How can grey market brokers offer Sun product much cheaper than the authorised resellers?
A. Much of the new product offered for sale by unauthorised brokers has been unlawfully imported by the brokers from other global markets. Sun Microsystems, like all vendors with a global sales and distribution model, is entitled to ring fence those markets from each other. It is the price differential between these markets, that is being unlawfully exploited by the brokers and allows them to offer seemingly cheap products for sale. It is also worth noting that the price of a Sun product from a grey market broker may seem cheaper than that available from an authorised reseller but there are many hidden costs associated with the grey product – lack of warranty support, no support eligibility, invalid Solaris licence, etc.
