Warranty Question - buying Dolphin via Amazon storefront

[Valdeselad]

Does anyone know if there is a difference in warranty support when you buy a Dolphin directly from a pool store vs. their storefront on Amazon? My specific example is the Doheny Advantage Ultra which is $899 directly from Doheny, yet is $849 on Amazon from the Doheny storefront. I can't seem to find a straight answer online and I'm skeptical if the customer service person from Doheny I spoke to really understands my question. I've read some comments on Amazon that make me nervous buying a Dolphin via Amazon, but perhaps those are isolated experiences and there is more to the story, etc.

Bottom line: I don't want to save $50 buying via Amazon (actually more when you consider 5% cash back), only to learn Maytronics won't honor a warranty issue the same way.

Thanks in advance.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Typically speaking in order for Maytronics to honor the warranty of a brick & mortar store model you have to do a physical payment transaction with the store. So in the case of Marina’s Patio and Pool, if you call them and give them your payment info over the phone, that counts. Buying a unit randomly online (eBay) or a unit that is not designated for online sale will void the warranty.

I have no idea if that unit being offered on Amazon by Doheny counts so it’s best to call or email them to find out.

 

[Newdude]

Call and make them price match themselves. I do it at Best buy and others all the time. The only place I found that didn't do it was sears. Mid argument about a treadmill with the manager, I ordered it online with store pickup (right in front of him), laughed at him, drove around to the loading bay and took one of his treadmills that weren't on sale in store.

 

[Valdeselad]

Thanks both. What makes it more confusing is that, in the case of a warranty issue, I don't believe Doheny's would actually be involved. I'm assuming they would just direct me to Maytronics where they would handle the claim. That's where I get nervous - Maytronics may have fine (ultra fine) print somewhere that says since you bought via Amazon (even though it was Doheny's storefront) we aren't required to honor the warranty claim.

It's all really confusing, perhaps designed to be that way.

 

[Newdude]

What makes it more confusing is that, in the case of a warranty issue, I don't believe Doheny's would actually be involved.

This is one of the bonuses of a store purchase. If you have a problem, go drop it off and let them deal with shipping and the warranty.

Then again, if Amazon is the reseller, Maytronics may play extra nice not to lose that privilege. Evil as they may be, they have some real pull for the consumer.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

You should call Doheny and ask. If they are an authorized repair shop, then they will do any of the warranty work. Repairing these robots is not that challenging. They figure out which component is malfunctioning and then they simply replace it. They don’t try to really repair anything, just replace what doesn’t work. It makes repairs very costly - motor assemblies are $450, cables are $100-$200, power supplies are $250-$300. Plastic and rubber components run $50-$100. They don’t “fix” anything, they replace. So be prepared for that.

 

[Homebrewale]

Typically speaking in order for Maytronics to honor the warranty of a brick & mortar store model you have to do a physical payment transaction with the store. So in the case of Marina’s Patio and Pool, if you call them and give them your payment info over the phone, that counts. Buying a unit randomly online (eBay) or a unit that is not designated for online sale will void the warranty.

I have no idea if that unit being offered on Amazon by Doheny counts so it’s best to call or email them to find out.

The lines blur on this topic. When I bought my robot from Marina's, I never talked to them on the phone. I emailed them that I wanted to buy a Pentair Warrior SI. They emailed back that it was in stock at this price. Click on this link to buy it. I clicked on the link, used my credit card to buy it and a few days later it arrived at the house. Not a lot different than buying online.

 

[kul]

I purchased a zodiac MX6 from Amazon Through a pool store seller. When I had issues with the cleaner I contacted zodiac and they would not honor the warranty. They claimed that it was not covered because it was bought online. However then I reached out to the pool store that was selling them on Amazon they indicated that since they actually do have a store front it counts as such a sale. I went back to zodiac with this information and they honored the warranty. However it was a total pain. In hindsight one thing I would’ve done differently was to buy the extended warranty Amazon was offering. That would’ve been super helpful because all of these vacuums eventually have their issues and hopefully you are within the warranty period.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

As long as the transaction occurs directly with the retailer that was supplied by Maytronics through their distribution channel, then the warranty should be in effect. That can happen with Amazon as long as the seller has a physical storefront to sell from and has received the item directly through Maytronics. The thing Maytronics (and Jandy/Zodiac) are trying to avoid are stock resellers trying to make a quick buck through mark up.

 

[Old_Pool_Man]

I actually had a worse experience buying from a local store. I bought a Polaris and it turns out it was a model made by Polaris for just that store. I had no choice but to get it repaired through the store, Polaris wouldn't touch it. Parts for repairs typically took 3-4 months to get.

I ended up replacing it with a Dolphin Triton PS that I bought from Amazon. It worked great for 2 years then stopped working. Ran for a few minutes then just stopped. I was able to deal directly with Maytronix, they did repair it, but the repair didn't work, it has the same problem. I am going back to a suction side cleaner for my next attempt. My pump has to run at a higher speed during the day anyway because of solar heating, so I wasn't saving much electricity using the robots.

 

[markayash]

Doheny might be a auth dealer, when I bought by Tristar pump from the hayward store it sent me to them.
Bad news is you have to watch who actually sells it and if they take returns, Amazon is good about switching sellers and all of a sudden its coming from " bobs Basement junk" store. Good news is Amazon can help if you have a problem.