GREY MARKET Grey market sites offer great prices on cheap tech. Marie Brewis

For a long time now we’ve been talking about Chinese smartphone makers producing high-end devices with mid-range or even budget prices, which rival the far more expensive brands we’re familiar with in the UK, such as Samsung, Sony, HTC, LG and Motorola. But few of these are available to purchase through UK network operators or retailers, and if you want to get your hands on one of these handsets (or any other tech sold overseas), your options are limited to eBay, Amazon (sometimes) and the grey market.

We have recently begun reviewing some of these products, supplied to us by GeekBuying (geekbuying.com), Coolicool (coolicool.com) and GearBest (gearbest.com), so we have first-hand knowledge of dealing with these sites. While our target audience here is largely UK consumers, the internet is a global resource and we have readers in all corners of the world.

In order to provide the best information possible in our best smartphone roundups and the like, we want to ensure we are covering the best range of products. This includes names such as Xiaomi, Doogee, Gionee, UMI, Elephone, Ulephone, and so on, which you (and, indeed, we) have never come across before. They are, however, are gaining more market traction, both inside and outside the UK, than ever before. Not only do these phones have great specs and low prices, they are typically dual-SIM too (see our feature on page 100), which is becoming increasingly popular in the UK. But until these brands officially release products to the UK market, the grey market is often your only option if you wish to buy them.

What is the grey market?

First, let’s clear up an important issue: the grey market is not illegal. It is sometimes referred to as a parallel market, which is in fact a clearer representation of what it is. The grey market is a channel through which goods are imported by distributors not authorised by the manufacturer. It allows UK