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`Grey' cell-phones ring a bell

Neha Kaushik

NEW DELHI, Nov. 3

IF you are thinking of going mobile, you might just want to wait till the war in Afghanistan blows over. What's the connection?

Well, ever since the World Trade Center crash, prices for cellphones in the grey market in India have jumped. And the bombing in Afghanistan has made matters worse, as dealers claim it has led to a dearth of adequate supply in the market.

Says a South Delhi-based dealer: ``With the war breaking out, prices of almost all cellphones have seen a rise of Rs 400-1200, with the rise being greater for the more expensive and latest handsets.''

So, the Motorola T-180 which could be found in the grey market for Rs 2,400 three weeks ago is now selling for Rs 2,900. The price for the Panasonic GD-92 has jumped from Rs 6,100 to as much as Rs 7,200 in just two weeks.

Who is to blame? Says the dealer: ``Security has been increased making it difficult to smuggle in cellphones. And at the same time, the demand for cellphones has not decreased. As the demand-supply gap narrows, prices for the handsets will keep increasin g.''

Yet another dealer claims that a huge stockpile of handsets is lying with the Customs department thus causing a short supply situation in the market.

However, most dealers remain optimistic about the future. ``We are advising customers to postpone their cellphone purchase decisions by 20-25 days. As the initial hype about the war dies down, the prices are bound to come down,'' says a leading Delhi-bas ed cellphone dealer.

Others, meanwhile, are more cautious in their approach, forecasting that the price hike is likely to stay for the next 3-5 months or till the US operations in Afghanistan halt completely.

However, according to market analysts, sales in the grey market are not likely to get affected much as the prices remain much lower than the legal retail price in the market, even though people are likely to postpone their purchase decisions by a few day s.

Meanwhile, the cellphone grey market in India continues to boom with 70-80 per cent of total sales coming through this route.

Says a market analyst: ``With duties going up to more than 40 per cent for cellphones, it will be difficult to keep a tab on the grey market. In addition, a factor fueling growth for the Indian grey market is that it has become a dumping ground for Europ ean dealers for outdated models. Also, cellphone operators in Europe sell handsets at throwaway prices to consumers taking their schemes, which usually end up finding their way here.''