What are grey or parallel imports?

This is when an importer finds the same product over seas from a supplier and imports it directly bypassing legitimate local distribution channels. Dodgy sellers will do this as a means to pay less tax, get lower priced goods, or if they are unable to get access to normal distribution channels because they do not meet the requirements as an authorised reseller.  Parallel imports can quite often lead to sellers ending up with copies of the original product often without their knowledge.

Have you tried saving money buy purchasing a Cisco product on eBay from Hong Kong?  Have you asked yourself why it is so cheap?  One of the most commonly copied products is the Linksys PAP2T which is also imported and sold in Australia as a genuine product!

Here are some general rules to follow when purchasing your network/computer equipment to ensure you are purchasing legitimate equipment

1 – ask if the seller purchases from an Australian distributor

2 – ensure the product is brand new with Australian warranty

3 – make sure the product is delivered in brand new packaging with all Australian accessories

4 – after receiving your product if you aren’t sure simply contact the manufacturer within Australia as they can check any serial number for you

In Australia all computer parts and hardware prices are controlled to the point that if you are paying well under the odds, chances are pretty good you are purchasing a product not meant to be sold in our market place.  At Warcom we hear horror story after horror story… just the other day someone came to us because a SNOM M3 they bought from the competition which was sold as brand new but delivered in a brown box and with a UK power adapter!  When they confronted the company about issues with connecting to their legitimate Australian hardware they were told the problem is with them and they weren’t interested in offering too much assistance.

A company I previously worked for was trying to save money and purchased some PAP2T’s on eBay – 3 of them.  Of the 3 only 2 worked and we had to send them back to Hong Kong for a refund.  After all the time and money wasted on buying dodgy products to save money we ended up losing out and purchased directly from Warcom.

So yes, you might save a few bucks but in the long run you could end up spending quite a bit more – especially if something goes wrong.  As always, everything we sell is sourced from local hard working suppliers with full Australian warranties and brand new. No used yumcha here folks!

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 19th, 2010 at 10:20 am and is filed under warcom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.