ASUS issues advisory against e-tailers

ASUS is the latest company to warn customers against buying products from e-commerce sites such as Amazon, Snapdeal, eBay and Flipkart. The Taiwanese-American company issued an advisory saying these online marketplaces are not authorised dealers for ASUS products and that the company does not take any responsibility of genuineness of the products sold through these sites. ASUS is the fifth-largest personal computer vendor by unit sales after Lenovo, HP, Dell and Acer according to a report by technology research advisory firm Gartner.

In an email response to Business Standard, ASUS said its intention is to caution its customers and not to give a bad name to e-commerce. "ASUS has just advised its users to be cautious on pre- and post-sales terms. The authenticity of the product is the focus. Irrespective of the channels of purchasing, the focus should be on the genuineness of the product." In response, e-commerce companies say they sell only genuine products and that their sellers are authorised ones. "We continue to stand by the quality of the products sold through Flipkart. All our customers will continue to enjoy the warranty and service," said a spokesperson for Flipkart.