Stupid warranty conditions..........at least in my opinion.

[No Middle Name]

HAHAA..........

 

[sv4]

Some time ago I bought a Zero Tolerance ZT0350 knife. I used the same seller again as always, it's much easier when I concentrate all my purchases in one place. I just say what I want and they take care of everything else (except the bill). It never occurred to me how "STUPID" Zero Tolerance's warranty terms can be. Of course, luckily for me, my knife had a small flaw (the blade hits the backspacer). I contacted the seller and I got three options: a ¤50 discount coupon for the next purchase or or termination of the sale or a new knife (same model). Of course, being greedy, I took the $50 coupon and repaired the knife myself. Later I asked Zero Tolerance for original spare parts. The answer was that we only serve USA, Canada and Mexico customers directly, the rest of the world only products purchased through official dealers (the dealer handles the ordering/delivery of the parts to the customer). Since my knife was not purchased from an official dealer, my knife does not have a warranty from Zerotolerance. All manufacturing defects and material defects will be compensated by the store that sold the knife (if they so wish), but I have already received the agreed compensation ($50 coupon) and if something "under warranty" fails later on, I will no longer be able to get anything.
That was the question (after a confusing start). How many American manufacturers have similar warranty conditions. Benchmade has never abandoned its European consumer customers because I have ALWAYS received all the spare parts I requested from them and therefore I gladly pay Benchmade's high prices for knives (as long as they don't have ball bearings).

As an overseas customer, I’ve had very poor experience with KAI USA in recent years. Many years ago they used to send parts to overseas customers but a few years back, they changed their policy to one that effectively discriminates against overseas customers.

Yes, KAI USA now only serves USA, Canada & Mexico customers and for overseas customers, we are told to claim warranty from their “official dealers” within our respective countries. Now, the so-called official dealer in my country actually only carries a small range of Kershaws & ZTs, and had informed me that they are only obliged to warranty knives that were purchased directly from their shop.

I now have a bunch of fully authentic Kershaws, bought some years ago from legitimate USA dealers like BladeHq, KnifeCenter etc, that are now totally without any warranty at all. When I complained to KAI USA about this ridiculous situation, I was told too bad, this is our current policy. Of course I now avoid KAI USA products like the plague.

On the other hand, I have always had excellent warranty and parts service from both Benchmade and Spyderco. Prompt communication via emails, no problems and parts required are sent for free to me halfway around the globe. I’ve had Benchmade send me replacement pocket clips, body & pivot screws, omega springs etc. Charlynn of Spyderco went out of her way to source and send me, free of charge, replacement body and clip screws for long discontinued models (over 25 years old) too. Certainly no discrimination against overseas customers there.

 

[l1ranger]

I'd guess this is exactly the same type of situation which explains why they do what they do.

you had a knife that wasn't up to your standard, you got that rectified by the 'seller' with a discount. admitted to being greedy
'fixed' the knife yourself, and then want the manufacturer to warranty a knife that you could have returned, but instead altered on your own.

they aren't wrong in this case, IMO

 

[ooitzoo]

I'd guess this is exactly the same type of situation which explains why they do what they do.

you had a knife that wasn't up to your standard, you got that rectified by the 'seller' with a discount. admitted to being greedy
'fixed' the knife yourself, and then want the manufacturer to warranty a knife that you could have returned, but instead altered on your own.

they aren't wrong in this case, IMO

Agreed. OP is upset that he wasn't able to double-dip.

The warranty terms are made publicly available in advance. If you don't like them then cool, find a maker that has better terms.

They likely don't service Europe because Europe is a nanny-state where stuff gets stolen from the mail under the guise of "safety".

 

[Danke42]

I'd guess this is exactly the same type of situation which explains why they do what they do.

you had a knife that wasn't up to your standard, you got that rectified by the 'seller' with a discount. admitted to being greedy
'fixed' the knife yourself, and then want the manufacturer to warranty a knife that you could have returned, but instead altered on your own.

they aren't wrong in this case, IMO

Let's not get all bogged down with facts