Risks to the wholesaler
Wholesalers provide significant value to the industry, the electrical contractor and the end user. They are the value-add in the electrical industry chain.
Wholesaler's liability
There are potential legal ramifications for wholesalers who sell products that don't comply. If wholesalers purchase direct from these counterfeit manufacturers, who usually operate overseas, those wholesalers then bear a legal responsibility to the end user for any costs or damages incurred from these products.
The potential risks to wholesalers
- Wholesalers have a responsibility to ensure they only stock genuine, reputable products.
- If wholesalers support counterfeit manufacturers they risk lowering the quality and value of products in the electrical industry.
- If a wholesaler stocks inferior product and it proves to be faulty, the cost to replace this stock is at their expense as these products usually don't come with a warranty or support service.
- This is a significant responsibility and a commercial risk for wholesalers.
To ensure you buy from a reputable wholesaler, go to Where to buy?
Example affecting wholesaler
A loyal customer of a well-known wholesaler was using 56 Series in his work at the mines.
- Having seen an advert for a cheap copy product the customer purchased this instead of the usual Clipsal product.
- The customer continued to use the copy product, charging it out at the cost of 56 Series, thinking he was reaping a greater profit as the product was less expensive.
- The cheap copy products were renowned for failure . He was always replacing faulty units yet considered that he was still in front even if he replaced each one twice.
- He asked the wholesaler to start stocking the copy product.
- The wholesaler declined as he did not wish to have his reputation tarnished by the lower quality product.
- Nor did the wholesaler want to be carrying all the failed stock with no manufacturer support.
How to avoid
the risks:
There are two key things to remember when buying your electrical products:
- Always buy through a wholesaler you can trust.
- Always buy well-known brands that have a reputation for genuine, quality products.
