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European consumers are increasingly looking to non-traditional channels to buy cellphones - some legitimate, namely web sites; some less so, with a rise in grey market sales of handsets around the world.

The grey market has mainly been an issue in economies like Russia (where there are still thought to be more unofficial iPhones than those sold via the cellcos), but the economic squeeze and the demand for big name phones is increasing the prevalence elsewhere. RIM is particularly concerned, and the company has warned its distributors, especially those in the UK, not to export their stock to other countries. It has seen a huge leap in the number of grey market BlackBerry products, it says.

Mobile Today reports that unofficial 8900 Curve and 9000 Bold models are particularly in demand, in the whole MEA region and even parts of America. The UK distribution channel is thought to be a potential major source of grey exports because of the fluctuating value of the UK pound and the availability of SIM-free stock. RIM can track grey market stock more accurately than most vendors because of the links into its email servers.

More legitimately, European consumers are also turning away from carrier outlets and towards the web, especially Amazon and eBay, to get good phone deals. The ComTech survey by research firm TNS, which questions about 60,000 mobile users in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK on a regular basis, found that 25% of cellphone purchases in these markets were made online in the first quarter of this year - with the bulk of this behaviour occurring in France, Germany and the UK.

Connected prepaid phones are particularly popular online, and one in 16 handsets sold in western Europe are now sold on eBay or Amazon. However, TNS says direct online sales from carriers are not being damaged by the new channels - direct cellco sales are increasing as a proportion of total internet sales, and Orange is "by far the biggest network for direct online sales". However, most cellcos still see the need for high street stores, as customers often browse there even if they purchase online.

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