Home Gaming The Great Import Debacle – Are SK blocking imports?

The Great Import Debacle – Are SK blocking imports?

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breathe

Yesterday afternoon a story started hitting the local forums claiming that SterKinekor had instructed SARS agents at customs to block and confiscate all Blu-Ray imports claiming that they are counterfeit copies.

The main accusation stemming from a claim by Zaner on HelloPeter that his Killzone 2 Limited Edition import has been blocked at the request of SterKinekors Brand Lawyers.

If this were true it would mark a dark day for gamers in South Africa who have often relied on importing when the local distributors haven’t brought certain items into the country.

However it seems that the initial accusations were not entirely correct while the game has been held by customs, SterKinekor don’t appear to have anything to do with it. Rather the guys at customs are unsure if the Limited Edition Killzone 2 package they have is a legal version or a pirated copy of the game?

As is the normal procedure here they have sent the offending item of to SAFACT for confirmation of it’s authenticity. While this may annoy all of us who know that you can’t copy PS3 games I don’t think we can really blame the guys at customs over this as we can’t expect them to be at the forefront of all worldwide technologies and possibly we should be applauding them for being pro-active in their attempt to stop piracy.

Granted that’s not going to make Zaner happy and I would also be spitting mad if it happened to me but I don’t think there is any reason to start throwing our group toys just yet.

nutshell

So to summarise in a nutshell

  • Importing for private use is entirely legal
  • SterKinekor is not blocking legal private imports
  • SterKinekor may be pressuring Customs to block pirated items (PSP and PS2 software springs to mind)
  • The case is being dealt with by the local authority, SAFACT, and the Killzone 2 package should be released once it has been inspected

SterKinekor have not responded to requests for comment yet so all of this is being pieced together from what I have been told by related parties.

[Thanks to Sauron and Prophecy for the tips]

Last Updated: March 11, 2009

27 Comments

  1. janrik

    March 11, 2009 at 08:29

    Noobs! I’m surrounded by NOOBS~!

    Reply

  2. Ace

    March 11, 2009 at 09:00

    Oh no… I also have a copy of killzone 2 sitting at customs at the moment!

    Reply

  3. Banana Hammock

    March 11, 2009 at 09:23

    Total nonesense, i got my KZ2 from the same online store with no hassles. They come fully wrapped and packaged and customs would have no way of knowing what they were.

    The problem here is that the ones that got stopped were all the STEELBOX edition and obviously raised some suspicion when they went through the scanners.

    SK are waaaaaay to incompetent to even put something this clever together.

    Reply

  4. zaner

    March 11, 2009 at 09:59

    Umm… According to Customs (Derik). The SK Brand Attorneys are the one at fault… Before you declair my accusations false, rather do a bit of research. Feel free to contact Derick at Durmail Customs. There are 12 suspended copies of Killzone 2 at the moment and they have held a few more in JHB… Just a suggestion…

    Reply

  5. Tommy

    March 11, 2009 at 10:15

    Yes Gavin, get you facts straight! I was also told by Derik that SK ‘s lawyers are involved and that they are trying to keep our copies as long as possible. Do some more research before posting your ramblings.

    Reply

  6. Darthdad

    March 11, 2009 at 10:20

    :ermm: “SterKinekor have not responded to requests for comment yet so all of this is being pieced together from what I have been told by related parties.”
    It’s not Lazy’s ramblings.

    Reply

  7. chaseus

    March 11, 2009 at 10:42

    I was told by Derick that those games were going to be released on Monday by showing of invoice then I find out its going to SAFACT under SK brand attorneys orders.why would SAFACT and customs waste their time with 12 individual games valued under 6K?but then again you guys could be right bout SK having no involvment because SK is no way affiliated with SAFACT.

    Reply

  8. SimplyTdi

    March 11, 2009 at 10:48

    The initial accusations are correct as Sterkinekor has everything to do with it. Derik from Durmail told me that the brand attorney at SK has told them to hold it back.

    Reply

  9. MagicDude4Eva

    March 11, 2009 at 11:25

    And SK is a member of SAFACT

    Reply

  10. Inferno888

    March 11, 2009 at 11:49

    i agree and disagree with what SK is doing, firstly, they are trying to protect their investments, and in turn boosting the economy by buying locally. secondly, they really should lower the price to see that this does happen.
    I don’t know what duties were paid on the games, but if duties were not paid, ie: the games not declared with SARS, SARS have every right to detain the games

    Reply

  11. LazySAGamer

    March 11, 2009 at 12:07

    Hi Zaner,

    I have done the research and am still doing so. At this time I have confirmation from some people that their copies have made it through customs while others are being caught. SK have apparently said they are not blocking them.

    It could be possible that the brand attorneys are working under their own steam and that is why I am trying to get more information out of SK at this time.

    I have been told that legally they cannot block them so I have to suspect they are not doing this on purpose.

    Reply

  12. Inferno888

    March 11, 2009 at 12:11

    I agree and disagree with the import debacle, if SK are behind it it would most like likely be to protect their investments, buy getting consumers to buy locally and in turn boost our economy, however to do this they really do need to drop their prices. Also, i don’t know what duties were paid on these games, but i do know that if you import something, even if it’s free, you have to declare it and pay duties on the value of the item. if this is not done, SARS have every right to detain the items…

    Reply

  13. ewie

    March 11, 2009 at 12:18

    All these items would be send with an invoice attached for sars, If a invoice is not present sars will ask for one, this have happened to me when importing. The duty
    is then determined by Sars, sometimes they will add R25 + vat. Sometimes just R25 etc. Not sure how they determine what to charge or not, but have found that if you bring stuff in and the value is less than $50 in most cases they will not charge you anything at all.

    I think it is good that at times Sars check packages to make sure they are legal, but to do it on items shipped one by one is a bit extreme, if stuff were counterfeit would it not be send in bulk.

    Reply

  14. Inferno888

    March 11, 2009 at 12:32

    The point i’m trying to get across here is no matter about the invoice, what needs to be done is the item declared, this is usually done by the shipping agents, i know for a fact TNT don’t bother doing this with small items (like a game in a bag) and DHL does. But what i’m saying is if it is not declared, sars can hold it back to check the items, also they reserve the right to check ven if it is declared. I don’t know the circumstances behind the imported goods were, i was just explaining how the duties work as i import goods for a living. But when items are not declared, it raises an eyebrow at customs, specially if there is all of a sudden 12 identical items at once..

    Reply

  15. ewie

    March 11, 2009 at 12:51

    Yes you are right, every person importing must be registered at sars as an importer, but with all the thousands of parcels for personal use from oversees, I don’t think sars got the capacity to do. And depending on where you buy would determine if they send documentation to sars or not.

    Reply

  16. Inferno888

    March 11, 2009 at 12:59

    LOL true, but it’s not like they actually have anything else to do, like real work :tongue:

    Reply

  17. Atomic

    March 11, 2009 at 13:07

    you guys got it all wrong, it’s the X-Box fanboys who are responsible for this mess, blame them, everything else relating to SK is their fault.

    Reply

  18. Inferno888

    March 11, 2009 at 13:20

    i’m reading and all i hear is ps3 suxxors :angel:

    Reply

  19. Ladunia

    March 11, 2009 at 15:25

    Dude, you suxxors.

    Reply

  20. Strife Lives

    March 11, 2009 at 20:07

    suddenly. .I dont mind the R700 i dropped for the normal ed.too much bs for a game.

    Reply

  21. ewie

    March 12, 2009 at 09:35

    according to myadsl.

    http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Gaming/7276.html

    Lazygamer is right – it is not SK, but customs.

    Reply

  22. LazySAGamer

    March 12, 2009 at 09:58

    :whistle: did we ever doubt this :getlost:

    Reply

  23. zaner

    March 13, 2009 at 10:09

    BTW… These games are still being held…

    Reply

  24. WitWolfyZA

    March 13, 2009 at 10:47

    Thats it Im gonna chip my PS3 when i get one, this is bull… Oh wait.. whats that , no mod chip for PS3, or any Cloning program for copying PS3 games aswel… Damn WHAT ARE THE ODDS?!?!?!

    These guys need to get with the times. PS3 is not hackable , or even considered of being hacked anytime soon. I mean a price of a Blu-ray disc is like R300 alone not to mention the price for a Blu-Ray writer. I dont see the logic.

    Reply

  25. Jaco

    March 13, 2009 at 13:03

    What a biased article! Very dissapointing….

    Just a thought: Is SAFACT don’t know that ps3 games can’t be copied shouldn’t they close their doors and start selling hotdogs or something????

    It is clear that their is more going on then just SAFACT doing their job…. To do your job you need to know what to do maybe SAFACT needs training cause they don’t seem to know you can’t copy ps3 games. ID10T’s.

    Reply

  26. LazySAGamer

    March 13, 2009 at 13:07

    Have you contacted SAFACT?

    Reply

  27. LazySAGamer

    March 13, 2009 at 13:10

    Nothing biased about it trust me..

    Also SAFACT didn’t confiscate the items, customs did and are now sending them to SAFACT for confirmation.

    I don’t think it’s clear that something else is going on and right now I see no evidence to support these accusations. Customs have declared that SK have nothing to do with this.

    Reply

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