holding manufacturers to honoring their warranty even if purchased on Ebay

[winstonsaxonsdad]

Hello and thanks for taking the time to read my post. I am wondering if eBay has ever considered putting pressure on manufacturers to honor their warranty on items purchased on eBay. I recently bought an expensive tech item, brand new with the original shrink wrap on it from a seller on eBay. The manufacturer was offering a 3-month free trial for features to try before committing to a monthly or yearly fee for those features. However, to qualify for that, you had to produce a receipt for the purchase of the item and they would NOT honor or accept a receipt from eBay. This confounds me since the item is new and never installed, which they would be able to confirm via the serial number.  Why should the manufacturer be exempt from honoring their warranty merely because it was purchased on eBay? Whoever bought it originally would have been under the impression it was warranted and that had been considered in the purchase price.  I don't understand why the manufacturer should be exempt from honoring their warranty now that it is being sold on eBay, assuming all other requirements are met. Any thoughts?

[aproudparent2010]

Let's say I go to Walmart and purchase an item and then I sell it to someone in my town. Unless they have my original receipt they cannot get a warranty on it.

It's not just eBay it is for anyone not being able to produce the original receipt.

[mudshark61369]

@winstonsaxonsdad,

"I recently bought an expensive tech item, brand new with the original shrink wrap on it from a seller on eBay. The manufacturer was offering a 3-month free trial for features to try before committing to a monthly or yearly fee for those features. However, to qualify for that, you had to produce a receipt for the purchase of the item and they would NOT honor or accept a receipt from eBay".

If the item was a new old stock one, it may have been superseded and the Mfr.'s warranty was no longer in effect and the special trial no longer in use.  If the item is one currently in production, but was sold by a seller who was not an Authorized Dealer of the Mfr.'s, they would not honor the warranty at all. 

" Whoever bought it originally would have been under the impression it was warranted and that had been considered in the purchase price...  Why should the manufacturer be exempt from honoring their warranty merely because it was purchased on eBay?"

There are many "new" items for sale on ebay and other sites that are what as known as Gray Market items. They are new in the box, but were purchased by a seller at an over stock, store closing,  pallet, or superseded item auction. None of them are covered by the original Mfr. warranty.  If the item you bought was manufactured several years ago, and has been upgraded or superseded since, that may be how the seller bought the item.

[zip-a-deedoodah]

To enforce a warranty by a manufacturer you need to buy the product from a retailer than has been authorized by the manufacturer to sell the item so that the manufacturer can have some reasonable assurance the product has not been tampered with or altered.   The warranty is a contract and if you can find a copy of the manufacturer's warranty it will have language that voids it under certain circumstances. 

[winstonsaxonsdad]

Thanks for the replies....however, I still have issues with a manufacturer not honoring their warranty. Regarding a "grey market" purchase, the warranty, if there was one for a grey market purchase, should be honored to the extent that it has a warranty. Using the serial number of the product will prove what warranty, if any, is applicable. The same argument can be made for an outdated product that has been superseded by a new one. Again the serial number can be used to determine how old a product is and whether it is still eligible for any warranty coverage.  An authorized retailer still has no control over whether or not a consumer who purchased the product from them, alters the product or not. And if they did tamper or alter the product and it was purchased from an authorized dealer, the manufacturer would still not warranty it as I am sure that most manufacturers have a clause indicating that altering their product voids the warranty, regardless from whom it was purchased.

Consider this..a person purchases a new car from an authorized dealer but then shortly after sells the car to an independent used car dealer.  That dealer sells the car to someone else. As long as the car is still within the time or mileage of the warranty, the manufacturer still must honor their warranty. I can anticipate someone pointing out the car was purchased from an authorized dealer but from that point on, it is no longer under the control of the manufacturer but the warranty still is enforceable.  I guess what I am trying to say, is that all things being equal-the product is unaltered, the age of the product can be verified by its serial number but has a manufacturers defect, why shouldn't the manufacturer be responsible? 

[eburtonlab]

Consider this..a person purchases a new car from an authorized dealer but then shortly after sells the car to an independent used car dealer. That dealer sells the car to someone else. As long as the car is still within the time or mileage of the warranty, the manufacturer still must honor their warranty.

Manufacturer warranties are not transferable unless the manufacturer specifically allows for that.

Many manufacturers will only honor a warranty claim if the item was purchased directly from the manufacturer or an authorized dealer, which is why the manufacturer in your case asked for your receipt and denied your claim.

The age of the product does not matter if the warranty is not transferable. The original owner may be in a position to make a warranty claim up until the point of resale; others may not.

[zip-a-deedoodah]

You are right about cars, but the big difference between cars and everything else, is that every state in the US has an agency that regulates the sale of new cars and the enforcement of manufacturers vehicle warranties.

to really know whether the warranty is enforceable, you need to get a copy and see what are the exclusions.

[tinsoldierunderground]

As everyone else has pointed out,  unless the ebay seller is an authorized  distributor for the item, it's a moot point.   Anything purchased in a secondary market is sold 'as is' in most cases.   Ebay can't  pressure a manufacturer to warranty products sold in that market, anymore than the proprietor of the local flea  market can.   Ebay is merely a platform that brings buyers and sellers together.  

[fab_finds4u]

"to really know whether a warranty is enforceable, you need to get a copy and see what are the exclusions"

Excellent, and it follows eBay's  Warranty policy.  eBay says if a seller offers a warranty the full written text has to be included, or a link to the full written text. The buyer needs to know how to obtain the warranty which would be in the full written text. Then the buyer can confirm for himself if the warranty can be registered.

Otherwise assume an unauthorised seller copied and pasted what's on the box, or they copied the description from the manufacturer, which only tells you how long the warranty lasts. 

[zip-a-deedoodah]

Just an added note on car warranties and the difference between all other consumer products.  All cars have legally mandated VINs, which are registered with the state, making it easy for manufacturers to track specific cars.  No other consumer product has a mandated identification number like a car.  Also apparently some car manufacturer limit certain aspects of their warranty to original owners.

But let's take an example of a car sale on eBay Motors. Say you buy a Ford pickup with 1000 miles and is one year old on eBay from a reputable used car dealer.  The sales papers include the AS-IS buyers guide that specifically notes that there is a remaining two-years manufacturers warranty left on the car.  You pay for the truck, all goes well but then 6 weeks later the transmission goes out.  You call the dealership and want him to fix the problem.  He'll note that you bought the car "AS IS" and its not his problem to fix it, but he says there is still a warranty you need to go to a Ford dealership to get warranty work.  eBay can't do anything, because the dealership fulfilled his end of the bargain and the dealership isn't authorized to do Ford warranty work at its on site repair shop.  eBay has no relation with Ford Motor Company, so it can't tell Ford to fix your car.  Your only solution is to take the car to a Ford dealership and confirm the issue is still under warranty.

The bottom line here with a car, is that eBay has not business relation with Ford Motor Company and even if the car is under warranty, it has not means contractually or otherwise to put pressure on Ford to enforce the warranty.