Why gadgets sold online are cheaper compared to mall prices

[m.garz]

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Here's an article explaining why Gadgets sold online are cheaper compared to mall prices..


Why international gadgets don’t have local warranty


I often get these types of questions from readers — why is a gadget, that’s bought in other countries (HK, SG, US) not supported for repairs and warranty in the Philippines? Well, it turns out it’s all about the economics.
There’s a supply chain that is normally followed when a product is introduced in the country. Normally, brands would not bring their products in the a region if they do not have a local distributor.

Distributors play a huge role as they are basically the ones that somewhat bank-roll the introduction of the products to the country. Oftentimes, there’s only one distributor for an entire brand. Sometimes, if it’s a huge brand, there could be two distributors (Nokia has two huge distributors in the country).
Remember the time when only Dell laptops are available in the Philippines but not the Dell smartphones? It’s because the distributor was only carrying the laptops. Dell had to look for another distributor for the phones before they can introduce them (ended up with MSI-ECS) locally.
Once the distributor orders in bulk and imports them from the home countries (normally it’s in Taiwan, China, South Korea or Japan), it will distribute the products to its network of dealers. Popular dealers like VillMan, PC Express, Octagon, Complink are the ones that you see often in the malls but there are actually more in the provinces that we haven’t heard of.



Sometimes, one of the dealers will also be asked by the brands to put up a concept store. So the next time you see a concept store by Asus, Samsung, Western Digital or Sony, try to figure out who’s the dealer behind the store.

Normally, dealers who run the concept stores get some marketing budget. Some would also get 50-50 share in the construction cost of the store itself.
For warranty, the dealers also serve as a de facto service center. This is the reason why if your device has a defect, you just need to bring it to the store you bought it (along with the receipt) for repairs or replacement.
The least a store can do is receive your item and then refer it to the distributor. This is the reason why sometimes it takes weeks before your product is inspected, repaired, serviced, replaced and returned. Depending on the capacity of the distributor, pick-ups and delivery to that store may only happen once or twice a week.



If the product line is already strong and the volume of units sold can justify it, the distributor will also put up its own stand-alone service center.

As such, to protect the business of the distributor and dealers, they will only receive items you actually bought from them. These are the units which are eligible for local warranty. Otherwise, they might also accept grey units but you’ll have to pay for it.

The reason is now pretty clear:

● The distributor is only responsible for specific products that it actually imported and sold to dealers. This is why serial numbers, warranty cards or ORs are used to track them.

● Distributors will incur cost for warranty claims. It could be from cost manpower for repairs, cost of shipments for returns and replacements or cost of parts.

● Products bought elsewhere are considered loss of sales opportunity for the distributor so not only do they not want to provide warranty for it, they also consider it competition.

● This is the reason why grey market units or parallel imports are way cheaper than the mall prices of the devices — the prices do not account for replacement warranty and they did not invest in infrastructure for repairs and services.

● So, even if your unit is still covered by international warranty, the local service center will eventually charge for repairs. This is the only way the local distributor can recoup and maintain operation of their business.
How about international warranty?

Most brands or manufacturers will offer international warranty if local warranty is not available. This means that wherever you bought your gadgets, it will be serviced, repaired or fixed by the international service center.
The international service center is usually stationed in regional hubs like Singapore, the United States or Japan.
So yes, you can have your BlackBerry Bold 9900 handset which you bought in the US or that Canon S100 camera you bought in Hong Kong repaired from the factory defects. Thing is, you have to send it back to the originating country to do so (the distributor there will honor it). That’s how the ball rolls.
There’s economics at play in this distribution ecosystem. Some may have a different system but based on numerous conversations we’ve had with dealers, distributors and manufacturers, this is normally how it goes (the only exception I know of is Apple). Hope this simple explanation helps.

source: Why international gadgets don’t have local warranty | YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews

[m.garz]

to quote a member from tcp who bought his sgs3 online:

My update about my damaged SIII that has NO NTC Seal - thus NO Legit Samsung Warranty:


Around 2pm yesterday, I received a text message from Samsung Service Center MOA about my damaged SIII and they said that after series of test - they found out that the problem of my damaged SIII is that the motherboard is totally not working, and on the sms I received they indicated the amount for them to fix my damaged SIII, and it will cost me Php18,695.00 (motherboard) + Php 1,000.00 (labor/diagnostic fee).

I called Samsung Service Center MOA right away and I looked for the technician who assisted me before, and he said na "Total DeadBoot na ung motherboard, kailangan palitan motherboard para mapagana ulit".. then I asked if may discount ba sila pwedeng ibigay sa akin asi masyadong mahal and sabi is discounted na daw ung Php18,695.00 ng 15% at pwede pa raw niya kausapin manager niya na wala ng charge na Php1000.00 for labor fee if ipapagawa ko na daw agad. Payments pala is thru electronic transfer sa bank account ng Samsung Service Center MOA branch. While talking to the technician and listening to his explanation, nasabi ko na lang "Pag isipan ko muna, daanan ko na lang SIII ko maya".. So after my work shift, I went straight to Samsung Service Center MOA para makita mismo ng dalawa mata ko ung mga info na inExplain sa akin ng technician over the phone.

So at the Samsung Service Center MOA, dinemo sa akin mga tests na ginawa ng technician as what I requested din. Ung battery, usb cable, plug ng SIII ko tinest nila sa 2 SIII nila and its all working... at ung battery, usb cable, plug ng 2 SIII nila tinest nila sa SIII ko and are not all working pero before nila tinest un sa SIII ko ay tinest nila sa mga 2 SIII nila in front of me to prove that they are not faking. In other words, ung 2 SIII ng Samsung Service Center MOA are all in good condition and battery, usb cable, plug ng SIII ko are all in good working condition but my SIII (damaged SIII) is the one that is not really working. Then, inOpen nila ung SIII ko para mapakita ung motherboard ng SIII ko - at your first glance parang walang problem ung motherborad pero nung ginamitan ng device ng technician (di ko alam what exactly tawag dun kasi di ko na din inask - parang microscope scanner na makikita mo sa monitor ung iniiscan ng device na un), meron parang marka ung internal parts na nakadikit sa motherboard na nagCause na total deadboot na ung motherboard, and they have the photograph of those marks sa PC nila na isasama nila sa report nila to be submitted sa Samsung PH Main attached sa copy nila ng Job Order Form issued to me. And also, dinouble check din pala ng Head Technician nila ung SIII before they informed me na 'total deadboot' ang SIII ko kasi gusto makasigurado ng technician na tama lahat ng ginawa niya na malaman problem ng SIII ko.

Sabi ng technician, considered as 'Factory Defect' daw un. IF AND ONLY daw na MERON NTC SEAL ang unit ko, resolution nila is 'unit replacement' agad or 'money back' (depende kung ano daw gusto ko), kasi as of now wala palang available na motherboard ng SIII dito sa Pinas and it would take time for them to order it abroad so either 'unit replacement' agad or 'money back' magiging resolution nila sa case ko para hindi daw ako maghintay ng matagal at ayaw din nila papaghintayin ng matagal ang mga customer nila. and since WALANG NTC SEAL ang unit ko then they can only repair at the price quoted for my SIII + it would take time for them to fix it kasi iOorder pa daw nila abroad then idedeliver sa Samsung PH Main Office for quality check pa ulit saka idedeliver sa MOA Branch. They asked my decision last night if ipapagawa ko daw ba para maEmail na daw nila ung order but I decided na hindi na lang ipagawa dahil masyadong mahal + time consuming pa (para na akong bumili ng bagong cellphone ulit)... at di ko din nagustuhan ung warranty ng Samsung dun sa motherboard na ipapalit kasi ung parts warranty daw na ipapalit is only 3months warranty from the time that it was installed (So sa madaling salita if after 3months nasira ulit ung motherboard - wala ng warranty so another Php18,695.00 na naman).

Right now, ung damaged SIII ko is nasa box na lang. Sobrang sayang, at nakakapanghinayang. This is a BIG lesson that I've learned na sa kakatipid ko sa kakarampot na halaga ay lalo pa akong napamahal sa gastos + sakit pa sa ulo ang inabot na perwisyo. Nang dahil sa WALANG NTC SEAL - WALANG 'Legit' Samsung Warranty ang SIII ko, lalo ako napamahal sa gastos. Imbes na makatipid sa pagbili ng unit sa grey market, lalo pa lang mapapamahal pag nasira ang unit. Mas mabuti ngang bumili na lang ng unit na MERON NTC SEAL kahit mahal kumpara sa mga units na galing sa grey market - atleast SIGURADONG may warranty ka naman. Mabuti ng 'wag magtipid o 'wag maging barat sa cellphone na siguradong MERON 'Legit' Samsung Warranty (unit should have NTC SEAL, receipt as proof of purchase kahit di naka-Name sa'yo, and Has within 1Year Samsung Warranty for parts and services).

[m.garz]

kasagaran ani nila walay NTC Sticker mao barato

[Peeyar]

asa makita ang ntc seal?

[PaulG]

Another reason is that online gadgets are sometimes grey market items, items that are purchased elsewhere cheaper and are sold locally. Authorized distributor are also required to sell their items at the manufacturer's authorized selling price to protect profit margins.

But its not just gadgets, case in point are the pharmaceutical companies, same medicines produced by the same companies sold in other countries that are cheaper by 10x compared to their prices here in the Philippines. boils down to profits.

[wonsters]

Price difference between grey and local dealers would range from 5k-10k. that would be enough to cover the defective parts if ever, except the motherboard, pagkamalas nlng gyd ang motherboard pa gyd ang guba.

[m.garz]

di gyud ta kaingon sa malas bro ..

[Jake_24]

kasagaran online gud wla ni agi ug costums mao wlay tax....mao barato........nya direct pod kuha sa supplier mao ginagmay ra patong......

[lord-lord-lord]

ky mahal ra mn gyd ang mall price mao makaingon ta barato online.. hehehe..

[silver38pistol]

actually no additional tax for every transaction compare to mall almost triple or more pa ang tax na napatung... kaya pag abot consumer cya moy mag suffer sa tanang tax na gi patung/.