[turbinerneiter]

In Europe, I get 2 years of warranty in stuff that I buy here regularly.

(Not sure how the terms translate, and there are more details, roughly: 1 year is a warranty where the supplier has to prove that the defect is not their fault, second year it is the other way round. In practice, if stuff breaks in the first 2 years that is no obviously the user mishandling the device, you get a free repair.)

[deaddodo]

This is generally the same in the US. If a product is not sold "as-is", it falls under the Federal Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act; which enforces any warranty claims made by the manufacturer. In addition, there are multiple state level legislative actions that enforce consumer protections. For this reason a minimum one-year full warranty (manufacturer repairs or replaces the item, in good faith) on new goods is the standard, followed by an additional year or two of limited warranty (if you can prove it broke at no fault of your own, they offer a repair or replacement process).

[shp0ngle]

yeah but how are you going to do it when you use a forwarder?

[nisegami]

Here it's cheaper to import 2 of something than to buy locally, so warranty is usually a non-factor for me. But, in general it's a good reason to avoid forwarding services (especially if your part of the world has strong consumer protections like Europe typically does).

[OJFord]

How does that not mostly arbitrage itself away? i.e. import two as you say and stick one on eBay or whatever's popular?

[nisegami]

Well, the one I'd be selling doesn't have a warranty either. And if someone is okay with that, they can just import it themselves and cut out my profit share. If I were to order enough to get a bulk price and potentially undercut ordering it oneself, there's likely an expectation of a warranty of some kind being available.