Saudis consider themselves to be shrewd bargainers. Sometimes, reports Saudi Gazette, finding the best deal doesn’t always work out the best for consumers as it’s the merchants who was more shrewd. A staggering percentage of goods in the Saudi suqs is reported to be substandard when not out-and-out fake. As they say, caveat emptor, but merchants might take the more honorable route and not sell inferior and sometimes dangerous goods to naive customers.

Official reveals 80% electronic goods, 50% tires sold here are fake
Hamid Omar Attas

JEDDAH – Over 80 percent of electric appliances and 50 percent of imported tires available in the Kingdom are fake and not in conformity with Saudi specifications and standards, a quality control official said.

The Saudi market has become a dumping ground for inferior “time-bomb” products sold in broad daylight with the knowledge of the authorities concerned, said Abdul Rahman Al-Harbi, member of the anti-commercial fraud committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), who also holds a key post in the regional quality control laboratory.

He said the Saudi economy loses more than SR16 billion yearly, since more than 80 percent of electric appliances, 65 percent of textile products and 50 percent of tires – that are mostly rejected by other markets but imported by dealers in the Kingdom – are fake.
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