Watch Out for Seagate Drives Allegedly Sold Under the Supertron Name with No Warranty
You may not have heard of Supertron Electronics before, but over in India, the company's name is much better known. Supertron has a longstanding relationship with Seagate which, for thirteen years, existed as an import partner and sub-distributor. In 2006, Supertron became an official Seagate National Distributor, giving Seagate an extended presence in India and local areas.
Apparently some unscrupulous folks have decided to take advantage of both company's good names. According to Supertron Electronics, gray market dealers are importing fake Seagate hard drives, rebadging them as Supertron models, and then selling them inside and outside of India with seemingly favorable warranties.
Seagate's normal warranty period for external HDDs is 3 years in India and 2 years outside India. The gray market dealers are selling their fake drives, complete with duplicated product and packaging, with 3-year warranty periods outside India.
"Such a fake warranty period is attracting the customers. Since it is matching with India's warranty period which is 3 years, customers are viewing this as a lucrative option and hence buying the fake product," Nirmal Kr Meharia, director of Supertron Electronics, told DQ-Week. "They are unaware of this unlawful activity and thinking the product to be original Seagate manufactured."
Meharia says he was first alerted of the situation after seeing a drop in sales. He initially shrugged off the decline to poor market conditions, but upon further research, discovered it was only happening in Bengaluru and Chennai. Further probing led to the discovery of the fake drives by an unknown dealer.
Apparently some unscrupulous folks have decided to take advantage of both company's good names. According to Supertron Electronics, gray market dealers are importing fake Seagate hard drives, rebadging them as Supertron models, and then selling them inside and outside of India with seemingly favorable warranties.
Seagate's normal warranty period for external HDDs is 3 years in India and 2 years outside India. The gray market dealers are selling their fake drives, complete with duplicated product and packaging, with 3-year warranty periods outside India.
"Such a fake warranty period is attracting the customers. Since it is matching with India's warranty period which is 3 years, customers are viewing this as a lucrative option and hence buying the fake product," Nirmal Kr Meharia, director of Supertron Electronics, told DQ-Week. "They are unaware of this unlawful activity and thinking the product to be original Seagate manufactured."
Meharia says he was first alerted of the situation after seeing a drop in sales. He initially shrugged off the decline to poor market conditions, but upon further research, discovered it was only happening in Bengaluru and Chennai. Further probing led to the discovery of the fake drives by an unknown dealer.
