ok, im looking at getting a HK receiver, either the AVR235, AVR335, AVR435, or AVR635, (Depending on the prices) i refuse to pay futureshops rediculous prices, when they are so much cheaper in the states, however i have yet to find an alternative in Canada, and Hk's site wont let me "find dealers in my area" as it is US only (ie. zipcodes) anyone know of an online store i can get them from? (maybe for a pricematch at futureshop?) thanks very much for any help

I never found a real alternative to Futureshop. On the other hand, Futureshop does have good sales from time to time.

The distributor is Erikson in Montreal; I didn't try calling them because I found a good sale price at Futureshop but you might want to give them a try :

http://www.eriksonconsumer.com/

hmm, looking through my local yellowpages, one of the stores has harmon kardon listed as a carried brand, ill have to give em a call tomorrow , still any others would be welcomed ohhh, they carry parasound too....thats a ways off though, i cant afford to spend that much on a halo right now...drools (i think i need to worry about buying the speakers first.. lol)

I was also outrage by the price at Future shop and I've found this web store: www.etronics.com. It's a US store but they ship your item with Borderfree. That means that when your order is completed, you know the exact price you have to pay in canadian $. I know it's not a Canadian store as you where asking but it's really worth the look. I bought an HK avr335 and it cost me 620$ canadian (vs 1299$ at Future Shop!!!!!!!), shipping, taxes and custom included. The delivery was fast with great packaging. Hope it helps.

thanks alot, i will look into that, one thing im wondering about though, does hk still value the warrenty if its purchased from antoher country?

For the warranty question I really don't know. But i'm sure if some problem would come in the warranty period, a big company like HK would honor it. Well I hope!

i thought i read something yesterday here about warrenties from hk being invalid when bought from another country, hopefully someone knows the answer to this...

As far as I am aware they need to be an authorized dealer of H/K.

On their web page they sell refurbs from time to time as well.

This was on the site....If you live in Canada, you can reach a Harman Kardon representative at 1-800-567-3275.

You are correct, I live in Calgary. and the warranty on my US purchased AVR630 is void. Unfortunately, I have had to put a bit of money into the unit. It still does not function properly, but it works. I am sure I just received a dud, and most online US retailers have better service. The extra cost I have had to invest would have made purchasing in Canada a better option.

I purchased from an on-line retailer called "My Digital Universe", out of the US. They never once returned my calls or e-mail regarding the product.

dammit, there goes my plan to get a better deal...guess ill just have to wait until boxing day or something at futureshop (im not buying receiver until ive bought all the speakers) so i can afford to bide my time

Just keep watching for sales. Any time things slow down FS starts putting things on sale... what they have right now is the Digital 1001 for a couple of hundred off (1099 cdn), the 235 for $100 off ($799 cdn) and the 135 for $100 off (599 cdn).

Not great but better than no discount at all.

ya i saw those, but i want like $500 off before i even consider buying the 435 as its like $1500

You might want to reconsider the online dealers in the states, particularly if you are close to the US border. It is fairly rare that people like Din get a lemon receiver and the prices for HK's (and many other brands) are a ton cheaper in the US versus Canada. HK Canada has a real tough lock on Canadian dealers to keep prices unreasonably high. If close to the Canadian border you can order it to a US location, go across the border and pick it up and the warantee will be good. If anything goes wrong, across the border you go again and send it in for work. There is no duty between US and Canada on receivers so duty isn't a concern.

I was in your shoes a few months ago and decided to take a chance on a refurb. Onyko 702 for a mere $400 USD from an online dealer. To my door it cost $620 USD (shipping, brokerage abd exchange all considered). I saw the same unit on sale at the local shop for $1259 the other day. I figure for that kind of savings, in the unlikely event something goes wrong i've still got a $600 repair budget to work with and still come out even. But so far no problems. Btw, the vasy majority of folks on this board have had excellent results buying refurb. electronics as the inherant problems have already been found and fixed.

Something to think about if you are a bit of a risk taker.

hmm, i never thought of doing that, as i live right across the river from detroit, i can just make a trip to circuit city and pick one up.. but are you sure about the no duty on the receiver? why wouldnt there be>?

HK receivers seem to be made in China so the free trade provisions would not apply... but it is possible that the specific tariff code that receivers fall under has zero duty; I don't know.

Is it possible to gently ask why we think there is no duty on receivers ?

I've been away a few days.

I bought an Onkyo receiver from an online US store and being a Japanese company and manufactured in Malaysia expected to be charged duty by the brokerage company. But i wasn't. I decided not to ask Canada customs for an explanation.

Paul