vebkat sir i do agree wiyh you but warranty only for one or two yrs after that if we got some prb.they cost same then why should we spent double money?
Because, many times problems come up during installation and in the initial stages. Many of the products such as Parasound or Bryston, for example, come with a 5 to ten year warranty
Secondly after the warranty is over you can get into a AMC. Most important of all, if you buy from a authorised dealer, you can always demand service even from the manufacturer, irrespective of where you bought it from. And, an authorised dealer will give you good service and help you through the installation and other tweaking processes as they are trained. I picked up a Pioneer DVD Player in Rome, and Pioneer UK, Pioneer Singapore and the service center in India all replied to my queries when I mentioned the serial number and the place and date of purchase.
The gray market sellers are just cash traders. They buy an item, add their margins, sell the stuff and disappear. They certainly will not be able to service or even help you during installation, as they do not have any knowledge.
Yesterday, for example I visited ProFx in Chennai. The Regional Manager Mr. Shankar Ram is a good friend of mine as I have been visiting the shop for over three years continuously. I have always surprised him by bringing a large set of music CDs and movie DVDs. He used to have some standard DVD with ten or 12 movies in it, and many pirated DVDs before. Yesterday, he turned the tables on me. He had an excellent set of music and movies - all original. Based upon my input he has taken the trouble of purchasing a large set of the CDs/DVDs by himself even though the company did not encourage him. Shankar knows I already own a Onkyo, but he patiently demonstrated the Denons and won an order in just an hour.
I doubt you will get this kind of long term service from any gray market dealer.
And the price difference need not be 100%. Many of the dealers will provide large discounts, and the price difference can be brought down to 30% or so over the US or European prices. I remember Prithvi of Absolute Phase saying that UK products have literally the same price in India.
My biggest fear of gray market is of getting a product that has some defects. Even if you know the person well, he himself may not be aware that he is selling a dud machine.
Of course these are all my opinion.
Cheers