PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Audio specialist Sennheiser is restricting resellers from using certain third-party marketplaces like eBay and Amazon Marketplace.
The vendor has been doing this for a number of years, and Jane Craven, Sennheiser sales director for telecommunications, told PCR why.
"We had some complaints from customers who bought headsets that weren’t working from those sites," she said.
"We don’t want Sennheiser being sold that way. We only want it being sold to people who can give the customer the correct advice and get it right the first time.
"We’re a premium brand; the customer experience and after-sales support is so important.
"We banned sales on Amazon Marketplace a while back. You might see some still being sold on there but we’re making it difficult for [those sellers[ – the same for eBay as well. What we’re doing is telling our distributors not to sell to anyone who will sell on Amazon, eBay or anywhere else like that.
Craven added: "It also helps us to stop grey market stock and counterfeits. Customers want genuine products from the UK. It’s about protecting our margin and our resellers’ margin, but it’s really important the end user gets a product that’s meant to be used in our market.
"We want our resellers to make money selling our products, but it’s important the end user gets a product that’s right for them in our market. A lot of the customers don’t even realise when they buy a grey import."
Read our feature on the grey market in the July 2014 issue of PCR.
