so then does it make sense and is it worth the risk to order them online and get them shipped to India and pay the customs duty?
In such a case will the local dealer help in case of any issues during warranty period?
Does anyone have any experience to share on this good/bad..
when ever u buy any thing abroad for use in india u are trading some thing for the price advantage ( pane ke liye proverb applies). Basically u are trading the warranty and any service or repairs from the local authorised dealers for the price advantage u are gaining. it is always a gamble and unless u fully understand that risk u should stay away from buying abroad whether online or through some one bringing it personally. that said, this is india and if u live in a big town or a city ,you dont have to bother about repairs from the authorised dealers here, because let me tell you thereisnt any thing made in this world that cant be repaired in india, u only need to find the right guy and some people always do it and some simply cant seem to find them. but the warranty is a goner unless the product came with an international waaranty and there is an authorised dealer for the said product in india, for otherwise even with an international warranty u will have to send it back to country of purchase for service within warranty. but more and more i see international warranties disappearing from the scene because the local dealers would have a justified reason to complain against such warranty especially if there is a significant price differential in the product.
so r u willing to take that risk? because it is a real one, an item costing 10k may function perfectly for 15yrs, and an item costing 100k might go phut in 6months, so u need to be some what a gambler by nature, because only gamblers can understand the thrill u get whether u lose or win.
yes i have all sorts of experiences bringing products from abroad mostly from the us but also from singapore, kuwait, iraq and malayasia since 1975.
in those days one simply didnt have an alternative because the product simply wasnt available in india except may be in place like burma bazar in chennai etc.
even in 1980 bringing a couple of calculatirs and quartz watche and compact cassetee tape recorders for my relatives was a big deal with the customs and we invariably had to bribe them, the duty was 350% + fine if deemed necessary.
but now we have dealers for most things so unless there is a huge price differential there is no point , but again if u like gambling go on all you can lose is what u paid for it.
now about the problems one can have , i think i have had problems with about 5% of items got from abroad.. 1. a sanyo microwave oven 110volts. gave up after 2years of usage, but the local dealer in hyderabad repaired it after i buttered him up for sometime(even though he wasnt strictly supposed to do the job) and it has been working ever since for more than 5yrs. 2. i brougt a national panasonic 3in1 from iraq in 1982 and it worked well and was heavily used for some 7years before conking out, tried toget it repaired but after 2 failed attempts just gave it awa. 3. a sony minihome theater same as above. i can add some more but may be running out of words here, honestly there is only one example of an item which i believe didnot work for the expected period of time.. a subwoofer amplifier for my 15inch DIY sub from parts express.. even here i think i cant really blame them because it conked out after a sudden voltage spike, and next time i shall put a digital voltage stabilizer for the sub also.
as for speakers, if u are comfortable with DIY, speakers are the easiest components where u get the utmost bang for buck spent. simple logic. done properly ur 10k speaker will be as good as speaker costing 30-50k. simple logistiks are at work here, u are eliminating costly labour abroad, shipping, dealer margins, advertising etc and a zillion other things.
right now i am thinking of buying the ds1200 subwoofer kit from rhythmik audio, but after seeing the exchange rate today i postponed the buy to a more favourable day,or till someone will be visiting from usa, but i wont stop buying abroad. bought the onkyo avr414 2 months back and areat buy. but also bought polk rtia4s , centers and surrounds here from the local dealers.
so there u have the whole picture.
. When we talk what makes the Hike in speakers (Some times double) on Foreign brands.
