dinneR ★ Posted January 23 Share #1 Posted January 23 This one was purchased from amazon. Amazon has a huge counterfeit problem. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted January 23 Share #2 Posted January 23 That's pretty neat. It is sort of amazing the breadth of things that folks will counterfeit. We think of bikes as a "niche" market - especially at the Ultegra level - but they're clearly out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted January 23 Share #3 Posted January 23 18 minutes ago, dinneR said: This one was purchased from amazon. Amazon has a huge counterfeit problem. I just watched this video 20 minutes ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted January 23 Share #4 Posted January 23 Side-by-side comparison its slightly more noticeable as he points out the differences. But without a legit Shimano chain to compare to, 99.9% of the people will not notice. I wouldn't. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted January 23 Author Share #5 Posted January 23 10 minutes ago, Razors Edge said: That's pretty neat. It is sort of amazing the breadth of things that folks will counterfeit. We think of bikes as a "niche" market - especially at the Ultegra level - but they're clearly out there! People are counterfeiting soap. WTF? I can't believe the avg. person would recognize the difference in that chain. I think if I installed and it rain rough, I'd replace the cassette and the problem would still exist. I imagine ebay has the same problem, but it is pretty damn big on amazon because of all of the third party sellers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted January 23 Share #6 Posted January 23 12 minutes ago, dinneR said: I imagine ebay has the same problem, but it is pretty damn big on amazon because of all of the third party sellers. I'm thinking it is big on any platform where the supplier isn't verifiably Shimano. I have two 11sp Ultegra chains in the box - one for my road bike (116 links) and one for the gravel bike (126 links). I just looked at them and they match his "real" chain packaging. I got them at normal online retailers - usually REI, Western Bikeworks, or Performance - so wasn't suprised, but like you say, I too would not readily notice the difference as I change a chain every other year, not regularly enough to know what they look and smell like! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentonMakes Posted January 23 Share #7 Posted January 23 I remember when I first got my Epiphone guitar I joined a Les Paul forum that had whole threads devoted to spotting cheap counterfeits. With Epiphone being a more entry-level brand (these days), I'd think people wouldn't bother counterfeiting these, but I guess if they can sell enough of them there's a buck to be made. It's all about "buyer beware"... but it's exhausting to have to beware all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikeguy Posted January 23 Share #8 Posted January 23 2 hours ago, dinneR said: Amazon has a huge counterfeit problem. And that's just one of the reasons I don't buy from Amazon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Further Posted January 23 Share #9 Posted January 23 There is a huge problem with counterfeit fasteners, nuts & bolts. Want to fly in a plane with the engines held on buy Chineseium rather than Titanium 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerrySTL ★ Posted January 23 Share #10 Posted January 23 Just pay for them with counterfeit dollars. It all equals out that way. 1 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airehead ★ Posted January 23 Share #11 Posted January 23 I never even thought of this as a potential issue. Greed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisL Posted January 24 Share #12 Posted January 24 I had this happen to me during the return to work ramp up. I needed ink for our badge printer and our supplier was out with a long delay on back order. So I found a vendor on Amazon and the alleged same ink cartridges wouldn’t work in the printer they were allegedly made for… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted January 24 Author Share #13 Posted January 24 Bottom line. Amazon sucks. Amazon will let anyone sell anything as long as amazon makes money. Ethics be damned. Amazon has known about it's fraud and counterfeit problem for a long time. They acted on it when the gov't and companies selling the non-counterfeit items threatened them. There are a lot of companies that won't let amazon sell their products. Think about that. They are the largest retailer in the world and many companies won't let them handle their product. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tizeye Posted January 24 Share #14 Posted January 24 The solution is simple. Don’t buy Shimano. Campy and SRAM all the way! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted January 24 Share #15 Posted January 24 9 hours ago, dinneR said: Bottom line. Amazon sucks. Amazon will let anyone sell anything as long as amazon makes money. Ethics be damned. Amazon has known about it's fraud and counterfeit problem for a long time. They acted on it when the gov't and companies selling the non-counterfeit items threatened them. There are a lot of companies that won't let amazon sell their products. Think about that. They are the largest retailer in the world and many companies won't let them handle their product. Again, if it was even remotely unique to Amazon, you might have a case, but its is pretty much across ALL platforms that allow 3rd party sales. I get Amazon is the biggest, but we all remember when the exact same things were said about eBay, and I'd love to see how Walmart is handling things with their 3rd party vendors. Caveat emptor remains a rational and reasonable expectation for all purchases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted January 24 Author Share #16 Posted January 24 9 hours ago, Razors Edge said: Again, if it was even remotely unique to Amazon, you might have a case, but its is pretty much across ALL platforms that allow 3rd party sales. I get Amazon is the biggest, but we all remember when the exact same things were said about eBay, and I'd love to see how Walmart is handling things with their 3rd party vendors. Caveat emptor remains a rational and reasonable expectation for all purchases. Amazon knew about it and ignored it. That sucks. It's not just bike parts. It includes household items like soap. I did mention ebay. WHY IS IT SO EASY TO SELL FAKE GOODS? When you scan through products on Amazon, the majority are not sold by Amazon, but by third-party sellers. Historically, Amazon has not carefully policed the authenticity of the products sold by these merchants. “Amazon does not do audits of distributors that claim to be selling original products,” Handfield says. “It has relied on companies and consumers to report counterfeit products to shut down the seller. But then it’ll just pop up somewhere else.” Some brands have pushed back against Amazon for not tackling the counterfeiting problem more aggressively. In 2016, Birkenstock’s CEO took the dramatic step of pulling products off Amazon, saying that Amazon was unwilling to help the brand identify and fight those making fake versions of its shoes. In 2019, Nike said it would also stop selling products directly on Amazon, partly because of the proliferation of counterfeits on the site. Both Birkenstock and Nike declined to comment on whether they might reconsider partnering with Amazon now that it is beefing up its anti-counterfeiting measures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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