There’s ALWAYS A REASON for price differences!
explains parallel importing
Something I have noticed quite a lot over the last month is the increase in enquiries from customers saying things like “I can get it cheaper at…” or “I can get it cheaper overseas”, or something around those lines.
The products they are referring to are almost always a Japanese brand such as Apexi or Greddy.
In every case I am found in a situation where I need to explain our pricing vs. the pricing they seem to have found elsewhere. Remember there’s ALWAYS A REASON for price differences, and it’s not that we are trying to rip anyone off – in fact it’s quite the opposite.
A lot of places in Australia practise what is known as parallel importing whereby they import items direct without going through the proper channels and often without the permission of the manufacturer.
This practice might seem attractive to you (the consumer) but in the long term you are hurting yourself and the industry. By buying from parallel importers you are giving them a market and taking the market away from the authorised channels. It also has the effect of chopping the pricing on products to a point where it no longer becomes worthwhile for a retailer (like ModYourCar) to sell the products due to the incredibly low margin – I can think of a number of product off the top of my head that fall into this category.
So why you ask are the prices from parallel importers cheaper? Quite simply… the conditions of sale are not the same. For starters many parallel importers bypass customs duties and taxes which are a legal requirement to pay in Australia. That makes a huge difference to pricing! The main reason though, and the one which is one consumers often think last about and the parallel importer might not disclose is WARRANTY!
When buying from a parallel importer, what warranty are you getting? What post sales support are you receiving? How are you protecting yourself? The real answer is that in most cases you are not getting a real warranty and you are not protecting yourself and therefore putting yourself at risk. Most of the time if you had an issue you would be expected to deal directly with the manufacturere in Japan – not an easy task!
When buying through authorised channels here in Australia in most cases yes you’ll be paying more but you will be PROTECTING YOURSELF. You’ll get a real Australian warranty and post-sales support. If you have an issue it will be resolved for you here in Australia by the distributor of the product – you won’t have to deal directly with a manufacturer in another country!
To put it simply it’s a case of what you are prepared to risk but please do think carefully when presented with an option to buy something “cheaper” and remember that when you buy something there’s a lot more to consider than just the product itself.
Posted by Dan Rucci on the 15th Sept 2008
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