Are Nitecore blocking Gearbest from selling to the UK?

Hi. I've bought most of my Nitecore torches from Gearbest. I've used the deals via this forum (Dazed1 etc), to get some great prices. They have arrived promptly and in good condition. So you can imagine i want to continue buying this way.
However, Gearbest have suddenly stopped supplying to the UK. Luckily i manged to get my ultimate torch the TM26GT for a stunning price before this blockade came into force.
I doubt i will be buying such an expensive torch again in the future, as i really didn't need it (i just wanted it!). It was one of those purchases that was hard to resist as you know you wouldn't buy at full price, but a bargain is a bargain!

I can only imagine UK Nitecore dealers have complained to Nitecore about Gearbest under cutting them, so they have ordered Gearbest to stop selling here. It is actually illegal in EU law to do this due to anti-competition laws.
I assume Gearbest isn't in the EU, and i'm not sure about Nitecore. So maybe they can do this. Also, i may be wrong and there are other reasons why Gearbest have decided to block the UK.
Either way Nitecore/Gearbest will be the losers, as there is no way i would buy Nitecore at UK dealer prices. We are talking a mark up of up to 3X the Gearbest prices for some torches.
As it stands, other online shops similar to Gearbest are still selling to the UK. However, i won't be buying Nitecore products until this blockade is lifted.

I was going to buy an Nitecore Tube flashlight but they would not ship to the UK, so i asked the GearBest seller on CPF and he said the following.

Hi John,
Thanks for your asking! Because there is Exclusive agents at United Kingdom, sorry to tell you we don't offer Nitecore items to UK address, so the webpage says it does not ship to the United Kingdom. Please kindly understand.

Thank you!

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John.

So maybe i was right. Why is it only the UK and not other territories. Surely US dealers don't want Gearbest under cutting them?

I just checked i bought an Nitecore F1 charger from GearBest on June the 8th 2016 and that was allowed to be shipped to the UK, So does it only affect flashlights.

John.

This blockade only happened a few weeks a go. If you go on any Nitecore listing and read the "Description", it says in bold text.
NOTE: This product will not be shipped to the United Kingdom.
Shame really, as the only one to miss out is Gearbest, as other Chinese sellers are still shipping to the UK (for now).

I think Nitecore is being naive to think this is a good way to operate. In the days before the internet, people wouldn't have been aware of the global price differences.
Now people use the internet to get the best prices, or at least are aware of the price differences.

If Gearbest can sell at their prices (including international shipping), then dealers in the UK are over charging. I understand UK dealers have to add VAT, but that should only add 20% to the price.
They may also have to pay import duty. I'm not sure how much that is though.
I would actually be happy to pay 20-30% extra to buy from a UK dealer. As it would mean quicker delivery, and the warranty would be easier to deal with if i had any problems.
But the price differences are nowhere near similar. I paid £126 for my TM26GT with the current UK price being £330. Now i understand my torch may have been that price in a one off sale, but my other Nitecore torches have been massive savings too.

They may think creating a UK monopoly means we have no choice but to pay. But people are smarter and will either find other ways or avoid the brand altogether.

Nitecore can be a bit odd I remember contacting them about a charger review I was working on nothing no response at al (I found issues)l. Requested review samples nothing again so went ahead and reviewed the i4 and i2 on youtube. Both suffer from undercharging issues seems they have stopped sending samples to lygte-info.dk maybe because he found charging problems too. As a customer I find it odd (yes I reviewed them but also I paid for them). So I'm not shocked this is going on. Some makers are tuned in some are not and don't care. The company has lost it's mojo for recent chargers they need to step up and deal with customer queries too. I see no reason why they should stop Gearbest selling products

I can't say for sure what is taking place between NC and GB. I will say that when I was selling nitecore brand they did mention that they have a policy that prohibits dealers from selling across certain areas. I cant recall how they phrased it. The reason I found out is that I had mine listed on ebay with an international shipping option available and some dealer in the UK contacted ebay and got my listing squashed.

vestureofblood said:

I can't say for sure what is taking place between NC and GB. I will say that when I was selling nitecore brand they did mention that they have a policy that prohibits dealers from selling across certain areas. I cant recall how they phrased it. The reason I found out is that I had mine listed on ebay with an international shipping option available and some dealer in the UK contacted ebay and got my listing squashed.

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Wow, that's incredible!
We live in a global economy with the internet exposing these old fashioned practices.
If Gearbest can make a profit selling from China and then shipping all the way to the UK. Then you think a UK dealer should be able to match/beat them on price. Rip off Britain at it's best.
As i said, i'm not too bothered as there are other ways of getting Nitecore products from China. Just Gearbest who is missing out on sales. The UK dealers can sod off with their prices!