

An open letter to Asus India - aashutoshvatsa
http://aashutoshvatsa.tumblr.com/post/35391321194/an-open-letter-to-asus-india

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kakuri
I have to wonder if perhaps they perceive that with the wide income disparity
in India, there's not a sufficiently large market for $200-$500 devices.

Let's say they can sell 15,000 at $500 each. Maybe they think that many of
those buyers hardly care about the price, so why not sell 10,000 at $1000
each? Then they get $10M instead of $7.5M.

I can certainly identify with the frustration of people who do care about
price, and could bear the price tag offered in other countries.

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fakeer
Yes, this is one of those reasons. Also, the customs.

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ashray
Yeah, this is the sole reason that I lugged a 20+kg (~50lbs for our American
friends) Fender tube amp back with me when I returned from the US. I had to
carry it on my shoulders between terminals at Chicago airport but I was game
for all of that! The amp cost me about $1,000 but here in India the same amp
(if you can get it) costs around $2,100! Ridiculous!

Sometimes it's customs and sometimes it's just suppliers taking advantage of
the lack of consumer options. Sometimes it's both =(

Also, for those Indian friends who do not mind paying customs and still
getting their items at a ~25% markup due to customs, shop and ship is a great
option. I used to use it in Dubai and it was quite reliable (and they DO ship
to India as well). It's like a dropbox service which gives you a US address.
<http://shopandship.com/> They charge about $18/kg. Happy shopping :)

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chaitanya768
It might be a good time to mention that Android tablets from Indian companies
like Micromax and Karbonn are available for something like $100-120. These
aren't really great on specs, but even the higher-end ones don't really cost
more than 200 bucks. I know these products aren't really world-class but
they're not too bad if you're looking for a decent Android tablet. Also, it's
important to keep in mind that Google also sells licensed content like
magazines and movies and stuff through the play store in the USA, which it
can't really do in India (not yet anyway). So, it's not just the ads that are
subsidizing the tablet and hence gadgets won't be available for similar prices
for a long time in India.

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bishnu
From what I understand, India has a fairly high import tax on electronics.
FWIW, it looks like the 16 iPhone 5 retails there for ~$850.

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vvhn
Taxes and It is also a hedge against rupee devaluation ( which it tends to do
in bursts ). Companies don't want to get caught up at wrong end of the Rupee
sliding further.

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srik
> It is also a hedge against rupee devaluation

This makes perfect sense. I've never thought of it this way before.

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scorpioxy
This issues is not specific to India though. I face the same problem here in
Lebanon.

It is actually cheaper to buy things from Amazon, pay shipping to my
forwarding company and customs here than buying from local retailers. The only
problem is if there's a problem with the purchase then returns are a problem.

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nos4A2
Factual errors: padfone2 is only released in taiwan and will be launched in
other countries in december, the customs duty in India is 25-30% for
"entertainment" devices which include other "luxury" items like GPUs, Tablets
and kindles (I know this firsthand).

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aashutoshvatsa
I mean to say, Padfone 2 has already been showcased to a wider public through
tech media sites and ASUS India made the Padfone (now almost an year old
product) available in India a few days ago.

Thanks for the information about customs duty in India.

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Sathi
As you mentioned, it's the same for most of the companies. They sell products
at atrocious premiums. Lets see what the Asus India guys do, now that this
suggestion/complaint is on record.

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Indyan
Not true. I know Apple doesn't care about India. But, Sony, HTC, LG, Samsung,
Nokia and several others offer products at reasonable prices in India.

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fakeer
I agree - Apple doesn't. But try buying an MBA alternative in India and you
will be surprised that for all those features like SSD, solid OS, service
promise/guarantee &c, MBA is your cheapest option :-)

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pm90
i actually see a great opportunity for a homegrown company to fill in this
demand. Asus gives no fucks? Fuck them, well roll out our own

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fakeer
But local boys love to release first overseas and then head home where either
everyone has bought something else or have learned the rejection received
overseas. Classic example: Notion Ink's Adam.

I actually have tried the device - a friend had bought it. It's a clunky
device. just that bad esp seeing the looks/feels and promo. Looks good from a
distance.

