BRAND SHOWCASE

"Why should I buy from an authorized dealer?"

At Electronics-Expo.com, we strive to make the shopping experience as easy as possible, while maintaining high standards of customer service and competitive pricing. We are authorized dealers for all products and brands that we carry, and all products are genuine USA retail products, with full USA manufactures warranties. All products include the accessories packaged by the manufacturer for that item. No items are open box or repackaged unless clearly stated on our site.

The web is full of all sorts of electronics and home entertainment dealers with many prices available. Some are huge dealers with actual stores, and some are fly by night or small time operations. Not all dealers sell the same specific products or are authorized dealers for certain products. Some web dealers may actually be selling you open box, used, gray market items (overseas versions of the same model), or items not acquired through legitimate or authorized channels. Some dealers may advertise products at unbelievable prices, and then not have the order in stock when you order it or try and sell you the manufacturer's included accessories as optional accessories.

We are constantly researching pricing by other legitimate web dealers and strive to make our pricing as aggressive as possible. We are also researching and working directly with the manufacturer to provide you with the latest pricing and price changes. We also do not charge outrageous shipping prices on our items like some other web dealers may do, and you may actually get a higher total delivered price from them even though their prices may be significantly lower on the item itself.

Authorized dealers offer peace of mind.

Meet manufacturer standards, from sales to service, in order to receive authorized status.
Receive training directly from manufacturer representatives and share that expertise with you.
Provide service and support for all the products they sell.
Ensure that manufacturer warranties will be honored.
Buy directly from manufacturers and stock products in their own warehouse.
Must prove they observe proper business practices and show fiscal responsibility.

Here are some of the warnings being posted by major brands on their websites.

The Internet is an incredibly convenient source for information and is a wonderful way to find savings on the products you want. Protect yourself from potential complications by buying from authorized dealers and ensure that you have a pleasurable experience shopping online.

SONY says...

(directly from the SonyStyle website, November 2006)

Why should I buy from an authorized dealer? What do I get out of that?

Plenty!! Only authorized dealers are fully trained by Sony to answer questions about how to operate your new Sony DVD player or camcorder or how to connect your Sony Wega television to that wonderful new Home Theater Sound system.

Only authorized dealers have access to Sony product managers and specialized customer service representatives. Often Sony makes available special product promotions only from authorized dealers.

In addition Sony Authorized Dealers are required to:

Provide a toll free telephone number for customer product inquiries
Provide an email product inquiry service with 24-hr response time
Provide notice of level of security offered to customers for online transactions
Display the dealer's policies on privacy and use of customer information
Send order status via e-mail within 12 hours of order placement
Ship products within 48 hours of acceptance
Provide customer with option to pick up product at retail store
Offer convenient return procedure
Offer "White Glove" delivery and set-up service for major home audio/video systems or components
Provide customized installation guide and offer installation for Mobile Electronics products

Sony authorized dealers are required to take steps to insure the integrity of your Sony purchase. Some unauthorized dealers have sold products with altered or obliterated serial numbers. Products with tampered serial numbers void the Sony Products Warranty. In addition, there have been reports of unauthorized dealers selling used products as new.

We have have not audited unauthorized e-tailers or other unauthorized dealers to determine if they meet the high customer service standards our authorized dealers are required to meet. As we generally have no relationship with unauthorized e-tailers, if you experience any difficulty with their service, we may be unable to help you.

We recommend you only purchase Sony consumer electronic products from Sony Authorized Internet Dealers

Velodyne says...

(directly from Velodyne's website, November 2006)

UNAUTHORIZED DEALER WARNING!!

Authorized Dealers - Our Policy
Velodyne products are sold through a network of authorized dealers. Our carefully selected dealers are fully trained to supply you with Velodyne products that best meet your needs and to install those products so that you'll enjoy their maximum performance. Some of these carefully selected dealers may have internet sites on which they are authorized to sell a select mix of our products. Velodyne factory warranty is only valid on products purchased from an authorized Velodyne dealer.

Buyer Beware
Velodyne products are, unfortunately, sometimes sold by companies not authorized to do so and are a result of transshipping. Transshipping is the transfer of goods from a dealer to an unauthorized dealer and is strictly forbidden by Velodyne. Velodyne products sold by unauthorized dealers sometimes are:

Counterfeit products not manufactured by Velodyne
Stolen products
Damaged, defective or so-called "B" stock products
Secondary "gray" market products

The sale of these goods is a criminal violation in many states.

Warranty
Our factory warranty is NOT valid if:

You purchase a Velodyne product with a serial number that has been removed, defaced or changed
You purchase a Velodyne product from an unauthorized dealer

Velodyne Products Sold Online
The following Velodyne products are not authorized to be sold over the internet: Digital Drive Series including the DD-10, DD-12, DD-15, DD-18 and DD 1812 Signature Edition. Only buy online if you see this symbol: Verify Your Dealer
To verify the status of a dealer, both online and store-front retailers, please visit the Dealer Locator on this website. Click on "Dealer Locator" found on the gray navigation bar at the top of this page. You'll see the section has four dropdowns - United States, Canada, International and Online. For the US, Canada and International, fill out the required information in the boxes and click on "Find". There are two ways to determine if a dealer is authorized to sell Velodyne products over the web. The online page of our website displays all the authorized North American online Velodyne dealers along with a listing of products they are authorized to sell. The second way is look for the Velodyne Authorized Online Dealer Seal. If a website has that seal, you know it's safe to buy from them. If you are ever in doubt, contact Velodyne directly at 408-465-2800 to verify a dealer is authorized.

DENON says...

(directly from Denon's website, November 2006)

WARNING TO VALUED CONSUMERS:
The warranty on DENON Electronics products is NOT VALID if the products have been purchased from an unauthorized dealer/on-line E-tailer or if the original factory serial number has been removed, defaced or replaced in any way. Recently DENON Electronics has become aware of numerous instances in which such serial number tampering has occurred. Unauthorized dealers/on-line E-tailers and/or their suppliers frequently alter the serial numbers in an effort to prevent manufacturers from tracing the supplier source. DENON Electronics sell products through authorized retail and on-line channels to insure that consumers obtain quality pre-sale and after-sale support and service. PROTECT YOUR WARRANTY. Buy from an authorized DENON Electronics dealer/E-tailer. Check the unit and its packaging to determine whether the factory serial number may have been altered. To check to see if your dealer is an authorized dealer click here or if in doubt, call DENON Electronics at (201) 762-6665 Option 2. For warranty terms and conditions on New or Refurbished equipment, please select the appropriate product type.

Yamaha says...

(directly from Yamaha's website, November 2006)

Yamaha sells its Home Audio products only through a network of high quality, specially authorized dealers. The Yamaha Limited Warranty applies only to products purchased from authorized dealers.

Polk Audio says...

(directly from Polk's website, November 2006)

Why You Should Buy Only From Authorized Retailers

Polk Audio strongly advises you to purchase Polk Audio products only from authorized Polk Audio retailers. There are some good reasons why you should be careful about buying from non-authorized dealers:

Non-Polk "Polk" - Ever see those guys in NY selling Rolex watches on the street corner for $25? How can they do that? They are not really Rolex watches but copies made in the far east where laws are laxly enforced. Around the world, Polk Audio has found look-alike knock-offs of Polk speakers, most recently Polk/MOMO models. They look like the real thing, but they don't sound like the real thing. When you buy from an authorized dealer you are assured of getting the real deal - genuine Polk Audio product.

Warranty - Polk's policy states that our warranty applies only to the original purchaser. Products purchased from non-authorized dealers have already been sold once (to the non-authorized dealer) and therefore are second-hand goods by the time they come into your possession and are not covered by Polk's warranty. Some non-authorized retailers will claim that they will warrant your purchase but may in fact not be in a good position to do so (see #4 & #5 below).

In order to protect their sources of Polk merchandise, non-authorized dealers sometimes remove the original serial number and replace it with one of their own. Polk's warranty does NOT cover products with removed or defaced serial numbers. Sorry, you're on your own.

Reliability of supply - Generally these non-authorized dealers do not stock Polk products but attempt get them once they get an order. They cannot order directly from us but rely on an authorized Polk dealer to sell them the item. Maybe they can get it quickly, maybe they can't. Maybe you wait for weeks, maybe you never get it. We have received reports of customers who got the run around for weeks only to be told that "Polk can't deliver" and "besides, you'd really like this brand X speaker better." In some cases it appears that there was never a real intention of delivering Polk Audio products but the retailer was using the classic "bait and switch" tactic.

Service - Given a poor supply chain, a non-authorized dealer is in a poor position to deal with freight damage and other service issues. Even though some dealers claim to warrant the product in lieu of the manufacturer's warranty, they do not have a direct source for getting genuine Polk replacement parts since they can't order them from us. Polk Audio cannot replace freight-damaged product or service a product with a removed or defaced serial number. If you are not happy with the product or want to trade-up you may find it hard to get a refund or full-credit trade up.

Reliability - There are a lot of fly-by-night retailers out there, particularly the dot com variety. Here today gone tomorrow. Example: Liquidprice.com was quite ill-liquid and went out of business. Retailers must meet many requirements to become an authorized Polk retailer - including financial solvency and stability.

So how do you know? The Polk website has an up-to-date list of authorized Polk dealers, both on-line and store-front retailers. Anyone making that claim who is not in fact authorized, is breaking the law and subject to consequences. If you are ever in doubt, contact Polk customer service (800-377-7655 or polkcs@polkaudio.com) to verify a dealer's status.

Boston Acoustics says...

(directly from Boston's website, November 2006)

Unauthorized Dealer Warning.

Our Policy
Boston Acoustics audio products are sold worldwide only by authorized dealers. Our carefully selected dealers are fully trained to demonstrate and service all of our products. In addition, Boston Acoustics provides a manufacturers warranty to all Boston products sold by authorized dealers.

Boston Acoustics does not authorize mail order or online sale of its products except for authorized Boston Acoustics Internet Partners.

Buyer Beware
There are some dealers who resell our products that are not authorized to do so. Some of these dealers run advertisements in the back of magazines or sell online via the Internet. The goods they sell are, in most cases, acquired via unauthorized practices. Often these goods are damaged, defective, or used. Most unauthorized dealers do not offer any service after the sale. Also, some of these dealers change their name and location to avoid responsibility for any problems, which may have occurred after the sale. Products sold by an unauthorized dealer are not entitled to Boston's warranty. Boston Acoustics is actively pursuing unauthorized dealers to stop them from selling our products.

Trust
Since 1979, we have provided our customers with high-quality products at the best possible prices. We have gained much of our reputation as an established audio systems manufacturer simply by not allowing anything but the highest quality products to leave our factory doors. Also, we want you to receive the best possible service during and after the sale. Only an authorized Boston dealer or manufacturer can give you the personalized service you deserve.

Authorized Dealers
To ensure that you are dealing with an authorized Boston dealer please visit our Dealers Web page.

Thank you for your interest in our products!