in the USA, there are of course exceptions everywhere. IMO, it makes no sense for you Americans to send the glasses to Europe, it also harms the environment ...

Andreas

So to be clear, I order Kahles Helia S that are not available in USA and I got them for $1179. Even if I had bought SLC 8x42 just before they were discontinued, they were going for $1500.

 

[lmans66]

I don't understand the whole thing...if a manufacturer sells a good product, why does it make a difference in any warranty /service, where the product was made in connection to where the person lives? Am I missing something here? The same holds true for Camera's too.... jim

 

[Maljunulo]

In my (very limited) experience, a binocular bought from a European dealer does not have a US warranty, therefor it must be returned to Europe for service.

I'm guessing that it is the same for Japan.

Hence the concept of "grey-market" binoculars (or anything else)

 

[jaymann]

I don't understand the whole thing...if a manufacturer sells a good product, why does it make a difference in any warranty /service, where the product was made in connection to where the person lives? Am I missing something here? The same holds true for Camera's too.... jim

Yeah. Most manufactures offer 10 year warranty in EU and lifetime or 30 year in USA. If the product is same then why the difference?

 

[PhilR.]

Yeah. Most manufactures offer 10 year warranty in EU and lifetime or 30 year in USA. If the product is same then why the difference?

Each country has its own importing company that imports Swarovski products. These companies function according to the laws and customs of their own country. This also includes the determination of warranty length. Each separate country has its own laws that can be quite different from the country you are in, and too each company has to set a warranty length that is competitive with other importers of the same product type. Also, these companies do not need to match or be competitive with importing companies of other countries.

 

[BKoh]

Yeah. Most manufactures offer 10 year warranty in EU and lifetime or 30 year in USA. If the product is same then why the difference?

As PhilR has noted, each country has the right to decide on warranty laws eg in Europe there is a statutory minimum of 2 years. So the same product sold in China might have zero warranty, but if sold by a retailer in Europe it would have a 2 year warranty. Warranties are not free to provide, so the European retailer passes this cost on to the customer.