Authorised Dealer Vs Grey Market Dealer

[printhardcopy]

Hello Everyone,

 

Would like to do a short survey.

 

Authorised Dealer Vs Grey Market Dealer.

 

Which one you will prefer to purchase from if price is a factor

 

1) Authorised dealer slightly more expensive, however warranty is verified ( meaning can send for repair)

2) Grey market dealer cheaper, however warranty is not verified (meaning cant send for repair)

 

Please reply by 1 or 2.

 

It will be interesting find out this poll.

Edited June 11, 2009 by printhardcopy

[Woody]

If the idea behind this is a poll, why didn't you simply set it up as one?

[printhardcopy]

I dont know how to create poll.

 

i dont know how to set.

 

maybe someone can help me ?

[dandelion]

You can add a poll if you click on the button "edit" for your first post. Look for "manage this threads poll" button below the topic boxes on the upper panel. Click the button and add your question and the alternatives. I hope this helps.

 

I dont know how to create poll.

 

i dont know how to set.

 

maybe someone can help me ?

[printhardcopy]

Done !!! Thanks Danelion. So excited. First time do this.

[Shinchan]

Hello Everyone,

 

Would like to do a short survey.

 

Authorised Dealer Vs Grey Market Dealer.

 

Which one you will prefer to purchase from if price is a factor

 

1) Authorised dealer slightly more expensive, however warranty is verified ( meaning can send for repair)

2) Grey market dealer cheaper, however warranty is not verified (meaning cant send for repair)

 

Please reply by 1 or 2.

 

It will be interesting find out this poll.

 

Hi Bill, if price difference is marginal, AD is obvious choice. But if the discount is deep, then I would go for Option 2.

[penspouse]

Hi Bill, if price difference is marginal, AD is obvious choice. But if the discount is deep, then I would go for Option 2.

 

Ditto, especially if the pen is not a real expensive one.

[Ghost Plane]

Also depends on the brands. If it's a company that stands behind its warranties like YoL, Krone, Visconti, or MB, that will make a difference.

 

But a Conklin is basically a throw away if it doesn't work, so there I'd want cheapest price.

[Richard]

A point to consider, folks:

 

If you buy from gray market, you are undermining the very existence of authorized dealers, and you might suddenly find that gray market is your only choice. Smart move? You decide.

[Richard]

A point to consider, folks:

 

If you buy from gray market, you are undermining the very existence of authorized dealers, and you might suddenly find that gray market is your only choice. Smart move? You decide.

[Richard]

Deleted duplicate post. (Too quick on the trigger.)

Edited June 11, 2009 by Richard

[jpr]

The grey market exists only because some authorized dealers do not price the product correctly.

Take away the gougers as authorized dealers and you will lessen, if not kill, the grey market.

[RandyE]

I prefer to deal with authorized dealers of anything, even when the cost difference may be high. I agree with Richard's comments above, and I am of the opinion that you get what you pay for, so I will only deal with vendors who can prove to me that they are authorized dealers. In addition, in my experience you are far more likely to develop a strong relationship of trust with those who do business openly that you are with those who are only concerned with making sales goals at any expense (especially since that cost is usually paid in the long run by the customer)

 

- Randy

[Richard]

The grey market exists only because some authorized dealers do not price the product correctly.

I'm sorry, but you don't know what you are talking about. Gray markets exist in various places for many different reasons. I'm not an economics expert, but as a moderately successful authorized dealer for six pen brands, I know a little about this business and how it works.

 

There exists a gray market in the U.S.A. for certain Pilot models that Namiki/Pilot USA chooses not to import. I've had conversations with the president of the company about this, but I have so far gotten nowhere. I brought up the décimo, pointing out that people here are buying décimos from Japanese dealers because they aren't available here. He countered with the remark that the décimo is cheap plastic, not solid metal. He said he'd have set the MSRP at $XXX.00. I responded that people like the pen precisely because it is not as heavy or fat-bodied as the regular Vanishing Point and that given his MSRP number, I could apply Pilot's own rigidly enforced pricing guidelines and sell the décimo inexpensively enough that I could ship it to a purchaser in Japan for less than that person can buy it for there. (Which means that an America purchaser could save roughly 1/6 of the pen's price by buying it in the U.S.A. from an American dealer.) I cited the current exchange rates, percentages, and shipping costs to back up my assertion. But, having proven that the décimo would be a winner here, I still can't order it.

 

For many years there was a gray market here for Pelikans because there was a ready supply of pens being made available to dealers by a German individual at prices below the prices demanded by the then-authorized U.S. distributor.

 

There was for a while a gray market here for Platinum pens. This gray market existed because Platinum was selling pens to Japanese dealers for the same prices that it was charging the U.S. distributor. These dealers were then wholesaling the pens to dealers in other countries for prices that allowed those dealers to sell the pens for less than we U.S. dealers could buy the pens for from our own distributor. The distributor was driven out of business by Platinum's own unfair pricing tactics.

 

Price-gouging dealers are a serious problem only in countries where there are no honest dealers. In any country where there are even a small number of authorized dealers who price correctly, there is no need to seek gray-market pens of the brands those dealers handle.

[Levatio]

I rather go for the authorized dealer. Grey market tipically is unreliable too and I don't like going like this: :bonk:

[Wile E Coyote]

There exists a gray market in the U.S.A. for certain Pilot models that Namiki/Pilot USA chooses not to import. I've had conversations with the president of the company about this, but I have so far gotten nowhere. I brought up the décimo, pointing out that people here are buying décimos from Japanese dealers because they aren't available here. He countered with the remark that the décimo is cheap plastic, not solid metal. He said he'd have set the MSRP at $XXX.00. I responded that people like the pen precisely because it is not as heavy or fat-bodied as the regular Vanishing Point and that given his MSRP number, I could apply Pilot's own rigidly enforced pricing guidelines and sell the décimo inexpensively enough that I could ship it to a purchaser in Japan for less than that person can buy it for there. (Which means that an America purchaser could save roughly 1/6 of the pen's price by buying it in the U.S.A. from an American dealer.) I cited the current exchange rates, percentages, and shipping costs to back up my assertion. But, having proven that the décimo would be a winner here, I still can't order it.

 

I'm surprised the president of Namiki/Pilot doesn't know from what his company's pens are made. The decimos I have are all metal, aluminum according to Rivera.

[PatientType]

Sorry, but its not as simple as an A or B vote.

 

If I'm buying a "throw away" pen, I will buy from a grey market dealer. Why? Because the risk is low and sometimes you get a great pen. I bought a Lanbatou for 99 cents plus $1.99 shipping. It writes great. Will it last forever, no. I got a Pilot TOW NOS that was $25 bucks out of pocket. It's got a great, wet, fine line and is one of my favorite writers. I wouldn't bother with the warranty should one of those pens die. I'd toss it.

 

On the other hand... If I buy a $300 Pelikan or a $150 Platinum, I will have questions before making the purchase. If something goes wrong, I want someone I can call who will provide support. And, when I'm buying a quality product I'm paying for those services as well as the pen in the box. I'll pay the few extra bucks happily because it matters to me that the person I'm dealing with knows what they're talking about and cares whether I patronize their business again.

 

I've seen nothing to indicate that authorized dealers are spiking prices or gouging the public. Many of these businesses are run by the owner. In what other line of product can you pick up the phone and talk to someone who got into the business because they love the product? Here you can. How many businesses have people engaged in sales that are truly experts in the product they sell? A surprising number of the authorized pen dealers are. A huge margin? If anything, looking at the posts and comparing what people have paid for pens, it appears that American buyers are getting a break on prices compared to it cost to get these premium pens in Europe and Asia.

 

So I vote A AND B.

Edited June 12, 2009 by PatientType

[printhardcopy]

Great so many people voice out their opinons !!!

 

As authorised dealer myself. I face alot problems from grey market dealer. Some buyer would use my name to send pen for repair and the pen is not purchase from me !!!

 

Be it price or other problem , grey market dealer pose alot problem for me.

 

Let say A grey seller from ABC country, their country consider 3rd world country , their currency is very weak and their standard of living is very low. They manage to get the same price like authorised dealer, somehow or rather.

 

They make a profit US$10. To them US$10 is alot to them cos their living standard is very low. But to US$10 to us, who stay in high level standard economy, US$10 is very little , everything in my place is so expensive.

 

It is kind of unfair to us.

 

I really hope pelikan international can really invesigate this issue deeply. Competition is fine but certain stuff need to done properly.

 

 

[BerneseMtDogEatsArco]

I just had to play this game when buying my Omega Speedmaster (referenced only to get the point across that this beautiful lump'o metal on my wrist will eventually require service). The watch is priced somewhere between "are you kidding?" and "there goes the mortgage" (to me, that is, since I'm used to an ancient mechanical Bulova from my dad's college days).

 

Grey market dealers were offering great prices, but for something that should be with me for a very long time, I truly feel happy to both support the brand that I am investing in, and to have the full backing of the manufacturer.

Edited June 12, 2009 by BerneseMtDogEatsArco

[Deirdre]

There are only two situations where I'd go greymarket:

 

1) Model not imported into the US

2) Model discontinued and authorized dealer sources (readily searchable ones anyway) have dried up

 

As Richard points out, I want to keep authorized sellers in business. In general, I prefer brick-and-mortar to online.