What is a Grey Import?

A grey import is the trade of a commodity through distribution channels which are unofficial, unauthorized, or unintended by the original manufacturer & local distributor. Grey-market goods are usually sold outside normal distribution channels by companies that have no relationship with the producer of the goods. This situation commonly occurs with cycling equipment such as expensive parts & accessories.

The downside to buying grey is the following:

No warranty support from the local importer and supplier
Generally poor aftersales service
Limited quantities & availability from the grey supplier
Low value – Don’t confuse cheap with value for money

At BuyCycle we do not sell any grey products. All our products are imported and distributed through legitimate and official channels. Therefore BuyCycle is able to extend the original manufacturer’s warranty to our customers.

Comments

14/04/2011, 08:21

"a XT groupset stays a xt groupset. No matter were you buy it.

It all depends on the price you have to pay"

– piesang

09/12/2010, 11:20

"Well I have spent a fortune with CRC and the service has been superb each and every time incl tech help and advice. Hav built a high end bike for less than half of local equivalent. If any parts fail irrepairably within "warranty" I could buy another and it would still be less than local. I would gladly support local if the pricing was competitive, but my wallet talks louder than any "feel good feeling" buying locally does. I keep checking out buycycle to see their pricing and will support if they are competitive. CRC are not grey, the are parallel imports as the goods were sourced from Shimano etc. "

– Michael

01/12/2010, 16:34

"No actually Gert is wrong.
Definition: •A parallel import is a non-counterfeit product imported from another country without the permission of the intellectual property owner.

IP Owner in the case of spares etc. would be the vendor who appoints the official importers."

– Dwight

23/11/2010, 12:02

"Dwight is wrong. Parallel imports is if there are more that one importer for the same product, but they are all legit and have a relationship with the manufacturer / producer.

Grey imports is if something gets imported through a channel other than the official importer e.g. CRC."

– Gert

19/11/2010, 10:26

"Grey import is a product ot model not intended for the specific market. Parallel import is sourcing a product from other vendors beside the official importers. Nothing wrong with grey import. Parallel import i.e. CRC, would not be necessary if the local buyers were not raped when buying stuff via the official distributers."

– Dwight

12/10/2010, 20:45

"Off course it is grey if you buy from CRC or the like and I for one support a BuyCycle who opted to take on the international shops while offering us full warranty backing and support through local distribution. SA will be a better place if we all supported each other rather than sending our money to the UK. "

– Gert

03/09/2010, 10:24

"Hey, Grey is the new Black! At least it highlights the fact that we get ripped in SA. I for one like spending less and getting more for it, and quite honestly have not been disappointed with the products once. Then again, CRC is not exactly gray is it??"

– Conrad

30/07/2010, 15:30

"The price is long forgotten after the product and service have been exceptional. I however agree with Daryl that to pay a 100% or mark up is rediculous, without the customer there is no business! Then again buying grey is not subscribing to doing business ethically. This is common problem in S.A. "

– Hilton Vallun

28/07/2010, 22:01

"My challenge to Buycycle!

http://www.thehubsa.co.za/forum/topic/78180-my-challenge-to-buycycle/"

– Meerkat

20/07/2010, 12:52

"There is no excuse for the local markets to markup 100% or more. I don't care how many phone lines they have!"

– Daryl

24/06/2010, 20:36

"There would be no reason for grey products, in cycling, if the consumer wasn't ripped off by the local importer or s upplier."

– Meerkat