Furuno Waranty

[marco]

Marco, it sounds like you had an exceptionally good experience but I do not believe that your experience is the norm for products purchased from non authorised OS vendors. Judging by feedback from this particular discussion I think it would be misleading for others who are considering OS purchases that they can expect the same level of service from the overseas distributor as your experience. Let's just say you're lucky

hi john ,
this is what i meant from scare mongering , where in this discussion are there comments from others that would make my positive experiences misleading ?
i think some of your " what if,s " are in fact misleading as no one has come forward with actual negative warranty situations regarding furuno which is what this discussion has been about .


cheers
mark

[Burley_Boy]

Ok I did post this in a separate thread so my apologies for doubling up but after reading this and just unpacking my new 585 with tranducer I want to point out that I didn't at this time find I was going to save dollars by importing but actually loose. I like to buy local if I can justify it and this time I was surprised that any substantial savings were really not there.
Realize that gst is not charged on imports under $1000 so on smaller amounts the proportional savings might be higher.

What I worked out was as follows.
Fishon Marine $1280US + their freight charge $177US...
or JandH $1317US + their freight charge $153US
Maybe there are cheaper freight options but this is what their calulator spat out.
I calculated on an exchange rate of 90c/dollar.
note there is no GST on the freight but I'll separate it out for those who choose to pay or not pay GST. (didn't think the 5% duty applied to us so I didn't include that)
In Australian Dollars that gave me
Fishon $1422 + $142gst + $197freight = $1761Aud
J&H $1463 + $146gst + $171freight = $1780Aud

Price from Tackle & Tinny show $1800Aud less Furuno $150 cashback = $1650
so play with less freight or no gst or another exchange rate but there aint much in it. I purchased from a reputable Aussie dealer and have the P66 transducer with the 585 for $1830 (with the cashback, $1980 without).

Pro's and con's with everything but $100 more or less won't sway me to go OS, but once we get substantial differences then its a different matter.

[John Martin]

Marco, call it what you want but it is all facts. People tend to interperet things in a way that best suites the outcome they desire but I prefer to stick to the facts. Just read the local distributors warranty that was posted on this site in the early stages. Again it is fact not misleading or scare mongering. Your earlier post telling people that technicains call you from the USA to sort out your issues is also fact in your case but certainly not standard practice. Ask any of the non authorised vendors if they can guarantee this kind of service?

Pat from Fishon Marine has advised me that Fishon Marine is NOT an authorised Furuno dealer and again I quote from his e-mail (again fact).... "Authorized Furuno Dealers have to have a brick and mortar store and offer service and installation. There are no Authorized Furuno Dealers selling internationally on the internet that I know of"........ he goes on to stress that he is not happy about local distributors not honouring warranty on equipment he sells. He also informed me that he will not sell the extended warranty service that he would like to offer as he cannot guarantee service in Australia. If you do not believe me take the time to do the research yourself and e-mail Pat at Fishon Marine.

Burley_Boy, I'm pleased it's not just me that does the sums and sees that in this instance there's no great savings (again using current Furuno pricing). Nice sounder and that price I may just impress the oldboy and get him the 585. I'll check with trymax what they can do.

I'm over this topic now.......it's time to move onto something a bit interesting.

[OPTI]

well i just bought my 1100l from the us ,it cost me 3500 to my door,the cheapest price i could find here in aus was 5500.not a real hard decision,even if i had to send it back to the us for warranty its only 100 bucks in freight so im still way ahead.im just waiting for the navnet 3d and 6kw radar to turn up and they were both about 4 grand cheaper than i could buy here is aus.thank god for the internet.

[kingtin]

Nothing to do with sounders but may add to the debate about someone making megabucks here, as opposed to justifying it with "economy of scale"

I recently hunted for a benbo tripod which are made in the UK. Only one distributor in Oz and quite a few in the States.

The best prices that I found with postage in OZ dollars was from the UK $550, from the states $437, from the Australian distributor $770

Now two things come to mind.............how come the States price is cheaper than the country of origin and how come the Oz price is so high given that the UK distributor is still making a profit on an item (after shipping here) selling at 30% less than in Oz. The Oz distributor could have bought retail from the states and still had a decent profit margin reselling lower than his current price?

Likewise, and this isn't a plug............ if this company:

http://www.d-d-photographics.com/index.htm

can sell quality photographic gear out of a warehouse in Sydney and Brisbane at prices better than ebay Hong Kong prices, how come other Australian companies struggle to compete (so they say with their inflated prices)?

I've bought all my gear from them (thousands) and have saved thousands.........if one "entrepreneur" can do it, why not other Australian businesses? This company is selling Nikon, Canon and all the major brands, from companies notoriously difficult to negotiate with. How come a company in it's infancy can beat the likes of Bentley's Camera House or Harvey Norman, not by 10% but 30%? Companies long established in Australia, with multiple outlets and the buying power that they possess, and they are losing sales, to owner operators?

I'll tell you why, it's because of the old Aussie, "she'll be right mate" The average Australian consumer has not been canny enough or discerning enough to have these "fat cats" sit up and take notice.............but things are changing...........Aussie folk are realising that they can get a better deal on quality goods and not have to buy crap. They can shop around and not have to take crap from so called "dealerships".

The "establishment" is faltering and the "yellow peril" have made them sit up and take notice. The Oriental "inscrutability" that has crept into the market place here has benefited the Australian consumer greatly, at the expense of the "old school". The old school needs to polish up it's act if they are to survive, and focus on volume of sales at lower profit per item, instead of accepting low sales at higher profit per item.

I used to think in terms of "economy of scale" but I'm not so sure anymore when I can see individuals starting up small companies that can sell goods at 30% less than long established retailers. It's how they sell, their staffing levels, their outlets, their targeted market, that is getting them the volume of sales that allow then to offer those prices. It's alright screaming about jobs, but heavily staffed retailers in upmarket shopping mals, do not equate to competitive prices.

kev

[Dr Squid]

im just waiting for the navnet 3d and 6kw radar to turn up and they were both about 4 grand cheaper than i could buy here is aus.thank god for the internet.

Be interesting to know where you got your pricing from because as far as I'm aware Furuno Australia hasn't released pricing yet to australian distrabutors.

[ozlongboarder]

Ok I did post this in a separate thread so my apologies for doubling up but after reading this and just unpacking my new 585 with tranducer I want to point out that I didn't at this time find I was going to save dollars by importing but actually loose. I like to buy local if I can justify it and this time I was surprised that any substantial savings were really not there.
Realize that gst is not charged on imports under $1000 so on smaller amounts the proportional savings might be higher.

What I worked out was as follows.
Fishon Marine $1280US + their freight charge $177US...
or JandH $1317US + their freight charge $153US
Maybe there are cheaper freight options but this is what their calulator spat out.
I calculated on an exchange rate of 90c/dollar.
note there is no GST on the freight but I'll separate it out for those who choose to pay or not pay GST. (didn't think the 5% duty applied to us so I didn't include that)
In Australian Dollars that gave me
Fishon $1422 + $142gst + $197freight = $1761Aud
J&H $1463 + $146gst + $171freight = $1780Aud

Price from Tackle & Tinny show $1800Aud less Furuno $150 cashback = $1650
so play with less freight or no gst or another exchange rate but there aint much in it. I purchased from a reputable Aussie dealer and have the P66 transducer with the 585 for $1830 (with the cashback, $1980 without).

Pro's and con's with everything but $100 more or less won't sway me to go OS, but once we get substantial differences then its a different matter.

Hmmmm are you sure about that shipping charge of $177 USD.....? I just did a test order for a 585 and P66 tranny with shipping to my address and it was $105 USD. Thats 72USD cheaper. Technically you should add on the GST but some online retailers will get around the GST part so thats a saving of $$$ as well. All these little bits add up!

[OPTI]

Be interesting to know where you got your pricing from because as far as I'm aware Furuno Australia hasn't released pricing yet to australian distrabutors.

the prices i got were from NAUTEK MARINE,he also told me they wouldnt be available in australia untill september,he was very helpful ,but as i stated 4 grand dearer on the total package and i would have to wait 3 months longer for the privlage.the 3d is released in june in the us ,ive been told 2 to 3 weeks.

[Outsider1]

Hmmmm are you sure about that shipping charge of $177 USD.....? I just did a test order for a 585 and P66 tranny with shipping to my address and it was $105 USD. Thats 72USD cheaper. Technically you should add on the GST but some online retailers will get around the GST part so thats a saving of $$$ as well. All these little bits add up!

Sorry ozlongboarder,

these comments are not aimed at you personally, but I do want to take issue with the theme of the highlighted comments which a number of other posters have made as well in this and other similar threads on the subject.

I personally have no problem with the idea of buying overseas, the economics certainly seem to support it in a number of cases, and there is no doubt that some of the importers/distributors/manufacturers in this country need a real shake up.

However, I do have concerns about this growing theme in these threads of ways to "avoid" GST and customs duty. It also seems that some of the online retailers are facilitating, even encouraging this avoidance!

My personal concerns are;

1) this is an unfair way to "compete"

2) it is tax avoidance which is a criminal act

3) the consequences if customs and excise were to prosecute the purchaser(s) for tax avoidance is never mentioned.

I can assure you that you do not want to be in the sights of these guys. They make most law enforcement agencies look like wimps!, they are relentless and pretty much merciless.!!

So just make sure you understand the consequences if you go down this path.

Cheers

Dave

[kingtin]

2) it is tax avoidance which is a criminal act

Actually no, Dave. It's merely semantics, but tax avoidance isn't illegal. "Avoidance" is what we pay Accountants to do for us. Knowing how to "avoid" tax. Tax evasion is illegal.

I know why you're trying to say though. I have no idea how some companies, particularly on ebay, get away with openly stating that they will, "mark the item as a gift in order to avoid (should read 'evade') tax"

This is definitely unfair and illegal trading, and yet it is done quite openly. I'm guessing that they do it because they are beyond the reach of Aussie authorities and know that it is the purchaser who will carry the can, if the item is discovered to be taxable.

kev

[Outsider1]

Yep, thanks Kev,

you are right of course, the word should be evasion, not avoidance.

cheers

Dave

[John Martin]

Hey Opti, sure you saved some dough but that's because the US have been dumping stock of FCV1100's for the past few months because of the newer better model the FCV-1150 which is now available, even here in Aussie. As for the new navnet 3D stuff I asked trymax and they said theat Furuno will release pricing at sanctuary cove boat show next week when the 3D gear is officialy launched in Aus. They also told me that the US machines al come with pre loaded charts for US and you need to get the charts for local waters from the local agents. I also follow "The Hull truth" website as they have a lot of good info on electronics and reading setails there is looks like everyone will struggle to get stock of the new Furuno 3D gear. However your estimates seem quite impressive so go for it !

Update....
Here's what AUTHORISED US dealers are saying to US customers....."An order for a MFD 12" display placed today will not be received by the customer until the end of June or into July because of the large number of back orders on this unit, not because of any manufacturing delays.. per Furuno order processing dept."

I am guesing that the authorised Furuno dealers will supply their customers before discounting it to the online vendors who will only smash the prices to bits?

[OPTI]

i guess time will tell,i realise i have to buy the australian map but its still 2 grand cheaper,as for the 1150 l i thought it was the same but 12 inch screen?

[battler1]

Why would you buy 1100L ? the new 1150 is out now maybe the prices will drop on the 1100L ? i love me Google

Joe


quote=OPTI;822799]well i just bought my 1100l from the us ,it cost me 3500 to my door,the cheapest price i could find here in aus was 5500.not a real hard decision,even if i had to send it back to the us for warranty its only 100 bucks in freight so im still way ahead.im just waiting for the navnet 3d and 6kw radar to turn up and they were both about 4 grand cheaper than i could buy here is aus.thank god for the internet.[/quote]

[John Martin]

i guess time will tell,i realise i have to buy the australian map but its still 2 grand cheaper,as for the 1150 l i thought it was the same but 12 inch screen?

OPTI you're right mate, but time will tell what the 3D prices will be like in Aus. Just remember that as with all new gear there will no doubt be software upgrades and mods to sort out the early bugs. (That's fact Marco not scare mongering )

As for the 1100L vs the 1150 I have not used the 1150 but from my reading I understand that there is a whole bunch of digital filtering technology to mention only one benefit. Read for yourself on the JN taylor website www.jntaylor.com.au
Buying a new 1100L is probably like buying a 1999 Holden brand new and comparing it to a 2008 model? Technology stands still for no man and as it improves so the older technology (products) looses value.