Gray market

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The gray market (English gray market or gray market ) describes a movement of goods that occurs legally, but uses distribution channels that are not authorized , and that moves in a legal gray area. Of gray markets is spoken when it comes to arbitrage is where consumers especially when the product is introduced into a country where it has not been established to exploit country specific price differences, and this country also is not the destination country of the manufacturer. A common case in the international movement of goods is parallel import .

According to estimates, gray market trade accounts for around five to seven percent of the flow of goods within the European Union . A distinction is made between gray re-imports (if the price level in the production country is higher than on international sales markets ), gray parallel exports (if the price level of the authorized exports on the foreign sales market is higher than in the production country) and gray lateral exports (if there is a price differential between the sales markets individual countries). The offering of goods that are subject to minimum prices set by the state at an illegally low price also takes place in gray markets . Synonymous with gray market is also the name gray market used. In the area of ​​finance there is the term gray capital market , although the understanding of the term is somewhat different.

definition

In contrast to the illegal movement of goods on a black market , which deals primarily with prohibited, counterfeit or stolen goods, the gray market is usually concerned with original goods that are sold through unauthorized distribution channels; thus they lack the approval or control procedures that are binding for them. Since illegal market trading does not take place separately from the legal economy, but rather legal and illegal market segments combine with one another, the boundaries between the gray market and the black market are fluid. Gray and black markets are assigned to the shadow economy . A legally secure delimitation is difficult.

Gray market goods

Under gray market goods refers to goods which from sources outside the official distribution channels were obtained. As a rule, it is not a question of product piracy , but of original goods that were produced for a non-established market (for example in emerging countries ) and were calculated at a low price that is customary in the market there . The goods are then imported to Europe or the USA in order to be offered there well below the market price. From the end customer's point of view, these are legally purchased products. However, in relation to the entire retail chain, gray market goods have a semi-legal status, as the purchase by the end customer was usually preceded by a violation of the terms and conditions or a breach of contract between the supplier and the dealer, who sold the goods beyond normal household quantities .

Manufacturers often code high-quality goods in order to be able to localize the origin of gray market goods . For authorized dealers, moving exclusive goods to the gray market can result in a warning or termination of the depot contract. Consumers who purchase gray market goods have to expect restrictions on returns and warranty. There is also a risk of receiving outdated or poor quality items. Sales outlets that offer gray market goods risk warnings for the unauthorized use of the product images or (protected) brand logos .

drug

The gray market refers to the trade in drugs that originally came from legal treatment, while the black market only trades illegal goods. Of gray-market transactions will also be discussed, for example, when pharmacists goods they receive from pharmaceutical manufacturers refer earmarked special rates from sell to wholesalers; or if discounted drugs intended for aid purposes are not delivered to developing countries but are distributed in Germany. The fact that such cases end up in court and lead to convictions shows that the business in the specific case is illegal, but takes place in an environment that systematically misappropriates legal trade routes:

"An entire industry has now specialized in moving medicines back and forth within Europe. Companies buy pills or juices in those EU countries where they cost little and sell them on where they are particularly expensive Medication from one middleman to the next. [...] It can be repackaged or relabeled several times. Nobody knows whether it is properly stored and refrigerated. The system is intransparent and confusing and makes it easy for criminals to steal or fake it Smuggle in goods. "

Netherlands

In the Netherlands, gray market , based on the Dutch name grijze markt, denotes the illegal sale of drugs , especially in the drug scene . These are mainly substitution drugs such as methadone , Subutex or codeine and sleeping pills and sedatives from the group of benzodiazepines (e.g. Rohypnol ), but also increasingly stimulants such as methylphenidate or amphetamine preparations for the purpose of so-called brain doping. In Amsterdam, the gray market for narcotics has been a long-known phenomenon. It can be located, is close to the black market and offers methadone throughout. There are voices who attribute a positive and meaningful function to the gray market ; it is “lucky in unhappiness” and represents an expansion and flexibilization of state substitution . Groups that are not included in the substitution can take care of themselves here. Another positive influence is stated that the gray market as an additional trading center is responsible for ensuring that the quality of black market products is consistently and consistently good and that this in turn has a positive influence on avoiding overdosing due to undetected substance fluctuations. Intravenous methadone consumption, which is risky because of the risk of infection, has been ruled out - largely successfully - by offering methadone tablets. However, with every passing on of prescribed substitution drugs, the goal of an orderly and controlled dispensing, also with regard to the health consequences, is reduced to absurdity.

United States

In the US, the high cost of prescription drugs has created a gray market as drug prices vary significantly from country to country and the price difference exceeds the cost of transportation. There the number of deaths from the misuse of prescribed drugs has risen massively. In 2017, more than 72,000 people died as a result of their drug addiction, including around 30,000 from legally available painkillers. Opioids, usually prescribed for pain management, are the leading cause of overdose deaths - and of the opioids, methadone is again.

Developing countries

The gray market business includes the re-import of pharmaceuticals into the European Union, which are intended for the fight against diseases in developing countries. These are mainly high-priced drugs for the treatment of HIV / AIDS , malaria and tuberculosis .

Video games

Nintendo 64 game console

Within the video game industry , retail sales have shifted to the internet . The associated digitization prepared the ground for the emergence of a gray gaming market . The missing physical component of the merchandise eliminates the need for storage and shipping costs and minimizes the logistical effort. While usage licenses are the same worldwide, regional sales prices vary considerably, making video games ideal objects of arbitrage. On reseller portals such as G2A and Kinguin, usage licenses for console or online PC games are sold as download codes ( license keys ) well below the market price . From a legal point of view, the sale does not take place between the end customer and the platform operator acting as a web shop, but between the end customer and one of the many key resellers who use the platform for a sales fee and supply it with parallel imports .

If illegal activities or deliberate fraud take place during such a parallel import, the actually legal gray market becomes an illegal black market. Digital gamekeys that were paid for with stolen credit card data before they landed on the gray market , for example , lose their validity as soon as the manufacturer becomes aware of the fraud. The product license is withdrawn and the end customer can no longer use the game. If necessary, he will be asked to buy the license again. This can also result in the user account or the game console being blocked. While the end customer becomes tangible for the manufacturer as soon as he uses the key to activate it, the middlemen operating within the gray market remain hidden and cannot be prosecuted. One possibility to change this is a process called Silent Key Activation (SKA), in which key codes are no longer circulated, but the games are activated directly when they are purchased via a manufacturer's database. In addition, reseller platforms want to ensure that the gray market for video games is no longer used for illegal practices through more transparency , more comprehensive verification of resellers and their own storefront profiles for manufacturers and developers .

weapons

The multilateral UN treaty on the international arms trade , which came into force in 2014, obliges the contracting states to clarify in every arms deal whether the arms traded are committing serious human rights violations. In contrast to all European states, the arms exporting countries China and Russia did not sign the treaty, so they are not bound by the terms of the treaty. In 2019, US President Trump announced the US would withdraw from the agreement signed by his predecessor Obama .

Europe

Action outcry: Protest against arms trade in front of the Federal Chancellery in Berlin

Within the European Union, the acquisition and possession of firearms and ammunition is largely prohibited or strictly regulated by the applicable firearms law . This means that a legal purchase of weapons outside of the authorized and licensed sales channels is almost impossible. Gray market structures in the EU therefore do not affect domestic demand but rather export relations. Due to the Defense Equipment Directive of the European Union issued in 2009, which aims to create uniform and transparent regulations for the defense sector in order to simplify the licensing procedures for shipments within the European Union, arms deals within the EU are no longer considered exports requiring a license. This makes it possible to manufacture weapons across borders and to export them via third countries. The six largest buyers of approved German armaments include Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, including countries directly involved in the war, although the coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU and SPD has explicitly excluded arms deliveries to states involved in the war in Yemen .

Russia

Moscow is considered to be the center of a globally operating gray arms market where private companies, with the support of the Russian military secret service GRU, carry out covert arms sales. A well-known example is the Russian transporter and arms dealer Viktor Anatolyevich But , who has meanwhile been imprisoned in the USA . According to the United Nations, he is said to have shifted weapons worth millions to conflict areas, particularly in Africa, and thus undermined embargo regulations. Already in the USSR the GRU was responsible for arms deliveries to rebel groups. After the collapse of the Eastern Bloc , their networks remained active. While Moscow handled official arms sales through the state arms agency Rosoboronexport , deliveries to the Palestinians were made through gray channels so as not to endanger relations with Israel. According to research by the news magazine Spiegel , business in the Russian capital was so large that the Russian foreign intelligence service SWR warned of the damage to its image due to the gray arms market in the successor states of the former Soviet Union. In addition to the sale of large quantities of rifles, ammunition, light artillery and helicopters with mostly used technology, high-quality weapon systems were also sold to governments. The arms scandal surrounding the Israeli billionaire Arcadi Gaydamak , known as the "Angolagate" , shows how strongly legal and illegal arms deals are intertwined through bribery and corruption and are opening up a gray market . The secrecy for reasons of national security, the protection of trade and business secrets as well as the self-protection of the state institutions involved from public criticism contribute to the fact that arms deals are particularly well protected from political and public control and transparency. Andrew Feinstein speaks of a revolving door phenomenon in which the movement of a few people between positions in government, politics, the military, intelligence agencies and arms factories results in an enormous political influence for those involved in the arms trade .

Clocks

Four luxury watches: Audemars Piguet (left) and three Rolex watches

Watches in the luxury price segment can usually only be purchased from dealers and jewelers with a valid license. Nevertheless, a gray market has developed in which clocks from dealers without a license are sold significantly cheaper. Exclusive watches on online platforms are usually 20 to 30 percent below the regular prices. The providers acquire the watches from different sources, but mostly from abroad, in order to e.g. B. to benefit from differences in VAT. The sources for gray market watches include jewelers and official retailers who miss the contractually agreed sales targets of the brand manufacturers and pass their watches on to unlicensed watch dealers or try to get rid of badly running models via online platforms. This practice is viewed very critically by the luxury watch industry and can lead to the withdrawal of the license. Occasionally, manufacturers work behind the scenes with gray market dealers in order to secure a certain influence on this parallel sales channel. Important sales markets for high-end watches are Hong Kong, Japan and the USA. If the demand there falls, the goods have to be re-imported. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal , around 40 percent of all Swiss watch imports originally come from Switzerland. There, the share of the gray market for watches over 5,000 euros between 2014 and 2016 was, according to estimates, 20 percent of the global market, which is estimated at around 50 billion euros.

Cosmetics

In the area of ​​exclusive, high-quality perfumery cosmetics and luxury perfumery, trade is mostly regulated by depot contracts with authorized dealer depots. Such contracts are (with the exception of mail order ) concluded on a business basis (i.e. for specific, contractually regulated locations) and dictate what a retailer has to do in order to be allowed to sell a luxury fragrance. In the perfumery sector in particular, manufacturers and suppliers are keen to keep their distribution exclusive. This is to ensure a sales environment that does justice to the value of luxury items and the need for advice when buying. 80% of sales in the European beauty market are generated by the eight big brands L´Oréal , Coty , Estée Lauder , Chanel , Groupe Clarins, LVMH , Shiseido and Puig, which are mostly sold in parallel in the stationary trade. Under antitrust law, agreements on which dealers will be excluded from delivery are not provided, which is why the selection takes place via strict depot contract guidelines. Goods that are offered for sale outside of these official delivery routes fall into the category of gray market goods and bypass the requirements of the industry.

Tickets

When events are sold out, a secondary market for admission tickets arises, although resale is not permitted in most of the organizers' general terms and conditions or is only permitted up to the former purchase price. These transactions are then concluded on a gray market , as on the one hand the civil law transaction is not desired by the organizer, but on the other hand the organizer cannot sanction access to non-personalized admission tickets with the tickets purchased in the secondary market. As a reaction to the unauthorized resale of tickets, the German Football League and the clubs introduced an "Official Secondary Ticket Market". In Switzerland, the market leader Ticketcorner launched an information campaign against the gray ticket market and is now offering its own resale platform.

Gray job market

Nurses

In Germany, the increasing demand for care and household-related services ( care work ) is leading to an increase in the work and commuting migration of foreign domestic helpers . Of the approximately 2.86 million people with approved benefits from long-term care insurance, over 1.8 million people (71%) are cared for at home. If the relatives can not or do not want to take care of home care themselves, the state care allowance can be used to finance an outpatient care service or to employ private domestic help . The boundaries between housekeeping and basic maintenance are often blurred. While 24-hour care by a regular nursing service can cost 10,000 to 20,000 euros per month, a Central and Eastern European household help receives between 1,200 and 2,400 euros. In this way, the supply gaps in private households by migrant women are closed and the applicable collective wages for skilled work in care professions are undermined. According to a study by the Hans Böckler Foundation , almost every tenth care household employs such an assistant. So a gray market has developed that is not controlled by the state.

Household services

Under domestic services activities to be taken in the home and family, "which are usually done by the household members themselves and unpaid (could), but by household strangers to charge in and rendered domestic use." According to surveys, about ten percent of employed household domestic help in Germany. Around 80 percent of these employment relationships are not registered. A smooth transition to non-reportable neighborhood help favors irregular employment relationships and ensures that the “invisible” work in the home and family can hardly be uncovered by control authorities. In addition to increased costs, bureaucratic requirements are seen as obstacles in the transition of household-related services into regular employment.

Recruitment

The gray job market denotes available jobs that are not advertised publicly, but are allocated "under the control". He is also hidden job market called and describes ways of recruitment , job placement through personal relationships, unsolicited applications , fairs, career networks or by means of recruitment by so-called headhunters are occupied. Cost reduction , discretion and risk minimization are the most important reasons for companies not to advertise their vacant positions publicly.

GDR economy

Exhibition in the GDR Museum Berlin, "Subject Bückware"

The range of goods in the German Democratic Republic can be described as a shortage economy , since domestic consumer goods production did not succeed in meeting the purchasing power and consumer wishes of its own population. Characteristic of the planned economy in the state socialism of the GDR was a juxtaposition of highly subsidized basic needs goods on the one hand and an extremely limited supply of coveted consumer goods with a rarity on the other. The shortfall in demand and excess purchasing power meant that rare goods were also bought without their own need as soon as the opportunity arose to be used as barter or hoarded. The purchase of many products was associated with long waiting times; Rare items could only be obtained with the right connections or in exchange for foreign currency . The western currency “naturally served as gray to black currency, for example if you wanted to pay the craftsman”, and it made it possible to buy duty-free western products in the Intershops , which the SED state used as a source of unlimited exchangeable currencies. In this way, a two-class consumer society developed, in which western money established itself as a second currency. Since the non-commercial trade in own goods was tolerated, the unofficial procurement channels in the GDR are not included in the black market but in the gray market . In 1977, an amendment to the Foreign Exchange Act allowed GDR citizens to own foreign currencies or legalized their saved Western money. At the same time, the Politburo allowed the delicatessen and exquisite shops for licensed productions to sell limited quantities of imported goods.

"In the delicatessen and exquisite stores for groceries, textiles and shoes, the state trade sells goods of high quality from Western production at three to seven times the price to customers who pay with Eastern currency."

Genex gift service

Genex mail order catalog, 1986 edition

Due to the low purchasing power of the national currency, the GDR was viewed and tightened as a low-wage country by the FRG. Around 6,000 West German companies purchased products from East Germany, including the Quelle mail order company , Salamander , Schiesser , Adidas , Bosch and Beiersdorf . Conversely, 50 percent of the GDR export goods went to the FRG. Only a small part of the domestic production remained in the GDR and was sold there in the expensive delicatessen and exquisite shops. The Genex Gift Service , a mail order company founded in 1956 by order of the GDR government, acted in this context to enable controlled channeling of goods traffic through western parcels and to restrict the import of western consumer goods.

“This created an economically unique paradoxical structure: Genex exported its goods to its own country - and benefited enormously from them. Because the goods were produced cheaply in the GDR, and the workers were paid with Ostmarks. But the items were bought at hefty D-Mark prices. Taxes and customs were also dropped because most of the products were already stored in the GDR. "

West Germans could use the Genex mail order catalogs to order products for their relatives from the East that were not available in the GDR or only after long waiting times. For political and foreign exchange law reasons, Genex was unable to set up a branch office in Germany, as the exchange rate gains would then have been lost. So the sales promotion and the ordering process were handled by the companies Jauerfood in Denmark and Palatinus in Switzerland. An almost classic arbitrage trade of astonishing proportions: Between 1956 and 1989 Genex achieved a turnover of 3.3 billion D-Marks.

Single receipts

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