What happens when the stylus tip wears out on a $12,000 cartridge?

You can buy 10 or 12 very nice cartridges for the same money that would probably sound 90 to 95 percent as good. That way you have very many spares to last a lifetime. 

@elliottbnewcombjr I highly doubt, lets say, a denon dl 103 with a spherical/conical stylus is going to be considered worn out or near worn out at 150 hours. 

A potential problem with forgoing an official rebuild from the manufacturer and going with a third party retip service instead is that if/when you really do need a rebuild (for the other internals, etc) the OEM might not want to touch it if a third party worked on it before.

I have two Lyra Atlas Lambda (SL + Mono) and accept that I am on the hook for costly rebuild when the time comes. I might do a 3rd party retip with a $3K cartridge, but not with these.

@elliottbnewcombjr I highly doubt, lets say, a denon dl 103 with a spherical/conical stylus is going to be considered worn out or near worn out at 150 hours. 
 

The Denon 103 is also a nude conical, which puts it a significant cut above the typical (crappy) bonded conical. 

@dwette It is your choice of how to achieve extended usage of a owned Cart'.

When any method is adopted such as Manufacturer or Third Party Service, there are Key Words to be considered. 

Words such as ' Equivalent Part' is commonly seen in a description. 

Equivalent not identical, for many many Cart's returned for refurbishment, they will be returned as a variant of the original one supplied. 

J Carr has on another occasion made it known there is one Cart' in Lyra's range that is rebuilt as like for like. This not typical, as fragile parts deteriorate over time in storage as well as in use as the intended function. 

I have seen dampers looking like a half eaten ring donut, as a result of UV exposure. Which Cart's mounted are totally protected from UV?