Why Are Gaming Laptops Expensive in India?

I often get asked why gaming laptops are so expensive in India and when new models will be available. In general, I have no idea when different models of laptops will launch in different regions around the world. Something that has become clear in my years of reviewing laptops however, is that India seems to get new models later than many other regions.

Tom from XMG, a laptop seller based in Europe provided the following response with regards to whether or not they would offer their models in India:

XMG has no plans to enter the Indian market. As a company we only operate in Europe. Entering any markets beyond European borders is already pretty far-fetched for us (although not impossible). Entering India would be especially difficult due to trade barriers and the regulatory environment of the Indian domestic market.

For example, last time I heard, it takes up to 6 months to get regulatory approval for a laptop product. You can’t just take your global CE certification (for us usually with lab reports done in Taiwan) and run with it.

Existing trade barriers (especially those with China) make logistics and purchasing prices quite expensive, making it hard to compete for smaller companies such as ours against larger brands that are already in the market.

These sorts of complex issues explain why the Indian market typically takes longer to have new laptop models available, and why there are higher costs associated.

There are of course other issues at play, supply globally has been constrained due to the pandemic over the last year.

Tom goes on to suggest:

In my personal opinion, instead of calling for European or American companies to enter the Indian market, customers in India should support local businesses such as Azom.

Even though some of them may not have the wide range of portfolio that we have, supporting them with the products they have right now might enable them to strengthen their supplier relationships and incorporate more mainstream products in the future.

Another option would be to check out the company Viper in Pakistan who is currently carrying Intel’s QC71 reference model (Viper Expeder, in Europe known as XMG FUSION 15) and who might be well-equipped to export into India with reasonable shipping cost and warranty terms. Thank you for your kind understanding.

While not a perfect solution, this is a good idea that could help improve the situation locally in India in future.

At the very least knowing this information helps explain why laptop selection in India seems more limited compared to other regions around the world.