Barley Nectar
636 posts
Feb 09, 2015
9:48 AM
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I found this on Suzuki's site while scopeing out Ted's sub 30. This warning applies to many imported products, not just harmonicas. Buyer Beware...
WARNING: DO NOT PURCHASE SUZUKI HARMONICAS FROM OVERSEA SELLERS!
It has come to our attention that counterfeit Suzuki Harmonicas are being offered for sale through oversea sellers. Please do not fall victim to these illegal sellers of Suzuki Harmonicas. Our customer service department has recently received phone calls regarding these fake harmonicas. Unfortunately, these products cannot be returned, warrantied or serviced by Suzuki Music USA. Authentic Suzuki Harmonicas can only be purchased through Authorized Suzuki Music Retailers in the USA. Do not purchase Suzuki Harmonicas from an on line seller that indicates, "Shipped from Japan". These products carry no warranty, cannot be returned or repaired by SUZUKI MUSIC USA and are most likely counterfeit replicas.
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GMaj7
613 posts
Feb 09, 2015
11:17 AM
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Ouch..
Calling those harmonicas "COUNTERFEIT" is really disingenuous.
Suzuki USA is rightfully upset that Japanese dealers are selling around them and directly into the U.S. However, that is a private civil matter between Suzuki USA and the factory in Japan.
I hope Suzuki USA removes that comment. It lacks professionalism and destroys credibility, even though I can certainly sympathize with their position.
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Greg Jones
16:23 Custom Harmonicas
greg@1623customharmonicas.com
1623customharmonicas.com
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nacoran
8257 posts
Feb 09, 2015
1:31 PM
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Greg, yeah, unless they have proof they are counterfeit that's a bold claim for what is likely just harps from oversea vendors.
Personally, I don't like the restrictive deals some of these companies have in place market by market. I'd love to be able to get other Tombo models easily in the U.S.
There was an interesting case involving textbooks recently. A foreign student couldn't afford his books in the U.S. but he discovered that he could order the same textbooks from home and have them shipped for a fraction of the price. He realized he was onto something- he set up a business, but then got sued for violating conditions the publishers were trying to attach to their books. Textbooks are fairly cheap to print, but expensive to develop, so publishers charge whatever rate the local market will bare, which means international shipping hurts their business. I imagine exchange rates create a similar situation for harmonica vendors. They can't slash the prices of their harmonicas because of a currency fluctuation without damaging the perceived fair price for their harp, but that can create local markets where the prices aren't globalized.
Or, they really could be fakes. If I was selling to the U.S. market I'd fake Hohners though, for the name recognition.
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Nate
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First Post- May 8, 2009
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Harmlessonica
65 posts
Feb 09, 2015
2:59 PM
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Yeah, I saw this warning recently when searching for the cheapest place to buy a Suzuki Manji. I always wanted to try one but they're fairly expensive. I was somewhat hesitant, but ended up placing an order with an Ebay seller from Japan (at almost half the price locally).
It arrived a couple of days ago, and I can't fault it. Judging from pics and videos on the internet, it seems genuine enough.
Perhaps I was just lucky. I was due some good luck...
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Raven
5 posts
Feb 09, 2015
3:13 PM
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Bought a Sub 30 recently from Japan. Seems genuine enough. Why set up a factory to replicate high end harps? I saw the warning as well, but it seems it's a matter of trade rather than counterfeiting.
By the way Harmlessonica, you can purchase the 7-pc Manji's in a pouch for under $250 now. I think I paid $325 when I bought mine. Seen them as low as $229.
Last Edited by Raven on Feb 09, 2015 3:16 PM
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GMaj7
614 posts
Feb 09, 2015
4:19 PM
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In this case, it is simply between Suzuki Japan and Suzuki USA. I can certainly sympathize with Suzuki USA. They agree to buy a certain number of harmonicas at a certain price and Suzuki Japan agrees to allow them exclusive selling rights in the U.S.
As consumers, you make similar purchasing decisions every day.
In the case of harmonica consumers, they will call at all hours, keep you on the phone forever, ask 500 questions (Did I say that.. no 600), email constantly for more information, and then go buy from someone in Japan because it is $5.00 cheaper. Then, when they need help gapping or they disassemble it and spill syrup all over the reeds, they contact the U.S. dealer again to get more free help.
I stand by Suzuki USA on this but they should keep their disagreements in house.
The correct legal term for these harmonicas is "Gray Market"
Edited: For typos
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Greg Jones
16:23 Custom Harmonicas
greg@1623customharmonicas.com
1623customharmonicas.com
Last Edited by GMaj7 on Feb 09, 2015 7:09 PM
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Frank101
72 posts
Feb 09, 2015
6:38 PM
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Are all Suzuki harmonica models available through Suzuki USA?
Last Edited by Frank101 on Feb 09, 2015 6:38 PM
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JInx
972 posts
Feb 09, 2015
6:43 PM
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fascinating, great tread of real value to the forum
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walterharp
1599 posts
Feb 09, 2015
6:57 PM
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been through it with my text book, and this case seems a bit different. the students were getting my book online from india, but the reproduction was horrible and the figures mostly unreadable. so there is was a case of bad quality making me look bad, and them not getting a decent product. but the suzuki harps seem to be the same thing
this is so common.. so many friends visiting the states go to best buy and bring back electronics that are sold in their countries marked way up....
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Gnarly
1237 posts
Feb 09, 2015
11:07 PM
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I do the repairs for Suzuki, so I have the inside track.
We carry most of the Japanese harmonicas, there are some tremolos we don't carry, but we do have all the diatonics and chromatics.
Grey market is a better description, but no matter what you call it, I can't fix harps that were purchased from someone other than the company that pays me to fix 'em--and with welded reeds, you might have some trouble doing it yourself if/when a reed breaks.
Plus, we have a one year warranty that covers reed failure, so you should factor that into your purchase.
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Philosofy
662 posts
Feb 10, 2015
8:02 AM
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A440, this isn't counterfeiting. They are actual Suzuki harps. Would I be a criminal if I sold you one of my Manji's, unused, because I already had that key?
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nacoran
8262 posts
Feb 10, 2015
12:42 PM
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Gnarly, yeah, you get stuck in the middle in that case. It seems like it's a case where businesses were set up before the marketplace went global. I don't like the idea of exclusive marketing deals, but sometimes they are a practical solution to logistics problems, and once they are in place you've got secondary problems like who honors the warranty. It's not in Suzuki USA's interest to fix harps they didn't sell, and it's not in their interest to cooperate with retailers who are undercutting them, and their isn't even a huge incentive for Suzuki's home office to do much to clean it up, since they get a sale to a dealer either way. I'm guessing they can undersell because of something in the exchange rate? Or maybe they know they won't have to honor the warranty? Even if the Suzuki home office were to decide it was in the best interest of the brand to pay Suzuki USA to fix broken ones it wouldn't be in Suzuki USA's best interest to do it- everyone would buy Japanese if they did.
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Nate
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First Post- May 8, 2009
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Frank101
74 posts
Feb 10, 2015
1:11 PM
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Is there a list of Authorized Suzuki Music Retailers in the USA? I went to the Suzuki USA website and couldn't find one. They do offer online ordering from the site at full MSRP - e.g. $999.99 for the rosewood Maret signature chrom.
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Gnarly
1238 posts
Feb 10, 2015
2:23 PM
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I don't know of a list of retailers, but I am sure an online search using the key words Suzuki, harmonica and buy will bring up more than a handful.
And of course, there's always R*ck*n R*n . . .
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Frank101
75 posts
Feb 10, 2015
4:51 PM
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Yes of course. The issue is finding an "Authorized" retailer, per the notice in Post #1.
Even RR doesn't specifically state "We are an authorized Suzuki retailer." No offense to RR intended, only mentioning it because Suzuki is emphasizing it.
And as I said, the website that carries the notice in post #1 does not seem to provide a list of "Authorized" dealers. (I couldn't find one anyhow.) So how does Suzuki expect purchasers to comply with their warning?
Last Edited by Frank101 on Feb 10, 2015 4:53 PM
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Gnarly
1239 posts
Feb 10, 2015
6:24 PM
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If it says, "Ships from Japan", it's not from the US, is it?
And frankly (oops, sorry), you can tell by the price--if you do a search for a Suzuki harmonica and find a big difference in price, you may find that the cheapest one is also from, you guessed it, Japan.
If it sounds too good to be true, it might be!
Edit: I just went to Ron's site, and on the warranty page, he states, "We are AUTHORIZED DEALERS for every brand and model that we offer."
So that includes Suzuki--and I know that Fred Klett (eezyreeder) states on his eBay pages that he is an authorized dealer.
Your local music store (if, by chance, they carry Suzuki 8^\) is probably authorized--
You know, I'm not prejudiced--a good harp speaks for itself (well, you have to breathe thru it). I own harps by all the main companies--but I believe in the Suzuki brand (hey, so does Mooncat!) and want folks to trust the brand.
Last Edited by Gnarly on Feb 10, 2015 7:05 PM
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Frank101
76 posts
Feb 10, 2015
7:10 PM
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That's good news about RR, although I did make a good faith effort to find such a statement and did not. (Not doubting you, just saying the statement may not be as prominent as it might be.)
But considering Suzuki apparently feels strongly about this issue, wouldn't it be good for them to have a list of Authorized Retailers available on the Suzuki USA website? I really can't think of any downside to their doing that, unless there are a lot of Authorized Suzuki Retailers and they change often?
Last Edited by Frank101 on Feb 10, 2015 7:18 PM
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Gnarly
1240 posts
Feb 10, 2015
7:23 PM
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Well, I will mention it--Daron is out of town, at an Orff convention (don't ask), but he would be the guy to pitch it to management--I am but a lowly horn smasher . . .
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Frank101
77 posts
Feb 10, 2015
8:12 PM
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Cool. I like Suzukis, a couple of months ago I bought a Hammond from ... uh ... a well known internet sales site - I forget the name, orinoco dot com or something like that -got it fast at a great price, zero quality issues, and seriously it never occurred to me until this thread that there might be some sort of problem with that, or that it was up to me to research whether there might be a problem with that.
Last Edited by Frank101 on Feb 11, 2015 8:27 AM
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