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Why did Pioneer yank Amazon as an authorized dealer?

post #1 of 11
9/20/12 at 3:56pm
Thread Starter 
I've done a fair bit of business with Amazon and from what I've seen they are a very trustworthy vendor, esp if you buy direct from them. Fry's will even match Amazon direct pricing, so it's not like they are undercutting prices too low. Then again, they don't list Fry's as an authorized dealer either. Denon, Onkyo, Yamaha, Harmon Kardon and even MARANTZ!, all list Amazon as an authorized dealer. Onkyo, Yamaha and Harmon Kardon also authorize Fry's.

As far as I can tell, Pioneer is unfairly throttling Amazon (and by extension, Amazon customers), and Pioneer employees don't even know why. There's probably a lot of people buying Pioneer receivers off Amazon that aren't even aware they aren't going to get any warranty coverage from Pioneer.

So on the one hand, Pioneer offers some of the best, if not THE best sound at lower price points, yet is overly restrictive compared to other brands regarding where you can buy them from if you want a factory warranty. Seems just when I've narrowed down my choices, there's always something making me hesitate.

A little trivia on required signatures of deliveries. Newegg does not require a signature on any UPS delivered purchases, yet Pioneer sees them as a trusted dealer. There have been cases where people bought laptops costing over $1500 from Newegg and they were just left at the doorstep. At least Amazon requires a signature on any purchase over $1300.
Edited by Hi Def Fan - 9/20/12 at 7:48pm
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post #2 of 11
9/21/12 at 10:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hi Def Fan View Post

As far as I can tell, Pioneer is unfairly throttling Amazon (and by extension, Amazon customers), and Pioneer employees don't even know why. There's probably a lot of people buying Pioneer receivers off Amazon that aren't even aware they aren't going to get any warranty coverage from Pioneer.

I don't even see any Pioneer Receivers for sale direct by Amazon. They are from third-party vendors, which are probably not authorized. This happens for many products. Which Pioneer Receivers are available directly sold by Amazon?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hi Def Fan View Post

A little trivia on required signatures of deliveries. Newegg does not require a signature on any UPS delivered purchases, yet Pioneer sees them as a trusted dealer. There have been cases where people bought laptops costing over $1500 from Newegg and they were just left at the doorstep. At least Amazon requires a signature on any purchase over $1300.

Signature confirmation is an additional delivery service that costs extra money. If enough packages go missing, Amazon will switch back to confirmation for you on smaller values, but they pretty much do the cost / benefit analysis. A certain amount of loss is acceptable if you are saving by not paying for the additional service. You aren't responsible if you didn't receive the delivery. They will send you another one no questions asked.
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post #3 of 11
9/22/12 at 12:39am
Thread Starter 
You still see Pioneers sold on Amazon's site, but only through sub vendors now. Amazon themselves used to be an authorized Pioneer dealer though, as verified by Pioneer.

I assume the reason Pioneer yanked them is due to the low prices Amazon and their sub vendors clear items out at, which is part of what got Denon in the situation they're in.

I'll probably have to keep checking Newegg, They seem to be the next best thing price wise, but availability on some models is spotty. They have the SC-1212 for $650 right now, with a 2yr vs 1 yr warranty thrown in according to Deal News. $650 is well beyond what I'm looking to spend though. I'd like to keep it under $400.
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post #4 of 11
1/18/13 at 6:48pm
FYI... BestBuy now price matches Amazon (stupid on BestBuy's part, and at the rate the company is deteriorating it may not be around in a couple of years).

If you find it on Amazon, save/print the page and take it in to a BestBuy store. They will price match, but then you've got to pay local tax so consider that. I'd pay about $35 more for the $400 head unit I want here in TN, but it may be worth it for the 1 year warranty!
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post #5 of 11
1/18/13 at 7:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SONShineM516 View Post

FYI... BestBuy now price matches Amazon (stupid on BestBuy's part, and at the rate the company is deteriorating it may not be around in a couple of years).

If you find it on Amazon, save/print the page and take it in to a BestBuy store. They will price match, but then you've got to pay local tax so consider that. I'd pay about $35 more for the $400 head unit I want here in TN, but it may be worth it for the 1 year warranty!

Does Best Buy only match Amazon LLC direct prices or, do they match prices of items sold on Amazon through sub vendors as well?
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post #6 of 11
1/18/13 at 8:15pm
Quote:
I've done a fair bit of business with Amazon and from what I've seen they are a very trustworthy vendor, esp if you buy direct from them. Fry's will even match Amazon direct pricing, so it's not like they are undercutting prices too low. Then again, they don't list Fry's as an authorized dealer either. Denon, Onkyo, Yamaha, Harmon Kardon and even MARANTZ!, all list Amazon as an authorized dealer. Onkyo, Yamaha and Harmon Kardon also authorize Fry's.

Pioneer list Fry's as an authorized dealer if you click Find a Retail Store and put in your zip code (if you have a Fry's nearby)
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Where-To-Buy

Same for Denon.
http://usa.denon.com/US/WhereToBuy/Pages/dealerlisting.aspx?type=All

Click on All Authorized Dealers and you'll see Fry's there in multiple locations

So Fry's is authorized for Pioneer, Denon, HK, Yamaha, Onkyo and Sony too.

I don't see anything special about Pioneer entry level receivers though so they're no big deal to me. Plus they only offer a 1 year warranty whereas all the other mfrs offer 2 years and sometimes 3 on the higher models.
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post #7 of 11
2/15/13 at 5:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tank_PD View Post

I don't even see any Pioneer Receivers for sale direct by Amazon.
There are some. I just ordered a SC-1522-K, which "Ships from and [is] sold by Amazon.com." It is rumored to be the non-Elite counterpart of the SC-65. Furthermore, it should be covered by Pioneer's factory warranty, since Amazon is now on the list of Pioneer authorized internet dealers (and since it is not an Elite model).
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post #8 of 11
2/19/13 at 6:21pm
Let me know your feelings on the 1522. I was looking at the Onkyo 818, but there's a lot of noise on their forum regarding sound quality. The 1522 looks like a reasonable alternative, but they charge way too much for the wireless adapters...
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post #9 of 11
2/19/13 at 8:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cpetku View Post

Let me know your feelings on the 1522. I was looking at the Onkyo 818, but there's a lot of noise on their forum regarding sound quality. The 1522 looks like a reasonable alternative, but they charge way too much for the wireless adapters...
My 1522 arrived yesterday, and so far I've managed to hook up 5.2 speakers, with no calibration yet. Sounds great. I have 3 4ohm speakers and 2 6ohm, which I think the Onkyo 3008 was not capable of driving (and that's okay, since 4ohm wasn't in the Onkyo's spec). The 1522's D amplifiers has no problem with them. A couple of pleasant surprises: my TV picture (HDMI signal routed through the Pioneer) is better, and I do get an on screen amplitude display (though I had been under the impression the Pioneer didn't have this feature).

Any wireless adapter would do, wouldn't it? Well, I have a wired ethernet connection close by, so I haven't confronted this problem.
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post #10 of 11
2/19/13 at 8:51pm
i wish pioneer would sell elite models through online dealers...because for me the next closest dealer to drive to is a ways away and they want about $200 more than i can find it online

so im faced with whether the extra $200 is worth the warranty on it or just buy it online and take a risk of no warranty
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post #11 of 11
3/2/13 at 9:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fenris Wolf View Post

i wish pioneer would sell elite models through online dealers...because for me the next closest dealer to drive to is a ways away and they want about $200 more than i can find it online

so im faced with whether the extra $200 is worth the warranty on it or just buy it online and take a risk of no warranty
so what did u wind up doing?
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