The cases reached Places called Xataka in Mexico There are many of them: users who bought their Motorola cell phones in Liverpool, Mercado Libre, Amazon and Claro Shop, often do not know what the gray market is and why they see their cell phone blocked on the 11th day after turning it on for the first time.
Kari Sanz’s case is the most public. The user obtained a Motorola cell phone through a third party at MARKETPLACE from Liverpool. After a first contact, Sanz assured that Liverpool rejected the return, arguing its position as an intermediary platform. After their complaints went viral on social media, Liverpool agreed to a full refund.
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Shortly after that, a salesman said confidentially that Liverpool began requesting invoices for Motorola equipment sold on the platform. In the email sent to the sellers it is said that the documentation is now required to prove the origin of the smartphones “due to some reports from Motorola brand cell phone customers“.
There are no complaints as public as Sanz’s, but in Places called Xataka in Mexico We document four cases of purchase, blocking equipment, and then a full refund from Mercado Libre. So far, there is no evidence that Mercado Libre asks sellers to verify the origin of their equipment.
However, even one of the devices for which Mercado Libre exchanged the full value of the blocked cell phone is still available on the e-commerce platform. Even in one of the publications, the seller assured that the phone “Mexico will not block it“; in another response to potential buyers, the seller wrote: “The device is a global version, that message is a Motorola software error. They are working to fix this problem in a later update. For now, I request you to please ignore the message and just press the understand key.“.
Even if the seller ensures that the device is not blocked, and even calls Motorola to alert “a software bug“, in another message he assured: “If there is a blockage, you can void the manufacturer’s defect warranty.“.
Xataka México contacted Mercado Libre to find out its position in the gray market. she MARKETPLACE declined to comment on the steps taken and Motorola’s disqualification.
Mercado Libre is not the only case of secrecy about the gray market. From Xataka México we contacted Amazon to find out their position on the gray market and we did not receive an answer; Liverpool and Walmart also did not respond to a request. Claro Shop responded and told Xataka México that he took “actions to prevent the sale of gray equipment in its market, to give buyers certainty about the products they buy“.
Claro Shop does not detail what the actions are or if they are official, but in Xataka México we received a report from a user who claimed to have received a full refund after disabling a device at Motorola. As in the case of Mercado Libre, The devices in question are still available on the Claro Shop platform at the time of writing this text.
The case of Doto
Doto also responds to Xataka México and, unlike others markets, his posture is very frontal. Juan Aparicio, CX Manager at Doto, said the following:
“Our position is clearly “Technology accessible to all”. When companies want to go global to reach new markets and technological advances allow anyone in the world, no matter who you are, to get a chance to learn, work, develop or have fun, based on technology, it’s our job to find a way to give everyone the opportunity to have this technology. The democratization of the markets allows it, everyone is looking for the the best deal, the best opportunity, the purchase or payment method that you prefer and wherever your purchases come from, the big companies have taken advantage of this to sell around the world and it is unfair not to allow consumers to take advantage in the same way.
According to Aparicio, the MARKETPLACE there are two documented complaints about locked Motorola phones. The devices are received as part of the 12-month warranty offered on all new products. Doto added:
“We are working diligently to find alternative solutions and continue to offer the best possible experience to our customers, regardless of the decisions made by the brands. We are closely monitoring the situation and carefully evaluating each case to offer the best alternative solution available.”
To find the exits
The possible paths are complex. Maybe the markets like Claro Shop and Mercado Libre absorb the losses of blocked cell phones, but it is likely that the devices are returned to the sellers, which ends up with no sales and the device is disabled. As one Xataka México seller suggested, The next route to sell all inventory is through physical channels.
PROFECO ensures that for users who get a device through an authorized distributor, and after the cell phone is blocked, the seller must provide a guarantee. “In case of refusal, go to PROFECO to assert your rights.” said the office of the attorney general in an informative note.
Non-approved Motorola cell phones activated after July 27 will receive alerts and eventually be disabled. Samsung has announced that its devices acquired on the gray market will receive alert alerts but, so far, it has not started on the blocks in Mexico.
If you have been notified that your cell phone has been blocked or your device has been disabled, we want to hear from you. Please write to steve.saldana@ext.webedia-group.com.
