Apparently Selling Products To Customers Who Want Them Doesn't Fit Sony's Strategy

from the not-good-for-anyone dept

Tue, Oct 24th 2006 1:37pm — Mike Masnick

pandlcg was the first of many to submit the story about Hong Kong electronics retailer Lik-Sang going out of business following years and years and years of lawsuits from the likes of Sony, who didn't like that Lik-Sang sold modified versions of their gaming console in the past and also would sell Sony devices released in Asia to people in Europe and the US. Sony, for its part, says they have nothing to do with it, and the claim from Lik-Sang is just "sour grapes." They note that Lik-Sang didn't incur any legal costs in the recent lawsuit, as the company chose not to show up and did not pay the fine they were assessed when they then lost the case. Lik-Sang's original going out of business notice, however, makes it clear that the loss in the legal case, making it illegal for them to sell Sony products into the UK is a big hit on their business. Sony had claimed that they filed the lawsuit out of a fear that the Asian products do "not conform to strict EU or UK consumer safety standards." Lik-Sang claims that's untrue, and, if anything only raises questions why Sony believes its own products aren't up to that higher safety code. Sony also complains that these products would not be under warranty -- but that's hard to justify as a legal reason for stopping their import. If the customer is aware that these products are not under warranty, isn't that their decision to make? What this comes down to is the same problem that Sony has face over the past few years: it's unwillingness to bend on "control." It needs to control every aspect of its products, even long after they've been sold -- and that includes things like trying to price their devices much higher in Europe than elsewhere. Unfortunately for Sony, thanks to things like the internet and globalization, control on a regional level just doesn't make sense any more -- no matter how hard they pretend otherwise. While Sony may be happy that Lik-Sang is going out of business, it only does more long-term damage to Sony by making it harder for people who want to buy Sony products to get the version they want.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

27 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Joe, 24 Oct 2006 @ 2:42pm

I wonder how long Sony is going to last at all.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Yay first post!!!!!!!!!!!, 24 Oct 2006 @ 2:44pm

What else is new a electronics super giant is complaining that it's not making enough.....
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Kevin, 24 Oct 2006 @ 3:04pm

..
I don't think money is the issue here. Private businesses selling Sony's merchandise is wrong whether Sony cared or not. Legally, it is wrong. Morally, it is wrong.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Kevin, 24 Oct 2006 @ 3:05pm

Re:
It is true that Sony is declining financially wise.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Geren, 24 Oct 2006 @ 3:23pm

Re: ..
So, you're saying that, for instance, Best Buy or Sears or Circuit City selling a Sony stereo system is wrong? Get a clue. That's what dealers do, and Sony has a very large dealer network.

That said, Sony has long had a history of missing the mark when trying to market consumer electronics, with the exception of television sets. Witness the far superior Betamax.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Geren, 24 Oct 2006 @ 3:25pm

Re:
Sony will likely last forever, despite their marketing foibles. While they haven't more than an inkling of a clue about how to market to consumers, they are pretty close to, if not the number 1 manufacturer of professional and broadcast video equipment in the world.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Guy, 24 Oct 2006 @ 3:29pm

Sony!
Well it seams to me that if he paid for the PS2's he modded he should be able to do what ever he wants with them...... it's not ike anyone is signning any legal contract saying they won't Mod or Sell their PS2 Sony is still getting their dime out of it so im not sure what the real problom here is
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2006 @ 3:31pm

Re: ..
What you telling me that if I buy 1 or a 1000 widgits, I'm not allowed to resell them ?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2006 @ 3:38pm

Right of First Sale
So what happened to the right of first sale ?

If I buy the product, I though I could re-sell it to whomever I want.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
SPECIFICS matter, 24 Oct 2006 @ 3:40pm

Re: ..
Kevin, you are wrong. You said, "Private businesses selling Sony's merchandise is wrong whether Sony cared or not. Legally, it is wrong. Morally, it is wrong."

Please be specific.

If a company decides to buy and sell used Playstation consoles, that would be entirely legal and would have no problems on the ethics front. However, it would still match your definition of what is 'wrong'.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2006 @ 3:45pm

Re: Sony!
I agree with Guy who said "Well it seams to me that if he paid for the PS2's he modded he should be able to do what ever he wants with them...... it's not ike anyone is signning any legal contract saying they won't Mod or Sell their PS2"

Buying a new PS console straight of a retail shelf, and then modding it, and then selling it, is NOT morally wrong (as long as it is true that there were no contracts signed, etc, promising not to mod it). Just because it may be illegal to do in some countries does NOT make it morally wrong. I should have the freedom to buy at retail and resell something that I've added value to. Just because Sony doesn't like it doesn't make it morally wrong. Just because the UK made it illegal doesn't make it wrong.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
smokebreak, 24 Oct 2006 @ 3:51pm

im so sony, so very sony............
sounds to me like another of sony's blunders on the P.R. front.............modded ps2's are already a private commodity, but more and more it seems that companys don't want users to be able to touch any part of the devices internals, which brings my next thought......why don't we just outlaw screwdrivers. think about it now :), they allow you to fix a product, which cuts sales of another new product to do the same thing for the user, bundle in some blu-ray, DRM, And a Root-Kit or two and you have a marketing strategy. One last sarcastic tidbit.....this is my idea and I'll sue your ass on copyright infringment grounds if you attempt to take so much as one of my vowels from this list to use as your own.

Thanks coorperate america for patenting the american dream
[ link to this | view in thread ]
xamm, 24 Oct 2006 @ 3:53pm

Re: ..
Ummmmmm, what?!?

Sony is a "private" comapny and so, presumablym was Lik - Sang. Are you saying that only state run outlets should sell Sony?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
smokebreak, 24 Oct 2006 @ 3:56pm

sony woes
Anonymous Coward.....if you read this, It's my re-test, and i want my damn A+
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2006 @ 4:09pm

I used to have a household full of Sony products. Now Sony is completely missing and almost every electronic device I have is from a different mfg and they all interoperate just as well (or better) than when it was all Sony...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Someone, 24 Oct 2006 @ 4:13pm

the morality of modding
I agree with Guy who said "Well it seams to me that if he paid for the PS2's he modded he should be able to do what ever he wants with them...... it's not ike anyone is signning any legal contract saying they won't Mod or Sell their PS2"

Buying a new PS console straight of a retail shelf, and then modding it, and then selling it, is NOT morally wrong (as long as it is true that there were no contracts signed, etc, promising not to mod it). Just because it may be illegal to do in some countries does NOT make it morally wrong. I should have the freedom to buy at retail and resell something that I've added value to. Just because Sony doesn't like it doesn't make it morally wrong. Just because the UK made it illegal doesn't make it wrong.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
John Bailey, 24 Oct 2006 @ 4:36pm

Didn't Sony go through this several times before? I seem to remember something about the PSP being updated with anti homebrew stuff built into games, getting snotty about people rewriting the code of the Aibo robot dogs etc. Sony like many others are getting far too pushy with their products. Some day consumers might actually wake up and see what an almighty mess they have got all of us into by meekly buying the DRM laden appliances and media.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2006 @ 6:22pm

add another business blunder to the list when the PS3 releases
[ link to this | view in thread ]
John Doe, 24 Oct 2006 @ 6:25pm

Sony
I love Sony products but I hate (with a passion) thier desire to be totally propietary.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
John Doe, 24 Oct 2006 @ 6:25pm

Sony
I love Sony products but I hate (with a passion) thier desire to be totally propietary.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
ted, 24 Oct 2006 @ 7:50pm

I DON'T BUY THEIR TV'S ANY MORE
I have tv's, stereo's, vcr's, digi8, & computer's that are sony's, but my dvd, flat panel, etc are Sharp and others. In fact, haven't bought a Sony in over 5 years. HMMMM..... are they stuck in old world distribution model?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2006 @ 8:00pm

Re: ..
I see no problem with selling modified consoles. They're not so much selling the console, as they are selling a service. Having a mod chip preinstalled or what ever it is, is a service, and there apparently was a market for it and someone willing to fufill it. Thats economics at work.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2006 @ 9:32pm

Sony Say Sure.... But..
I am sure that Sony wouldn't mind someone selling a modded PS2/3 as long as you buy the Games.

Or is you buy copied Games and send the difference to Sony.

Come on... Biz is Biz.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
James Stevens, 24 Oct 2006 @ 9:58pm

Do I smell Microsoft?
This does not benefit Sony in any way. It simply hurts them, people BUY their stuff and make it MORE valuable, then Sony tries to shutdown the very people that are helping them?! Terrible business sense. Imported stuff generates free marketing and promotion for Sony but they decide they want more "control" so they help shutdown Lik-Sang!?

Sony seems to have trouble marketing its products to consumers. Maybe they need some more training. Sony is starting to remind me of this decade's Microsoft. First they may have copied one of Nintendo Wii's controller ideas, then they shoot themselves in the foot.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
poploser, 25 Oct 2006 @ 7:54am

Re: ..
Dude... it's called "retail."
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Dan, 25 Oct 2006 @ 1:04pm

How did we get on modding?
I don't know how everybody got on the subject of modding, but remember that Lik-Sang was only reselling units NOT modding them.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
MadJo (profile), 26 Oct 2006 @ 1:31am

Re: How did we get on modding?
They did once, long time ago. Got sued over it, and picked up the pieces and carried on as a legal reseller/importshop.

In my opinion, Sony has just done the industry a large dis-favour.

Many people like to import crazy Japanese games, or like to import games that will not be released in their region. Thus creating a revenue stream for those companies that they otherwise don't have.

Now, with the demise of Lik-sang, the future of for instance Play-asia is at risk too, as well as your local import shop (insofar you have a games-importer nearby).
Which makes getting those crazy Japanese games harder, or perhaps impossible.
Which results in those companies getting cut off from a source of income.
[ link to this | view in thread ]