The link in my first post WAS a direct link. It was a Leupold page explaining the changes to their warranty policy. I copied the entire 1st point they listed in that post.
That link no longer takes you to the same page. Apparently Leupold pulled the page.
My money is on the bet that Leupold dreamed this up, posted it, and have already felt enough heat over it that they're rethinking the deal.
I have Leupold scopes. No complaints. I've always been willing to recommend them to others. However, Leupold has made 2 changes lately:
1) They changed their retail/dealer relationship in some manner that has eliminated our ability as consumers to shop for the best price. Check Cabela's, Bass Pro Shop, Midway USA, Bear Basin, doesn't matter: you will pay the same price for the same scope at all of them. And that price is more than it used to be at Bear Basin & others that had competetively lower prices.
2) On friday they announced this new warranty policy. The policy states that only scopes bought from authorized dealers will be warranteed. That raises questions: How does this effect a scope one bought 20 years ago? How does anyone know if the original dealer was "authorized"? What about used scopes? So far, if we bought one, it was covered, period. Now maybe it's not. I wrote them today and asked some pointed questions about these things.
Item #1 was enough to have me seriously considering whether I'd buy another Leupold anyway. Nikon Monarch and Zeiss Conquest, to name 2, are kicking Leupold's butt in the marketpalce for a reason. Weaver Grand Slams are also great values. There are quality choices, many of which can be had for less money, all of which I can shop for the best deal.
Leupold's history of excellent customer service and no time limit warranty, not limited to the original owner, were 2 things that made them worth considering spending the bucks on. If they stick with this new policy, my next scope will be something else, no question.
Everyone has to determine for themselves what constitutes good value for the money. In my case, I don't think Leupold is worth the price if they play games with the warranty. Add to that the fact that I've spent a fair amount on their products, with the original warranty, to now have them tell me that THAT warranty is null & void, replaced with this one, as of last friday.
That strikes me as bad business. As a customer I regard it as a breech of contract, which was part of the reason I chose their products to start with. Once a company does that to me, I'm highly unlikely to ever take a chance on them again, nor recommend anyone else do, either.
Now, if someone asks me about Leupold's warranty, I'll have to tell them that was excellent, now it's just great. Until Leupold changes their minds again.
