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Grey market is buying a companies items (not counterfeit copies) outside of the official supply chain. For example, many goods are sold cheaper in other markets

by bradyd 7y ago

Grey market is buying a companies items (not counterfeit copies) outside of the official supply chain. For example, many goods are sold cheaper in other markets. So someone could buy the item there and bring them to a market where they are usually sold for more and be able to undercut the the official supplier's prices. This is perfectly legal thanks to the First Sale Doctrine. Companies don't like this though, because they don't make as much, so they brand these goods grey market to make them seem shady to consumers.

m463 7y ago
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the difference is amazon is telling the company to make up the difference between grey market price and the price they're selling the non-grey market ones on amazon. In other words: - amazon price $100 - grey market version amazon threatens with: $90 - amazon asks company for $10 for the ones sold at $100 Do I understand this correctly?
speedplane 7y ago
> Grey market is buying a companies items (not counterfeit copies) outside of the official supply chain. For example, many goods are sold cheaper in other markets. So someone could buy the item there and bring them to a market where they are usually sold for more and be able to undercut the the official supplier's prices. This is perfectly legal thanks to the First Sale Doctrine. You're mixing up a bunch of ideas. The traditional definition of "grey market" is buying an item oversees at a low cost and then importing it into the US. For example, the identical textbook usually sells for much more in the U.S. than it does in Asia. The supreme court has indeed ruled that the First Sale doctrine allows people to buy that book in Asia, then sell it back to someone in the U.S. for more. However, the first sale doctrine only applies to copyright, not patents. It hasn't yet been decided as to patents. More meaningfully though, the meaning of the term "grey market" has expanded. It used to refer to authorized items sold overseas, but now it more generally refers to items with questionable IP rights. When Amazon is using the term "grey market", they are referring to counterfeits and infringing products as well.
- ikeboy 7y ago
  See the Supreme Court decision in Impression Prods., Inc. v. Lexmark Int'l, Inc. It absolutely does apply to patents. It applies to copyright, patent, and trademarks, the three major areas of IP rights. There are some subtleties with each one, but it most definitely applies.
fergbrain 7y ago
Something else to add is that when you don’t buy through official channels you actually may end up with counterfeit parts. This is a huge issue in the electronics component industry. So it’s entirely possible that what Amazon sources on the grey market were actually counterfeit items (whether or not they know it for sure, or care to to know).

by bradyd 7y ago

m463 7y ago

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the difference is amazon is telling the company to make up the difference between grey market price and the price they're selling the non-grey market ones on amazon. In other words: - amazon price $100 - grey market version amazon threatens with: $90 - amazon asks company for $10 for the ones sold at $100 Do I understand this correctly?

speedplane 7y ago

> Grey market is buying a companies items (not counterfeit copies) outside of the official supply chain. For example, many goods are sold cheaper in other markets. So someone could buy the item there and bring them to a market where they are usually sold for more and be able to undercut the the official supplier's prices. This is perfectly legal thanks to the First Sale Doctrine. You're mixing up a bunch of ideas. The traditional definition of "grey market" is buying an item oversees at a low cost and then importing it into the US. For example, the identical textbook usually sells for much more in the U.S. than it does in Asia. The supreme court has indeed ruled that the First Sale doctrine allows people to buy that book in Asia, then sell it back to someone in the U.S. for more. However, the first sale doctrine only applies to copyright, not patents. It hasn't yet been decided as to patents. More meaningfully though, the meaning of the term "grey market" has expanded. It used to refer to authorized items sold overseas, but now it more generally refers to items with questionable IP rights. When Amazon is using the term "grey market", they are referring to counterfeits and infringing products as well.

ikeboy 7y ago
See the Supreme Court decision in Impression Prods., Inc. v. Lexmark Int'l, Inc. It absolutely does apply to patents. It applies to copyright, patent, and trademarks, the three major areas of IP rights. There are some subtleties with each one, but it most definitely applies.

fergbrain 7y ago

Something else to add is that when you don’t buy through official channels you actually may end up with counterfeit parts. This is a huge issue in the electronics component industry. So it’s entirely possible that what Amazon sources on the grey market were actually counterfeit items (whether or not they know it for sure, or care to to know).