Experts too say firms are obliged to give warranty/guarantee on products irrespective of where they are sold
Hitting back at certain consumer electronics manufacturers that have been dissuading buyers from purchasing products on e-commerce platforms, Flipkart – India's largest e-marketplace operator – said it allows sale of only original products covered by replacement policies and manufacturers’ warranty. “The original products with an official invoice with all taxes paid cannot be denied warranties,” Flipkart spokesperson said responding to dna queries.
On the pretext of calling the e-marketplaces like Flipkart, Amazon India, Snapdeal, eBay India as 'not authorised resellers' of their products, consumer electronics manufacturers like Sony, LG, HP, Nikon, Lenovo, Dell, etc. have on their respective websites said they cannot vouch for the genuineness of products sold on these e-marketplaces and hence the consumer's right to warranty coverage and support on those products could be impacted.
What these consumer electronics manufacturers are indirectly trying to say is that they won't take responsibility, if something goes wrong with the product being bought from the e-marketplaces that are offering them at significant discounts. In fact, the companies are also seem to be alleging that products sold on the e-marketplaces are 'fake'.
For instance, in an advisory dated October 6, 2014, LG India informed customers that it 'has not authorised any e-commerce company / web portal to sell LG product(s) – television and audio products, home appliances, air-conditioners and mobiles in India for and/or on behalf of the company. The company does not take responsibility for the genuineness of an LG product(s) sold through any of the e-commerce companies/web portals in India, and thus, the company retains the right of not extending additional services/warranties to such LG product(s). LG product(s) can also be booked online directly at the company’s website (www.lgbrandstore.com/in) which is the authorized website for online purchase of all LG product(s) in India.'
LG India officials did not respond to dna queries and clarifications sought on the aforesaid advisory which was spotted by Nithin Jawali at a physical electronics store, a picture was posted by him on twitter -- https://twitter.com/Nithin/status/521993062566739970.
Commenting on the warranty / guarantee issue, Amazon's director of categroy management, Samir Kumar, said, the e-marketplace takes pride in claiming that it sells genuine products. “We ensure vendors on our maketplace are selling genuine products and if any vendor isn't, we will take them out of our network. Brands and manufacturers are obligated to honour the warranty if products sold are genuine.
"We also take a very customer backward approach in case anything happens to products bought from our e-marketplace and back it up with what we call the 'a to z guarantee', wherein we take care of any issue that a customer might face from a brand or a vendor,” he said.
eBay India on its part said that sellers who put up the listings of their products are governed by what they state as description and specification for their items, which at times may include manufacturer’s warranty as well. “We have rarely come across instances where manufacturers have refused to honour warranty services. In case a buyer claims manufacturer warranty for a product purchased from a seller on eBay India, the buyer is expected to coordinate with authorised service center of the manufacturer of the product to avail the warranty.
"If such an instance does occur, then as a responsible ecommerce player, we coordinate with the seller and the buyer to arrive at a resolution,” said Girish Huria, official spokesperson, eBay India. He added that manufacturers denying honouring warranty on the ground that a consumer has not purchased their product from the authorised outlet of the manufacturer (even if such purchase falls within the warranty period) ultimately affects the interest of consumers.
Retail industry experts are of the opinion that, it's a matter of public interest litigation (PIL) and customers / consumer groups can take the consumer electronics manufacturers to court for not extending warranty / guarantee on products sold on e-marketplaces.
“It does not matter what price I have paid or for that matter where have I bought the product from i.e. offline, online or e-marketplaces. The companies are obliged to give warranty / guarantee on all the products manufactured by them. The only exception can be if the customer has bought a fake product,” said Arvind Singhal, chairman and managing director, Technopak (a specialist retail industry consultancy and advisory).
Queries seeking responses on the warranty / guarantee issue from consumer electronics companies like Sony India, LG, Videocon, VU Technologies, ASUS, remained unanswered at the time of going to print.
However, among few consumer electronics companies supporting the e-marketplaces are Samsung India, Panasonic India and HTC.
Commenting on the issue, Manish Sharma, managing director, Panasonic India, said, “As a philosophy, for us the customer comes first and e-tailers provide us with one more channel to cater to customer needs and focus on customer satisfaction, which is of utmost importance to us.”
Chia-Lin Chang, president of global sales and chief financial officer, HTC, on Friday (October 17, 2014) announced exclusive partnerships with e-marketplaces like Amazon.in (for HTC Desire 820 and 820q) and Snapdeal.com (for HTC Desire 516c dual sim and little camera RE). Responding to market concerns on the warranty / guarantee issue, Chang assured, “HTC will honour all responsibilities.”
Rajiv Mishra, vice president (media) and spokesperson, Samsung India said that the company management has kept its ears close to the ground and has been regularly monitoring the developments in both the online and offline retail space. “A key stakeholder in our growth strategy, the interest of our business partners is of prime importance to us. We have been able to successfully manage expectations across channel partners by ensuring that their interests are well taken care of and will continue with the same strategy in the future,” he said.
Officials from Snapdeal did not respond to queries seeking clarity on the warranty / guarantee issue as well as concerns on predatory pricing being expressed offline retailers as well as consumer electronics manufacturers post the 'Big Billion Day' and 'Diwali Dhamaka' sale announced by Flipkart and Amazon India respectively.
Taking cognisance of the 'predatory pricing' by e-tailing firms, the Consumer Electronics & Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) has asked the government to implement the goods and services tax (GST) so that e-tailing firms can not take 'undue advantage' of operating from low tax geographical regions.
Flipkart on its part, clarified that its e-marketplace was a facilitator of building efficiencies in the supply chain for sellers and that it was 'not the sellers of a product'. “We are an online e-marketplace helping sellers (who might not have a brand and resources to own a showroom in a prime locality) take advantage of the efficiencies in our technology and supply-chain, enabling them to sell their products across the country without having to step out of their workplace. Only the seller can decide the price and only s/he can change it in our system,” the Flipkart spokesperson said.
On the alleged violations of FDI (foreign direct investment) rules in online retail business, the Flipkart spokesperson said, “The authorities are doing their job and we will cooperate with them where required.” As for reports on the possibility of a fine of Rs 1,000 crore, the Enforcement Directorate clarified that no probe has been launched into the massive discount sale.
Hitting back at certain consumer electronics manufacturers that have been dissuading buyers from purchasing products on e-commerce platforms, Flipkart – India's largest e-marketplace operator – said it allows sale of only original products covered by replacement policies and manufacturers’ warranty. “The original products with an official invoice with all taxes paid cannot be denied warranties,” Flipkart spokesperson said responding to dna queries.
On the pretext of calling the e-marketplaces like Flipkart, Amazon India, Snapdeal, eBay India as 'not authorised resellers' of their products, consumer electronics manufacturers like Sony, LG, HP, Nikon, Lenovo, Dell, etc. have on their respective websites said they cannot vouch for the genuineness of products sold on these e-marketplaces and hence the consumer's right to warranty coverage and support on those products could be impacted.
What these consumer electronics manufacturers are indirectly trying to say is that they won't take responsibility, if something goes wrong with the product being bought from the e-marketplaces that are offering them at significant discounts. In fact, the companies are also seem to be alleging that products sold on the e-marketplaces are 'fake'.
For instance, in an advisory dated October 6, 2014, LG India informed customers that it 'has not authorised any e-commerce company / web portal to sell LG product(s) – television and audio products, home appliances, air-conditioners and mobiles in India for and/or on behalf of the company. The company does not take responsibility for the genuineness of an LG product(s) sold through any of the e-commerce companies/web portals in India, and thus, the company retains the right of not extending additional services/warranties to such LG product(s). LG product(s) can also be booked online directly at the company’s website (www.lgbrandstore.com/in) which is the authorized website for online purchase of all LG product(s) in India.'
LG India officials did not respond to dna queries and clarifications sought on the aforesaid advisory which was spotted by Nithin Jawali at a physical electronics store, a picture was posted by him on twitter -- https://twitter.com/Nithin/status/521993062566739970.
Commenting on the warranty / guarantee issue, Amazon's director of categroy management, Samir Kumar, said, the e-marketplace takes pride in claiming that it sells genuine products. “We ensure vendors on our maketplace are selling genuine products and if any vendor isn't, we will take them out of our network. Brands and manufacturers are obligated to honour the warranty if products sold are genuine.
"We also take a very customer backward approach in case anything happens to products bought from our e-marketplace and back it up with what we call the 'a to z guarantee', wherein we take care of any issue that a customer might face from a brand or a vendor,” he said.
eBay India on its part said that sellers who put up the listings of their products are governed by what they state as description and specification for their items, which at times may include manufacturer’s warranty as well. “We have rarely come across instances where manufacturers have refused to honour warranty services. In case a buyer claims manufacturer warranty for a product purchased from a seller on eBay India, the buyer is expected to coordinate with authorised service center of the manufacturer of the product to avail the warranty.
"If such an instance does occur, then as a responsible ecommerce player, we coordinate with the seller and the buyer to arrive at a resolution,” said Girish Huria, official spokesperson, eBay India. He added that manufacturers denying honouring warranty on the ground that a consumer has not purchased their product from the authorised outlet of the manufacturer (even if such purchase falls within the warranty period) ultimately affects the interest of consumers.
Retail industry experts are of the opinion that, it's a matter of public interest litigation (PIL) and customers / consumer groups can take the consumer electronics manufacturers to court for not extending warranty / guarantee on products sold on e-marketplaces.
“It does not matter what price I have paid or for that matter where have I bought the product from i.e. offline, online or e-marketplaces. The companies are obliged to give warranty / guarantee on all the products manufactured by them. The only exception can be if the customer has bought a fake product,” said Arvind Singhal, chairman and managing director, Technopak (a specialist retail industry consultancy and advisory).
Queries seeking responses on the warranty / guarantee issue from consumer electronics companies like Sony India, LG, Videocon, VU Technologies, ASUS, remained unanswered at the time of going to print.
However, among few consumer electronics companies supporting the e-marketplaces are Samsung India, Panasonic India and HTC.
Commenting on the issue, Manish Sharma, managing director, Panasonic India, said, “As a philosophy, for us the customer comes first and e-tailers provide us with one more channel to cater to customer needs and focus on customer satisfaction, which is of utmost importance to us.”
Chia-Lin Chang, president of global sales and chief financial officer, HTC, on Friday (October 17, 2014) announced exclusive partnerships with e-marketplaces like Amazon.in (for HTC Desire 820 and 820q) and Snapdeal.com (for HTC Desire 516c dual sim and little camera RE). Responding to market concerns on the warranty / guarantee issue, Chang assured, “HTC will honour all responsibilities.”
Rajiv Mishra, vice president (media) and spokesperson, Samsung India said that the company management has kept its ears close to the ground and has been regularly monitoring the developments in both the online and offline retail space. “A key stakeholder in our growth strategy, the interest of our business partners is of prime importance to us. We have been able to successfully manage expectations across channel partners by ensuring that their interests are well taken care of and will continue with the same strategy in the future,” he said.
Officials from Snapdeal did not respond to queries seeking clarity on the warranty / guarantee issue as well as concerns on predatory pricing being expressed offline retailers as well as consumer electronics manufacturers post the 'Big Billion Day' and 'Diwali Dhamaka' sale announced by Flipkart and Amazon India respectively.
Taking cognisance of the 'predatory pricing' by e-tailing firms, the Consumer Electronics & Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) has asked the government to implement the goods and services tax (GST) so that e-tailing firms can not take 'undue advantage' of operating from low tax geographical regions.
Flipkart on its part, clarified that its e-marketplace was a facilitator of building efficiencies in the supply chain for sellers and that it was 'not the sellers of a product'. “We are an online e-marketplace helping sellers (who might not have a brand and resources to own a showroom in a prime locality) take advantage of the efficiencies in our technology and supply-chain, enabling them to sell their products across the country without having to step out of their workplace. Only the seller can decide the price and only s/he can change it in our system,” the Flipkart spokesperson said.
On the alleged violations of FDI (foreign direct investment) rules in online retail business, the Flipkart spokesperson said, “The authorities are doing their job and we will cooperate with them where required.” As for reports on the possibility of a fine of Rs 1,000 crore, the Enforcement Directorate clarified that no probe has been launched into the massive discount sale.
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