Just went on Amazon to see if there was any notice about the new policy, and there was. I looked up a Phantom 3 Standard sold by Amazon, see below.

US DJI Warranty Services Notice
Dear DJI Creators,
To provide you with ever better service, DJI will now only provide warranty services for products purchased from Authorized Resellers. Products purchased from unauthorized Resellers are not subject to warranty services. This rule takes effect from 3 Aug 2016. Customers who have already bought DJI products will not be affected.
Before buying a DJI product, visit the official DJI website to find an authorized DJI dealer where you can make your purchase.
When applying for a warranty service, the sales invoice of the product requiring warranty repair must be provided.
Conditions Apply. Visit the website for more details.
Best regards,
DJI

No car comparisons from me. How about electronics then. I have purchased IPhone's and Dell laptops from Kijiji. Both Dell and Apple honor the warranty and allow you to extend the warranty as long as you do so before original expires. The Dell laptop I purchased from the original owner had a three year full service warranty on it and I extended it at the end of the three years. Both these companies have a service tag number or equivalent. You go on their web site enter that number and the original owners info and presto the warranty is now in your name. DJI could easily do the but choose not to. As far as I'm concerned a real black eye for DJI.

I think DJI will be taking things on a case by case basis.
I'll bet they cover cracked shells no matter what.
A questionable crash maybe not.

But one big thing to consider is this type of scenario.
You buy what they consider a grey market bird.
You upgrade the firmware from their site.
You start having problems and they refuse to resolve it because it's grey.
You crash into a human.
Lawyers will eat their lunch.

So I'll bet they will cover grey market on a case by case.

I think the so called grey market birds if they are an actual DJI product with proper identification should have to be covered as done so by other companies as the two I mentioned earlier do.

I guess I bought from an unauthorized dealer on Amazon. My Phantom 3 Advanced was having the Compass Error problem. I saw on a forum that DJI needed to repair the problem. After seeing that they would not repair the Phantom 3, I returned it to Amazon for a full refund. I will never buy anything manufactured by DJI ever again. Sad way to run a business!!!

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2016-8-2 05:57
Skipilot1 my question to you is will Apple and Rolex cover those products purchased through grey mar ...

Apple will cover their products if they're sold used on Craigslist but the serial still shows in warranty, so that's a bad analogy.

Geebax Posted at 2016-8-1 19:55
If they are not counterfeit, then they should honour the warranty. If they are the genuine article, ...

Precisely.  Genuine parts from DJI, regardless the seller, were still manufactured by DJI and should be warrantied.  I'm sure US better business laws would support this.

Scenario:   Company A is going out of business and wants to quickly liquidate it's assets.   It handles DJI Phantoms and Company B comes in and buys pallets of merchandise from Company A.  Phantoms just happen to be included in this purchase.

Company B is not an authorized DJI reseller, but has a stack of Phantoms that have NEVER BEEN OPENED and they sell them at a discount price online.   

By DJI's blanket statement....anyone purchasing these brand new/never opened Phantom's from Company B will not be covered by DJI warranty.

That is absolute crap!

Flight Raptor Posted at 2016-9-23 10:16
Scenario:   Company A is going out of business and wants to quickly liquidate it's assets.   It hand ...

I guess I wouldn't agree with that. You, as a customer are looking for the best price out there....I get it. But at the same time DJI is a reputable company and has its authorized dealers that I'm sure it supports. Trying to keep ahead of the guy or company (3rd-party) that goes out and buys their products at a reduced cost and trying to make a few bucks is a difficult job. When you purchase anything, and you know you are buying it at a discounted price from a non-authorized dealer, you have to assume some responsibility for yourself. If you enjoy the cheaper price, you give up something, in this case it is the factory warranty. To me that is not DJIs fault. I believe their choice to support their authorized dealers only, is smart business. Just my opinion. If a DJI dealer wants to purchase a bunch of equipment only to end up selling it for reduced prices to 3rd party, it is their business, but I don't think it is right.
I know a lot of different products offer a variety of different warranties, but especially on this type of equipment it seems reasonable to only warranty this original owner, and I would think providing proof of purchase to be mandatory. I understand we are not talking about counterfeit components here, but if you are not willing to support the people (DJI-Dealers) that invest in the product (such as sales support, technical support, etc.) and you choose to buy somewhere else because you wanted to save a couple bucks, you cannot expect the same kind of service as you would get if you bought it through the proper channels. It is kind of like the old saying "You get what you pay for".
As for the comparison to automobiles. We are not talking about a $30,000- $50,00 purchase here with car manufacturers giving upwards of 100,000 miles or 10-year warranties. That is a different scenario totally. Most of us will spend $800-$1500 for one of these drones and the warranty is short term anyway, 1-year I believe.

RicardoGray Posted at 2016-9-23 10:43
I guess I wouldn't agree with that. You, as a customer are looking for the best price out there... ...

But if the box has never been opened, factory fresh....I cannot see how DJi cannot honor that warranty.  Regardless of the price someone paid for the product, if it is brand new, there is a weak argument for not supporting the warranty.

And to counter your argument about 'not supporting the authorized dealers'....I gave you the perfect scenario that could easily happen in this ever changing consumer electronics race.   The Company B has every right to sell that brand new product as they obtained it legally....nobody has changed the packaging or even touched the product that DJI is selling....how is that any different than buying direct from the factory or authorized dealer other than the box has travelled a few more places?

And while this may not be a $30,000 automobile, it isn't a $40 throwaway either!   There is always a ridiculous markup on consumer electronic devices....this one is no different.

"And they probably will remain firmly in control of the consumer drone market."

You mean like GoPro ????

"Regardless of the price someone paid for the product, if it is brand new, there is a weak argument for not supporting the warranty."
The whole thing verges on 'price fixing' which is illegal in the US.

I think their policy would fail the court test if it came to that.
Especially when they had to pay a lawyer just to show up at the hearing.

Flight Raptor Posted at 2016-9-23 10:49
But if the box has never been opened, factory fresh....I cannot see how DJi cannot honor that warra ...

I totally agree with you these are not cheap toys. I guess this is definitely a subject with different opinions for sure. Yes, if it is brand new and regardless of the price, you would expect some type of warranty. I would think that DJI should be able to identify if the drone was sold to a authorized agent from the serial number or something, to ensure it wasn't stolen or something like that. I'm sure your right that there is probably pretty good mark-up with these things. I think you have a valid point, I was just saying most of the time if you are purchasing something like this and spending a fair amount of money, you should investigate who is selling it. Generally speaking if you are buying anything for much less than it retails for, one should consider the risk. Hey, I'm all about getting a good deal too....Ultimately, it comes down to DJI to make that decision. I can see both sides here....don't know what the right answer is for sure.

A company can say they will not support the warranty as much as they like, but the result depends upon where in the world you live. In Australia, where I live, our consumer protection laws do not allow even the customer to sign away their right to a warranty. Simply put, no matter what the seller says, and no matter what waivers the customer may have ticked during the selling process, the warranty stays intact. Most developed countries have similar p[rovisions.

I had exactly that scenario with Canon. I purchased a Canon DSLR out of Hong Kong, it developed a fault within the warranty period. The local Canon centre said it would be chargeable because their products bought overseas do not carry an Australian warranty. A quick mention of referring it to our consumer watchdog resulted in it being repaired under warranty free of charge.

Geebax Posted at 2016-9-23 18:10
A company can say they will not support the warranty as much as they like, but the result depends up ...

I guess that means the USA is not a developed country. Just look at our presidential candidates we have to choose between as proof of that.

wmcvey Posted at 2016-9-25 02:59
I guess that means the USA is not a developed country. Just look at our presidential candidates we ...

Yeah, I am happy to stay out of that one. It is interestintg to see what the outcome of electing a president that appeals to the popular view is, just take a look at the Philipines.....

It may take time but word of mouth gets around and DJI will be on the bottom of the industry because of service.

Still in shock After finding out "No Warranty" on Phantom 4 bought Sept. 19th
Had it out of the box twice. Made 2 flights. One test mission another around town...
Kept getting error loading mission. Called support and they said it was user error. Spent weeks learning everything their was to know about Phantom. Came to conclusion yesterday I need to send device in for an evaluation. Never received return instructions after two phone calls and one online return request. Opened chat and was told...

More than likely I bought a defective unit or refurbished unit bad out of the box.
Called the number on invoice and got a voice mail. Will see how eBay reacts on this one.
Everyone needs to know not to buy DJI products from dealers or eBay sellers...

About all I can do is file a complaint BBB...
  


invoice
eBay
USA Product

DJI-H.C Posted at 2016-8-5 01:53
Hi, I would suggest you check the seller on Amazon, if it's something sold by Amazon itself, it's fine. If it's sold by 3rd party seller, email or call them to ask if they're authorized seller and if they can produce any evidence, for example, you can ask the name and location of their business, and check here https://www.dji.com/where-to-buy

Or ask if they have any documents from DJI authorizing them to sell. If they don't respond or can't produce any evidence, I would suggest you return it. And if they refuse, contact Amazon and they'll support your claim.

I purchased a P4P on eBay abut 2 months ago for $1200. I was checking the daily deals and I saw P4P and I had to have it. It came from out of state with free shipping and took about 5 working days to arrive.  I had no idea that dji only honor the warrant if you buy their product from their authorized dealer.
Frankly I though that if you buy a brand new product in US, you will be entitled to the warranty as the original owner, regardless of where you bought it from.
I was so proud at having got such a good deal Now as a software engineer, I know that if I buy a computer, any problem with with show immediately or within the first couple of months. Is it the same thing with dji ap4P or alike ? What is the likelihood of me needing a warranty repair ? Should I return it ? I was checking the seller's other dji phantom listings and they specifically said you might not be entitled to warranty. But the eBay listing for my P4P did not say that !
Should I really return it ?

Sam Nam Posted at 2017-4-8 01:11
I purchased a P4P on eBay abut 2 months ago for $1200. I was checking the daily deals and I saw P4P and I had to have it. It came from out of state with free shipping and took about 5 working days to arrive.  I had no idea that dji only honor the warrant if you buy their product from their authorized dealer.
Frankly I though that if you buy a brand new product in US, you will be entitled to the warranty as the original owner, regardless of where you bought it from.
I was so proud at having got such a good deal  Now as a software engineer, I know that if I buy a computer, any problem with with show immediately or within the first couple of months. Is it the same thing with dji ap4P or alike ? What is the likelihood of me needing a warranty repair ? Should I return it ? I was checking the seller's other dji phantom listings and they specifically said you might not be entitled to warranty. But the eBay listing for my P4P did not say that !

No, it's not like computer. You may need warranty at any time. I would suggest you return it if you can.

Sam Nam Posted at 2017-4-8 01:11
I purchased a P4P on eBay abut 2 months ago for $1200. I was checking the daily deals and I saw P4P and I had to have it. It came from out of state with free shipping and took about 5 working days to arrive.  I had no idea that dji only honor the warrant if you buy their product from their authorized dealer.
Frankly I though that if you buy a brand new product in US, you will be entitled to the warranty as the original owner, regardless of where you bought it from.
I was so proud at having got such a good deal  Now as a software engineer, I know that if I buy a computer, any problem with with show immediately or within the first couple of months. Is it the same thing with dji ap4P or alike ? What is the likelihood of me needing a warranty repair ? Should I return it ? I was checking the seller's other dji phantom listings and they specifically said you might not be entitled to warranty. But the eBay listing for my P4P did not say that !

No, it's not like computer. You may need warranty at any time. I would suggest you return it if you can.

ha! quite a discussion..  just got a refurb p3p from ebay, what's called dji official store, which is handled by drone nerds...  i assume this is good.. but if it's not and i need service, i guess i'll have to deal with ebay.. interesting.... Then again, looking at DJI helping or not helping people, overall, usually I see then eventually resolve the issue if it seems like warranty.. Do hope they step up their customer service game, and do it officially... there are lot's of complaints! I wish DJI well, good product, seems like a good company, they need to work to provide a "world class service"....

I can't even get service even though I purchased from an official reseller. 3 months I have been waiting and so far DJI has sent me 2 completely different sets of lies, completely contradicting each other, so they can avoid a simple warranty repair.
My drone fell from the sky after a firmware update.  First they told me I did a CSC, which I disproved with the logs, then they changed the story to I "hit" an invisible object at 200ft.
They are asking for almost $800 to repair my quad.

I will continue to point out their lies until I get some truth from this dodgy company!