counterfeit items

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cwerdna

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This thread is to talk about counterfeit items, in general.

So, ages ago, I've had acquaintances tell me about the counterfeit markets in China. Would like to visit one day, out of curiosity.

This story on Nightly Business Report tonight was interesting.

Skip to 21:15 of https://youtu.be/N5qRslQ6ZbM?t=1275. Story ends at 26:15. I was surprised to learn that counterfeiters are changing the email addresses of rightful trademark owners w/the USPTO to their own. Then, they go to Amazon claiming they own the trademark (which Amazon verifies against USPTO's altered records). Supposedly, Amazon then gives these imposters access to their tools so the imposter can take down legit product and ensure counterfeits are up there instead. :shock: :(
 
Funny. Just before seeing your post I spent over an hour purchasing toner on ebay for my 11-year-old Brother muliti-function printer. It took a long time because trying to discern which of the "Certified New OEM Brother" listings was really that and not a refilled unit or even a complete counterfeit. IMO, that's easier said than done. What's funny in this case is that the printer and OEM toner are made in China and I believe the refilled counterfeits are made in the US (but perhaps not).

The other items for which I struggle to find quality OEM replacement units are cell phone or laptop batteries. The main problem is that the OEMs often stop manufacturing the batteries *before* I need a replacement, so I need to go to ebay to find a quality replacement. (In the case of batteries, calendar degradation means that old OEM stock is not a great solution, even if you can find them.)

As someone who was suckered into purchasing counterfeit Wii remotes once upon a time, I am a bit sensitive to this issue.

So, what to do? I guess I have developed a few techniques that I apply when purchasing on ebay:

- For toner, I look for a box that is fully sealed with only ONE piece of tape on each seam. (For some reason, toner refillers don't seem interested in counterfeiting the boxes when the get so many OEM boxes back with the old toner cartridges.)
- I also tend to purchase from individuals or small companies who are selling because the replaced their printer. If they have 10 or more in stock, I get a bit suspicious.
- For cell phones, I tend to purchase about 2-year-old new equipment. I have decided to purchase new, OEM batteries at the same time. Yes, they will get have some calendar loss over time, but it is not as high as cycling losses. I recently bought several LG phones and found what appeared to be new OEM stock of spare batteries for a good price. They had 2017 date codes just like the ones in my phones, so I think they are legit. But who knows?
- For laptops, I have found that there are a couple of companies out there who make replacement units using only top-quality Li-ion cells. Sorry, I don't recall the name right now.

At the end of the day, not only consumers, but the sellers on ebay who have legitimate stock are the ones who are hurt by the counterfeiters. They are selling against much cheaper deals and it puts a lot of downward pressure on their prices.

BTW, does anyone know of a high-quality app for Android which will measure and report the capacity of the battery in the phone WITHOUT needing to ROOT the phone? I'm sure the phone knows (estimates) that information, but I haven't found a simple way to get at it.
 
RegGuheert said:
BTW, does anyone know of a high-quality app for Android which will measure and report the capacity of the battery in the phone WITHOUT needing to ROOT the phone? I'm sure the phone knows (estimates) that information, but I haven't found a simple way to get at it.

Try the Android app AccuBattery. Here's an info link;

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.digibites.accubattery&hl=en_US
 
lorenfb said:
Try the Android app AccuBattery. Here's an info link;

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.digibites.accubattery&hl=en_US

That's the one I use, when I can. We issue out Samsung phones and it doesn't seem to be available for anything older than the S7. Which is fine because our oldest phones still out there are S7s. I do have a few of older phones (S6, S6 Edge, S4 and Note 5) though that I'd like to check.
 
For some reason, the video went n/a. A new copy is at https://youtu.be/EKQCPHFJeuI?t=1275. Time indexes are same as before: 21:15 to 26:15.
 
mwalsh said:
lorenfb said:
Try the Android app AccuBattery. Here's an info link;

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.digibites.accubattery&hl=en_US

That's the one I use, when I can. We issue out Samsung phones and it doesn't seem to be available for anything older than the S7. Which is fine because our oldest phones still out there are S7s. I do have a few of older phones (S6, S6 Edge, S4 and Note 5) though that I'd like to check.

Thanks for the feedback.
 
To me a well made counterfeit is fine. Like an item that goes out the back door. Given the price I am sure that Amazon items have been counterfeit. I could care less. Granted the Mfg is not making a killing but the product is fine. When item
ms are less than half price you may suspect that they are counterfeit.
 
I think that counterfeit items that are actually good quality are rare. Since the manufacturer is breaking the law already, the goal is usually just to make a product that can fool a non-expert consumer for a few weeks or maybe a month - there is no need or desire to make it durable or reliable. Clones, OTOH, can be a good deal. We have a Chinese "Champion" generator that is a clone of an older Honda design, and it's worked perfectly (except for a weak petcock that cracked and I replaced cheaply) for over 10 years. Hyundai started out building licensed clones of older Mitsubishi designs, IIRC, before designing their own cars.
 
Feedback is your friend. If the item has good feedback then consider it.

The trouble with teck Chinese copies is that the firmware is frozen and it never gets updated.

That is fine for small items where you can work through the bugs.

Can you imagine a Leaf clone that gets no firmware fixes? To me the prospect is frightening .

Already my IoniQ;'s firmware is later than the documentation..
 
Amazon has been having massive problems with counterfeits and until recently, really did not care... They have now been forced in to taking a somewhat more active roie in policing them...
 
Speaking of toner. The HP copies seem to work fine in my M402DN and they are much cheaper.Over a hundred dollars. HP wants to make money on the supplies but the Chinese sell new stuff for cheap. They are not even refilled carts but are their own design.
 
GlennD said:
Feedback is your friend. If the item has good feedback then consider it.
But then you have to worry about fake feedback. That's why places like fakespot.com exist (it rates feedback).
 
I am a true hypocrite When someone else pays for it (like insurance) I want the original. When I pay for it a good copy is acceptable.
 
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