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Bronze Member Username: SackohammersPost Number: 11 Registered: May-06 | Need some help from you expert shoppers out there. Edster, I hear thats you. hehe Here is the list of authorized dealers: http://www.harmankardon.com/online_retailers.aspx?Region=USA&Country=US&Language =ENG If I do a pricegrabber, I can see it as low as $575 shipped, and people talk about getting it for $500. What about warranty? I want to make sure the little 2 year warranty is honored if I buy it from some place. Right now, of the vendors on the list, I can get the best pricing from J&R at $600 shipped. Any input here guys? What about extending the warranty? Any reasonable options here? At J&R I can buy an extended warranty for like $60 for another two years. This is done by a company called Repair Masters. They claim free shipping. Anyone have any experience with this stuff? What about getting it serviced? I know there is a circuit city nearby. What if I buy from J&R? What do I have to do if I have a problem with the receiver? |
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Bronze Member Username: DarthThe woodlands Post Number: 57 Registered: Aug-05 | You can buy from this guys with confidence, they even offer full warranty as you can see in the add. http://cgi.ebay.com/Harman-Kardon-AVR-635-7-1-Home-theater-receiver_W0QQitemZ972 7242870QQcategoryZ67799QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem |
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Bronze Member Username: SackohammersPost Number: 12 Registered: May-06 | Thanks Vader. I verified that these guys, Harmanaudio, are part of Harman Kardon. I called HK and they said that items purchased from harmanaudio on Ebay do carry a full 2 year manufacturer's warranty. |
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Gold Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 4011 Registered: Mar-05 | Those authorized-refurb HK635s usually go for around $450-550 on Harman Audio (plus shipping), if you can get it brand new for $600 shipped from J&R it's a tough call because J&R is an extremely reputable dealer. On the other hand, some people feel that a refurbed model is actually less likely to have reliability problems because it's supposed to have been fully checked out and retested. |
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Bronze Member Username: PeychaudPost Number: 19 Registered: Mar-06 | I got a refurbished HK 635 from Harman Audio for $482 plus $34 shipping. Now that the prices have dropped you can probably get one for $450 or even lower. The unit I received was in excellent condition. There appears to be one slight "ding" in the front casing, which may account for its refurb status, but other than that it is in mint condition, and you can only see the ding when the light hits it a certain way. (Be sure to remove the protective film from the front panel or you may think you've received an old, scuffed up machine ;)) I took the advice of Hawk, who said that statistics show refurbished models are returned less often than new models. With a good-as-new two-year warranty, this price was hard to pass up. However, this was before the price dropped to $600 for brand new. I'd probably think twice now, although given my budget I'd still probably opt for the cheaper refurbished unit from Harman online. |
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Silver Member Username: PraetorianCanada Post Number: 195 Registered: Dec-05 | Ugh... Its like walking into a bookstore and seeing the book you bought 3 months ago for 40$ now selling for 7$... |
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New member Username: S_jonesB.C. Canada Post Number: 10 Registered: Oct-05 | Is it really that crucial to buy from an authorized dealer? I was going to purchase a 635 on eBay but I don't see any of these listed authorized dealers selling on eBay. I can't buy a refurb because they don't ship to Canada. It looks like J&R do ship to Canada though so I could buy from them, since it has been mentioned that they are reputable. |
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Bronze Member Username: SackohammersPost Number: 38 Registered: May-06 | If you do not purchase from an authorized reseller then you do not get the warranty from the factory. Here is their list of ONLINE resellers(J&R is on the list): http://www.harmankardon.com/online_retailers.aspx?Region=USA&Country=US&Language =ENG However, I found that this is not an exhaustive list. People were recommending that I purchase from 6ave.com but they are not on that list. 6ave.com is actually a brick and mortar store, but they sell online. I went to 6ave.com website, looked up the zip code for one of their stores. Went back to HK website here: http://dealerlocator.harman.com/harmankardon/ and entered in the zip code. I discovered that 6ave.com is an authorized reseller, they're just not on the internet list. Its only a big deal if you keep the warranty. Keep in mind when purchasing from a US company and shipping to Canada... your warranty -may- be voided, check with manufacturer. Also keep in mind that Customs will hold up the receiver for a little while. |
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Gold Member Username: Stu_pittIrvington, New York USA Post Number: 1309 Registered: May-05 | Canada & the US use different voltages. If you buy a US model, you may not be able to use it in Canada. Check to see if the voltage can be switched. The warantee will most likely be voided if you buy in the US and use it in Canada. Again, check with H/K to make sure. |
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Gold Member Username: NuckPost Number: 2682 Registered: Dec-04 | Uhh, Stu, 120v 60hz is standard across North America.And Mexico. Hehehe. High voltage differs, 480v South, 575v North. |
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Bronze Member Username: S_jonesB.C. Canada Post Number: 11 Registered: Oct-05 | Hmm...that would suck if the warranty is voided, but I suppose it's worth it considering the amount of money I would save. The list price for the 635 at Future Shop is $1799.99 I believe. Thanks for the info. |
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Bronze Member Username: S_jonesB.C. Canada Post Number: 12 Registered: Oct-05 | Well, I ordered the HK AVR645 from J&R 3 weeks ago. Finally contacted them today as my order was still in "processing" status. They advised me that the AVR635 has been discontinued from their inventory and is no longer available. Why they are still advertising it on their website, I don't know. They also no longer stock it in Future Shop (Canadian retailer) so I'm guessing the model has just been discontinued? Now I'm going to either have to find another retailer who might have it available or go for a difefrent model. Bah!! |
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Bronze Member Username: S_jonesB.C. Canada Post Number: 13 Registered: Oct-05 | Ah sorry...typo. It was the 635 that I ordered. |
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Bronze Member Username: SackohammersPost Number: 59 Registered: May-06 | Well, you could try here: http://cgi.ebay.com/Harman-Kardon-AVR-635-7-1-Home-theater-receiver_W0QQitemZ974 3827092QQcategoryZ67799QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Just do a search on EBAY for AVR 635. You can buy from seller harmanadio. They are factory direct refurbs with the same warranty as a new one. You can call Harman Kardon and verify, its the real deal. |
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Bronze Member Username: S_jonesB.C. Canada Post Number: 14 Registered: Oct-05 | The problem with that e-bay listing, and most others, is that they only ship to the U.S. We in Canada have limited options. Not sure what I am going to do now. |
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Gold Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 1621 Registered: Feb-04 | ecost.com ships to Canada, and they sometimes have refurbs too. I got my avr-325 there a few years ago. |
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Gold Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 4226 Registered: Mar-05 | SEJ, Try pricegrabber.com --- didn't know that about jr.com, they usually are very good about having whatever their website has...bummer! |
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Bronze Member Username: S_jonesB.C. Canada Post Number: 15 Registered: Oct-05 | I checked out both the ecost.com and pricegrabbers.com sites. Thanks for the recommendations Peter and Edster! I guess the only concern is that none of these are authorized dealers. Will have to buy and hope to not have any problems, as there will likely be no warranty coverage. |
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Bronze Member Username: SackohammersPost Number: 60 Registered: May-06 | This might be a long shot, but what about 3rd party warranties. I do not have any experience with them, but some vendors will sell a 3 year warranty for $60 or something similar. Of course you have to read the fine print. Also research the company to make sure they have a good track record and that they will be around in 3 years. Also make sure they operate in Canada, that its easy to fulfill a claim, and get the repair work done. Like I said, might be a long shot. |
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Gold Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 1622 Registered: Feb-04 | I was under the impression that ecost was okay if you agreed to ship the unit back to the US for the US warranty. But for me, buying a refurb from ecost.com was less than half the price of a new unit from futureshop in Canada. I could have bought two as my own warranty and still come out ahead on price. |
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Bronze Member Username: S_jonesB.C. Canada Post Number: 16 Registered: Oct-05 | "I was under the impression that ecost was okay if you agreed to ship the unit back to the US for the US warranty." That's good to know. No question it is waaay cheaper to buy from the U.S. What is the deal with the Borderfree service they offer on ecost.com? Do they take care of the taxes and duties, and therefore the Canadian price given on the website includes all duties and taxes up front? Sounds like a pretty good service if that's the case. |
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Gold Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 1624 Registered: Feb-04 | That is the case. The displayed costs includes shipping to the border, border handling charges and applicable duties, shipping to your address and GST on the total cost. No extras at the door. |