• ETTRICK AUDIO VISUAL – PERTH – WESTERN AUSTRALIA – PHONE (08) 9275-7375

Buyer Beware: The Dangers Of  Purchasing Overseas

More and more often EAV receives failed equipment bought through various overseas on-line shops. This grey importing of equipment has serious implications involved and buyers should beware.

The Australian distributor will refuse warranty of any kind.
Most distributors demand to view a copy of an Australian purchase receipt before supplying spare parts.
If made exclusively for a different market, the unit may not operate on our mains supply without modification.
The unit will not be Australian compliant as it will not have the necessary Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM).
Non-compliant equipment can be confiscated and incur up to a $25,000 fine while insurance companies can refuse claims if non-compliant equipment is involved.

Beware

Be sure the apparent savings are worth it!

Be wary of repairers who offer a cheap voltage conversion of your equipment. Due to the higher frequency and lower voltages in American equipment, the power transformers are often physicaly smaller.

We’ve seen several occasions where expensive valve guitar amplifiers have had their original power transformers removed and rewound to 240V 50Hz for a seemingly reasonable price. Unfortunately these rebuilt transformers will run much hotter than desired. The result can be fuses blowing intermittently and very poor power regulation resulting in poor sound and the risk of fire.

Forget insurance!

EAV’s report on a particular pair of imported Technics SL1200 turntables brings home the dangers of buying overseas, and is indicative of various products pushed into our market by self professed experts and marketed by flashy ads on internet selling sites.

Please contact EAV for advise when considering purchasing a product from overseas. We can often get a local representative to call you to discuss a deal.