decooney: Unless a company is the only "game in town" I will not buy from them. anyone worthy of my business absolutely must at a "minimum" meet the key elements that you mentioned and then some.
There are way too many options out there to compromise on "anything" in life.
I give people the benefit of the doubt but once a company screws me, they do not get a second chance from me. As far as audio equipment is concerned, Schitt and TEAC are two of those.
Maybe one day some of those companies will stop being so greedy and realize that there are those out there, including myself, that are more than willing to pay a premium to get good service, as opposed to trying to save a few bucks. You can't put a price tag on time wasted. Time can't be replaced!