Asus RT-N66R shipped without warranty card

[Muse]

I bought it off ebay from a volume seller one week ago: Ebay listing. It was represented as "Manufacturer refurbished."

Got it a few days ago, I haven't installed it yet or done anything with it. At Newegg and in the included Quick User Guide (which is specifically for the refurb model, RT-N66R) it says:
- -
Package Contents

RT-N66R
Network Cable
Support CD
Stand
AC Adapter
Quick Start Guide
Warranty card

Newegg's page says the same thing 1/2 way down: Asus RT-N66R
- -
It's all there and looks in good order except for the warranty card, and this makes me suspect that this isn't actually a manufacturer refurb but that it has some weird history, maybe a return from an unhappy customer. :'( Who knows? I just sent the seller a message asking where the card is and what's the true history of the item. I have a 30 day return window but I pay return shipping if I want a refund. What should I do, what would you do?

 

[Elixer]

AFAIK, many companies will not accept the warranty from sellers that are not authorized.
So, unless it was an authorized dealer, or, the company says differently, you should assume anything from fleabay has no warranty.

 

[ImDonly1]

Agree with above about authorized sellers, but why do you need a warranty card? Can't you just register for the warranty on the Asus website with the serial number? Based on the serial number when you register Asus should know it is refurbished and adjust the warranty accordingly.

 

[RLGL]

Are you sure the unit is not from the grey market, intended for sale in another country? Knock off copy?

 

[Muse]

AFAIK, many companies will not accept the warranty from sellers that are not authorized.
So, unless it was an authorized dealer, or, the company says differently, you should assume anything from fleabay has no warranty.

I should have known this. I now have a flea infestation. Drat.

Are you sure the unit is not from the grey market, intended for sale in another country? Knock off copy?

Absolutely not. How would I determine that? You can see the listing linked in the OP (I presume), that has the info I went on.
- - -
Well, it is a volume seller, and poking around yesterday I got info that they sold several other RT-N66U's, perhaps 8. Will see what the seller says in response to my inquiry concerning its history.

Agree with above about authorized sellers, but why do you need a warranty card? Can't you just register for the warranty on the Asus website with the serial number? Based on the serial number when you register Asus should know it is refurbished and adjust the warranty accordingly.

That, I will try to do...

In the future, hopefully, I won't buy refurbs from anyone but the big boys, (e.g. Amazon, Best Buy, Newegg, Tigerdirect, etc.).

 

[Muse]

Agree with above about authorized sellers, but why do you need a warranty card? Can't you just register for the warranty on the Asus website with the serial number? Based on the serial number when you register Asus should know it is refurbished and adjust the warranty accordingly.

Actually, just a few minutes ago I couldn't find a way into their online registration process from the home page. I did a google search on Asus product registration and came up with the page. Went through the whole product registration process, which started off with my agreeing to a 3.5 page privacy agreement, then a pretty complete personal registration including email, password, address, age, gender, yada yada, and actually finshed with a semi-extensive survey, which I completed. They wanted to know where I bought it, and one option included something like Online (e.g. Amazon or eBay). For the seller I put Techno Force (the ebay handle is techno_force, but I didn't want to put that). So, I suppose I'm registered, and the warranty on refurbs is 3 months...

Are you sure the unit is not from the grey market, intended for sale in another country? Knock off copy?

Not sure, but I'd say that the whole shipment looks legit including the unit itself. The only problem I could see was the fact that the registration card that's supposed to be included was not there. I have not yet plugged it in.

 

[Muse]

Seller responded:

"Hello.
We received router directly from ASUS and it did not come with
warranty card. For your information, all refurbished units come with 90
days factory warranty so you don't need any cards. If you still have
questions regarding warranty, please contact ASUS directly.
Thank you"

Edit: I see this is my 14000 post. Whoopie!

 

[JackMDS]

Let see, do I miss something?

A New Router like this from a normal seller can be found for $124.

This deal is a Refurbish from eBay for $109????

Nice!!! debate about U vs. R

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=8156

 

[Muse]

Let see, do I miss something?

A New Router like this from a normal seller can be found for $124.

This deal is a Refurbish from eBay for $109????

Nice!!! debate about U vs. R

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=8156

OK, without looking at the thread yet, there's also the matter of state tax of almost 10%. I'll now click the link...

Edit: Well, that's a pretty involved 4 page long thread. They indicate that Asus tech support said the R version signified "retail" version. My understanding what that it meant "refurbished." Which is it?

I have yet to plug mine in. First order of business will be to flash recent firmware to prevent exposing vulnerabilities. Presumably I can flash U firmware? I haven't scouted around for firmware yet.

 

[JackMDS]

The seller says Refurbished.

I heard about Sellers sell Refurbished as New. Never heard about New sold as Refurbished.

ASUS RT-N66R Dual-Band Wireless-N900 Gigabit Router Dark Knight RT-N66U

Item condition: Manufacturer refurbished

Ended: Apr 28, 2014 13:52:25 PDT

Price: US $109.95

 

[ImDonly1]

The U and R just mean where the router is sold.

R is for retail (in person stores) and U is online.
There is no suffix for refurbished. You can get a N66U or a N66R that is refurbished.

U and R are the same hardware, same firmwares.

 

[Muse]

What seems odd to me is that the seller declares that they got them from Asus, presumably in quantity, that they are refurbished, the supplied Quick User Guide (which plainly displays on the cover Asus RT-N66R) indicates on page 4 that a warranty card is in the box... but the card was not supplied by Asus. I suppose I shouldn't sweat it and just assume that noone's trying to pull the wool over my eyes. Asus just didn't include the warranty cards.

The U and R just mean where the router is sold.

R is for retail (in person stores) and U is online.
There is no suffix for refurbished. You can get a N66U or a N66R that is refurbished.

U and R are the same hardware, same firmwares.

Oh, OK, then that would explain it. There's actually nothing in or on the box that indicates refurbished for this item. Asus did not include the warranty card because they supplied it to the seller as refurbished.

AFAIK, many companies will not accept the warranty from sellers that are not authorized.
So, unless it was an authorized dealer, or, the company says differently, you should assume anything from fleabay has no warranty.

I think I'm probably covered on this one. The seller evidently was shipped refurbs in quantity directly from Asus. I registered online yesterday.

 

[alkemyst]

In the future, hopefully, I won't buy refurbs from anyone but the big boys, (e.g. Amazon, Best Buy, Newegg, Tigerdirect, etc.).

Even they may not be authorized resellers.

 

[alkemyst]

The seller says Refurbished.

I heard about Sellers sell Refurbished as New. Never heard about New sold as Refurbished.

ASUS RT-N66R Dual-Band Wireless-N900 Gigabit Router Dark Knight RT-N66U

Item condition: Manufacturer refurbished

Ended: Apr 28, 2014 13:52:25 PDT

Price: US $109.95

I have dealt with New as Refurbished. It's often a New product that only carries whatever warranty the seller is including.

Some of these items you can register for a full warranty, depends on company.