There are places on Earth where Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price is unenforceable & actual market derived price is what an item sells for.
I, for one am hard pressed to buy anything from Shimano because Shimano (Japan) won't allow Shimano (Europe) to undercut Shimano (America.)
If the free market principals we all know & love weren't being violated, Shimano (Europe) would be happy to sell to America as with cheap global shipping infrastructure there really isn't a distinction between markets any more. Shimano Japan's rules regarding product distribution are arbitrary & capricious. The consumer is harmed by Shimano's business practices. (However legal they may be.)
So, Chinese sellers, re-sellers, distributors, etc... can sell whatever product they want to whomever they want; It doesn't necessarily mean anything neferious. It means they can disregard unenforcable MSRP, source an item locally & ship it to wherever the market presents itself.
Maybe Shimano should think about the actual market value of their products & price it accordingly instead of artificially forcing an inflated price. Who knows? Maybe it'd provide less space for the likes of Microshift, Micronew, Box, SunRace, etc...
Seriously, this is ECON101.
Last edited by base2; 08-01-21 at 11:50 AM.