Lastly, given the increased global interest in Framework, our mission, and the Framework Laptop, we’re seeing a significant increase in attempts to freight forward our product to countries outside of our officially supported country list.
I am pleased (but maybe the Framework team not as much? hehe) to share that I am one of these people. Very happy customer from the Philippines and I had just received my Batch 6 DIY kit a few hours ago via freight forwarder. The entire process took 18 days with no major complications, except for some slight delays due to Omicron.
As mentioned by others, I was fully aware that such delivery is unsupported by Framework and should I proceed, I would be on my own. This and the (relative) lack of aftersales support are risks I am willing to take for several reasons:
- Shipped and with taxes, the Framework laptop I built was still cheaper than buying a similar spec’d laptop locally. My i5/16GB/1TB build finally turned out at $1180 with freight forwarding. A local laptop with the same specifications, if available in the first place, would be at least $1500.
- Warranty service in the Philippines is frustratingly slow and inefficient. It is common for authorized service centers to give 30-90 day timelines and have very limited warranty replacement options anyway. Even if within warranty, devices are often replaced at prohibitive costs unless the problem is a proven factory defect.
- Given the poor service situation locally, there’s not much difference anyway. I am also very careful with my laptops and I typically don’t break anything within the first year of warranty coverage.
- Ordering spare parts from Framework is very easy anyway and I hope to use freight forwarding just the same.
In the end, I am extremely happy with my purchase. Admittedly, there were risks and that kind of risk is not for everyone. Nevertheless, the laptop is working fantastic, I am supporting a good cause and I am saving money along the way.
Thanks, Framework and more power to you! Mabuhay from the Philippines!