EBAY PURCHASES AND RAY MARINE WARRANTY

[David_Old_Jersey]

Hopefully a left hand not knowing what the right hand is meant to be doing

[bstreep]

Here's a solution for your Fax problem:

Make a "Fax of Death". Write your letter, and print it out, 3 times. Tape the 3 pages together. Load the document into your fax machine, then call the fax. Once page 1 has gone thru, tape the top of it to the bottom of page 3, making a complete circle. Let it run.

Do this at night. When they arrive into the office, they will find a floor full of faxes, an empty fax machine, and a fax machine with a "memory full" message. By the second time, they usually call.

I've found most companies, when you tell them how you did it, find it rather humorous...

[AnchorageGuy]

Originally Posted by wind rose ll

Just an update...l sent another email to Raymarine and as someone suggested , sent a link to the forum.
The same fellow "Chris" that l had previously been having help me source the issues with the instrument emailed me to say he will look into the problem further and that the person with whom l had spoken with today from "Warranty" had mentioned a "North American" list, Chris advises me that there is no such "List".
My hopes are high!
Dave

Typical Raymarine bull. I am a certified Raymarine technician and have installed their crap for years because that is the product everyone wants. But you will NEVER find it on my boat. But now someone will jump in and tell us how their equipment is wonderful and they never have issues with the service department. Keep in mind that is one person and there are dozens not posting that have had the same or other poor service and broken products for every one that has not.

[wind rose ll]

Hey guys here is the latest in the RayMarine Saga....they have chosen to not respond to me...Duh?
The guy selling me the unit has failed to reply to an inquiry made by PayPal and l have escalated the issue to a claim...which means l'm screwed again.
Good news and l will make no apologies for naming names...l mentioned my issue to a local Vendor of marine supplies.. Peter..of Holland Marine in Toronto. He asked if l had the unit with me and as l did he asked me to bring it in.
He then proceeded to open a new ST 60+ wind Instrument and cross checked my head with the new transducer which verified the instrument head was not functioning.
He proceeded to open the face of the instrument and tweeked the pins that contact the contacts on the printed circuit board ..put it back together and lo it was working!
Took all of 5 minutes....thank you (for nothing) RayMarine...you lost out on the sale of an autopilot and radar..but l am ahead knowing first hand that your primary interest is in selling your junk and not in customer service.
Thanks again Peter!
Dave

[rickquann]

Glad you were able to repair your unit. Raymarine really should have stepped up to the plate and honored the warranty regardless.
I have had similar incidents with Ebay sellers regarding electronics. For the most part Ebay sellers are honest, but when they are not, it can be a tough road. PayPal's resolution procedures are bias and tend to favor sellers, not buyers. It's a "caveat emptor" marketplace.

[Sunspot Baby]

Did you pay with a credit card on eBay. Just wondering if the vendor might have been a little more forth coming if you had challenged the charge with your credit card company.

Some of them even have a 90 day warranty if you purchase with their card.

Of course this is all water under the bridge right now. Just wondering.

George

[Oceansandmts]

I buy a fair amount of stuff on eBay, probably 2% cause some problem. Half of those are immediately resolved by the seller. I find most eBay sellers are honest and value their feedback score. Paypal has resolved a couple of problems for me, it just takes awhile. I always use my credit card with Paypal which gives me another option in a dispute.

That said, Raymarine did not win any friends this time. I would rather buy from a vendor and manufacturer who want satisfied customers, not just the customer's money. There is no Raymarine on my boat, and I don't think that will change unless Raymarine changes (I heard a rumor Garmin was trying to buy them??)

Fair winds

[sandy daugherty]

We've had a good time bashing Raymarine, but the truth is their Ebay policy is standard throughout the industry, and is even more common in consumer electronics. If you get stuck with a gray market product you purchased on line, then buy a good one and swap it out, you are a thief. You have stolen from the dealer, who can't return a serial number he didn't sell, and you have encouraged the tricky b*****d who sold you the first one to continue his scam. You haven't taught anyone a lesson. Buy from Ebay when you're sure they are an authorized dealer. Don't buy from anyone with more than 1% negative feedback, and be leary of any sellers with little total feedback.
If you feel that all manufacturers are out to skin you alive and that all stores are rapacious crooks, you might want to keep that thought to yourself. There might REALLY be someone out there to get you, and now he knows where you are! (lock your doors, the world wide web is a bad neighborhood...)

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by sandy daugherty

. If you get stuck with a gray market product you purchased on line, then buy a good one and swap it out, you are a thief. You have stolen from the dealer, who can't return a serial number he didn't sell, and you have encouraged the tricky b*****d who sold you the first one to continue his scam. You haven't taught anyone a lesson.

I agree with you.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Chuck Baier

But you will NEVER find it on my boat.
.

What will I find on your boat?

Is it usually "get what you pay for?"

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by sandy daugherty

If you get stuck with a gray market product you purchased on line, then buy a good one and swap it out, you are a thief. You have stolen from the dealer,

I agree 100% - Why should a retailer (with presumably higher prices) provide you (the Bay purchaser) with customer support. The reason his prices are higher is because he has a store front, people to support you and higher overhead in bricks and mortar.

I really get pissed when I hear these stories.

Everyone's happy about on-line low prices until they need some help

Originally Posted by sandy daugherty

Buy from Ebay when you're sure they are an authorized dealer.

Well this one I don't entirely agree with. eBay is not exactly a popsicle stand and Raymarine is not that small either. Why should the consumer have to do this?

Raymarine has an obligation to protect their brand and eBay definitely should have an obligation to assure that new equipment dealers are legitimate.

You and me trading used crap is one thing but a commercial operation selling new high dollar equipment from some sort of gray market is over the line IMO.

[David M]

Good to hear Dave! Stay on em.

[donradcliffe]

I'm a bit surprised by the reaction from Singapore, which is the land of grey market electronics and 5-minute warranties.

However, I too would never have Raymarine electronics on my boat, based on 15 years of observing their failure rate and Raymarine's customer support on other boats. If Raymarine was smart, they would replace any DOA component, regardless if its pedigree...a failure analysis of the old unit would help them upgrade the reliability of future production, if they were interested in reliable instruments.

[Sunspot Baby]

You may have Singapore confused with some other Asian location (Taiwan?). I lived there 7 years and bought a ton of electronics and cameras at good prices, but it was all real brand stuff, just good prices.

You wouldn't believe what I did to an Omega watch, purely my fault, and they fixed it under warranty.

Singapore has good intellectual property rights laws.

You can get counterfeit stuff there just as you can in the US but you have to look for it.

George

[gfrazzle]

Dave,

IF it were me, I would contest the sale to my credit card company for a full refund. They will eventually get to the eBay seller who is unwilling to provide any customer support.

IF I were a revengeful type, several weeks of the "FAX of Death" routine should result in the cost of FAX paper being equal to the cost of the Raymarine product!

Which site is the guilty seller? I want to make sure I never use them.