Lloyds Auctions who are currently spruiking 3,000 questionable Konka TV’s at what appeared to be inflated recommended retail prices could be facing an Australian Competition & Consumer Inquiry.
Earlier this week ChannelNews asked the ACCC to comment after Lloyds were asking people to bid for hundreds of Ultra High Definition TV’s that appeared on their online site with pricing that did not reflect the real market value of the products a move that raises questions about the modus operandi of all Auction houses selling products.
Lee Hamas Chief Operating Officer at Lloyds Actions said that his Company was approached by Chinese Company Konka to liquidate immediately the TV’s” irrelevant of value or sale price” he claims that the Chinese Company set the price despite Lloyds having a legal obligation to ensure that the recommended pricing they listed in an effort to solicit bidding was reflective of market pricing for the TV’s.
When ChannelNews approached the ACCC a spokesperson said “If a business makes ‘savings’ or ‘discount’ statements compared to a reference price (whether the business calls it a recommended retail price (RRP), a usual price, or a market value), but the goods have never been sold at that reference price, or that reference price does not reflect a current market price, this may be misleading conduct in breach of the Australian Consumer Law”.
A visit to the Lloyd Auction web site where bidding has already started reveals information on the UHD Konka TV’s which are not sold by any retailer in Australia other than Amazon.
Konka is primarily a manufacturer of TV’s and have very little exposure as a supplier to retailers other than via a distributor.
We have asked Lloyds whether the TV’s at Lloyds are actually certified for the Australian market and whether they have an Australian power plug that has been certified, we have also questioned as to which lab certified the TV’s for the Australian market.
All electrical equipment imported, and sold in, Australia must be proven to be electrically safe.
All electrical products, regardless of use, must comply with AS/NZS 3820 which is the general electrical safety standard, this SAA certification is normally carried out by a third-party lab either in Australia or China.
If any TV is being sold for use in a house, or is to be sold over the internet to individuals without a registered ABN, then the product must comply with the requirements of the RCM, as detailed in AS/NZS 4417.2 and on www.eess.gov.au.
High risk electrical articles must be certified by a State regulator, or a JAS-ANZ accredited certifier like SAA. We have no evidence that the Konka TV’s do not comply.
On the Lloyds Auctions web site, A 65” Ultra High Definition TV is shown with a recommended retail price of $2,999 their 55” Konka UHD TV has a RRP of $1,999, both TV’s are devoid of smart TV features.
An almost identically TV to the 65″ Konka TV being sold at Lloyds is the new 65” Bauhn 4K UHD TV which is on sale at Aldi for $599. A 65″ Ffalcon TV with similar specks is being sold at JB Hi Fi for $899.
Pricing for 65″ TV’s at Harvey Norman.
A 65”4K UHD Konka TV is currently selling on Amazon for $1,155 some $1,844 cheaper than the RRP on the Lloyds Auctions Konka TV.
A 55” $K Konka TV on Amazon is currently selling for $750, $1,249 cheaper than the Lloyd listing.
At no stage have the Konka TV’s been sold in Australia at the prices listed on the Lloyds Auction web site and the prices do not reflect the average selling prices for similar TV’s.
