I think I’m about to treat myself to pair of Bose headphones. Does anyone know how they deal with warranty issues? Is it like Garmin, where they deal with the customer directly, or do they insist on going through the retailer? I’m asking because the model I want is 10-20% cheaper on eBay than amazon, but I’m not sure I can risk dealing with some of the eBay sellers.

I had a set of flaky Soundsport wireless headphones. Contacted them direct, sent them back, they sent me a new set inside a week. Quality support.

Same here, had a problem with wireless speaker. Customer services were spot on.

Wanted to charge me £120 for a repair to a sounddock (the charging input was faulty). I bought a different manufacturer’s equivalent for £100 and it’s lasted twice as long so far.

overpriced shite as far as I am concerned.

Lifestyle overpriced shite

Never any problems on any consumer or pro gear.

Outstanding service.

I was given a pair of Quiet Comforts back in 2008, and they were showing wear on the ear cushions and the head band. I took them to the Bose shop and was asked to leave them so they could fix them up – went back two days later and was given a brand new set of headphones. No idea why – didn’t want them to change their mind.

So, an operationally faultless but clearly used pair of headphones were exchanged for brand new ones, with no receipts or proof of purchase or any such.

I’ve not long since bought a new pair of Quiet Comforts and they’ve leapt ahead in the decade. My wife now has my old ones.

I am a Bose fan as a consequence.

Ive had three pairs of quiet comforts, no problems with any, one pair were bought second hand.

all worked perfectly, latest ones were an xmas pressie off my mum, which prompted the old pair to be handed down to the bil.

i also have a pair of soundsport bluetooth earbuds, I wouldn’t bother with those again, too bulky, although they do sound good.

expensive, but mostly worth it imo.

no warranty experience though.

My dad bought some headphones second hand, maybe 10 months old or something, had them for well over a year, so well outside warranty. The cushioned parts started flaking away consistent with menothim’s experience so he enquired about getting them repaired and they sent him a set of new headphones. Can’t grumble with that!

My dad’s a bit of a Bose fanboy and has had no issues with his kit so far apart from the headphone thing. I’ve had a pair of QC25’s for about a year now and hammered them as I travel alot with my job and they’ve not missed a beat. Alot of people on forums moan about them and how ‘flimsy’ Bose stuff is, but those tall tales don’t stand upto my dad’s over 20 years of experience of their gear and I suspect they’re just heavy handed and break their gear and expect Bose to cover their kack handidness. They’re not daft and know what abuse looks like and I’m pretty sure they’d honour something that was a genuine issue with their product.

Had excellent customer service from them regarding some 40+ yr old speakers.

I had a pair of QC25s and the sound started going in one cup.  They were out of warranty so i gave them to my step father & said if he could fix them, he could have them.  He contacted BOSE and all they wanted for a replacement was the serial number of them.  He sent them away & got a replacement sent out.  Meantime I bought a pair of Sony MDR-100ABN bluetooth noise cancellers and have to confess that they sound better with a more balanced sound but the noise cancelling isn’t as effective as on the BOSE QC25

I would imagine that they make so much margin on their kit that they should be able to provide decent service.

I had a pair of headphones that were out of warranty but the cable near the jack had developed a fault. They are the best I have ever used for running. Contacted their customer service and they weren’t interested. Made it clear I would be happy to pay for repair (or maybe buy a replacement with a possible discount) Dismissive and uninterested. Ended up getting a repair from somewhere else.

My experience matches that of surfer’s. I have a pair of noise cancelling Bose headphones, but only because their NC is industry leading, not because I expect great customer service or sound quality.

Thanks guys – its the NC that I really want them for, so I think I’ll take the plunge

Good move. You can expect good customer service and excellent sound quality. Might not be THE BEST SOUND QUALITY IN THE WORLD, but they’re right up there and excellent by any measure you want to apply.  Alot of people get sound quality mixed up with sound preference…some headphones are more bass’y than others for example, you might prefer that or not, but that is nothing to do with sound quality. The Bose headphone sound quality is excellent.

With a John Lewis purchase you’ll get a 2 years warranty anyway, surely worth the extra 10% and peace of mind you’ll get Vs an eBay shop anyway?

I bought some AE2s recently and they have been a revelabrev over the Senheiser and AKG headsets before.

Again no specific warranty experience, but JL are great with warranty from experience of non Bose stuff.

Again no specific warranty experience, but JL are great with warranty from experience of non Bose stuff.

I once accidentally took something back to JL that hadn’t been bought there and they didn’t even sell, and still got a no quibble replacement. 😳

I bought some QC headphones in the USA and they warrantied them in the UK with no questions asked.

I bought a Soundtouch Portable (speaker thingy) and it was a pile of shite. Bose warrantied it half a dozen times. Eventually I gave up sending it back and asked for my money back from John Lewis – who refused – not even a partial refund. So Bose stepped in and sent me a different model instead.