Grey market imports being sold as original/genuine...

• 

  _Bruce_ on 20/02/2012 - 15:57

  This is a big issue with our internet connected global economy that people and businesses are still trying to work out. There are lots of factors which make it less than straight forward:

  • Are the electrical or radio standards the same everywhere? This matters for both conformance and compatibility.

  • How do returns work when the product may not be the local variant.

  • How do traditional distribution deals work if the retailer can be ignored?

  • How do exclusive deals (extra content, special editions) work?

  In the long term I think this is a great thing for consumers, but there is a rough road ahead, particularly as distributors fight to keep their traditional market space.

• 

  sane on 20/02/2012 - 16:18

  +7

  Err, by definition, a genuine part is genuine…..

  'Grey' is loaded term designed to protect a national distributors obscene profit margin.

• 

  goingDHfast on 20/02/2012 - 16:25

  Genuine to me means it definitely meets all Australian Standards…

  • 

    scrimshaw on 20/02/2012 - 17:00

    +1

    That bike GPS is made overseas - therefore it is not genuine? That doesn't make sense.

    • 

      Phesto on 20/02/2012 - 17:35

      As in it complies with australian product standards and regulations…

      • 

        cwongtech on 20/02/2012 - 19:36

        That just means it is compliant with Australian Standards and sold through an Australian Distributor, it doesn't mean its not genuine.
        They both came out of the same factory, just that one was for another region (hence different language text), and through to Australia, there are much more expensive middlemen.

• 

  YaBigGoose on 20/02/2012 - 19:43

  The majority of games I see in EB Games (at least, around my area) now are imported.

  Yet they cost just the same as 'Australian Retail' copies.
  And also they do not declare they are imports, just whack an Australian rating sticker over it.

  Bit of a poor show there.

  • 

    goingDHfast on 20/02/2012 - 20:26

    Yeah I think most people don't mind buying a grey import but to see them the same price as middleman imported "white market" goods just feels like I'm getting ripped off. If I want grey market imports I will buy from eBay at half price, at least give me some discount!

  • 

    andy19363 on 20/02/2012 - 20:36

    I suspect many manufacturers make packaging as generic as possible these days…. a sticker will cost much less than printed packaging for a, (fairly small), Aussie market.

    I think if it's the same product, same warranty, standards, etc etc, it's not really relevant where it's sourced, to the consumer…. they pay the price on the ticket. It might make a difference to the retailer in terms of profit…. but I would imagine it might be a risky strategy.

  • 

    wartortle on 20/02/2012 - 22:04

    Not entirely true on EB Games there. You'll find it's actually the distributors who are cutting costs by not actually printing a slick with an Australian rating on it, which is why it's stickered. This is especially apparent with games they believe aren't going to be "big" titles, as it cuts costs by using european stock and just slapping a sticker on it. Recent examples would be the first release of Batman: Arkham Asylum, Earth Defense Force and the Metal Gear Solid HD collection.

    Most of the stuff that JB and EB import directly themselves they sell as 'pre-owned'. Even though it isn't actually second hand, they do this so that they don't piss off the big distributors like EA, Sony and Activision by going through their overseas counterparts.

  • 

    SKiZO on 21/02/2012 - 19:56

    I noticed Costco also sells xbox games brought in from UK as well.

• 

  Geewhizz on 21/02/2012 - 07:46

  +1

  Just because it has Chinese writing on it doesn't make it a grey import - parallel import more likely. Made overseas under license from the company.

  With purchases from Ebay though, it's probably an entirely different story.

• 

  goingDHfast on 21/02/2012 - 09:44

  Another example is the pallets of Gillette razor blades that have been on here about half price I think. Is this a private company sourcing the cheapest razors from foreign markets and then bringing in a container full to sell fast at relatively thin margins? Ie if you sell 10,000 packets quickly/online you only need to make 1-2 dollars per pack for a very nice weekly profit…

  I just hope our government doesn't react to this trend by making it harder to import "grey market" products thus ruining the fun for consumers.

• 

  Jabba the Hutt on 21/02/2012 - 09:59

  On the one hand, the consumer wins with the option of cheaper goods. On the other hand, when it's no longer a safe assumption that a product is from "official" channels, extra due diligence requirements are piled onto the consumer who wants to make an informed choice.

  For me, the main issue is the lack of robust disclosure. While one can often get a good feel for things based on experience, at online stores it's often been a pain in the arse to establish conclusively what a product's origin is - very often it's not explicit, but must be inferred. Seems little different in the bricks-and-mortar context. In your case it may have been a no-brainer, but it's not uncommon for boxes to have a more balanced mix of English and other languages, so language isn't a reliable cue. It may depend on the customer having some sort of familiarity with the boxes used in different markets for a particular product, or asking the salesperson and relying on the answer being correct.