I am pleased to see IET Labs joining the EEVBlog forum. Many companies would not be willing to engage via such a medium as this. Well done IET Labs
Another of my hobbies is metal working with a lathe. A small Chinese 7x12 lathe may be purchased significantly cheaper than one from a brand like WARCO, yet they appear to be the same lathe. In this example involving a lathe I can advise that the WARCO product is imported to the UK, stripped, cleaned, measured for accuracy, rebuilt and checked again for accuracy before being sent to a buyer. The China direct sourced lathe arrives in a box as it left the factory, covered in thick grease, containing swarf and needing fettling before it may be aligned and used. Time is money to many buyers so the WARCO often is worth the extra cost, plus you get great support and the unit arrives ready to use.
The DE5000/6000 is different but I do see the point that IET Labs are making. From what is stated, the IET Labs sourced meters are potentially a safer bet for those wishing to be certain of quality and accuracy. Whether there is much, if any difference between their units and those supplied out of Japan is open to discussion. IET Labs are likely to be more useful to a user if things go wrong however. You pays yer money and takes yer choice
It sounds like IET Labs is a large player in industrial machines so it is also no surprise that their overheads are also greater than Chinese or Japanese suppliers via ebay. Many large industrial suppliers would not wish to stock such a relatively cheap meter as they can be more trouble than they are worth in terms of paperwork and customer service calls.
Sorry IET Labs, I did buy a Japanese sourced DE5000 but that is because I am in the UK, its was very cheap and I already have better, if less portable, LCR meters
Aurora