Dell takes stance against Amazon India as companies seek to regain control over pricing

By Harish Jonnalagadda
published

Were you looking to score a good deal on a Dell laptop during Amazon India's Diwali Sale (opens in new tab)? You might want to look elsewhere, as the hardware manufacturer is stating that customers buying from Amazon India will not be eligible to claim warranty.

Dell Amazon India

Dell India states that Amazon is not an authorized reseller, and that any benefits offered by the retailer will not be honored by Dell. The hardware manufacturer is instead asking users to head over to CompuIndia, which is listed as the authorized retailer for Dell products in the country.

This isn't the first time a hardware vendor has deterred users from buying from e-commerce stores. Earlier this week, the likes of Lenovo, LG, Canon, Sony and others have urged customers that marketplace stores like Flipkart and Amazon were not authorized resellers, and that any goods purchased on these sites may be liable to canceled warranties.

The main issue companies have with e-commerce stores in the country is unsanctioned discounts, which are cannibalizing sales from offline channels. Most online stores are currently offering lucrative discounts (opens in new tab) on laptops, which is having a negative impact on sales from brick and mortar stores. To this effect, companies are looking to take back control from online retailers which would either put a stop to discounts offered by marketplace vendors, or delist products from e-commerce stores entirely.

What do you guys think of Dell's move?

Source: Dell (opens in new tab)

Thanks Srinath for bringing this to our attention!

Harish Jonnalagadda
Harish Jonnalagadda
Senior Editor - Asia

Harish Jonnalagadda is a Senior Editor overseeing Asia for Android Central, Windows Central's sister site. When not reviewing phones, he's testing PC hardware, including video cards, motherboards, gaming accessories, and keyboards.

75 Comments
  • Wow! Dell shouldn't have issues with more Dell laptops being sold...
  • So they should permit what they think will not help their business??? Oh I see, you're a very good business analyst
  • Thanks for the compliment! :)
  • This will hurt dell. Old, unknow sourced machines from people that over bought, that may or may not be used will tar their image when the machines have problems. This also hurts the channel partners that sell for them. We don't make but a point or 2 on hardware sales, but our registered deal pricing should be the best our client can find, giving us a chance to win a bid against inferior equipment. This was nothing but good by Dell, for all involved, including the customers. Buying cheap isn't always the best option, and can cost more in the long run.
  • This to the power of TWO. Our experience is exactly this and that's why we provide only through Dell our through our procurement vendor, who process directly through Dell. Buyer-beware otherwise.
  • Lawl :D
  • They don't really... They are trying to help brick and mortar stores and their own outlet. Problem is these machines are new machines made by Dell... Customers shouldn't suffer because of a fight between the two companies... That said I an not one of those idiots calling for a new law or regulation everytime I see something a little shady... Just remember everyone... Its a big market, lots of PC manufacturers... Vote with you wallets! If one company acts in a way you don't like just quit buying from them... They'll change their ways... I for one would be somewhat less likely to buy a Dell PC even though I'm in the US market and this doesn't effect me.
  • Why would you be less likely to support Dell who is merely trying to enforce their suggested retail prices on the already razor-thin PC margins so that the dealer network stays in business? Amazon is using predatory pricing.
  • Since Dell largely sells direct, where is Amazon sourcing there machines from?
  • Dell... ;P
  • Authorized resellers dumping inventory
  • Make More Money
  • Actually this is due to heavy business politics and nothing else.....
  • There are only a few routes manufacturers can take to help traditional outlets, this is one of the best ones. Kudos to Dell.
  • I won't buy another one. This tells me they aren't really standing behind their products and padding the price with an "insurance warranty" paid by the consumer.
  • Bingo
  • I think they should determine warranty not from where the item has been bought but by the item itself. Most electronic items have a unique identification number. From that unique id the manufacture should provide the length of the base warranty. It’s not fair for consumers to check every time they want to purchase an item to check whether it has warranty.
  • What a crock. As a consumer - with the caveat that I'm British and have no knowledge of the indian consumer market, other than what I've read and where I invest - I'm going to buy where the price is right. I dunno, but this sort of thing is actually illegal under European Union law. Can't comment about anywhere else. Ultimately where is amazon India getting the computers from? If it's Dell then del are getting paid. It's like saying someone buying a nearly new car, within the three year warranty period, and they can't take it for warranty repair. Rot. Instead of getting greedy adjust the prices. If tangible stores can't compete they lose.
  • E-commerce laws are bleak in India as this sector jumped to fame in last 2 years only. Dell and other companies are facing immense pressure from their partner retailers which form 90% of the electronics purchases in India.
    On the other hand, online retailers are using predatory pricing to gain consumers which is unethical imo
  • I see. Well as the market gains maturity the indian government will have to legislate. Also, knowing how these things are, house many ministers own these businesses? It is a murky, bleak situation.
  • Ministers are sold out to big offline retailers like Reliance & Future group which have very less online presence.. The boom of online retailers have hampered their profits by up to 60% , that's why now Gov't has woken up finally
  • Not to mention, some resellers sell products sourced from other countries which doesn't have any warranty in India.
    One of my friend bought a Lenovo laptop from Snapdeal, the company said it's not an Indian product and won't provide warranty to it
  • Oh grey imports can be a problem! Generally, in England, companies will honour the manufacturing warranty most, not all of the time. It's a goodwill issue. With amazon, if you buy through amazon direct they'll handle everything - market place sellers - ie third party merchants selling on amazon - that's a while other problem and yes, manufacturers can then turn around and say "no" because those third parties are not authorised to sell... Murky.
  • All this could well be sorted out, Dell is just giving lame reasons to satisfy their partner retailers where 90% sales take place as of now but will decline rapidly as online retailers take pace.
    Mobile segment is the most hit where many phones are launched exclusively online and are much cheaper than their similar counterparts in brick & mortar stores
  • Part of the problem, at least in the US, is that Amazon, and especially the resellers using Amazon as a storefront, have been caught selling refurbished or even nonfunctional devices as New. This tarnishes the reputation of the manufacturer, and causes unnecessary hassles for their warranty departments. Authorized resellers are confirmed to purchase their stock directly from the manufacturer.
  • What if you pay the same price as Amazon and you are a brick and mortar shope with more overheads, is that still ok to be undercut by a company that does not pay it;s fair share of taxes?.
  • You buy a nearly new car from some back street car dealler, you don't know what has been done, then you go back to Ford and bitch to them it doesn't work right. That is what dell is trying to prevent. Unhappy clients and unhappy channel partners that sell for them. Especially if these were enterprise level machines.
  • Not really.  Any warranty you have for a product has to be fulfilled by the retailer.  They may refer you to the manufacturer to get it dealt with quicker, but if the manufacturer is not fulfilling the warranty, it is the retailer who has to deal with it.
  • On the contrary, many companies are launching their products only through online stores. Only time will tell as who wins the battle - the companies who try to control market or the ones who flow along with the market.
  • Even the big companies are thinking of launching separate inventories for online & offline retail stores so that their share doesn't clash.
    Only specific models to be launched on online stores especially those which have lower margins
  • Risky but wise move.
  • i believe working class will not understand this Policy by dell, even i would have not understood this if i had not started my own business. I am into a home interior business(wallpapers, flooring, curains, etc). there is a premium brand/manufacturer/company in our business which doesnt allow its retailers to give more than 10% discount. if they found out some retailer giving more than 10% they threaten to stop their dealership. why ? This has certain layers to it.. 1.Monopoly....it helps to maintain competition if such a rule was not there i would sell it really cheap and all the customers would flock to me creating a monopoly. 2. Reputation... every premium company has reputation to maintain. there is a mentality that cheaper the price lower the quality(you get what you pay for). If iPhone sells at the price of Xiaomi... what will be left of iPhone's reputation in the market. 3. Brick and Mortar...offline stores are 90% of the sellers. lets say if amazon/flipkart sells 100 pcs a month after starting great discount  they move upto 130 pcs so dell gained 30 pcs right??? wrong!!! because of this policy other offline stores will stop pushing dell to their customer and will push lenovo or hp where they get more margin cause any ways dell customers will only buy online... so Dell is actually loosing eg. 50 pcs from other sources. excuse me for my grammer, i hope i was able to put my point accross...
  • Michael Dell, founder of Dell, Inc. helped people to buy cheap assembled PCs instead of buying them from famed OEMs at a higher price. Now I see Dell as the king of those OEMs. You can buy 3 laptops rom Lenovo with higher specs on the same price as you bought two laptops from Dell at a lower configuration. Moreover, everything on a Dell laptop nowadays is attached permanently on the motherboard. Yes, everything. Even if you wanted to repair a damaged key on the keypad, you have to replace the whole system. If you are out of warranty, you are out of scope.
  • Depends on your price point, and line you are buying. Dell is cheaper than lenovo or HP every day of the week in the enterprise, because you can order to spec, and don't have to modify on delivery. Warrenty support is also much better.
  • What a load of nonsense.  There is no Dell laptop being sold where the keyboard cannot be replaced.
  • If Amazon and other e commerce are making profit then you know Dell is just fighting to keep profit margins even higher. Almost sound greedy.
  • It has less to do with Dell and more to do with their partner offline retailers
  • ditto zeeshan, it's about the Channel Partners that do their selling for them. Trust me, we sell 4-5 servers and 20+ PC's a month from Dell, networking, SANs, blah blah blah. See my other posts, this was good for the customer too.
  • If the offline retailers are not making money selling Dell products then you know Dell is just fighting to keep profit margins from getting even lower. Almost sounds desperation to me.
  • Well to be honest I think this is a good move. I bought a Lumia 920 on amazon US. The phone was a product meant for Saudi Arabia and warranty was invalid in the united states and from a lot of enquiries even Saudi Arabia denied that it would provide warranty.
  • Spoil sport dell... The source for the Dell products has to be Dell & if they won't give warranty for their own product then fine...
    No more buying any of their products.
  • Well said
  • Again, you obviously aren't in the enterprise channel market. This was nothing but a good thing for all involved, including the customer. Something the cheaper product costs more in the long wrong.
  • A simple solution would be to have only recognized sellers listed on the e-markets & restricting brick & mortar shops to simple showcasing, booking orders & after-sales services
  • How is this possibly better for the consumer?
  • Wait a minute - what am I missing? Dell sells their PCs to an authorized vendor at an agreed-upon price which includes the warrenty. That vendor chooses to dump inventory to Amazon to cut losses. Amazon resells the PC for their price. Dell is not out any money and the product has not changed in any way. Where is this hurting Dell's bottom line again?
  • Do you even read bro?
  • It's about Dell maintaining parity with their main partners. When Dell sells you their product for resell it is with the intention that you can sell it for profit, but when a rogue retailer start selling the same product less than you can compete with, you would think that Dell gave you a 6 for a 9. Dell has to do something to keep the faith of their retailers. Not honoring the warranty is one approach...actually maybe the one option Dell has since Dell has already received the money for it.
  • In India after all customers have to bare the prize of fight between manufacturer and reseller. There should be strict law against this type of controversy. These people in India react very rudely to the consumers. This thing can't happens in US or Europe or anywhere else. Because after all consumers are the king in those markets, but here in India consumers are nothing against them. Because they feel that they are the king.
  • I know. Many of these brick & mortar stores used to sell things on MRP even after years, in many instances they used to sell at launch price even though price was cut by manufacturer..
    Now this people can't handle that online retailers are giving a discount at MRP even at launch with many facilities like exchange, return, refund which offline retailers never cared about
  • So, what about those people who already bought some dell product in sale/before that, before this news was announced?
  • True. Amazon and other eCommerce stores are killing businesses of those physical stores.
  • Dick move Dell.
  • No, Dell sells through authorized resellers, and when we can't sell even at our cost, we lose sales, and our customers will not get what they think they are getting, and everyone has a bad time. Then the client thinks Dells are bad, that we suggested bad stuff (cause they went online and bought what they thought we suggested). Trust me as a channel partner, this is a good thing, and in the end will help Dell.
  • Flipkart is also facing same issue. 
  • Good on Dell, as a channel partner, it's a kick in the pants when someone gets online and can get something "similar" for 10 points under our cost.
  • Ouch seems a little shortsighted on Dell part.
  • People by cheap because there reg prices can be way out of line. That said if an item is purchased new online or not the company of said product should support its own warranty regardless.
  • Well the future lies in e-commerce. Its way more convenient, good deals and genuine products. We will be there someday.
  • This is not fair. I usually buy things online as there is no good brick and mortar store near my location. Instead of competitive pricing they have come to this. I guess more manufacturer will follow Dell now.
  • It should be every consumers right to get the best price..however online resellers should maintain authencity and should not bring a band name to the brand!If that happens Dell should not have any problem in providing warranty!Its totally out of sense not to provide warranty just to help brick and mortar stores!!In such a competititve market Evolution is the rule, evolve or get extinct!
  • I honestly don't think that retail stores are going to exist in 50 years, the costs of maintaining brick and mortar simply aren't viable when it's so much cheaper for companies to sit everything in a few warehouses and just ship them out to buying customers. There are already stores that utilize this kind of technique, basically just let the customer look through a catalogue, choose what they want and then it either gets delivered or grabbed from a back storeroom, this is just one step towards the retail floor ceasing to exist.
  • Lenovo has confirmed on twitter that flipkart is an authorised seller and customers will get full warranty
  • Honestly I say good for Dell because Amazon didn't gain Dell computers from them. (They're not authorized resellers after all). Ever since Dell became a private company again they're quality seems to be good, not the best but good, compare to when they were public using low quality parts to build their notebook line up (I never touched a Dell desktop so couldn't say.) I'm guessing they're trying to help out the little guys in the brick and motor stores since Amazon is basically the online version of Wal-Mart. 
  • Yeah!
     
  • I think it's great,screw these places that are not licensed resellers
  • Dell are a total rip off anyway. Overpriced crap. My last machine the power supply went, and they wanted to charge me like 4 times what a comparable power supply would cost, but given you can only used Dell parts, they've got you by the balls! Never buying Dell again.
  • Keeping customers devoid of warranty will not go down well with the customers. People here in India have lately understood the benefits of ecommerce and this trend will gather more pace in the years to come. Companies like Dell must be very cautious while making such policies.
  • This is one of the reasons I don't buy dell. A lot of high end products are either overpriced or just plain not offered in Australia either at all, or until they're not new or high end anymore. Both Lenovo Thinkpads and Asus laptops have global warranty. I can import them, buy a power adapter, and never worry.
  • Dick move from Dell. I was a Dell customer since the XPS 1530, time to go elsewhere. The Surface 3 or the new Yogas? :D
  • Asus, yes. Another lovely brand. Great service, great products, and great pricing! In the past few years, their consumer friendly tactics have helped them rise up among the plethora of PC manufacturers out there.
  • I think this is funny actually since Dell was one of the companies that outsourced all of their customer support to India to undercut wages in other countries and hurt their customers at the same time. Now they are complaining about another company using price advantages to sell products cheaper then some of their channel partners? Pot meet kettle? I have no love for Amazon as I am suspect of their business practices at large. But this is just to funny for me to ignore.
  • I recently purchased a canon DSLR from flip kart, but before that I checked the warranty terms and conditions from the canon India site. They do offer warranty for products bought from authorised online resellers. Flipkart being one of them. Posted via the Windows Phone Central App for Android
  • Dell need to support it customers who already purchsed from Amazon before Dell announced about Amazon India being unathroized Reseller, and 1st think dell need to stop shipping new products to Amazon India and pull back all its products from their warehouse. Because no supply from dell Amazon will not be able to sell.