K2 Warranty for Aussies
Hi all,
Apologies for the long rant (Read the bold bits if you want the jist of it)but it consistently pisses me off that Australia has such poor after sales service, not just K2 and not just snowboarding gear. But here is an account of my current claim and I just needed to vent.
I was riding 32 lashed last - year awesome boot, a little soft for my liking and packed out more quickly than I had expected also the tongue on the outer boot completely came off away from the main shell of the boot. I emailed the US rep sent in some photos and got brand new boots sent to me within 2 weeks. They didn’t ask for proof of sales or anything, which says to me they’ve seen the problem before are aware which boot it was (current season). etc etc… overall fairly happy with the outcome. Only problem was the inner boot (on the brand new pair) began to fall apart on me and was making it uncomfortable to ride. Out of warranty. So I fork out some $$ for a new pair of K2.
I went with K2 as I heard the boa conda was great for dialing in a good fit on the fly. The system is not bad but it’s not great either - my main gripe would have to be that the inner boot has only 2 velcro patches to hold my foot/shin in place. Now any firm pressure on the toe edge would cause the velcro patches to pop the inner tongue out and I’d have an awesome park boot instantly… just don’t try and land any big ankle breaking jumps.
- I’m getting to it -
So I find out a way to lace up the outer boot to minimize the frequency of the inner tongue pop out effect and am satisfied until I find that the outer boots is now falling apart at the seams. They are 2009 Darko and I bought them in Jan 2010. I have the receipt and have sent photos to K2. Their response was that they need to view the damage more closely and I’d have to send my boots in to have them warrantied. I start work this weekend, snowboard instructing and I can’t afford to buy a new pair of boots to wear while I wait for warranties. I know what you’re thinking I should have dealt with this earlier.
I tried. I first noticed the damage in April while riding in Tahoe, took it to a shop there and they needed up to 7 days to get me a new pair. I was leaving in 2 days time. So I bring the boots back with me and take it to a shop in Melbourne (early April), the wanted $70 to send the boots in for claim as I didn’t buy the boots in Australia. So I send K2 an email from their website, and hear from them straight away (auto-response) but after a week or so I get a real person response, telling me they’ve passed on my email to the correct department. another week later I get nothing and hassle the guy who emailed me. He asks for photos and such I don’t hear from them for 2 weeks, so I hassle the same guy again, he assures me that he has no idea what has happened and will resend my photos. I continue to communicate with same guy for 3 weeks and received a new contact person’s address (aussie rep) yesterday. This email tells me the photos are not enough and I should send the boots in for further analysis…
F* ME!! If this could have happened a month ago no problem, (still unhappy to bare the cost of shipping boots) but now I start work in 2 days and have damaged boots (ride-able but quickly deteriorating). I’m thinking I will ride them until the end of season, if they hold up… and then send them in.
Again sorry for the long rant. I know I should have just sent the boots in earlier at the shop and bare the shipping costs, I can’t expect a local shop to ship things for me for free especially if I am not a customer they are making profit from. But why can’t a store manager have a look at said item and say yes/no that is/isn’t a clear warranty claim, let me make a phone call and I can repair/replace that for you.
That sucks man. I feel your pain I had a similar situation happen to me with 32 boots. But the reality of the situation is that if you had of bought in Australia you would have been covered by the local distributor. Tough lesson to learn I guess.
Yeah it’s not a good situation to be in, I’m really sorry to hear it. It sucks when you get messed around like that; we’ve all been in that situation before.
I’m not trying to justify anything, but in reality you would have been looked after if you bought the boots from a store in Australia. When you buy from a store here, they work as your agent to get results when stuff like this happens. I’ve worked in a snowboard store for 6+ years and I know how seriously we take customer service. If you bought those boots from my store and your boots had those problems, I would be on the phone to K2 right in front of you and organising for it to be sent back (free of charge to you) to K2 that day for warranty. It’s hard for a store to pay the cost of shipping and assessment every time a random person bring back boots which were bought overseas; it would come straight out of their pocket. For anyone reading this, nearly all brands in Australia will not warranty any claims on products bought out of the country.
As a store we do everything we can to ensure the best result for you. Likewise, brands in Australia do everything they can to look after their customers (Australian stores).
As an example: a customer of ours brought in a broken snowboard which he bought from us a few weeks ago. The broken board was sent back (and clearly not a warranty claim either) to the brand for assessment. We told the customer this is probably not a warranty claim (impact damage), but we will try to do everything we can anyway. We sent the board back and weren’t surprised when they said they can’t warranty the claim. However due to our persistence and good relationship with the brand, we were able to organise a new snowboard for the customer at well below cost price. Needless to say the customer was stoked with how we handled the situation and the final result. It’s just an example of how Australian stores look after their customers. We know we can’t compete with prices in the USA, so our focus here is on customer service which is second to none.
I’m sorry this happened to you and I hope you get a good result in the end.
Again sorry for the long rant. I know I should have just sent the boots in earlier at the shop and bare the shipping costs, I can’t expect a local shop to ship things for me for free especially if I am not a customer they are making profit from. But why can’t a store manager have a look at said item and say yes/no that is/isn’t a clear warranty claim, let me make a phone call and I can repair/replace that for you.
That would be frustrating! However like you said you prolly should have just “sucked it up” when you were in the USA and paid the shipping costs. Hindsight is just wonderfully useless isn’t it? In a way I can understand why the Oz store acts somewhat indifferent to stuff that was not purchased from them - there is no real incentive for them. On the flipside, if they do help this person and provide great service, perhaps this person *might* come back as a regular customer instead of buying overseas? Its a tough balancing act I reckon.
Jeremy - Out of interest, do you know of many people who have bought overseas for a bargains, experienced issues with warranties and then returned to buying locally because customer service is quperior?
It appears if you ski overseas for a couple of weeks a year:
* if you want to get stuff at a bargain price, buy in the USA and hope nothing goes wrong with your gear over there or when you get home. if it does, well look like you are up for shipping costs to get it fixed.
* if you want the protection of good customer service, buy from your local Oz shop, and hope nothing goes wrong with your gear whilst you are over there
On the flipside, if they do help this person and provide great service, perhaps this person *might* come back as a regular customer instead of buying overseas?
It’s actually not the policy of the stores to not cover overseas warranties. The brands themselves will not warranty claims from overseas. They won’t even look at the board or whatever else, unless it’s accompanied by a receipt from an Australian dealer. They are more likely to look after a warranty that’s past the warranty date, than to warranty an item that’s two weeks old but bought from overseas.
Jeremy - Out of interest, do you know of many people who have bought overseas for a bargains, experienced issues with warranties and then returned to buying locally because customer service is quperior?
We see it all the time. I’m not kidding either.
It appears if you ski overseas for a couple of weeks a year:
* if you want to get stuff at a bargain price, buy in the USA and hope nothing goes wrong with your gear over there or when you get home. if it does, well look like you are up for shipping costs to get it fixed.
* if you want the protection of good customer service, buy from your local Oz shop, and hope nothing goes wrong with your gear whilst you are over there
That’s just it. If you buy overseas, you run the risk, and if anything happens you’re on your own (or you need to send it overseas and deal with the store you bought it from). When you buy from Australian stores, you are protected and looked after. The stores here value their customers greatly, and will usually do whatever they can to get results for you.
The brands themselves will not warranty claims from overseas.
I think that is a very important point to note. Many brands only offer a warranty in the country of purchase - others have a worldwide warranty. Last year, +1 bought an Oakley watch whilst overseas, and whilst back in Oz it “malfunctioned” - Oakley in Australia were happy to honour the warranty (of course we produced our overseas receipt).
That’s just it. If you buy overseas, you run the risk, and if anything happens you’re on your own (or you need to send it overseas and deal with the store you bought it from). When you buy from Australian stores, you are protected and looked after. The stores here value their customers greatly, and will usually do whatever they can to get results for you.
And I reckon that’s fair enough 
Great cheap price or great after sales service ....you can one or the other, but not both
this is why I always buy from a local shop and not the internet or OS.
this is why I always buy from a local shop and not the internet or OS.
I purchase some snowboard gear overseas, and other snowboard gear here in Oz. In the case of the gear I have bought overseas, I accept the risk of little/no warranty support as I view the item of having a low probability” of going wrong.
With gear I have bought in Australia, I accept paying a higher price in return for the warranty support. Thankfully all my gear has performed as expected (I believe I take good care of my gear which probably helps) - fingers crossed that continues!
im curious why you didn’t buy another pair of 32’s even after such awesome customer service? IMO simpler is better, i simply can’t see why anyone would think buying boots with mechanical pieces is a good idea, too many things to go wrong.
If you buy something overseas, get it dealt with overseas. Why should a shop here waste time and money for nothing. Think about it. If someones buys a pair of boots overseas and needs a warranty, it takes literally over an hour to process. Someone has to leave the store to go to the post office to mail. Theres the packing. Theres the invoice from the warranty department that needs to be processed and most of all, its not just your warranty- we get at least 10 a week from all different suppliers. I cant afford to pay staff for 300 hours a year for product not bought from our store.
I have heard many horrible stories about poor customer service, especially about warranty issues.
I personally have dealt with Burton a few times to request parts, or have a warranty request, even if after the warranty date, and still have had good service. but I know many who are really disappointed with Burton on some issues as well.
I have also had good service from ROME with any issues, and board replacement issues as well.
Sorry this happened with k2. I’ve not had much experience with them on this matter.
Another example of my experiences with Burton. I just called them to ask about the new channel and make sure I can get the right pieces and hardware kit that I need.
The guy was helpful, answered all my questions, I wasnt on hold very long at all. and he told me he’d send me the parts in november when he’s able to.
Super cool, if you ask me. they sell this kit, but it is free with a board purhase, and he just took my word that I’ll be buying the board. Which I’ve decided I’ll be getting the Custom flying V, btw.
Anyways, I just wanted to pass that along, I’ve always had good customer service form them.
Just an update on the resolution.
I waited until my mates got back into Vernon where the shop I originally purchased from, and sent my boots to them to take to the store.
The Store offered me a refund or a new pair of replacement boots.
I took the full refund.
Shipping the boots over to Canada was about $70 AUD
Time to go shopping for boots!! Might try these
and to answer some questions raised,
I didn’t buy another pair of 32 as the sizes they had when I was shopping didn’t fit me or the stiffness wasn’t what I wanted.
I would definitely buy 32 again if I found the right boots. I had the Lashed and they were too soft, at the time the stiffer 32’s were either not my size or a different fit.
I don’t think I will ever buy boots in Australia again, purchased a pair of Forum Team boa, $500+ lasted just over 12 months and then the lace loops started falling off. Partly my own fault for helping students up, instructors will know what I mean. I can’t afford to spend $500 on boots every 12 months. It doesn’t seem like I can make a pair of boots last much longer than that.
I’ve given in to the fact that snowboard boots are made for punters. They only get a few weekends worth of use before starting to die.
Like you kneeboard I’m a big fan of 32, one pair lasted me 200 days. I’m now doing K2 boa I’m pretty happy but they only have a few days use at the end of last season.
On warranty issues - your story sucks man! The only thing we really have is our voice, it wont help you but over time when enough people are telling the same story they might do something. We are in Australia, we are not a big snow sport country, THEY are not interested.
You don’t need to spend $500 on a pair of boots in Australia. Aim for about $350 and you can get into a multitude of quality solid boots. To me this whole issue highlights the problem of buying equipment online. Just don’t do it - it’s not worth. Reason with shop staff and they will do whatever they can to get you in quality gear at an affordable price!
On 32… I had nothing but issues with those boots…. lasted me one week in mammoth and then I had to throw them out. Salomon boots - best that I have ever owned.
and no… I have no affiliation with either of those brands.
I used to work in a snowboard shop in Adelaide and I must say that K2 Australia’s customer service is EXCELLENT!
Obviously if you bought the stuff overseas you can’t expect the local shops or wholesalers to take care of it for you.
Warranties happen all the time and if you buy locally you will be covered in most cases.