Thoughts on gear with no Warranty?

[The_Janitor]

Buyer beware when purchasing from an unauthorized dealer. If said dealer also refuses to offer their own token warranty (30, 60, 90 days) then you'd be smart to walk the hell away.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

No, @buldog5151bass is correct. This is actually a pretty common practice and it will not affect dealer status. Manufacturers with minimum orders generally do not care what you do as long as you make those minimum orders.

Having worked for a company for 27 years that had a large dealer network of approximately 450 dealers in the US with a total of ~700 including international dealers, and having supervised the in-house sales department for part of that time (dealer direct reps for small dealerships who didn't qualify for in-store visits by field reps), I can tell you YES that is a very quick way to lose your dealership if the shop you are re-distributing to was not an authorized dealer.

You could maintain your dealer status with a small annual minimum, but if you distributed your merchandise to another store you were out and left yourself open to be sued for violating your contract. Certainly, not all companies who wholesale are as strict about that, but you actually undermine your wholesale brand if you let that type of re-distribution continue. Why even have an authorized dealer network if anybody can get it at wholesale?

On the other hand, swapping inventory between authorized dealers is not a problem, and in fact is encouraged if required to take care of a customer with immediate needs who can't wait for a drop ship for an item the dealer doesn't have in stock, or has a defective item that needs immediate replacement. That type of quick interaction builds both dealer and brand reputation.