Lenovo India removes three e-tailers from its authorized sellers list

Lenovo India has removed three of the leading Indian e-tailers from their authorized sellers list: Snapdeal, FlipKart and Amazon India. The Chinese based PC and mobile device maker also issued a notice in their website with a message that users should check the warranty period while purchasing from such sites. Few months ago, Nikon delisted FlipKart and Snapdeal from their authorized list.

Many of these companies with its own online retail websites have started a protest against such online retail websites as their 'predatory' pricing are hurting their business and profit margins.

Lenovo India said: "It has come to our notice that some of the online stores and marketplaces are selling Lenovo products at heavily discounted prices. Our observation is that these may not be Lenovo authorized resellers and keeping our end customers' interest in mind, we have accordingly issued an advisory on our Web site."

However, the company's official statement didn't give a good enough reason that one will convince not to buy from them, such as sale of duplicate items or smuggled/warranty less (note: "Grey Market" is a term used for such items in India) devices and systems.

Flipkart had nothing to say, except that they do not have any control over the pricing. Its a well known fact that usually its the authorized sellers who fix the price. Authorized sellers who sell with warranty have to resell electronics and computers via authorized distributors. Amazon India's spokesperson said that its listed sellers are contractually obligated to list genuine products with official manufacturer's warranty, irrespective of the brands. However, the decision made by Lenovo may hurt e-tailer's business model and its reputation for selling electronics, peripherals and maybe even appliances.

A question that many would ask: Is it wise for any company to delist an e-tailer site followed by a warning or a disclaimer just because some dealers are selling it at an attractive pricing?