Danger! If It Looks Grey, Stay Away
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 The "grey market" may seem like a tempting way to save big money on new technology — but it's not worth the risk. The grey market refers to the flow of new goods through distribution channels other than those authorized or intended by the manufacturer or producer. Used or pre-owned goods are just that — used. Only new products fall under the legal, accepted definition of grey market.1
Grey market resellers may ship systems loaded with unlawful, unlicensed software that won't withstand an audit. They may deliver hardware without a Sun warranty and ineligible for authorized Sun support services, leaving you unsupported. And their servers, storage, and workstations may contain counterfeit components that don't comply with regulations or system configuration specifications. Besides endangering users, counterfeit products may perform poorly, corrupt a computer's data, or just plain not work. Some of these grey market resellers even sell stolen goods.
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'Dodging the Fakes'
A recent article at Techworld.com offers some valuable tips on "dodging the fakes." As Techworld.com noted, "Because clones and packaging are getting more realistic, many people don't realize they have counterfeit network equipment until it's installed and begins acting quirky. Outages and failures are often the tip-off that the gear is fake." Tips to avoid problems:
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Don't shop on the Internet for deeply discounted gear |
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Don't go outside your trusted channel to buy critical network components |
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If you're in the market for refurbished gear, the safest bet is to purchase certified products through the manufacturer |
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Check serial numbers against the vendor database |
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Check packaging carefully for anything out of the ordinary in the logo, size, or type of packaging materials by comparing them with others in the same shipment |
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Closely examine the gear and compare holograms and chip sets |
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All of this creates business risk for you, from hardware failure, poor product performance, or even investigation by law enforcement agencies. When your server fails and your vendor leaves you unsupported, that bargain purchase price doesn't look like such a good value.
Sun defines a grey market product as a new Sun product sold by a company outside our authorized distribution channel. Grey products do NOT include products shipped by us or our authorized distribution channels to an end user customer, that are used by that customer in good faith for its own internal purposes and then resold. Sun's policy about grey products and support is that we will NOT place a grey market product on a Sun support contract, except when required by law. A grey market product is NOT eligible to go through our Sun Recertification Service (SRS).
Securing Support for Used Sun Equipment
Unlike grey market products, we may choose to place a second hand product on a Sun support contract so long as one of the following applies:
- The product has been recertified under our Sun Recertification Service and is lawfully on the market in the relevant country.
- The product was shipped by us (or our authorized distribution channel in compliance with the channel contract arrangements) to an end user customer and was previously covered under another of our support contract without lapse, before being put forward for this next support contract.
In some cases, to ensure compliance with the law and depending on individual circumstances, we may require you to agree to additional terms before placing a product on a support contract.
Sun provides a service for customers wishing to cover a legitimate secondhand product as previously defined with a Sun support contract. The service, called Sun Recertification Service (previously known as System Support Qualification Process, or SSQS) initially involves a check on the product in question to ensure it is legally on the market.
Next, a Sun technician will make an on-site visit to test the system and validate its Solaris OS license. Once the system is qualified, the customer will receive a qualification certificate that entitles the system to be placed on a Sun support contract. The certificate is valid for 120 days and the SRS certification process is subject to a fee that does not include parts and labor to resolve any hardware related issues.
If you have or acquire a lawfully obtained, genuine secondhand Sun product and wish to cover it with Sun support, contact your local Sun support representative and ask for an SRS inspection.
It should be noted that the installation of grey or secondary market parts into a system covered by a Sun support contract may prejudice the warranty or breach the terms of the support contract. Sun does not take any responsibility for any damage or loss of availability associated with the installation, potential failure, or removal of grey or secondary market parts in any supported system.
Protect Yourself by Dealing Only with Sun Authorized Resellers
It's important to us that you receive the highest quality service wherever you choose to purchase your Sun system. After all, it's our logo on the front and our reputation that's ultimately at stake. That's why we have rigorously certified a network of exceptional resellers, distributors, and system integrators as our partners. They have access to our expertise and training, and are expressly licensed to sell our products.
The only way to ensure you get a high quality Sun product is to purchase from Sun directly or from a Sun authorized reseller. If you have any doubt about the contractual status of any party offering to sell you Sun product, check if it's listed in the Sun Partner Directory.
Alternatively, ask the company to provide you with written confirmation that it is a Sun authorized reseller and to quote their Sun reseller agreement number. If the company is unable or unwilling to do this, then it's probably not a Sun authorized reseller.
Any party describing itself as an "independent reseller" or "independent distributor" or such likely is not authorized by Sun to sell Sun products. Even if a company's Web page has a Sun logo on it, it is not safe to assume it is authorized by Sun to sell Sun products.
A reseller can exhibit some of Sun's trademarks and logos on its Web site so long as it does so to identify genuine Sun products and use the trademarks in accordance with honest commercial practices. Therefore, the display of a Sun Microsystems logo or trademarks on a Web site is no guarantee that any contractual relationship exists between that company and Sun Microsystems.
Sun Takes Action Against Unauthorized Brokers
Sun Microsystems globally monitors the activities of unauthorized brokers and does act when appropriate to protect its intellectual property rights and its reputation as a supplier of high quality and reliable computer products. Sun has taken legal action against some brokers involved in unlawful activity and won all the cases it has initiated. Sun takes these measures to protect its customers from unscrupulous brokers and to protect its intellectual property rights as a global supplier.
Through Sun's Partner Advantage Program, it's easier than ever to find the right partner for you. But at the same time, you need to be aware of the risks and be careful when you make your purchase that you use an authorized Sun partner.
The lesson is simple: If it looks grey — stay away.
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_market
Questions or comments? Please email education_news@sun.com
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