Would u dare to buy a phone without bill n warranty?

[electrokawal]

Hello every1!
I would like to ask u guys...is it advisable to buy a Sony Ericsson phone without bill and warranty from a place like Alfa market (Mumbai)?
What are the disadvantages?
Anyways if a hardware part get spoilt, they (Service centre people)make u pay for it, I guess?

As far as SE Service centre is concerned, they do ask for the bill and they check the warranty..If the phone is not under warranty, they charge u Rs 300 just to accept the phone...
So, is it worth taking the risk?

What can possible go wrong?
I'l have to pay Rs 300 for handling over the phone to the SE Service centre...

Moreover there is a significance price difference between a phone wid bill+warranty and a phone without that..

I've also heard that used phones are re-furnished and packed again in their boxes and are up for sale at some places in Alfa market in the name of 'Box packed phones' without bill and warranty..
Is this info correct??


I've also added a poll to this question..
So after u have posted a reply, kindly vote

 

[infra_red_dude]

I would never buy anything above 10k from the grey market; be it sony ericsson, nokia, canon or kodak!

 

[ThinkFree]

It would depend on the cost. No problem in buying a cheaper phone

 

[electrokawal]

Hey guys!
I've made the following calcuations about purchasin cell phones without bill..
Correct me if u find any flaw wid it...

The prices that were quoted are as follows:
k790i:-
My dealer: Rs 12k
Alfa(wid bill+warranty):Rs 11.2k

k810i:-
My dealer: Rs 14.2k
Alfa(wid bill+warranty):Rs 13k

But if we consider purchasing the phone without bill...We won't have to pay the min tax 12.5%!
The prices mentioned above are inclusive of the Service taxes..
So, the difference wud be significant.
Say around 2.5k to 3k!! (Comparing wid my dealer's price and Alfa widout bill price)

Assuming x to be the original price of the phone without taxes.(I am considering only the VAT Taxes here...and not any other taxes)

we can define a relation:-

x+(12.5x/100)=y

=> x=y/1.125


where y is the quoted price with bill and warranty.

Now, for the above mentioned prices and using this result, we can say:-

Widout bill prices wud be as follows:
k810i = 11.6k
k790i = 10k


I am not sure whether these calculations will hold true in reality...
Though they sound quite interesting on paper..
Ur comments plz..

 

[hahahari]

^^ Not worth the risk

 

[electrokawal]

^^ Not worth the risk

Dude, what is the risk involved?...can u plz elaborate on that

 

[iMav]

previously the price difference used to be huge in the range of ~4-5k between gray market and with bill prices this has changed in the mid range cell fones now with a small differnece of abt 1k but let me take an example of sony's camera - t200 official price 21k+ gray market price 14.7k now in such cases i would give up the 3 yr warranty ...

in buying with bill the only thing u compromise on is the warranty and a possibile denial of after sales service in some cases if the device isnt official launched - case ps3 before its launch and even the iphone

i always advice to go for with bill if the difference between the with and without bill prices is in the range of 1-2.5k .... that much is a worth to pay price for a years peace of mind incase u mess up th device

 

[desiibond]

No. I will not buy a phone withour bill n warranty. Coz on lot of occassions I had a faulty earphone which were promptly replace by Nokia/Motorola. That will not happen if there is no warranty.

 

[enticer86]

I am not sure whether these calculations will hold true in reality...
Though they sound quite interesting on paper..
Ur comments plz..

Your calculations are fine... but seriously dude, its much better to pay 12.5% extra for the peace of mind, and the services you get.. FOr example, if u mess up with ur device even once, the costs are recovered.

 

[electrokawal]

its much better to pay 12.5% extra for the peace of mind, and the services you get.. FOr example, if u mess up with ur device even once, the costs are recovered.

If u mess up with the hardware part of the phone, then u will have to shell out those extra bucks and get it fixed at ur own expenses. I don't think that it is covered under the 1yr warranty...
What say guys..?

 

[hahahari]

Dude, what is the risk involved?...can u plz elaborate on that

The major problem is that....U wont have the peace of mind and anyway....there anr a Lot of DUPLICATE N series phones available in such bazars going at rates like 4K-6K..........they just wont last.hence better go for peace of mind and better hardware.....

 

[Net007]

Definitely No.

 

[electrokawal]

Hey guys!
A friend of mine told me that the prices at Alfa are cheap coz they don't pay the entire Customs Duty for the imported goods. In simple words the phones are smuggled by paying nominal bribes.

Do u agree with this????

 

[infra_red_dude]

^^^ Grey Market means a place to sell items for which "entire Customs Duty" has not been paid; in your own words "smuggled goods"!

 

[MetalheadGautham]

and the only reason its flourishing in India is because we have rather LARGE taxes with octroys, customs, duties, and what not. Chidambaram happily increased the taxes on electronix last year. Hope this time atleast he sees some light.

And yes, I got my T Sonic 610 mp3 player in grey market for Rs. 2550/-, while the MRP is Rs. 4500/-. See the difference?

And regarding the phone, I recomend the version WITH bill and warrenty, because for costly products like these(or anything above 5K) its not advisable to go for grey market ones. I think you are better off with a guarenteed phone.

 

[iMav]

The major problem is that....U wont have the peace of mind and anyway....there anr a Lot of DUPLICATE N series phones available in such bazars going at rates like 4K-6K..........they just wont last.hence better go for peace of mind and better hardware.....

depends on wher eu buy it from