Optus Mobile Review ALDI Mobile Review Amaysim Mobile Review Belong Mobile Review Circles.Life Review Vodafone Mobile Review Woolworths Mobile Review Felix Mobile Review Best iPhone Plans Best Family Mobile Plans Best Budget Smartphones Best Prepaid Plans Best SIM-Only Plans Best Plans For Kids And Teens Best Cheap Mobile Plans Telstra vs Optus Mobile Optus NBN Review Belong NBN Review Vodafone NBN Review Superloop NBN Review Aussie BB NBN Review iiNet NBN Review MyRepublic NBN Review TPG NBN Review Best NBN Satellite Plans Best NBN Alternatives Best NBN Providers Best Home Wireless Plans What is a Good NBN Speed? Test NBN Speed How to speed up your internet Optus vs Telstra Broadband ExpressVPN Review CyberGhost VPN Review NordVPN Review PureVPN Review Norton Secure VPN Review IPVanish VPN Review Windscribe VPN Review Hotspot Shield VPN Review Best cheap VPN services Best VPN for streaming Best VPNs for gaming What is a VPN? VPNs for ad-blocking In addition to offering consumers cheaper versions of the phones they know and love, grey imports also allow buyers to consider brands, models and variants that aren’t officially sold in Australia (like OnePlus, for example). According to the ACCC, you have the same consumer rights when buying grey imports as you do if you walked into JB Hi-Fi and bought an iPhone right off the shelf. Basically, that means if the device is faulty, you may be entitled to a repair, replacement or refund. The thing is, it’s the seller’s responsibility to remedy the issue - not the manufacturer. The seller cannot refuse to help you, nor can they ask you to contact the manufacturer. That’s all well and good if you purchased through an Australian reseller, but if you bought your phone from an international retailer, you could face a logistical and legal nightmare trying to enforce your Australian consumer rights on an overseas business. As for warranties, it gets even trickier. There’s no guarantee that your grey import phone will come with a manufacturer warranty, and even if it does, there’s no guarantee that warranty will apply in Australia. This could make repairs difficult, expensive, and long-drawn-out processes, leaving you phone-less for weeks, or potentially even months. Consumers considering a grey import phone need to toss up what’s more important to them: saving money or saving a headache in the event of a fault. As a broke uni student back in the day, the savings were worth it. Nowadays, I’m much more on the fence. Still, if you’re keen to proceed, we recommend sticking with a well-known Australian retailer like Kogan or Catch.
