Mojorule Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Can I just check whether it is still the case that the Gibson Gold Warranty is not valid in Europe? I needn't worry about returning my warranty card within 15 days, need I? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 . I believe you can register here - http://www2.gibson.com/Support/Warranty.aspx - I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madman_Greg Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 As I purchased a new J45 this year, I asked Gibson the same question, here is the reply. The warranty registration form is valid only in the US. In Europe the warranty of your instrument is valid only through the authorized dealer where the guitar has been purchased and for a period of 2 years. Please conserve the original invoice as proof of purchase and contact your dealer for all warranty issues on your guitar. I am in the UK So no life time warranty :angry: Madman_Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Here's a hypothetical....say one of our British friends bought a Gibby in London.....THEN moved to Bozeman......would they fix his guitar after the 2 year period??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Here's a hypothetical....say one of our British friends bought a Gibby in London.....THEN moved to Bozeman......would they fix his guitar after the 2 year period??? Or one of our British friends took a trip to the USA and bought a Gibby........THEN brought it home to the UK......would the warranty be lifetime? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Or one of our British friends took a trip to the USA and bought a Gibby........THEN brought it home to the UK......would the warranty be lifetime? Good point! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParlourMan Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Being the the warranty is part of the price and non-US purchases are al but excluded (lets be honest 2 years from the dealer is not warranty, it's statutory rights) why are these guitars sold with the warranty cost factored in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 I started a similar thread in the lounge. http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/68015-gibson-warranty-outside-the-us/ Canada only gets a 1 year warranty but we still pay the same amount as they do in the US. I see now that Europe only gets a 2 year warranty. As I mentioned in the lounge thread, Gibson guitars sold in Canada are sold "as is." Here in Canada, the distributor fixes any warranty issues at their own cost. They also aren't able to return any defective guitars to Gibson like distributors/dealers do in the US. The Canadian distributor eats those costs. I wonder if it's the same in Europe? BK, to answer your question - yes, they would get a lifetime warranty but (according to Gibson's BS) you would have to return the guitar to the country it was purchased from for them to honour the warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted May 15, 2011 Author Share Posted May 15, 2011 Thanks all. Have been out and about in Central Europe this week, so haven't had much time to check the reply, and the 15 days within which one would have to reply Stateside have all but run out. So on one level relieved that I've not missed out on a lifetime warranty by not replying in time, but on the other hand, of course, disappointed that no such warranty is available to those of us outside Uncle Sam. As I purchased a new J45 this year, I asked Gibson the same question, here is the reply. The warranty registration form is valid only in the US. In Europe the warranty of your instrument is valid only through the authorized dealer where the guitar has been purchased and for a period of 2 years. Please conserve the original invoice as proof of purchase and contact your dealer for all warranty issues on your guitar. I am in the UK So no life time warranty :angry: Madman_Greg As my guitar is likely to spend its life between Hungary and the UK, I sympathize. Being the the warranty is part of the price and non-US purchases are al but excluded (lets be honest 2 years from the dealer is not warranty, it's statutory rights) why are these guitars sold with the warranty cost factored in? Very good question, PM. Also puts the Thomann or Woodbrass 3-year warranties into perspective - regionally they are a good deal, but essentially only boost statutory rights by one year. I started a similar thread in the lounge. http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/68015-gibson-warranty-outside-the-us/ Canada only gets a 1 year warranty but we still pay the same amount as they do in the US. I see now that Europe only gets a 2 year warranty. As I mentioned in the lounge thread, Gibson guitars sold in Canada are sold "as is." Here in Canada, the distributor fixes any warranty issues at their own cost. They also aren't able to return any defective guitars to Gibson like distributors/dealers do in the US. The Canadian distributor eats those costs. I wonder if it's the same in Europe? BK, to answer your question - yes, they would get a lifetime warranty but (according to Gibson's BS) you would have to return the guitar to the country it was purchased from for them to honour the warranty. Interesting to see that crossing the Saint Lawrence makes as much difference as crossing the Atlantic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex_78 Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 I suspected that the golden warranty wasn't valid here but nevertheless I filled the module and sent it to the guys in Montana: at least they know I appreciated their guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 ..... Canada only gets a 1 year warranty but we still pay the same amount as they do in the US. I see now that Europe only gets a 2 year warranty. ........ BK, to answer your question - yes, they would get a lifetime warranty but (according to Gibson's BS) you would have to return the guitar to the country it was purchased from for them to honour the warranty. I had no idea this was going on. Even Canada is cut from the lifetime warranty. BS is a good term for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 I read that 90% of the canadian population lives within 20 miles of the US/Canadian border.....if I was living in Canada.....I think I would be tempted to drive over the border and buy it in the US, jusyt to get that lifetime warranty....lol...GG what do you think??? (PLUS the Canadian dollar is worth MORE than the US dollar....double dip!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madman_Greg Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Surely you have to put a permanent address when you fill in the warranty card and that would need to be US based. Madman_Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 if I was living in Canada.....I think I would be tempted to drive over the border and buy it in the US, jusyt to get that lifetime warranty....lol Yes, but a few things. Crossing the border sucks. If you declare the guitar or they decide to pull you over, you pay tax on the guitar. If I buy a guitar from NY State, I pay 8.25% NY sale tax. So, let's say a $2,000 guitar after tax is about $2,160. When I cross the border, I pay Canadian sales tax (13% here in Ontario) on the total amount of $2,160. Yes, they make us pay Canadian sales tax on top of US sales tax. You can always argue that you had the guitar when you entered the US but they won't believe you if they find the receipt. Surely you have to put a permanent address when you fill in the warranty card and that would need to be US based. They can't deny you as long as you have the original sales receipt. That warranty card is irrelevant. All it does is tell them where the guitar is today and Gibson probably takes the info you filled out and sells it to other parties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 I had no idea this was going on. Even Canada is cut from the lifetime warranty. BS is a good term for it. If you go over to UMGF you can hear people complain how Martin and others are doing the same thing. Be careful what you wish for. Extending the warranty to international customers would probably push up the prices for everybody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 .... Be careful what you wish for. Extending the warranty to international customers would probably push up the prices for everybody. Of course, the other side of that coin is to build the guitars thicker/stronger in an effort to limit warranty costs - but then you end up with tanks. A dilemma for sure. I wonder what percentage of Gibson guitars receive warranty repairs, and/or what is Gibson's average yearly warranty repairs cost ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 What happened to free trade???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 What happened to free trade???? We 'Mercuns alone have the right, accorded us by the deity, to life-long warranties on our Gibsons! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windwalker9000 Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I wonder if you were to move, from US to Canada, would that void the warranty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I think the warranty is based on which country you BOUGHT the guitar.....no matter where you live.......they can't have it both ways can they?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisA83 Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I think the warranty is based on which country you BOUGHT the guitar.....no matter where you live.......they can't have it both ways can they?? Surely everyone technically bought their Gibsons from America! Haven't really thought about it before, but it's really not fair if I couldn't get an issue fixed just because I live in England. Either they have a lifetime warranty on their products or they don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogeye Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I had no idea this was going on. Even Canada is cut from the lifetime warranty. BS is a good term for it. It's not really B.S. at all it's just reality. Canada is a foreign country. Don't think so? Just go without a passport and see what happens. Here is the deal.. Gibson can't just ship a guitar anywhere it wants. In the U.S. that is just fine but when the guitar has to cross an international border things get complicated. So... Gibson has a distributor. They send all guitars to this point and the distributor sends them to the dealers in their country. Simple. Well not so much. The distributor wants to make some money as well. To make the guitars affordable Gibson has to reduce the cost to the distributor. To make up the difference the dist. agrees to the lower cost but has to bring something to the equation so they agree to handle the warranty issues. So Gibson has to factor the cost to exclude international guitars from lifetime warranty. Will people try to cheat? Hell yes. The posting so far has indicated that several have thoughts of trying to get around U.S. and Canadian customs. Don't get caught breaking international law. You won't like it much.. If you read the warranty the owner is responsible for the shipment back to the repair center. Then Gibson is responsible for the return shipping. Shipping one guitar to another country can get to be a difficult thing. The cost can get above $350.00 very fast.Shipping costs could get over $700.00 pretty quickly. Gibson needs set up warranty centers in every country it sells to. Then the lifetime warranty issue could be addressed. That could be a pretty simple thing to do. Oh,wait. Did I mention the cost of the guitar would go up pretty quickly to pay for the repair center. Yes, I know what the criticism to the added cost is going to be but try to keep in mind. Gibson has to make money at some point. I had a long heated discussion with a couple of Gibson people on this matter and after all the dust settled it was decided that Gibson is just doing what it can to keep as many people happy as possible and as to the repair centers? They are in the process of trying to resolve that situation. The poor Canadians are just going to have to send their guitars back to the dist. for warranty service..They tell me that many of the service issues that the Canadian dist. deals with are actually taken care of in Montana. This will continue to be a problem for all involved as the Internet and international travel make buying a guitar easier than ever. I'm told not to look for an easy solution. Especially for the Canadians. Now that we are all on the same page let's just continue the discussion as I don't think Gibson has done enough for the international folks either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 ..... Did I mention the cost of the guitar would go up pretty quickly to pay for the repair center. ..... Aren't they just shops signed on by Gibson? - Warranty Service Center Locations - http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Support/WarrantyServiceInformation/ I certainly understand the yearly warranty repair cost will go up to some degree and that's a large consideration. On the other hand, the warranty is actually pretty limited. That why I asked - What percentage of Gibson guitars receive warranty repairs, and/or what is Gibson's average yearly warranty repairs cost? I'm curious to see the numbers, but I'm pretty sure Gibson isn't going to release that info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogeye Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Aren't they just shops signed on by Gibson? - Warranty Service Center Locations - http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Support/WarrantyServiceInformation/ I certainly understand the yearly warranty repair cost will go up to some degree and that's a large consideration. On the other hand, the warranty is actually pretty limited. That why I asked - What percentage of Gibson guitars receive warranty repairs, and/or what is Gibson's average yearly warranty repairs cost? I'm curious to see the numbers, but I'm pretty sure Gibson isn't going to release that info. The warranty shops are indeed independent repair people. Lots have been to Montana and many are highly skilled luthiers. The major problems such as refinishing and re-topping and that sort of repair are almost always sent to Nashville repair or Bozeman. This is a difficult situation as parts need to be shipped for repairs and that sort of thing. Nitro is very difficult to transport and use and most places outside of Montana can't use it. The Federal Gov. has strict laws concerning it's shipment and use. Montana spends a fortune on their spray booth just to get it in compliance. A small shop can't do that. To ship a top to Europe would be very costly and refinishing would take a very special shop. Just a lot of things that we as consumers don't take into consideration. Gibson doesn't ask to take a peek at your tax forms and they don't expect to share all their financials with the general public. They don't have any need to publish their warranty information. I asked and was not given any answer. I understand. Hope you do..They are a privately owned company. I'm sure you would get the same answer from Collings, Martin, and Taylor...Sorry....I tried.... Please understand I get my info from a variety of folks that I have known for years. Some are still working for Gibson and one reliable source just left after many years. All shall remain nameless.Bozeman is a small town and the music community is even smaller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Surely everyone technically bought their Gibsons from America! Surely not. Players buy from dealers, dealers buy from distributors or from Gibson, distributors buy from Gibson. Gibson is indeed located in America, but "bought from" is not a transitive relation. -- Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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