Thread: Vortex "Grey market product" warranty

Hi team,

I'm trying to decide on what to get for my first rangefinder.

Based on features and price alone, i would want a Sig Sauer BDX (1600 or 1800)
Having a rangefinder that spits out what to dial just as accurate as any ballistics chart or app just seems like a bloody good idea!

But...
As far as i understand..
If i buy a Vortex rangefinder, i will effectively be paying a one off fee to have a rangefinder for life, yes?
With their forever "VIP warranty", the only way i would be spending money on a rangefinder down the road is if i want to upgrade to a better product or if i lost it.
Only downside being their very basic set of features at the same price of a feature rich Sig Sauer.

There is a concerning piece of information about the warranty on their website:

"Products that are not imported into your country by the Vortex Authorized Distributor, including items brought in to a country without having paid the necessary taxes and duties, are considered “Grey Market Products” and are not covered by this warranty."

While they simultaneously claim:

"UNLIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY
FULLY TRANSFERABLE
NO RECEIPT NEEDED"

So you don't need a receipt, but you need to somehow be sure that your product has been imported into the country by an authorized distributor...
The only authorized dealer for the AUS/NZ market on the Vortex list is: Extra Vision Australia (never heard of them before just now)
I'm guessing that Extra Vision Australia would be the importer for the many NZ stores that stock them, and not the only place you can buy them "authorized".

I want to hear your experience with making a Vortex warranty claim.

Did you deal with Vortex directly or the store where you bought the product?
Was the the source of your product ever questioned (authorized or grey market product)?
How did your product break and how was the warranty claim handled?

When you buy vortex you will need the warranty.
I rate my sigsauer bino rf 3000bdx.

Sent from my SM-A226B using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by andyanimal31

When you buy vortex you will need the warranty.
I rate my sigsauer bino rf 3000bdx.

Sent from my SM-A226B using Tapatalk

This sig can not be beat for its ranging

Originally Posted by andyanimal31

When you buy vortex you will need the warranty.
I rate my sigsauer bino rf 3000bdx.

Sent from my SM-A226B using Tapatalk

Well that's the thing..
Any electronic device you buy will crap out on you sooner or later.

Sig Sauer covers 5 years from manufacturing date, which is decent i suppose.
I guess it comes down to quality of life (Sig sauer) vs warranty for life (Vortex)

But I'm still intrigued by the though of having free replacements/repairs for life..

How long have you had your binos? trouble free i hope?

Originally Posted by Kelton

This sig can not be beat for its ranging

Even the cheaper BDX rangefinders are lightning fast from what I've seen

Originally Posted by Sander

Well that's the thing..
Any electronic device you buy will crap out on you sooner or later.

Sig Sauer covers 5 years from manufacturing date, which is decent i suppose.
I guess it comes down to quality of life (Sig sauer) vs warranty for life (Vortex)

But I'm still intrigued by the though of having free replacements/repairs for life..

How long have you had your binos? trouble free i hope?

Probably 4 yrs, no trouble and ranes out to 2.5k in the middle of the day and 4.5k in the evening.
When paired with my kestrel 5700 it gives the most accurate data available

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Originally Posted by Sander

Hi team,

I'm trying to decide on what to get for my first rangefinder.

Based on features and price alone, i would want a Sig Sauer BDX (1600 or 1800)
Having a rangefinder that spits out what to dial just as accurate as any ballistics chart or app just seems like a bloody good idea!

But...
As far as i understand..
If i buy a Vortex rangefinder, i will effectively be paying a one off fee to have a rangefinder for life, yes?
With their forever "VIP warranty", the only way i would be spending money on a rangefinder down the road is if i want to upgrade to a better product or if i lost it.
Only downside being their very basic set of features at the same price of a feature rich Sig Sauer.

There is a concerning piece of information about the warranty on their website:

"Products that are not imported into your country by the Vortex Authorized Distributor, including items brought in to a country without having paid the necessary taxes and duties, are considered “Grey Market Products” and are not covered by this warranty."

While they simultaneously claim:

"UNLIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY
FULLY TRANSFERABLE
NO RECEIPT NEEDED"

So you don't need a receipt, but you need to somehow be sure that your product has been imported into the country by an authorized distributor...
The only authorized dealer for the AUS/NZ market on the Vortex list is: Extra Vision Australia (never heard of them before just now)
I'm guessing that Extra Vision Australia would be the importer for the many NZ stores that stock them, and not the only place you can buy them "authorized".

I want to hear your experience with making a Vortex warranty claim.

Did you deal with Vortex directly or the store where you bought the product?
Was the the source of your product ever questioned (authorized or grey market product)?
How did your product break and how was the warranty claim handled?

One day you will look back on the time you nearly bought a vortex and wince

Then you will carry on ranging animals with whatever else you bought glad of your better decision

Don’t let anything vortex fool you, that includes their advertising

How far are you planning to shoot?. If it's your first range finder I would guess your not doing a lot of ELR shooting at present. If you're not shooting past 800m any half decent rangefinder with a kestrel 2700 and applied ballistics will get you going. Probably cheaper too!

Sent from my SM-G525F using Tapatalk

Their warranty was good for me. I brought 2nd hand a SPARC red dot. I tore the rubber cover on the on off brightness switch. Contacted vortex directly, sent photos etc. I was told that that model had been out of production for over 5 years. They sent me as a replacement the then new model sparc 2. Admittedly this was around 2017 or 8. Not range finding or recent I know but it may be of interest.

Originally Posted by hunter Al.7mm08

How far are you planning to shoot?. If it's your first range finder I would guess your not doing a lot of ELR shooting at present. If you're not shooting past 800m any half decent rangefinder with a kestrel 2700 and applied ballistics will get you going. Probably cheaper too!

Sent from my SM-G525F using Tapatalk

Wise words 7mm08!

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Originally Posted by Sander

Well that's the thing..
Any electronic device you buy will crap out on you sooner or later.

Sig Sauer covers 5 years from manufacturing date, which is decent i suppose.
I guess it comes down to quality of life (Sig sauer) vs warranty for life (Vortex)

But I'm still intrigued by the though of having free replacements/repairs for life..

How long have you had your binos? trouble free i hope?

Possibly they keep track of serial number batches that are imported by an authorised dealer, i.e. numbers 150000 - 155000 come through in an authorised import batch. If Jonny consumer has a unit that fails and returns it for warranty, they can check the serial number and if it falls outside of this range, it is deemed a grey import.
This is just conjecture on my part, but is the easiest way I can think of for them to monitor it.

Leupold are very good for their warranty on scopes, they gave me a brand new vx3 to replace an out of production vx1 that I wanted serviced. No reciept, no questions asked.

In reality though, with a rangefinder, I wouldn't let the whole warranty thing dictate my choice of features. If you are shooting at distances where the range finder reading determines anything more than whether or not you have a go, then the replacement cost of the rangefinder will end up being only be a small portion of your overall spend on equipment.
Maybe I have just been lucky, but all of my rangefinders came to me second hand and none have ever missed a beat.

Ok so, If you purchase a product, your contract is with whoever you buy the product from (the retailer), and that would not be ultravision / the nz distributor directly.
Ultra vision would have no direct responsibility towards you as you’re not their customer. They have a responsibility towards their customers (the retailer), and the retailer has the responsibility for the products they sold to their customers (you).


So the nz distributor could just say “please return the faulty item to the retailer you purchased it from”, and then the retailer could only return it / get help from the distributor to have it replaced if it was from a legitimate retailer who the distributor deals with. Here’s where you may run into problems with a “grey market” product. The only person with the responsibility towards you is the person who sold you the product. If they can’t easily have it replaced from the distributor because they’re not a legitimate retailer or you imported it yourself then things are gonna get frustrating.

Basically the NZ distributor technically has no responsibility towards you. Their responsibility is towards their customers only (the retailer). Your dealings are with whoever sold you the product and they are the only ones with the responsibility towards you.

Originally Posted by ChrisW

Ok so, If you purchase a product, your contract is with whoever you buy the product from (the retailer), and that would not be ultravision / the nz distributor directly.
Ultra vision would have no direct responsibility towards you as you’re not their customer. They have a responsibility towards their customers (the retailer), and the retailer has the responsibility for the products they sold to their customers (you).


So the nz distributor could just say “please return the faulty item to the retailer you purchased it from”, and then the retailer could only return it / get help from the distributor to have it replaced if it was from a legitimate retailer who the distributor deals with. Here’s where you may run into problems with a “grey market” product. The only person with the responsibility towards you is the person who sold you the product. If they can’t easily have it replaced from the distributor because they’re not a legitimate retailer or you imported it yourself then things are gonna get frustrating.

Basically the NZ distributor technically has no responsibility towards you. Their responsibility is towards their customers only (the retailer). Your dealings are with whoever sold you the product and they are the only ones with the responsibility towards you.

Yes, BUT the decision to purchase in the first place may have been from the manufacturers- wholesalers marketing literature, are the retailers responsible for these statements

Originally Posted by tetawa

Yes, BUT the decision to purchase in the first place may have been from the manufacturers- wholesalers marketing literature, are the retailers responsible for these statements

So you’re saying what if the NZ sellers info prompted them to order it overseas / a grey market?


Under Nz consumer law, you’re only responsible for things you actually sold, in NZ.
If the person imports something themselves, then there is no one in NZ who has any responsibility towards that product / person. It’s not covered by NZ consumer law in any way as it wasn’t purchased in NZ from an Nz person or company.

If the OP purchased from a grey market NZ based retailer, then the retailer would still have to help the OP, however they managed to do that without the support of the official channels (nz distributor) is their business.


Basically anything not purchased in NZ is not covered by the consumer guarantees act in any way.
Anything purchased in NZ is covered by the consumer guarantees act. Anything that isn’t, isn’t..


As far as the law goes it no different from buying a Sony TV off eBay. The listing from legit NZ retailers, say PB Tech, says it’s got a 5 year warranty. It stops working a month later. PB tech and Sony NZ would have no responsibility towards you as they didn’t sell you the product and it wasn’t purchased in NZ, so it’s got absolutely nothing to do with them.

If the legitimate NZ retailer talks about the warranty, then that text only applies when you’re dealing with that company whose listing it is. Eg if hunting and fishing advertised that vortex had a lifetime warranty, if you purchase it through them then it’s got a lifetime warranty. But you can’t then purchase something from overseas, have it break, then return it to H&F where you didn’t buy it from, or the distributor who also didn’t sell it to the retailer. No one in NZ would have any responsibility towards that product that wasn’t purchased in NZ, from them.


An NZ retailer is only responsible for handing warranty etc for products that they actually sold to the person.
The NZ distributor is only responsible for handing warranty etc for things that they sold. Their customers are usually the retailer and not end users.

Originally Posted by ChrisW

So you’re saying what if the NZ sellers info prompted them to order it overseas / a grey market?


Under Nz consumer law, you’re only responsible for things you actually sold, in NZ.
If the person imports something themselves, then there is no one in NZ who has any responsibility towards that product / person. It’s not covered by NZ consumer law in any way as it wasn’t purchased in NZ from an Nz person or company.

If the OP purchased from a grey market NZ based retailer, then the retailer would still have to help the OP, however they managed to do that without the support of the official channels (nz distributor) is their business.


Basically anything not purchased in NZ is not covered by the consumer guarantees act in any way.
Anything purchased in NZ is covered by the consumer guarantees act. Anything that isn’t, isn’t..


As far as the law goes it no different from buying a Sony TV off eBay. The listing from legit NZ retailers, say PB Tech, says it’s got a 5 year warranty. It stops working a month later. PB tech and Sony NZ would have no responsibility towards you as they didn’t sell you the product and it wasn’t purchased in NZ, so it’s got absolutely nothing to do with them.

If the legitimate NZ retailer talks about the warranty, then that text only applies when you’re dealing with that company whose listing it is. Eg if hunting and fishing advertised that vortex had a lifetime warranty, if you purchase it through them then it’s got a lifetime warranty. But you can’t then purchase something from overseas, have it break, then return it to H&F where you didn’t buy it from, or the distributor who also didn’t sell it to the retailer. No one in NZ would have any responsibility towards that product that wasn’t purchased in NZ, from them.


An NZ retailer is only responsible for handing warranty etc for products that they actually sold to the person.
The NZ distributor is only responsible for handing warranty etc for things that they sold. Their customers are usually the retailer and not end users.

No, was commenting on your statement that the wholesaler had zero responsibility to the buyer, only to the retailer. Have had to bi-pass the retailer more than once to gain satisfaction due to the store not wanting to know. Well aware that the local wholesaler isn't responsible for overseas purchased products.