Sennheiser warranty period from eBay purchase but have receipt…?!?

[skipper01]

Hi, I just wondered if anybody could advise?
I bought a Sennheiser e965 mic from eBay in sept ‘22. It was as good as new and unused.
The chap sent me the original purchase receipt/email from his purchase from sweetwater in the us (when he was there) from April 22.
There’s a 10 year guarantee logo printed on top of the mic box anyway.

Basically the mic (condenser) was fine but suddenly all the high end has disappeared and there is noise so clearly a fault has occurred.
It’s not been dropped or mishandled.
I spoke to Sennheiser uk as I wasn’t getting a reply from sweetwater initially.
I told them my purchase situation which was fine apparently and they still went ahead to arrange a ups collection for tomorrow for it to be shipped to Sennheiser in germany for repair.
However, I finally got a reply from sweetwater today and they said because it was an eBay purchase they won’t/can’t honour the warranty because the invoice/receipt is not in my name.
Im now unsure what to do as I don’t know what will happen at the billing stage given this conflicting info and lack of experience in such matters.
I guess I should go back to Sennheiser again and double check they are ok even though sweetwater don’t want to know?
I’ve just seen the cost for Sennheiser in Germany to even look at an item not under warranty and it’s almost as much as I paid for it…!!!
No doubt I’d also get billed for the ups too..?
I can’t quite understand why sweetwater have a problem as I’ve legitimately bought the item and have the receipt/evidence within its warranty.
Equally maybe sweetwater won’t even be contacted or of any relevance in the process?

Does anybody have any thoughts, advise or experience?
I’ve got ups picking up tomorrow that’s all.
I guess another call to Sennheiser first thing is the obvious one now having heard back from Sweetwater..

Regards

[James Perrett]

Did you let Sennheiser UK know that it was originally purchased in the USA when you contacted them? If so, they probably treat the warranty as worldwide so I wouldn't worry too much. If you didn't then it might be an idea to check with them.

One other thing to check though - were they allowed to get cold at any point? If so, leave them in a warm airing cupboard overnight and see if you still have the fault tomorrow morning.

[skipper01]

Thanks James.
I strongly recall/believe I did also mention it was purchased in the US originally but I will check first thing tomorrow with Sennheiser as you say.
It is stored in its pouch in another bag in a garage so I guess it does get cold but it has been ok for months stored such and suddenly has gone wrong.
I’ll try to heat it overnight and try in the morning as suggested.
It seems very well built so it’s disappointing as it’s been treated with absolute care.
I guess that’s the risk of mics with active components maybe?
Cheers again

[Bob Bickerton]

There’s a few issues here. Firstly, by heating just bring it up to room temperature, preferably low humidity, let it settle and see if the fault is still there. Some condenser mics don’t like condensation which is what happens when you bring it in from the cold to a hot humid room.

Sweetwater’s service is generally very good, so there will be a reason they aren’t following through. Of course the missing piece in the puzzle is we don’t know what happened to the mic with the original owner.

My view would be to clarify your position with Sennheiser in writing (email) including confirmation of the cost of repair if any and be clear with them how you came by the mic.

Bob

[James Perrett]

It is stored in its pouch in another bag in a garage so I guess it does get cold but it has been ok for months stored such and suddenly has gone wrong.
I’ll try to heat it overnight and try in the morning as suggested.
It seems very well built so it’s disappointing as it’s been treated with absolute care.

Storing mics in a cold garage and then bringing them in to a warm room is a recipe for problems with a condenser mic. Given our recent sub zero temperatures, I would say that you probably need to bring it into the warm a day or so before trying to use it. You can speed up the waiting time by putting it in an airing cupboard so hopefully it will be usable in the morning (provided that there is nothing else damp in there).

[skipper01]

Thanks for all this further info.
As you say I’ll go back to Sennheiser and perhaps ask for clarification by email re the repair given the purchase circumstances.
They did mention about the worldwide coverage on further thought and instructed me on the return process online that led to arrangement of the ups pickup.
All that was verbal though and before sweetwater replied as said raising my concerns.
They havnt asked for receipt evidence at this stage and I believe this to be done later.
I had printed all the purchase documents for the parcel.
I actually have a 2nd exact same e965 that I bought myself many years ago that is now aesthetically beaten a bit and is kept in the exact same conditions used in the same sort of live conditions.
I’ve had no issues with that one ever.
The purchased one from eBay was unused, immaculate and worked fine for many months.
I appreciate the technical advice and will review now appreciating condensers are more complex and given this experience.
I bought a 2nd one as I got caught out forgetting to transfer it over to another bag of a regular gig once that cost me hence plus as a backup ironically.

[resistorman]

Sweetwater clearly states that their warranty is not transferable, as does every retailer I've ever seen here in the US. Sennheiser may have an unlimited warranty.

[skipper01]

The chap from sweetwater said they encourage people to buy from them (not 2nd hand) as you then get their 2 year warranty.
Printed on the top of the box of the mic it says there is a 10 year warranty for the product.
I just don’t understand the process not having had to deal with this circumstance before hence my questions.
Completely separate but I was interested in buying a product 2nd hand the other day and received an email from kemper in Germany stating that they have 36 months of guarantee but to check the condition of the unit and that it hasn’t been modified etc.
My only difference in this case with the mic is that I bought it from somebody who is in the uk but bought it when working in the us.

[resistorman]

If I buy_anything_2nd hand, I don't expect a warranty. Though some manufacturers will go the extra mile to make customers happy, others will just shrug and say tough luck. Over the years as increasingly expensive repair facilities have approached extinction and warranty means grabbing another unit out of the container, I've seen an increase in companies just sending me new equipment with little fuss.

[skipper01]

Equally I’d say if you put a 10 guarantee printed on the box of an item to clearly help sell more of the items then the risk of the item being sold as second or even third hand significantly goes up and is a very real prospect.
In my case the item is less than a year old.

Thanks for all the advice and I’m better informed now for sure.

[Wonks]

Sennheiser increased the warranty on its Evolution series mics to 10 years back in 2003. Their standard product warranty period (independent of any local country legal cover requirements) is two years, so you shouldn’t really have any issues if it is faulty (rather than just damp). You just need a shop receipt or warranty card to show the date of purchase.

Sennheiser may argue internally as to which department pays for the repair/replacement, but that shouldn’t concern you.

[skipper01]

Thanks for this further info.
Sennheiser have been very helpful to date and confirmed it is under warranty given the purchase circumstances (beyond seeing my actual receipts/evidence at this stage).
It is still faulty having tried leaving it in the airing cupboard.
I have another one I’ve had for many years as said to test against that is used and has been stored to date the same way.
Hopefully it will and should resolve positively.
Cheers again

[Wonks]

I would try and avoid storing your condenser mics in the garage though, if at all possible.

[skipper01]

Thanks for the advice and everyone’s input that I’ll heed going forward

[Sam Spoons]

WRT warrantees, standard warrantees are never, IME, transferable and extended warrantees always (again IME) require the purchaser to register the product with the manufacturer within a few weeks of purchase (not sure if they are usually transferrable but I suspect it will say not somewhere in the small print). That's not to say Sennheiser won't honour the 10 year warrantee, I would expect a reputable manufacturer to do so as I would a good retailer but they would, quite reasonably, require the item to be returned to one of their stores. Either way I hope you get a good outcome

[skipper01]

Thought I’d just give an update.
I had a reply from Sennheiser today and they confirmed they will be doing a warranty exchange for the mic.
I assume it’s knackered if it’s a full replacement rather than a repair?
The only problem is it won’t be until late august apparently when they have stock…!
That’s 5.5 months away!!

Anyways cheers for the advice and help

[Hugh Robjohns]

Nice to know they're honour the warranty so generously, but frustrating delay....

[Sam Spoons]

Yes, that is good to know that Senny are prepared to do that. May much good karma go their way