What is the Chrome Hearts Grey Market?

Chrome Heart Store

In many ways, the free market and the convenience of online shopping are at odds with certain luxury brands. After all, anyone who knows anything about economics knows the principle of supply and demand, yet luxury brand manufacturers misjudge the demand (and, therefore, the price) of their styles all the time. Moreover, they also occasionally make products intentionally scarce, artificially adding to their prestige. Based purely on demand, for example, there should be more Chrome Hearts Bella Hadid Cropped Hoodies, the company keeps numbers limited to build a sense of exclusivity. If you attempt to buy one from an Authorized Dealer (AD) you will need to be extremely lucky, or you may need be a top customer to buy it.

Luxury Brands Create the Grey Market 

Chrome Hearts Store

For Authorized Dealers, misjudging supply and demand is a problem. Dealers have to pay before they even know which styles they will receive. This can lead to problems when trying to clear their inventory of unsold, unpopular styles.  The solution? In many cases, they try to sell these less desirable styles together with more popular styles to a grey market dealer, who buys in bulk. Of course, the Official Retailer is unlikely to make as much this way, but sometimes cash flow issues and reducing the inventory are more important considerations than trying to sell luxury brands in strict accordance with the brand's demands, which can be completely unrealistic. 

What is the Chrome Hearts Grey Market? Chrome Hearts

Many Authorized Dealers are unable to sell all of the products Chrome Hearts sell them and, to contend with this, they will often sell part of their inventory to non-authorized dealers. On the other hand, whoever buys in bulk gets better conditions in any market, thus grey market dealers often get the best items first. As non-authorized dealers are not bound by strict luxury brand's contracts, they are able to embrace free market principles, adjusting their prices based on supply and demand. They are also able to sell products through online stores, which is forbidden for Authorized Dealers. According to one article published by the Financial Times, the inefficiencies of the luxury apparel market are so large that 20 percent of all luxury appatel sales are currently happening in this ‘grey market’. Yet, this market is so disliked by some luxury brand companies that they would prefer to destroy their unsold products than allow the free market to determine a fair price, and break their meticulously crafted pricing strategy.

Advantages of the Grey Luxury Brand Market Chrome Hearts Store

For customers, there are a number of potential advantages associated with buying a luxury brand item from the grey luxury brand market, rather than from an Authorized Dealer. Some of the most significant advantages are outlined below:

1) No Waiting Lists

Unlike with Authorized Dealers, grey market dealers operate according to free market principles, with no waiting lists. While this may mean you will need to pay more for the most in-demand styles, you will be able to get the sought after styles quickly. By contrast, you will rarely find a Chrome Hearts Matty Boy Limited Art Basel Shirt from an Authorized Dealer, and even if you join a waiting list, there are no guarantees you will actually get the style in the end. 

2) Greater Choice

Another major advantage of grey market online shops is that they offer all models and varieties, whereas Authorized Dealers rarely have all variants of a specific model.. In addition grey market resellers also offer discontinued brand new styles which are not available at Official Retailers.

3) Convienant Online Shopping

Chrome Hearts, and many other luxury apparel/jewelry companies, do not like online shopping and forbid Authorized Dealers from selling online. Yet, not every customer wants to visit multiple physical Chrome Hearts stores in an effort to find their desired item. Therefore, one of the biggest plus points of the grey market is the convenience offered by online shopping. This reduces the hassle and allows customers to buy a watch, even if they do not have an AD nearby.  

5) Easy Access to Price Info

Stores operating in the grey market will be upfront about the price of each item. However, many luxury brand boutiques are not so clear and will withhold pricing information. As a customer, you can go online to check what these prices are, but by the time you have done that, you might as well just buy the luxury item online. Even if you do find pricing info from an AD, you may be surprised they are unavailable. 

6) Superior Service

From a customer service point of view, grey market stores will typically provide faster response via 24 hour chat bot to customers, fast 3 day worldwide shipping and to 195 countries and  easy worldwide exchange and returns. With CrownForeverLA.com, for instance, the website offer high resolution actual product photos taken by the latest top end professional cameras as well as a variety of buying guides, blog posts and other online articles.

7) Safety of Purchases: Brand Store vs Online Shop

In many counties, it is completely safe to walk into a store, buy $10,000 worth of luxury items  and walk out, yet in others this can be problematic. In particular, some areas have issues with criminals watching luxury stores and following customers after they leave, in order to rob them. Compare this with an online purchase – where a nondescript, fully insured package from USPS or FedEx will arrive discreetly – and there are clear safety advantages.

Disadvantages of the Grey Luxury Brand Market

A shopping cart with boxes in it

While there are many benefits associated with buying a luxury item from the grey market, here at CrownForeverLA.com we feel it is important to be completely honest and transparent about the negative aspects too. In particular, we feel there are two potential disadvantages that buyers should be aware of before committing to a purchase.

1)Brand Warranty

A dresser with garments inside of it

The first issue is the fact that some luxury brands claim they will not honor the brand warranty if the luxury item was sold on the grey market. With that being said, all authentic new Chrome Hearts item sold on the grey market is backed with Original Chrome Hearts Receipts, Proof of Shipping, Proof of Charge from Bank/Credit Card, Email Records of the Order. Throughout our experiences, with many years of selling authentic Chrome Hearts clothing, jewelry and accessories, CrownForeverLA.com has never yet had a case where customers have had problems claiming the warranty, having the issue with a repair which we can deal on your behalf. Nevertheless, you should be aware of this possible issue.

2) Item Authenticity

Secondly, it is an unfortunate reality that there are many replica Chrome Hearts items sold on the internet. If you buy from the grey market, there is the potential to encounter non authentic items, especially if you are buying from sites like eBay or Craigslist. For this reason, we advise that you only purchase Chrome Hearts Items from trusted online stores like CrownForeverLA.com If you have concerns, check https://www.crownforeverla.com/pages/frequently-asked-questions