Haaselblad warranty

[f8orbust]

Having read this, I'm just checking I understand it all correctly.

If you're in the US, Canada or Costa Rica and purchase any Hasselblad gear from a Hasselblad dealer in (say) the UK, then Hasselblad USA will not honor the warranty. If anything goes wrong with the gear you have to ship it back to Sweden at your expense for it to be repaired under the international warranty.

However, if you're physically in (again say) the UK and purchase the gear and bring it back to the US and it fails, that's ok, Hasselblad USA will honor the warranty just so long as you prove to them you were physically in the country of purchase at the time you purchased it (store receipt, stamped passport etc.)

So:

1. Given the nature of the EU (which allows for the free movement of goods), what happens if I'm in the UK and buy some Hasselblad gear from Germany that's shipped to me in the UK and I then return to the US. Will Hasselblad US honor the warranty or will I be shipping it off to Sweden if something goes wrong?

2. Do Phase or Leaf have similar such policies?

I know this is designed to protect Hasselblad USA from people shopping abroad (in much the same way Honda won't honour the warranties of Honda's bought in the US and taken into Canada), but it all seems a bit out dated to me in this age of global commerce.

A Hasselblad's a Hasselblad right, wherever you buy it? Hmm...maybe not.

 

[greygrad]

I contacted Hasselblad USA about this issue (and, all credit to them, they replied very quickly): The warranty is tied to the country of purchase. Buy a back in the UK (or wherever) and if it goes wrong - you gotta go back to the UK (or wherever) to get your dealer to help, or mail it back to Sweden yourself under the international warranty.

Not sure about Phase One or Leaf's policy - would be interesting to know.

 

[tetsrfun]

I contacted Hasselblad USA about this issue (and, all credit to them, they replied very quickly): The warranty is tied to the country of purchase. Buy a back in the UK (or wherever) and if it goes wrong - you gotta go back to the UK (or wherever) to get your dealer to help, or mail it back to Sweden yourself under the international warranty.

Not sure about Phase One or Leaf's policy - would be interesting to know.

IMO, a reasonable trade off to give some protection to their dealer network. At least it's not like Nikon's warranty for original buyer only. That is a screw job.

Steve

 

[TimothyHyde]

At least it's not like Nikon's warranty for original buyer only.

Is that in fact true? I have a brand-new Hassey H lens as part of a promo, and at least one person told me that i cannot transfer the warranty to the person to whom i'm selling. Both buyer and seller are US based and the lens came through HasselbladUSA.

 

[TimothyHyde]

Let me answer my own question, as I now have a definitive answer from Hasselblad: "Hasselblad USA warranty is valid for the original owner and is not transferable." There is probably a good reason for this, though I can't begin to figure it out, and it's unfortunate for those of us who are more likely to try out new cameras and lenses knowing that we can swap them out in the market right away if they don't fill the bill.

 

[f8orbust]

Let me answer my own question, as I now have a definitive answer from Hasselblad: "Hasselblad USA warranty is valid for the original owner and is not transferable." There is probably a good reason for this, though I can't begin to figure it out, and it's unfortunate for those of us who are more likely to try out new cameras and lenses knowing that we can swap them out in the market right away if they don't fill the bill.

That's a real shame - the used market in photography is where I (and I'm sure many others) do most buying, and if you can pick up a bit of gear still under warranty, then so much the better. Phase's policy of warrantying the back itself (and not through a particular owner) seems much more sensible. That said, I still don't know if a US Phase/Leaf dealer would help you out with a warranty issue for a Phase/Leaf back bought outwith the US....

 

[f8orbust]

In fact, Hasselblad's warranty sounds crazy. A Hasselblad H4D-60 ($40k) costs more than a BMW 328i xDrive coupe - and yet comes with a one year, non-transferable, geographically limited warranty. What is this, the Dark Ages? The BMW warranty is four years standard, transferable any number of times (in that four year period) and applicable no matter what country you break-down in. Isn't it about time MFDB manufacturer's of such high value items stood behind their products a bit more?