Is the warranty based on the date of manufacture and when was that date?

Many sellers state their item comes with a one, two, five or even a ten year warranty. That's from the manufacturer, not the seller. Yes, you do have the eBay Buyers Guarantee but that is for a limited time and scope only. After that limited time you want to be able to rely on the warranty that the seller told you about, and that may appear on the packaging you received with the item. Therein lies the problem in four separate and distinct areas. 1. Is the warranty based on the date of manufacture and when was that date? Many sellers are selling old items that they buy at garage sales, other auction sites, reselling what they buy on eBay or pulling those old items out of storage from the attic or garage. They may well be long out of the warranty before it's sold to you. If you don't have the original sales receipt, you're likely out of luck with warranty issues. 2. Does the manufacturer require the original proof of purchase receipt? If you have a defective product and can't submit a valid ORIGINAL sales receipt, you likely will end up with a defective product with no recourse but paying to have it repaired out of your own pocket. How many sales on eBay provide you with an original sales receipt for old merchandise? 3. Is the warranty simply outdated? I recently bought an item exactly the same as one I had about 5 years ago, and it comes with a 5 year warranty. It was dusty and obviously sat somewhere for quite awhile. I checked with the manufacturer and found it has not been produced for almost 5 years, making that 5 year warranty almost useless, especially since it is battery powered. The battery may last awhile but surely not 5 more years. Luckily I know how to change it but again, the 5 year warranty means little on a discontinued product nearing the end of its service life. 4. Is the warranty exclusive to the original purchaser only? Many items have warrantees that extend protection to the "original purchaser" or owner and not to any subsequent owners. You could buy an item days after it was purchased by another person, and if they register it or the receipt is in their name, and you then need to claim repairs or replacement under a warranty, it will likely be denied as you are not the original owner. This information is simply meant to take all these warrantees being bantered about with a grain of salt and recognize them for what they are. If you have a company representative or authorized distributor selling a product, you should have protection against future warranty claims. But a person selling you a Rolex, no matter how genuine, without the original receipt, and without you reading the warranty terms closely, is not doing you any favors, no matter how good the price if the watch suddenly stops and requires factory service. Caveat Emptor - Buyer Beware when things seem to be too good to be true, they usually are.