Quote:
Originally Posted by Argel
It doesn't seem to have stopped Microsoft, Apple, Dell, Hewlett Packard, Intel ...  |
Again .... all companies that are already into manufacturing and on a global basis.
As noted ... Amazon has always been a retailer. Big difference between retailing and manufacturing. The retailer doesn't have to worry about warranties and the like. That's the manufacturer's problem. And, if every country decides to set its own warranty and other provisions on the manufacturer ... well, that's something to think about.
For example. I'm told that in Norway it's each Norwegian's constitutional right to have a five year manufacturer's warranty. So ... is that true only for good actually sold and purchased in Norway?? Because, if I'm a manufacturer and I normally have a two year warranty everywhere else ... and I decide to distribute to a retailer in Norway, I'm going to adjust my price up to compensate for the longer warranty.
But then, what if a Norweigian travels to Sweden and purchases the same thing for a lower price (because maybe the warranty is only two years in Sweden, so the price is lower there), and brings the item home to Norway. Does the five year warranty apply?? The item was not purchased in Norway even though it is available there.
And, what of goods (such as the Kindle) which are not available in Norway? Does a Kindle automatically have a five year warranty just because a Norweigian took it home?? And ... is that parts and labor ... just parts?? Also, if I understand what was posted about the warranty provision of the Norweigian Constitution ... the warranty cannot be voided ... no matter what abuse the consumer decides to mete out. So, they can screw with the hardware and software all they want ... it's still apparently the manufacturer's problem.
Looking at it from a purely business standpoint, if I were to even consider expanding distribution outside of the US ... as a manufacturer, I would be looking really closely at the countires to be targeted for distribution. If I was going to have to jack up my price because of non-voidable five year absolute warranties, and the country didn't have a very large population in the first place ... and then we're going to figure that maybe only 2-5 percent of the populace is going to purchase the product ....
Well, from the manufacturer's perspective ... where is the upside??