If you’re shopping for something for which you might conceivably need the manufacturer’s warranty, be careful where you buy it. Most people know that buying from unofficial channels like small eBay or Amazon marketplace sellers can void manufacturer’s warranties, but Chris was under the impression that Buy.com (now called Rakuten) was a totally legit and authorized retailer. Logitech disagrees. When his keyboard would no longer hold a charge, he tried to make a warranty claim, only to be told that Buy.com was a “non official vendor” and he was out of luck.

Last year, I bought a Logitech Keyboard Case by Zagg for my iPad.

The case was hailed in many circles for being the best keyboard available for the iPad, and I found the best price on Buy.com (now Rakuten.com).

I’ve heard of Buy.com for years. Never had a problem with them, etc. Think they have been around since about 1998. Had no qualms about buying from them.

After using the case a little bit, I noticed that it wasn’t delivering anywhere near the promised battery life and capacity.

I would fully charge the keyboard and throw it in my bag. The item is supposed to hold a charge for months, but a few days or a week later, when I’d go to use the keyboard, it would be
dead as a doornail.

I finally contacted Logitech in January. The case is supposed to have a 1 year warranty.
I spoke with an agent on the phone who agreed that the case was defective and said he would send me an email which I should respond to and forward my purchase receipt.

A week or so passed, and no email. Checked my spam… no email.

So I contacted Logitech by email and finally got a response asking for my receipt.
When I sent in my Buy.com receipt, I got a response from Logitech stating that because I purchased the Keyboard Case from a “non official” vendor, my warranty was invalid and would not be honored.

I responded to the email asking how I was supposed to know what was an “official or non official” vendor and suggested that if a long-established retailer was illegally or erroneously selling their product, perhaps they should have their attorneys request that the retailer stop selling it.

I never got any response after that. So I did what any other tech-savvy person would do: I started tweeting them.

At first the Logitech twitter account promised to look into the matter. I reminded it a few days later that I still hadn’t heard anything, and it said it would check in with “the team”.

After that, silence.

I went to tweet them again tonight, and in true “if you can’t fix a problem, ignore it” spirit, @logitech has now blocked me on twitter.

It would have taken this huge corporation about $70 to make me happy, or maybe a percentage off a new case, but instead I get the cold shoulder, so now I’m turning to you.

Yep, ignore a previously happy customer who didn’t realize that he was doing anything wrong. That’s the trick, Logitech.

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