firealarmguy84 0 Posted May 19, 2016 New to the forum or any forum for that matter so excuse my ignorance please. I have been doing fire alarm and suppression systems for years and am new to the ip camera scene. Started working with them a year a go and have several different brands currently working on my house and just installed a 34 camera hikvision system which I am happy with. What I am not happy with is that I had hikvision come down and give me a crash course on ip cameras. I specifically asked the two hikvision rep's if there cameras were sold to other companies to brand there name on. They told me that they didnt. However I recently saw a super circuits catalog with a very familiar camera in it. The brand on the camera is "Alibi" and the specs are exactly the same as hikvision. So I call up the rep that told me they didnt allow other companies to brand there equipment and he told me that he told me no because they are not allowed to tell people hikvision does sell to other companies to brand. He then tells me that the cameras are not as good and they have old technology in them. I called supercircuits and spoke to a senior sales rep and he said they put there own chip to make it better, which i doubt, but that they do get them from hikvision. I downloaded the "Alibi" mobile app to see if they would work with the hikvision nvr with the hikvision ddns and boom it worked. Not only does it work even with my axis brand ptz but the app is identical other than the back round color. Does anybody know if the "Alibi" camera is identicle because if so they are way cheaper and i want to buy them? Also how can i find out if a camera manufaturer is just buying sombody eles camera and putting therer name on it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daryl733 0 Posted May 19, 2016 HIKVISION does OEM their equipment for others to do branding on. You can definitely find HIKVISION equipment with non HIKVISION brand on it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firealarmguy84 0 Posted May 19, 2016 Are the cameras exactly the same? Super circuits told me they have hikvision put a "chip" in thats different. But that doesn't make since because he said the cameras will work with the line crossing detection on my hikvision nvr. Also is there a way to find out who all a company OEMs there parts for? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daryl733 0 Posted May 20, 2016 No idea if it's the same. Sometime it's just firmware that's slightly modified to display the brandname, sometimes the casing are changed, sometimes there might be additional hardware option or less hardware option requested by the vendor. A lot of things are OEMed.... You think certain brand really produce battery pack for charging of handphone ? Walmart or Target really produce in house branded items/food product that they have or they just stick their brand on it ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firealarmguy84 0 Posted May 20, 2016 No I know company's do oem lots of things. I just want to stay competitive on prices. I asked hikvision if they let other companies oem there product so customers wouldn't find there cameras they bought from my company cheaper and be upset thinking they could have paid less. Also I want to know so I can get the camera that the company makes a little better since it has there name on it rather than a company they oem for which could be a little different. The warranty process I would think would be faster if the camera is made with the manufacture name on it. Skip the middle man on returns kinda thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daryl733 0 Posted May 21, 2016 Well... just take note that a lot of these brand doesn't care about your selling price. They just wanna move volume. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomcctv 190 Posted May 21, 2016 No I know company's do oem lots of things. I just want to stay competitive on prices. I asked hikvision if they let other companies oem there product so customers wouldn't find there cameras they bought from my company cheaper and be upset thinking they could have paid less. Also I want to know so I can get the camera that the company makes a little better since it has there name on it rather than a company they oem for which could be a little different. The warranty process I would think would be faster if the camera is made with the manufacture name on it. Skip the middle man on returns kinda thing. To do what you are asking you would have to be a hikvision distributor. The warranty process I would think would be faster if the camera is made with the manufacture name on it. Skip the middle man on returns kinda thing. This can't work .... If you sell hikvision to your customer ...he pays you and you give the goods ..... If they fail you can't say to your customer that's hikvisions problem. You as the seller is the 3rd part the warranty belongs to you. What if a customer says I don't like the cameras or happy with them ...... Will hikvision give them there money back ? Hikvision only deal with there authorised distributors Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daryl733 0 Posted May 24, 2016 For people not in the industry, it's never about just selling the equipment and walking off after that. Support cost is a huge factor in deciding on the pricing of the whole package. It's hard to compete on pricing with internet/fly by night vendors who can just sell the equipment and vanish thereafter without having to factor all those support cost into their pricing. If your customers just compete on pricing without taking account of other services/support you provided, it might be time to walk away from these customers. We have returning customers whom tried out the supposed cheaper alternative, and realised that it ends up being more costly in the long run. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
