Products > Test Equipment
Keysight officially lost the plot - don't buy if you're a hobbyist
<< < (14/118) > >>
John B:
I think in Australia Keysight could probably take steps to avoid sales to individuals, but by law wouldn't be able to deny warranty. I don't know about offering after sales support.

However what I find most egregious is that with the big name brands you pay a premium for them. You're not just paying for the unit itself but also (hopefully) for access to an ecosystem of after sales support and warranty.

For them to take your money at a premium but then deny part of that bargain is very low behaviour.
mikeselectricstuff:
I don't think warranty service is an issue here as that is effectively part of the sales contract, and not something they would be able to easily avoid.
AIUI it's more about avoiding having to deal with the additional rights granted under consumer law for, consumer transactions.
kcbrown:

--- Quote from: nctnico on December 11, 2021, 08:11:28 pm ---I hope you see you already answered your own question here.  8) BTW, car dealerships get paid by the manufacturers to deal with manufacturer warranty & recalls even for cars that are not bought from that particular dealership. It is a simple matter of outsourcing work to parties better equiped to deal with consumers. For example: a couple of years ago we owned a car that needed some parts replaced due to a recall. We bought that car from a private person but nevertheless the local dealer for the brand took care of the replacement with very little hassle on our side.

--- End quote ---

Everything depends on the contractual terms.

Dealers are paid some amount by the manufacturer to deal with a warranty claim, but that doesn't mean it's a profit center for the dealer.  That depends entirely on the nature of the issue and of the reimbursement.  Car dealerships don't (that I've seen) get reimbursed for their actual time spent on the issue, but rather on the basis of a predetermined amount given the nature of the issue.  But that's obviously dependent upon the contract.  Who knows how that works for test equipment vendors.

Nothing says that a test equipment vendor will deal with warranty claims in the same way, because nothing says that they *must* have any sort of similar contract with the manufacturer.

And as already noted, recalls are different from warranties.  Recalls for test equipment would probably be something the manufacturer would be willing to handle directly.  What we're talking about here is warranty claims and general non-warranty service claims.
madires:

--- Quote from: nctnico on December 11, 2021, 06:44:33 pm ---
--- Quote from: madires on December 11, 2021, 11:54:44 am ---They all go for the 'if it's broken buy a new one' profit maximization - can't make that much money with service.

--- End quote ---
It isn't. In the end it is all up to the consumers. For example: In the early 90's you could phone someone half way around the world and the sound quality was like the person was sitting next to you. It was expensive though. But then the telecom market become more and more liberated and cheaper phone companies popped up. Their sound quality was awful and often you needed to repeat what you said 3 times before the other party got what you where saying but consumers fell for it by big numbers. In the end the established phone companies had to lower their service level in order to remain competitive.

IOW: what Keysight (and Tektronix) are doing is what we have voted for through our wallets by buying the cheaper Chinese gear.

--- End quote ---

Let's consider the historical development. From a hobbyist standpoint professional T&M devices from the well known T&M power houses were simply to expensive several years ago. An affordable way was to buy used devices or to buy from manufacturers like Hameg. With the rising of less expensive Chinese manuafcturers that situation changed and the T&M power houses started to enter the hobbyist/maker market with low-end models, which still cost about two or three times more. But most of us know from their professional experience that they get great service from the T&M power houses, a good reason to pay more. And now the hobbyists who paid more don't get the service they expect and paid for. Of course, the power houses sell less low-end gear when most hobyists buy from Chinese manufacturers, however, it was clear from the start that they have to comepete via good service. So we can't blame consumers for the current situation. Looks more likely to be a failed market entry.
nctnico:

--- Quote from: madires on December 11, 2021, 09:31:49 pm ---
--- Quote from: nctnico on December 11, 2021, 06:44:33 pm ---
--- Quote from: madires on December 11, 2021, 11:54:44 am ---They all go for the 'if it's broken buy a new one' profit maximization - can't make that much money with service.

--- End quote ---
It isn't. In the end it is all up to the consumers. For example: In the early 90's you could phone someone half way around the world and the sound quality was like the person was sitting next to you. It was expensive though. But then the telecom market become more and more liberated and cheaper phone companies popped up. Their sound quality was awful and often you needed to repeat what you said 3 times before the other party got what you where saying but consumers fell for it by big numbers. In the end the established phone companies had to lower their service level in order to remain competitive.

IOW: what Keysight (and Tektronix) are doing is what we have voted for through our wallets by buying the cheaper Chinese gear.

--- End quote ---

Let's consider the historical development. From a hobbyist standpoint professional T&M devices from the well known T&M power houses were simply to expensive several years ago. An affordable way was to buy used devices or to buy from manufacturers like Hameg. With the rising of less expensive Chinese manuafcturers that situation changed and the T&M power houses started to enter the hobbyist/maker market with low-end models, which still cost about two or three times more. But most of us know from their professional experience that they get great service from the T&M power houses, a good reason to pay more. And now the hobbyists who paid more don't get the service they expect and paid for. Of course, the power houses sell less low-end gear when most hobyists buy from Chinese manufacturers, however, it was clear from the start that they have to comepete via good service. So we can't blame consumers for the current situation. Looks more likely to be a failed market entry.

--- End quote ---
From where do you reach the conclusion a reseller can't give you good support? In the end that is what you are saying.

I agree that whether you get good service highly depends on who you are buying from but stating that good support can only come from a manufacturer is a false statement.
Navigation
Message Index
Next page
Previous page
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...

Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod