KitGuru KitGuru.net – Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards
Different companies market on different things. The idea is to establish a USP or Unique Selling Point and push into the market with that USP. For a long time, nVidia partner EVGA has been pushing a global message that its 10 year warranty was a key reason to but its products. Is that all set to change?
.
.
For more than 5 years, the main push from EVGA is that it supports all of its products for life – that its warranty is there for as long as you need it. The message has adapted over the years, but is it now really to change completely?
When originally announcing EVGA's Lifetime Warranty on its nVidia products, company President, Andrew Han, said “It is our way of telling our customers that when they purchase an EVGA product, they can depend on that product for quality, service and support. We say what we do and do what we say; this is our promise to the customer”.
That's what the President said and that's what he's been doing, but has he changed his mind about what EVGA stands for?
EVGA did set limits on the warranty at some point after 2005, by saying that it was now a limited 10 year warranty.
The rumour from CES is that EVGA will now bypass its loyal channel partners, by saying that only products bought directly from EVGA's own online store will now get Andrew Han's “Promise to the customer”.
Product bought in high street stores or online from the major resellers will get a fraction of that promise in the box.
We'll wait to see what EVGA's official response is to these rumours, but – for now – it seems that you will need to be careful where you buy EVGA product from in the future – as each channel could have a completely different warranty option.
KitGuru says: If it's true that you now only get Andrew Han's full promise of support when buying directly from EVGA, then that would represent a fundamental shift in marketing focus. It would mean that EVGA wants sales to come direct to themselves, bypassing the channel who have supported them over the years, with the side effect that EVGA's revenues and profit would increase. We're not sure of the exact reasons why any company would do that, but none of the options fills KitGuru with confidence.
Comments below, what is your feeling about (a) changing warranties and (b) companies selling products direct out of their own back door?
So, just to clarify, it looks as if the full warranty is only available for customers who buy from them direct? thats a bit dodgy. I hear evga are in financial difficulties at the minute.
Its a good compromise and if true, its good they’re trying this out, and ill tell you why…
If EVGA has to cut out the middle men and provide nice incentives buying direct then im all for it because its better than not offering the full support at all and shipping out any old card with not a second thought or even an alternative.
I think that would be the more definite sign that would justify your concern. Unless behind the scenes they keep all the good cards and ship out all sorts random quality cards but then again; the warranties are still there, 2 yr, 3 yr etc
I think they probably have to find new ways to cut costs whilst still providing some decent measure of quality and as i said, its better than shipping out any old card and putting a short limited warranty on it.
Well I bought mine from a dealer locally, id better check out where I stand.
If this is true then I would think it would be a bad thing for EVGA. Right now, as with all manufacturers, you can buy the cards cheaper from other sources than direct. To force people to buy at the higher prices is gonna tick off a lot of thier customer base.
Well as for the lifetime warranty that only applied to products ending in A1 or AR, if registered in 30 days. So you should be able to tell by that, if they do switch to only selling AR/A1 products directly from EVGA, I’d be surprised.
Well, they dont need to offer 10 years since BFG dosent exist anymore, Zotac gives 3 to 5 years, Beside their 10 year warranty is limited, almost no one will keep their card for 10 years{maybe in busines where GPU power is not important}. So providing solid 3 to 6 year warranty EVGA still can keep advantage over competitors it this regard, They also should send more hardware to tests, here in Europe, to make ppl more familiar with brand, and its advantages, so they can better understand why they are making mistake buying cheap, shiny, oversized, 1000fan, crap from ECSSparkleGiagbytePalitGainwardTGTInno3DMSI , and why faulty GPU-BIOSes, DOAs , quality and compatibility issues etc is not something normal
Hi all,
My name is Gregor Perng, the Managing Director of EVGA Europe.
I am unsure where the information in this article originated from; however, it contains false information.
Firstly, EVGA’s limited lifetime warranty in the United States and 10 years limited warranty in Europe will remain.
EVGA knows that customer satisfaction is the first priority, so at CES 2011 EVGA announced a new Global standard warranty offering; 3 years limited warranty coverage for its entry level and mid-range –KR products by default (registration recommended). Everyone knows 3 years is better than 2 years!
Additionally, extended warranties and the Step-Up program is available as an option during registration of your –KR product.
For more information please see the article link on our site at: http://www.evga.com/articles/00607/
Gregor Perng
Managing Director of EVGA Europe
Thanks for clearing that up Gregor.
OK, so there you have it, cast iron guarantee from EVGA’s top man that the warranty offered to customers in the channel will not be different from the warranty that EVGA offers on cards sold directly from its site.
Also guaranteed is that if your product is low/mid end you will get 3 years cover from EVGA alongside 10 years for all of the top products.
Finally, Gregor is saying that if you register your purchase with EVGA’s HQ, then they can provide you warranty support directly in case there is ever a problem with the store you bought it from (we’re reading that as “If the store goes out of business, you will still get full support from EVGA”)
KitGuru thinks that, with computer components, a 3 year warranty is probably as good as a lifetime warranty – given how fast technologies change. Still, it is interesting that EVGA differentiates between Americans and Other People.
Thanks for the clear up!