And grey market pricing is often better on some goods. Take cameras. You can save hundreds on buying a grey market Nikon over one that is "authorized."
How can I identify grey market dealers/websites?
- Thread starter FaithC
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flots am
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If you want quality, make sure you buy from a company that accepts returns.
The only reason a company accepts returns is that they're pretty sure you'll be happy and won't return it.
Whether or not you purchase gray market products is complicated.
Items like regulators & BCs from major manufacturers can be serviced pretty much anywhere that handles that brand, although probably out of warranty (you pay for service/parts). This isn't a big deal on regulators, since you'll have to pay for periodic service anyway, and true warranty-covered problems are rare.
Computers are a different animal, since they're not serviceable by anybody except the manufacturer, and some manufacturers are fussy about whether they'll service it and how much it costs, depending on how/where you bought it.
Exposure protection like wet-suits/gloves/etc doesn't really matter because the chances of having a failure that's covered under warranty is pretty slim.
I would recommend that whether you buy online or local that you buy a brand you can get serviced locally. It's not fun to have to box up your reg during diving season and pay for two way FedEx to a non-local service facility.
flots.
jIM STEELE
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all top brand gear is good buy what your lds likes and services you get a lot more than just gear from your lds suport them so they can contine to offer trips training advice friendship AIR AND MORE DIVERS TO PLAY WITH
R
redacted
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As a dive shop owner, do you think the customer should include any competitive pricing consideration in the buy decision?
chrpai
Contributor
There is no correlation between reputable and authorized. They are different attributes.
This comment transcends authorized, reputable and even the industry in general. Vendors always claim they are the best is the competition sucks. This isn't an indication that someone is unauthorized.
That's a rare day.
OP
FaithC
Contributor
The LDS that I prefer to get my training through has a limited inventory, which is a real drawback for me. For example, none of their wetsuits fit me and they only sell Halcyon BCs. So I have found another shop with a much greater variety of goods, but they may only be considered "authorized" dealers for just some of the product that they sell. So I wasn't sure if that meant they would be considered "grey market" or not.
Very confusing.
Very confusing.
muzikbiz22
Contributor
Call the manufacturer direct and ask them who in your area is an Authorised Dealer, or have them put you in touch with the Regional Sales Manager. They can often pave the way for a satisfying purchase and refer you to a Retailer that will be competitive with pricing, and actually add VALUE. Would you buy a Swiss watch from 7-11, just to save a couple of bucks ?
The fear is that the manufacturer is using "authorized dealers" as a way to control resale prices rather than for any real quality protection. There is a certain popular dive computer that seems to sell at $1,200 no matter where one looks for it. Since the market is competitive and it would be illegal for a manufacturer to enforce a minimum resale price, this must be a fluke. Someone less charitable might worry that the consistency of the price reflects some type of control being exerted over the retailers. I bought one over the Internet for export and was able to negotiate a much lower price. I mentioned it to my LDS and he was none too happy to hear the price I paid. He has warned me that I may have trouble getting service. I doubt it. Gray market can be a risk especially for the seller who may be violating a contract with the manufacturer. But inserting competition into a controlled stream of retail commerce sure sounds pro-competitive.
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