Bought advanced vacuums and discovered at home that they cannot be operated
Parallel import is an effective tool for reducing the cost of living, but buyers of Dreame X60 ULTRA robots at "Osher Ad" discovered at home that the device could not be activated. After customers received a refund, it turned out that the solution would cost the parallel importer 80,000 shekels.
Consumers who purchased the new flagship robot vacuum cleaner from Dreame, the X60 ULTRA, at "Osher Ad" discovered at home that the expensive product simply does not work. The application that operates the robot did not allow them to connect to it, and customers found themselves being passed from one party to another without anyone taking responsibility. Eventually, they received their money back, and "Osher Ad" stopped the sale of the 860 units that arrived in the shipment.
The reason for the malfunction became clear later: the software version of the robots that arrived in the country via parallel import did not allow their operation in Israel. To solve the problem, the global Dreame company demanded that the parallel importer, "Tech Masters", pay about 80,000 shekels ($26,400) for software adaptation and opening the application for use in Israel. "Tech Masters" decided to pay the amount at this stage to allow customers to operate the devices.
One customer, a fan of the brand, purchased the X60 ULTRA at "Osher Ad" for 3,999 shekels, after finding it in other stores for about 4,500–4,600 shekels and on the company's website for 5,290 shekels. However, upon trying to operate the robot, a message appeared: "For any technical issue, contact the merchant from whom you purchased the device." Other buyers reported receiving the same message.
This is not the first time that customers of Dreame robot vacuums purchased via parallel import at "Osher Ad" discovered upon arriving home that they could not be operated. Dreame's robot vacuums are considered one of the strongest brands in the category in Israel, responsible for an estimated 50% of annual sales, with parallel imports accounting for about a third of the brand's sales. The official importer, "Crystalino Group", denies any pressure exerted on the global company to limit the use of parallel import devices.
In an interview, regional manager Tony Chang noted that the company is aware of the issue and has recruited the technical department to investigate. He explained that changes in conditions sometimes cause problems with software adaptation to the country in which it operates. Chang added: "We are willing to offer after-sales service for a fee, even to parallel importers, to ensure that the consumer's rights to service are maintained."
"Crystalino Group" stated that the issue is being discussed between the importer and the international brand. "Tech Masters" responded: "After we approached Dreame, the company offered a software solution that will allow returning the affected units to full operation via remote update, but conditioned it on a payment of tens of thousands of dollars. We decided to move forward and bear it at this stage out of responsibility to customers in Israel, while examining the legal and competitive aspects of the event."
