E-commerce has played a pivotal role in Xiaomi’s success as an up and coming maker from China. Many GizChina readers reading this story on their Xiaomi phones wouldn’t have been able to procure their phones had it not been for e-commerce and Chinese entrepreneurs.
However, like every other thing, there are two sides to this coin as well. Almost every market that Xiaomi has set up shop in, the maker has received rave reviews for its attractively priced devices. The flash sale model, however, means that not everyone who’d want aĀ XiaomiĀ phone is able to get one… which opens up a market for scalpers.
Now, itĀ makes perfect business sense to stock and sell products that generate hugeĀ demand… if done legally. Unfortunately for Xiaomi, and thus its potential buyers, a lot of its phones are being sold through unofficial channels at surprisingly high prices. Not only does it mean that Xiaomi loses a section ofĀ its customers, but it can also be a potential threat to Xiaomi’s image. Chinese phones are already a sensitive enough subject.
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India’s Manu Jain said that the company would be taking legal action against 3rd party resellers participating in such transactions. Jain also added that what hurt the company the most was the fact that the resellers made their sites and stores appear as though they were official Xiaomi stores, which as we all know, isn’t the case.
[Source, Via]
Very necessary.
yea, most of people think “xiaomiworld, xiomishop” etc are officials, while are they crap. get rid of them !
Xiaomiworld and Xiaomishop usually are the best option to buy a Xiaomi phone outside of China. They usually offer very good prices with free accessories and good support. I think Xiaomi is talking more about the shops that sell the Mi4 and Mi Note for nearly double the retail price.
I beg to differ, I think Xiaomi has its sights on shops just like Xiaomiworld and Xiaomishop because regardless of good they are, they are using “Xiaomi” in their store name and domain hence the average internet dolt might mistake it for being an official Xiaomi online store.
If Xiaomi actually in fact supports (works with) either of these two stores (ie. by directly supplying phones), they should just buy one of them out and make it official.
Given how both of those shops always have stock of the latest Xiaomi device before anyone else does and they virtually never run out, I am willing to bet they have some sort of agreement with Xiaomi.
That picture is oddly fitting.
Yeah, a lot of thought went into that š
Well Xiaomi, open up a webshop for international buyers or give us a trustworthy reseller with stock… It seems we want your products so much, well give us that opportunity!
I tend to agree with you, but… as long as Xiaomi is willingly not giving any priority to the sales to international markets outside China and India, they are in a way paving the street for unofficial resellers to meet these demands. Thus flipping the coins backwards š
They already have one it’s Xiaomishop.com…..
While an official store is the most obvious choice it is not always that simple, especially for a company as young as Xiaomi is. Xiaomishop and Xiaomiworld are both trustworthy resellers who work with Xiaomi and offer close to retail prices.
ibuygou.com is a trusted reseller. They have better prices in general from Xiaomishop and Xiaomiworld, I have bought my mi4 and various accessories from them without issue.
As long as they are actively ignoring European and American demand, I don’t see how this can be stopped or why it should be stopped. They are not losing a section of their customers because of the scalpers, they are gaining customers so loyal that they are willing to pay more because Xiaomi won’t/can’t sell on 2 entire continents where people want their products and loathe paying double/triple prices for bloatware ridden mainstream brand phones.