[massysett]

None of the examples given in this article are counterfeit.

A counterfeit HP ink cartridge says it's HP, but it's not. None of these products claim to be HP. One bears no brand mark at all. One is "Ankink" brand. Same for Epson: we have "MYTONER" and "LEMERO".

Amazon is a flea market trafficking in huge quantities of suspect goods. When I go on there I know to be on guard. But the article is wrong when it says that goods that do not bear an HP, Canon, or Epson brand mark - with some of them bearing clear brand marks for other companies - are "counterfeit" or even "knock-offs".

This doesn't even seem to be a problem to me - if you shop at a flea market, be on guard lest you get junk. If you don't like it, try avoiding the flea market.

[jghn]

This is only partially true. There very much *is* a counterfeit problem on Amazon as well. I've had a number of products that are clearly labeled as Brand X and clearly were *not* Brand X. And that's just the ones where I noticed (usually after they failed spectacularly).

It is also true that there's a flood of cheap knockoffs that don't claim to be Brand X. That's fine, although I usually go to Aliexpress when that's when I want and wind up paying a lot less.

[LorenPechtel]

Yeah, I don't mind the knock-off products (but I would like to see the possibility of filtering them) but I do mind the things that pretend to be genuine.

Bought a belt for the vacuum recently--thought I was buying the real thing. Really, now? Wrong markings, wrong size. Returned it, tried another listing and got what seems to be the real thing. My review was rejected because it supposedly didn't address the qualities of the product. Yet one remains for another product where I said it was excellent except for not being the size described.

[jghn]

The first time I ran into this was years ago. There was a make/model of headphones that I loved. They became increasingly hard to find but Amazon always had them. Over time I noticed they were wearing out faster and faster, so I kept buying replacements.I looked into it one day only to find the manufacturer had stopped making the product 2 years prior, and go figure reviews nose dived shortly afterwards and many had descriptions of how to spot the fakes. Guess what I'd been buying?

There have been some other products where this worked in my favor. I knew for a fact that something I bought over and over again (things you have multiple of and are expected to wear out over time). Manufacturer stopped making them, Amazon claims to still be selling them 10 years later, there's not a noticeable drop-off in quality so what the heck, I'll keep buying them.

[radicality]

I had another Amazon experience recently where the product wasn’t a knock-off but I absolutely felt scammed and returned it.

I ordered an All-Clad frying pan, was at the same price as other online retailers. Only when it arrived I realized it was unfortunately, “Shipped by Amazon, sold by XYZ”.

The pan was in a suspicious brown box, with zero product/marketing images, and inside was the pan in transparent plastic bag. On first look it did feel ok/genuine/unused, but I didn’t have anything from AllClad to compare. I did notice some minor imperfections though, such as the riveted handle not being fully flush with the pan and a minor scratch in another place.

The brown box did have a number imprinted on it though. Upon searching online, I found it was a product code from some legitimate store that sells factory-seconds for around 1/3rd the price. These are original items, except they didn’t pass quality inspection and hence sold for less.

This scammer seller was buying seconds and selling them as new at original price. I looked at the seller info which had the name and the business registration info. I ended up finding that it’s some dude peddling courses on how to successful in FBA, found their IG profile. What he did with me reselling a factory second as new is pure fraud, I wish the worst to scum like that.

[Joel_Mckay]

I looked into the fake issues while looking for Mitutoyo tools for our friends kid that started first year engineering. This is difficult as the counterfeits look almost identical.

1. went to Mitutoyo website to get list of authorized sellers

2. surprised Amazon itself is on the list

3. Purchased a number of authentic Mitutoyo calipers and micrometers from Amazon itself

4. Ran down Clough42 list of 17 signs to double check if the tool is fake:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG6I2gNGVwM

5. Successfully registered equipment on Mitutoyo website

6. Checked quality on reference standards

Note, Starrett has a website with an estore, so is far easier to verify NIST certificate.

If the work is low tolerance, than accuracy and repeatability won't matter anyway. However, when it comes to metrology or PPE the high-end products set the best possible outcome for your workmanship and safety.

Mind you, I couldn't convince a golden retriever to stop obsessing over the taste of free garbage. =3

[bluGill]

As clough say, if you can accept the counterfiet why not but the shars brand instead for less and no wondering

[Joel_Mckay]

I assure you my valuation assessment is as follows:

(fixed cost + maintenance cost)/(frequency of use) = actual cost

If the frequency of use is high, the retail cost between high-end and mid-ranged brands is negligible. i.e. not worth the hassle to mess around with QA on something unknown.

I always bought the kids Starrett or Mitutoyo stuff with the NIST certs. As wasting 1 hour of their time costs more than the high-end equipment.

It is kind of a tradition, but I'm sure there are more appropriate options for folks in different situations. =3

[bluGill]

In short you could not accept the counterfiet with a 'nist cert' that doesn't trace to nist. Fine choice, but not the subject here.

[Joel_Mckay]

My point was, the legitimate source Amazon is a registered reseller with the equipment manufacturer, and may include the valid traceable laboratory certificate with the item for a slightly higher fee.

Another problem with clones for example, is they often copy old tech... defects and all... so in this example one probably won't get the current inductive style absolute position verniers that work more reliably around dirt/liquids.

Just a thought, but note often 3rd party sellers are literally sourcing items from dumpsters. There was a news story about the disgusting food people resell on the platform, and it is not technically counterfeit. =3

[sandworm101]

>> None of these products claim to be HP.

HP would claim that the simple statement "compatible with HP xyz printer" makes it counterfeit, an improper use of HP trademarks in the statement. HP wants a world where anyone searching for "Ink for HP printer" will only ever see HP-licensed products.

[lokar]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominative_use

[sandworm101]

>> The user does nothing to suggest sponsorship or endorsement by the trademark holder.

HP would say that "compatible with HP printers" goes well beyond nominative. Per HP documentation, HP printers are only compatible with HP-licensed ink. So anyone saying "compatible with HP" is incorrectly stating they are licensed by HP.

Try selling a cupholder, or a cup, that is "compatible with Ferrari" and you should expect lawyers. (Ferrari famously hates aftermarket parts.)

[HeatrayEnjoyer]

HP and Ferrari are not the oracles of what can be compatible with their products or not. Compatibility is a physical trait, not something you can license or gatekeep.

[lokar]

Visit your local (American) drugstore. Next to each branded item will be a store brand version with the text “compare to $BRAND”

[groby_b]

I'd like avoiding the flea market, but all the reputable vendors either only sell via flee market or have egregious policies like "fax in your request in triplicate, wait three weeks, we'll ship something, you can't return it".

The problem here is a near-monopoly enabling a flea market that skirts just this site of legality. Sure, it's a lookalike, not a counterfeit, but with misleading copy to make sure people fall for it.

[lotsofpulp]

It’s nowhere near a monopoly. You can go to hp.com or epson.com or staples.com if you want to avoid the flea market.

[meepmorp]

But I want flea market prices!

[Brybry]

Flea markets don't commingle inventory between vendors/stalls.

Amazon in many cases does.