The Sumiko announcement is interesting in view of the fact that there are currently 26 Sonus Faber speakers listed for sale in the Audiogon classified ads. Do these sellers have any obligation to disclose the Sumiko policy or is it totally "buyer beware". I'll bet that almost none of these sellers even know about the policy.
What about authorized Sonus Faber dealers - do they have an obligation to disclose the Sumiko policy?
The wording of the Sumiko statement also raises this question: does the person who wants the repair made have to be the person who purchased the unit from an authorized dealer? What if an Audiogon seller provides his buyer with a copy of a receipt from an authorized Sonus Faber dealer that bears the serial number of the unit and the Audiogon seller's name? This shows that the speaker was purchased new through an authorized dealer.
If the answer to the last question is "yes", then the Sumiko policy not only impairs the resale of the unit to another user but also impairs trade-ins to dealers that are not authorized Sonus Faber dealers.
It boils down to what the purpose of the policy is. Is Sumiko just trying to stamp out gray market products or is it trying to force buyers to deal with only authorized dealers, not only when they buy originally but when they dispose of the products.
What about authorized Sonus Faber dealers - do they have an obligation to disclose the Sumiko policy?
The wording of the Sumiko statement also raises this question: does the person who wants the repair made have to be the person who purchased the unit from an authorized dealer? What if an Audiogon seller provides his buyer with a copy of a receipt from an authorized Sonus Faber dealer that bears the serial number of the unit and the Audiogon seller's name? This shows that the speaker was purchased new through an authorized dealer.
If the answer to the last question is "yes", then the Sumiko policy not only impairs the resale of the unit to another user but also impairs trade-ins to dealers that are not authorized Sonus Faber dealers.
It boils down to what the purpose of the policy is. Is Sumiko just trying to stamp out gray market products or is it trying to force buyers to deal with only authorized dealers, not only when they buy originally but when they dispose of the products.