The United Network Equipment Dealer Association (UNEDA), which counts 300 members from the used Cisco dealer community, has posted an open letter to Cisco (via the Cisco Subnet forum) asking the networking giant to meet with its directors to thrash out a way to “eradicate counterfeit and black market goods from the networking industry.”
The letter comes at the end of this week’s Cisco Partners Summit, where Cisco warned the aftermarket sellers that it is revving up an international brand protection campaign, with a simple message: genuine Cisco gear only comes from Cisco and its partners.
The letter reads: “Cisco charges exorbitant fees for inspecting and re-registering maintenance of secondary equipment to deter end-users from buying pre-owned gear. While this practice makes it more difficult, it hasn’t stopped the buying of pre-owned equipment—a fact that Cisco readily acknowledges. Perhaps it’s time to talk about a cost structure that makes more sense economically for end-users.”
Cisco’s warning earlier this week has prompted users and dealers to debate what critics believe is Cisco’s harmful policy against the secondary market, and whether buying used could lead unwittingly to installing fake goods.
