I’m a proud user of an 11gen batch5 Framework laptop that was brought to my country via mail forwarder about one year ago.
That time, Framework representative warned me about associated risks, no warranty, etc., but I agreed to take the risk nevertheless. In my country official support even for localized brands is… questionable, to say the least. So, in some sense it’s Russian roulette anyway.
Luckily, so far everything worked for me like a charm. But now I want to upgrade my 11gen mainboard and buy some extra expansion cards.
The question is: can I still use mail forwarder to deliver upgrade parts from Germany to my country? As I said above, I do understand that I will not have official support and warranty, but that’s OK.
I’m asking because I’m not sure if such an order would be dispatched in the first place. It could easily be that Framework simply would not ship the order to mitigate the risk on their side.
I wouldn’t do it, but for reference, this should be helpful.
If you are really up for it, go for it, but that would be too risky for me, I can’t spend thousands of $ on something that might probably break and I have no warranty whatsoever.
Well, since you understand the risk…just do it. If Framework refuses to ship you your order, then logically the order will be refunded and you have lost nothing but the time spent placing the order. If you place the order and it gets lost or issues with customs arise…then you already knew that going in and have (I assume) already made peace with the idea of losing money on the transaction.
I am an electrical engineer and have 30 years of experience with computer electronics. So I can say that I know what I do.
As for other stuff I said already, when buying consumer electronics here on local markets there is always risk that if something breaks you would have to wait for months to get it fixed by an authorized service and they would do everything to claim that it’s your fault and it’s not subject for a guarantee. Given the quality of service it’s often easier for me to repair stuff myself.
@Korvin It is more likely that there will be an issue with customs. It has happened in the past. Don’t ask me to find the post because I can’t remember where I saw it but as the linked article mentions, FW will not help with customs issues for customers using freight forwarders. Do you accept that risk? If yes, then proceed, if no, then don’t. If you know somebody in a supported region who will forward something for you, even better.
Please note that freight forwarding is strongly discouraged no matter the risk, and it may cause legal issues with FW. I also believe we are no longer allowed to discuss freight forwarding.