I saw this issue over on AVS and thought it way too interesting not to comment on. From the way I see it, the situation seems pretty straightforward:
- ML is NOT recognizing Costco as an authorized dealer. Therefore, any units purchased from Costco will not have honorable warranties.
- Costco's lifetime return policy is applicable on the ML items being sold. To some, this might be better than any warranty, even a store extended one. Since those units won't won't be repairable through ML (perhaps for a fee), Costco's only option will be to refund the purchase price in full. I'm assuming here that exchange won't be possible as they will only list the ML products for a short period of time, but that seems to be a pretty safe assumtption. So, if something goes wrong, you get a 100% refund to do with whatever you please - buy a new pair, buy something else, put the money back in the bank, etc
- The transhipper theory is almost certainly the explanation. It's the simplest and explains a lot. Also, it's a huge risk for a manufacturer who maintains custom dealer relationships to do something "back door" with a retailer like Costco. Going into BB Magnolia with lower end lines is one thing, going "semi-wholesale" with your flagship into Costco is entirely different. I'd be shocked if ML was really knowledgeable ahead of time about the end result (the units ending up for sale in Costco)
- I doubt there's a legal remedy ML can take other then terminating the dealer agreement. Costco has no liability and unless the dealer agreement includes monetary penalties for grey market transactions (seems highly unlikely), all they can do is cut the dealer off.
- The ML listings are very likely short supply and therefore won't last too long. So, anyone interested should make the move quickly. I don't see any risk in it given the applicable return policy. Heck, even if you decide later that you'd prefer the more standard dealer route with a warranty, you can return them to Costco for a full refund (you'd have to check on shipping charges though). Their return policy is pretty much a no questions asked thing so you can return them for a reason like this, or any reason really.
All in all it seems pretty straightforward. I don'tsee any "evil handedness" by ML, Costco or even the intermediary dealer. The dealer knew they were taking a risk and probably decided it was worthwhile. Or, they may have been about to drop the line or even go out of business shortly anyway, so doing this wouldn't matter much.
Just my $0.02.
Jeff
