Should You Buy Grey Market Products?

While so much negativity has been said about grey markets, it's important we understand that the market is not illegal. As a matter of fact, the market is a multi-billion dollar market - not many markets can boast of this. The market is better called a parallel market because that's exactly what it is. This doesn't mean the products sold have approval from the manufacturers. Such goods are usually sold by distributors not authorized by the manufacturer.

For instance, a product that is not being sold in a country can be brought in through gray markets and sold at a cheaper price. Such goods are not illegal to be sold in the country; they just happen to be available through a channel not recognized by the manufacturer of the product. This is where grey markets differ from black markets.

While these grey market products usually come at a cheaper price, it is important to know that they do not share same quality as the original products. By buying these inferior products, you don’t only encourage grey market activities, you are aiding in ripping off profits from the original manufacturer. This is because they do not make any profit from any sales in the grey markets. Grey market products are easy to identify. A good example is copycat brands like eBetter, Jtrim, Smoothere, etc. trying to copy the VikingsBlade.