bernardsia said:
Thanks for all the constructive comments and also to the trolls who just want a fight.
Let us make a clear differentiation between, having an avenue to buy gray products at a cheaper price. And a shop selling unsuspecting consumers gray products by withholding vital information. The two scenerios are very different things altogether.
In the case of the 50mm 1.4, it's the exact scenerio I was in. Look at my point in the last paragraph. If the buyer was looking to buy a gray set to save a few dollars. Fair enough. But that isn't the case. I imagine he got his money back and bought a proper warrantied set across the road. The point? TCW made the deal by withholding vital information. If this infomation had been offered prior, there would have been no deal at all. This is not an expected scenerio, it's should be criminal.
Unfortunately, the law is not on your side bernard. I never said that you were out to look for gray products specifically, merely that you were out to get a good deal. This would show that you had already done your research on what the RRP should be. As such the law does not protect you if upon finding a cheaper offer, you do not confirm if the product is different from what you want. You were not coerced into a contract, nor did they make a false claim about the product. You claim that TCW has withheld vital information from you, but the truth is, they can claim that they did not know it was vital to you. In their defense they can claim that since they have a proper service and support department, they feel that where the warranty is from is not vital. And unfortunately, it is an acceptable claim, unless you can proof that their service and support is inferior to that of the agent. The deal might not have been made if the information had been given but at the same time, the information was not sought. There was no smoke and mirrors involved on their part. About your nikon lens, i think you will note that TCW has never claimed to be an authorized dealer for nikon products or sigma products. They did not try to act as one either. They blatantly left the warranty card invalid, and as such it is just another piece of paper.
Tigger, it is indeed unfortunate what has happened to your aunt and your friend. In the case of your aunt, it is the same as above. She went for a cheaper deal without suspecting anything. The shop can claim in its defense that the reason the set was cheaper was because it had no warranty. Your aunt made the mistake of checking after purchasing which is bad practice on the side of the buyer. You did not examine the terms of the contract before agreeing to it. Tough luck says the law, bad practice on the part of the shop says me. In the case of the walkman, the seller did point out a discernable difference between the 2 sets, that of their country of origin. He therefore justified that by the higher price. Your friend agreed that there was a sound quality difference between the 2 sets too. The shop keeper said it was due to the make of the product and your friend DID NOT refute. Your friend made the final decision. It was only later that he was informed that the sound difference was not due to the product being made in different places. To put it bluntly, who is to say this source of information is correct? Unfortunately, while i agree that it is probably the case, you have no legal backing in your grieviances.
Bernard, i would advice you to seek advice from someone with legal training and then pursue the matter legally if you have firm ground. Currently, you are throwing the name of TCW up in a public forum when from my point of view you have no case. As such you are slandering them. That is dangerous ground. I, as well as everyone else i am sure, appreciates your concern for the consumer. It is good to hear that Sigma offers such great service and more importantly, your warning that we should all beware when buying stuff. But honestly, throwing words like criminal around is threading on thin ice.