Grey Markets

[bunta71]

Grey markets were mentioned by our soon to be neighbor coming from India. I PM'd him to ask about..what it is? He explained that it is a market where electronics could be purchased at extremely discounted prices. Anyone know if such a thing exists around here?It seems he said most things came with no guarantee, but TIT and most guarantees aren't worth the thin paper they are written on. The whole thing sounds like something to avoid but then that intrigues me

[tigerbeer]

Grey markets were mentioned by our soon to be neighbor coming from India. I PM'd him to ask about..what it is? He explained that it is a market where electronics could be purchased at extremely discounted prices. Anyone know if such a thing exists around here?It seems he said most things came with no guarantee, but TIT and most guarantees aren't worth the thin paper they are written on. The whole thing sounds like something to avoid but then that intrigues me

goods smuggled in comes to mind when grey market is mentioned.

[iainiain101]

The unofficial trading that takes place in Initial Publc Offerings (IPOs), prior to the first day of official trading is referred to as the 'Grey Market'. This is more accessable to the general public now through Spread Betting (Contract for Difference [CFD]) firms.

If from the UK, you may recall that issues such as BT would be priced at say 110p per share, and on the news would be descibed as trading at 130-132 on the 'Grey Market', indicating a premium when trading began officially.

Iain

[p1p]

Mae Sai!

[swain]

Grey markets were mentioned by our soon to be neighbor coming from India. I PM'd him to ask about..what it is? He explained that it is a market where electronics could be purchased at extremely discounted prices. Anyone know if such a thing exists around here?It seems he said most things came with no guarantee, but TIT and most guarantees aren't worth the thin paper they are written on. The whole thing sounds like something to avoid but then that intrigues me

goods smuggled in comes to mind when grey market is mentioned.

Myanmar is what springs to mind when you talk about grey markets. Knock-offs from china.. They have begun to knock off bigger ticket items. Nokia phones like the N-95, satellite dish receivers like the dream box. Everytime I go there there is more and more stuff like this. One of the latest knock-offs are apple ipods and their mp4 players. This seems like the only grey market areas I know of close to Chiang Mai... Mae sai is the Thai town on the border, you can cross for shopping with a visa for 10 dollars. A lot of what I see down there you can find up here as well, if you look for it but at twice the price.

Edited June 22, 2008 by swain

[LeungKen]

'

Is this the grey market you mean ?......

[iainiain101]

Surely Mae sai should be refferred to as a 'Black Market'?

..The underground economy or black market is a market consisting of all commerce on which applicable taxes and/or regulations of trade are being avoided.

[Puwa]

Black market means trade in contraband or heavily restricted items where trade is technically illegal: drugs, guns, people, endangered species; or currencies which are not in themselves illegal but are restricted by trading laws.

Grey market means trade that is not technically illegal but involving merchandise that has reached the market in unconventional ways. For example, trade in electronics produced for another market, say Hong Kong, but resold here in Thailand outside the official distributor network, without warranties etc. The products are genuine. It's not illegal, but there may be objections. Formal distributors may have a civil claim against grey market resellers for infringing on exclusive distribution rights, but probably in most cases they do not.

Counterfeit goods are something else entirely, clearly illegal on the basis of fraud and IP infringement.

I think most electronics and computer malls in Thailand have a mixture of regular and grey-market goods.

Edited June 22, 2008 by Puwa

[Steve2UK]

In the UK, at least, "grey market" also refers to goods (e.g. appliances, cars etc) being imported into and sold in a territory (market) where there is no official distribution by the manufacturer - and no manufacturer support for it. Such goods are genuine - just not intended for that particular market. They can be cheaper than the local (official) equivalent - often because manufacturers tend to try and price their officially distributed goods at whatever price the local market will bear.

Edit: While I was typing, Puwa put it in better detail

Edited June 22, 2008 by Steve2UK

[bunta71]

Looks like my front porch..appreciate someone else with an apparent sense of humor. Kinda rare on this forum

[raybona]

Puwa, you are 100% correct, and like you said, just go into one of these shops an ask for a product, and then ask howmuch you have to pay for the same from the grey.

Swain, you go shopping in Mae Sai, and cross the border into Myanmar, but what happens when you enter Thailand again, don't you have to pay duty on your cheap products?

[bunta71]

Puwa, you are 100% correct, and like you said, just go into one of these shops an ask for a product, and then ask howmuch you have to pay for the same from the grey.

Swain, you go shopping in Mae Sai, and cross the border into Myanmar, but what happens when you enter Thailand again, don't you have to pay duty on your cheap products?

We are in that part of the world where inconsistencies are always consistent. Maybe they will stop you and make you pay as they could,maybe they won't. Never personally been even checked for ANYTHING coming back through at Mae Sai. Perhaps the mystery of what may happen works to their advantadge....

[dotcom]

You are somewhat mistaken regarding buying good in Thailand under warranty.

Most of these are multi-national companies & they do honor their warranties.

Read the gentlemans report today regarding a DELL computer. Title" Lost my D drive.

I had a Sealey mattress for 14 years. A spring came loose. They came to my houyse to get it. Gave me a loaner mattress, basically rebuilt my mattress from the ground up & then delivered it. Free of charge. I was impressed. When purchased it came with a 15 year guarantee.

[bunta71]

You are somewhat mistaken regarding buying good in Thailand under warranty.

Most of these are multi-national companies & they do honor their warranties.

Read the gentlemans report today regarding a DELL computer. Title" Lost my D drive.

I had a Sealey mattress for 14 years. A spring came loose. They came to my houyse to get it. Gave me a loaner mattress, basically rebuilt my mattress from the ground up & then delivered it. Free of charge. I was impressed. When purchased it came with a 15 year guarantee.

You are extremely lucky as the other poster is...most of the warranties are not honored. That has been my experience. Sealy is indeed a good company and some are in business as long as they have been due to their honor. Matter of fact I need a new mattress and will look at some Sealey

[FolkGuitar]

You are somewhat mistaken regarding buying good in Thailand under warranty.

Most of these are multi-national companies & they do honor their warranties.

Read the gentlemans report today regarding a DELL computer. Title" Lost my D drive.

I had a Sealey mattress for 14 years. A spring came loose. They came to my houyse to get it. Gave me a loaner mattress, basically rebuilt my mattress from the ground up & then delivered it. Free of charge. I was impressed. When purchased it came with a 15 year guarantee.

Wow! That IS good service. I had some problems with a Nikon F5 film camera 6-7 years ago. I wore out the shutter assembly, but it was still under warranty, "International Warranty" that I paid extra for in the US so I sent it Nikon Thailand in Bangkok for replacement. They would NOT honor the warranty. They did do good replacement work, but I had to pay several hundred US dollars for it.

[justcruisin]

Grey markets were mentioned by our soon to be neighbor coming from India. I PM'd him to ask about..what it is? He explained that it is a market where electronics could be purchased at extremely discounted prices. Anyone know if such a thing exists around here?It seems he said most things came with no guarantee, but TIT and most guarantees aren't worth the thin paper they are written on. The whole thing sounds like something to avoid but then that intrigues me

I have purchased 3 phones in Laos at different times,all purporting to be Nokia.

Presumably Chinese copies

Each one purchased also had free to air television (and cable) capability,surprisingly good too,but I am not aware that Nokia do make a phone with this feature?

The last one purchased a month ago is a Nokia N95,never had a problem with any of them,of course there is no warranty.Not a huge deal if the outlay is 4000B or less brand new.

[tipsy]

Grey markets were mentioned by our soon to be neighbor coming from India. I PM'd him to ask about..what it is? He explained that it is a market where electronics could be purchased at extremely discounted prices. Anyone know if such a thing exists around here?It seems he said most things came with no guarantee, but TIT and most guarantees aren't worth the thin paper they are written on. The whole thing sounds like something to avoid but then that intrigues me

I have purchased 3 phones in Laos at different times,all purporting to be Nokia.

Presumably Obviously Chinese copies

Each one purchased also had free to air television (and cable) capability,surprisingly good too,but I am not aware that Nokia do make a phone with this feature?

The last one purchased a month ago is a Nokia N95,never had a problem with any of them,of course there is no warranty.Not a huge deal if the outlay is _^4000B or less brand new.

Edited June 25, 2008 by tipsy

[Johpa]

There is this small US company called Ebay which allows people to buy and sell goods without obtaining licenses and without much regulation and without paying any taxes. It has become the largest gray market on the planet. An associated small company called Paypal has become a de facto gray market bank.