I have spoken too a pioneer customer service rep. about several matters dealing with their Elite line of receivers, and had asked that very same question. Their response was, the Elite's were never meant to be sold on line, only in authorized stores. That these authorized stores enter into an agreement which disallow them from offering them up online even though they are a authorized brick& mortar store. She then went on to say that some of the distributors are the ones who are selling to unauthorized dealers, and this is the reasoning for not warranting the online purchases.
I just recently purchased an Elite Sc-67 (which is now in transit) for my upcoming HT system. I purchased a two year warranty along with my Pioneer. This purchase along with the warranty was still less than buying it at Best Buy paying sales tax.
