Thomann Germany refuses 2nd Hand Warranty / Guarantee

Y-NE · 2014-05-02T13:35:27.000Z

Hey Trabant, thanks for sharing this. I hope everything will be fine for you and that the issue is handled on warranty.

Personally I never thought there will be any problems with 2nd hand stuff like that - looking at eBay there thousands of offers for used gear with proposed rest warranty either for thomann or musicstore.de etc. For me that always was a good argument when buying stuff or to be able to call a reasonable price when selling something…

TrabanT · 2014-05-02T14:16:33.000Z

""Y-NE"":

Hey Trabant, thanks for sharing this. I hope everything will be fine for you and that the issue is handled on warranty.

Personally I never thought there will be any problems with 2nd hand stuff like that - looking at eBay there thousands of offers for used gear with proposed rest warranty either for thomann or musicstore.de etc. For me that always was a good argument when buying stuff or to be able to call a reasonable price when selling something…

Y-NE
please spread the word!
that is like: buying a (sealed) second hand condom and then arguing it was only intended as a safety measure for the first buyer
I am still facepalming the shit out of me

elektronician · 2014-05-08T11:17:58.000Z

Hey TrabanT,
Sorry to hear about your problems mate.

I am about to buy a second hand machine and I have been asking myself that warranty question actually and it states on the Elektron’s site in the FAQ under warranty:

Screenshot_2014_05_08_13_18_25.png828×414 123 KB

Elektron machines bought 2010-07-05 and later come with a three year limited warranty, starting from the date of the original purchase. Being able to prove the date of the original purchase with an invoice or a receipt is necessary if you require warranty service.
If the machine should need a repair during the warranty period no charges will be applied for parts or labor. This warranty is transferable to other owners should the Elektron machine be resold during the warranty period.

It clearly states here that the general warranty is transferable to a second hand owner as long as you have the invoice!..
I have emailed them about this and I am waiting for the reply so i will keep this tread updated when I get a response
Cheers!

TrabanT · 2014-05-09T17:29:39.000Z

after weeks (launch of AR and AK) Elektron told me they would accept the broken Octatrack and I would not have to go through Thomann.de … but then Thomann.de accepted warranty from 2nd hand owner because I had a written form from buyer no 1 …

phading · 2024-02-15T12:37:37.396Z

I was wondering about this,

2nd hand market plays a huge role in our music gear consumerism, so I find it strange how I can’t find any official information from Thomann on their Warranty policy when it comes to resold items.

Did I miss something?
Is it a grey area?
Is it a straight “no”, but with some exceptions here and there?

B_LD · 2024-02-15T14:28:28.190Z

It’s there. At least the German terms and conditions clearly mention 3 year warranty as non-transferable. The same way do all other shops exclude this as far as I can tell.

phading · 2024-02-15T14:40:49.220Z

I can’t find it,
Can you link to it, please?

Btw, Elektron does have transferable warranty on all their products! Cheers to that!

KaOsphere · 2024-02-15T14:48:35.681Z

In europe, ( EU ) warranty is one to two years, depending on product and country for any product sold to consumer. This is manufacter warranty. This is the law.

Thomann, extends this warranty to 3 years. By adding one year on their “good will”. This is retailer warranty.

Manufacter warranty is attached to the product, not the owner and starts at the time the product is sold to the first customer. This warranty is transferable to as many user as there are during the warranty period.

The retailer warranty is only given to the first owner of a product and not transferable. If you buy second hand, you loose the benefit from it.

As simple as that.

B_LD · 2024-02-15T15:01:29.633Z

Thomann German AGB

Search for paragraph 6, 1

Edit: it’s the same in their English terms.

Thespa · 2024-02-15T16:02:13.827Z

EU law I believe, not European…

Flymo · 2024-02-15T21:50:33.654Z

It’s never occurred to me that I could try to use the warranty remaining on a second hand item.

Boboulus · 2024-02-16T06:57:00.532Z

In EU countries it’s at least 2 year guarantee where you have the right to complain about stuff like manufacturing faults etc. it’s not necessarily the same thing as manufacturers warranty. Some countries leave even longer like Sweden that gives three.

Swedish laws:

Konsumentverket

Providing a guarantee is voluntary

When your company provides a warranty for an item, this means that you are responsible for ensuring that the item works and retains its level of quality for a certain period of time. It is always optional for you to provide a warranty.

One of the reasons that larger companies don’t usually transfer warranties can be because of how they can handle things like refunds etc. it’s very uncommon that they can transfer the money back to someone that didn’t buy the product is it’s impossible to repair and they can’t replace it.

EU regulations:

Your Europe

Consumer guarantees, warranties, claims and returns - Your Europe

Learn more about your after sales responsibilities, returns, legal guarantees, commercial warranties, and customer claims.

KaOsphere · 2024-02-16T09:40:37.820Z

Yeah, I lacked a bit of english technical language on this subject, thanks for clarifying my mumblings !

bibenu · 2024-02-16T09:53:21.047Z

Lolz

G0n35y · 2024-02-16T10:03:44.930Z

To be fair, folk have been moaned at for not using the search function…

SoundRider · 2024-02-16T10:03:46.765Z

TrabanT:

… said to me once, they dont give warranty to 2nd hand buyers.

Sorry if that was mentioned already by some of you, didn’t read all posts …

From my experience I know:

if we by B-ware equipment from a shop, they give full warranty in the EU.
some retailers, who are specialized to sell used equipment give up to two years warranty, sometimes it’s one year only, but they tell us in advance
most retailers I know make it quite clear that their warranty is only granted for the first buyer.

IMO … if we by from a private person second-hand it’s up to the manufacturer to grant the warrenty or, if we are lucky, we get support from a nice retailer, but often they are not obligded to do this … the original invoice is only proof that we are still under warranty to be granted by the manufacturer.

4Litre · 2024-02-16T13:34:48.674Z

If you buy an item 2nd hand from online retailer then simply try to prioritise a local buyer and get an agreement from them to be your go-between in any warranty claim.

KaOsphere · 2024-02-16T13:36:29.623Z

10 years later doesn’t make the thread obsolete, I see second hand items sold every day with mention of remaing time for retailer warranty…Which could be considered a scam/false advertising if you’re nitpicky…

ccr · 2024-02-16T14:18:33.316Z

I think most people mention the ‘remaining’ warranty in good faith. But this does not change the fact that it is false in most cases because the retailer’s extended warranty does carry over to second hand buyers.

HBIII · 2024-02-16T15:19:52.267Z

Whenever I sell something that is still under warranty I always take care of any warranty issues that come up for the person who bought it (contacting the manufacturer, explaining the issue, and forwarding any information/shipping labels/etc back to the person who bought it). Guess that is one of the benefits of buying from a fellow elektronaut :-).