[Markdude]

Hi everyone,
 
I'm interested in getting a pair of Focal Spirit Professional headphones in the near future and I've come across a store from China selling them on Ebay but with no box/case for MUCH cheaper than the retail price in America. They put the word "Genuine" in the title too...which I'm not sure how I feel about (why bother to say that before being accused otherwise?). I know the Focals are manufactured in China, so that makes me slightly less worried because it indeed could be a real case of wholesale, but the price almost seems too good to be true. The account for the Ebay store is very well established and with almost all positive feedback...but I'd still like to hear if anyone else has tried this before. Are these situations real or is it too good to be true?

 

[billybob_jcv]

With eBay & AliExpress, if it's too good to be true, then I always assume it's not true. I'll buy cheap cables, adapters or other items under $20 from places like that, but there's no way I would buy a known brand for way less than Amazon (not Marketplace), B&H or one of the other well-known online dealers. That's just asking for trouble.

 

[kramer5150]

Biggest problems I have had is with customs.  They do such a piss-poor job opening stuff and re-packing things.  My Darkvoice amp was totally TRASHED because they did an absolute horrid job packing it back up after inspection.  Its impossible to say who the guilty party is, foreign outgoing or domestic incoming... there's ZERO ACCOUNTABILITY.
 
Don't quote me on this, but I think an international carrier like DHL "may" be better, at least you can track the item through their system.  Although there's still delays even in their system at the international borders.

 

[cel4145]

Hi everyone,

I'm interested in getting a pair of Focal Spirit Professional headphones in the near future and I've come across a store from China selling them on Ebay but with no box/case for MUCH cheaper than the retail price in America.

What billybob_jcv said.

So someone might have walked out of the factory with those. Do you know if they are from a batch that failed quality control testing? Were they stolen? Do they come with the Focal warranty?

The account for the Ebay store is very well established and with almost all positive feedback

Is this the one you are talking about:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Focal-Spirit-Professional-Pro-Studio-Headphones-Closed-no-box-Original-/251771982549

The owner has been an ebayer since Jun-29-14. That's hardly well-established.

 

[teejmiller]

If you do decide to buy, make sure you pay with PayPal as goods and services. If they turn out to be fake or not as described, you will have to fight a little, but will get your money back. That's up to you if it's worth the risk!

 

[kramer5150]

In general Ebay is a haven for scams... its in their business model to promote scams, shill bids, multi-ID user accounts.  The company as a whole will do anything to promote cash exchange through hands via paypal.  For every dollar transacted they take a percentage, so they do anything they can to get this to happen.  I have been an ebay user for 15 years, when I first started you had to register with a paid for service provider email address, and I think they also had checks in place by IP address to validate and authenticate (dont quote me on that).  The Meg Whitman era was the worst, she did nothing to better protect consumers.  When they opened the flood gates for members to register with www-based free email accounts, thats when things took a turn for the worst.
 
I generally avoid ebay whenever possible....  although their crisis-resolution support did work to my favor when I was scammed from someone in China

 

[Catchytune]

I did and I made a very good experience with this seller.
 
Pretty soon after I had paid the seller by PayPal he shipped the parcel with express mail. On the customs label it was written ‘gift headphone’ and the parcel was wrapped in plenty of adhesive tape. Inside the small cardboard box the headphones were wrapped in bubble plastic and were new and undamaged.
 
These are definitely genuine Focal headphones. The build quality is high and so is the clamping force. They sound like it was described by other owners: Deep bass, forward in the midrange and good detail and extension in the treble. They also respond remarkably well to equalisation. Especially in the midrange. Every little decibel up or down makes a change.
 
The low price has one important drawback: No warranty and no serial number. The seller told me he got them directly from the factory. There are still two Spirit Classic for sale.

 

[billybob_jcv]

The low price has one important drawback: No warranty and no serial number. The seller told me he got them directly from the factory. There are still two Spirit Classic for sale.

There's your clue - that usually means one of the following:

- Gray market item that was dumped by an unethical authorized dealer that bought at a higher volume to get a better price, then diverted part of the inventory to the gray market.

- A damaged shipment that was paid-off by an insurance claim, that was supposed to be destroyed for scrap, but instead was sent to the gray market by an unethical shipping company, or scrap company.

- An unethical OEM that ran a few thousand more off the line than the contract called for, then dumped them to the gray market.

- The Asian equivalent of the Sons of Anarchy or the Sopranos hijacked a truck or a shipping container off the docks and sold it on the black market, which then sold it to the gray market.

Or any other ways that product gets out of the authorized channel.

You take your chances and you assume the risk...

 

[kramer5150]

There's your clue - that usually means one of the following:

- Gray market item that was dumped by an unethical authorized dealer that bought at a higher volume to get a better price, then diverted part of the inventory to the gray market.

- A damaged shipment that was paid-off by an insurance claim, that was supposed to be destroyed for scrap, but instead was sent to the gray market by an unethical shipping company, or scrap company.

- An unethical OEM that ran a few thousand more off the line than the contract called for, then dumped them to the gray market.

- The Asian equivalent of the Sons of Anarchy or the Sopranos hijacked a truck or a shipping container off the docks and sold it on the black market, which then sold it to the gray market.

Or any other ways that product gets out of the authorized channel.

You take your chances and you assume the risk...

Cool thanks for that response.  The term "gray market" is a part of EVERY gear-centric hobby forum I partake... EVERYTHING has its own gray market.   have always heard that term before but never really understood what it meant.
 
Are there other examples/methods you can think of how gray market sellers get their inventory?

 

[billybob_jcv]

In photography, gray market is also used to refer to products that are not authorized for sale in the USA, but are shipped here from other countries. Sort of like the JVC HA-S500B Japanese import headphones. This is a big deal in cameras, because Nikon, Canon, etc typically won't honor a warranty claim on a product that was shipped to the USA without an authorized USA warranty. A lot of p!ssed-off camera buyers found that out the hard way when they vacationed in Asia, bought the Asian version of a nice Canon or Nikon digital SLR at a great price, then tried to get warranty service after they returned home to the States.

The generic term "gray market" (or "grey market") typically refers to any product that is obtained outside of the manufacturer authorized distribution channels. There are many reasons the manufacturer wants to control distribution. The mfrs, distributors and dealers often share advertising costs to run expensive ads on TV, web or print. The gray market isn't paying for any of that, yet they are getting the benefit of those ads. The mfr might also have rules for how the product is advertised, how returns are handled, etc. A gray market dealer doesn't need to follow any of those rules. Finally there is simply protection for the authorized dealers that have signed contracts and do follow the rules. If some guy is selling gray market products at the swap meet across the street from an authorized dealer that is required to attend training, spend for advertising and have demo displays, that's just not right and the mfr should try to stop it.