LCD TV from Ghaffar market?

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m.a.

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So I went to Ghaffar Market last weekend to get a screen protector for my Samsung Galaxy Spica. It's another matter nobody knows what this phone is and the fact I had to put LG Cookie's Screen guard on it for the time being. I went into a store which had a lotta LCD TVs, in a corner. I asked him if he has any LG/ Samsung( I own an LG 42LF20 and very happy with it). He says, only Sony. I asked him general prices for a 32" Sony LCD and he says Rs 24k. I'm like Holy ****!!!! Of course I didn't bother to ask the model the guy said was for 24k, but 24 k for a 32" Sony LCD is serious cheap.

My question is, has anybody bought LCD TVs from Ghaffar Market or similar Grey Market areas in India? I have bought camcorders, mp3 players and digital photo frames from these kinda grey markets before but am not too sure about a high value purchase such as an LCD TV. I know an uncleji who bought a Sony Hi-fi Music System from one of the shops in Ghaffar for about 40% less than the price quoted at Sony World showroom. It developed some snags in about a couple of months and when it was sent for repairs, it was found that it had fake/ Chinese/ sub standard IC and most internal parts were not original Sony. I am not too sure if a similar thing can be done with an LCD, but what if the LCD TV kept at the shop in Ghaffar has only a body of Sony and has a Sansui/ TCL/ some other crappy Chinese Panel/ screen other parts inside?!??!

If anyone has bought LCDs from grey markets, please share your experience.
 
Bro if u hv asked from tht shop which is near stairs thn i believe they r authorised sellers coz there r many authorised sellers there in gaffar
 
@OP:

Take it this way. If the shop keeper is selling it so cheap, then something has to be shady in the deal. Of course no ways can you verify the integrity of the internal components (but nor can you do the same from an official Sony World show room). Is the store ready to provide an official receipt for warranty and service..? Are they authorized dealers -- you should be able to check authorized dealers on the net. Gaffar majorly thrives on the gray channel, so I it is highly doubtful for authentic equipment. Specially electronic. How much is that same model, in a Sony Showroom.
 
I had picked up a Sony 3.2mp digicam in 2004. (9k in gaffar, 18k in showroom). It came with a 2 week testing guarantee from the shop owner.. nothing more...

Worked well for 3 yrs and then developed a small snag. Took it to the Sony service center, who fixed it without any serial # issues.. It still works.

It cud be a one-off case for grey market goods but well, it didn't give me any problems.
 
well i believe thats the grey market,in elsewhere in asia like singapore,thailand,malyasia the sony 32BX300 costs less then 20k ,so its no suprise that this one with their profit margin costs 24k.

the 40" version in india officialy in sony world or anyother showroom costs 61k,but in the grey market its available for 46k.

from 2 years grey market shops only sell sony the reason being most other brands are assembled in india like samsung and lg which are taxed only at 5% where as the sony which is imported from Thailand or malyasia is taxed at around 35%.hence the huge price premium in showrooms,this is why people buy sonys mostly in the grey market,always in ready stock and sell like hot cakes.

only drawback is you don't get the 1 year warranty frankly it isn't a big deal,over the years i have bought 3 lcds from the grey market oldest one is a 4 years old sony still running without any issues.
 
I bought a Sony Bravia KLV-46Z550A from grey market for 1.11 Lakhs some time ago.
MRP was 1.83 Lakhs and MOP was 1.60 Lakhs.
 
I also bought a Sony 3.2MP camera in 2004 from gaffar and it is still working fine. I did not use it much after 2007 when I bought a 9.1MP Camera.

I bought a Samsung DVD player in 2003 and it worked fine for 3 years before it started giving problem.

So, there should not be any problem but would suggest you to buy things from someone with reference/prior experience .
 
I have bought Samsung LCD, 4 Pioneer DVD players, Digital camera, Car audio speakers, and many more stuffs in the past 6 years or so from different shops in Gaffar Market.

They get their stuff from Thailand since India has signed free trade agreement with Thailand (which means zero per cent customs duty) for products made /assembled in Thailand.

All is working fine till date....
 
Kaval said:
They get their stuff from Thailand since India has signed free trade agreement with Thailand (which means zero per cent customs duty) for products made /assembled in Thailand.

All is working fine till date....

well the lcds do get taxed irrespective of where its made.
 
Thanks guys! I will go to ghaffar again and enquire about the rates for specific models. If the difference is really substantial, I might just go for it. As per my offline discussions, these sets are usually imported and duties are either evaded or they're brought by these guys/ agents while travelling abroad and back.

Need to buy this 32" TV for normal cable/DTH for my parents-in-law. :)
 
As per trade rules, if an item is listed under the free trade agreement for duties exemption, then no duties could be imposed. Otherwise it would make the gareement useless...
 
I think LCD TV is not listed under free trade agreement for duties exemptions.

Else, the market would have been flooded with imported LCD TVs.
 
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