zacster

I ordered a KMC X8.99 chain on Amazon and what I received was in a box that didn't match the box on the KMC website. Apparently there are enough fakes out there that KMC publishes the packaging. It was marked as X8, without the .99, and it looked to be a flimsy fake made in China. Other Amazon reviews said the same thing.

I'll try again, but not on Amazon. I've ordered a lot of stuff on Amazon and get an occasional clunker, but this one ticked me off because it was so obviously not the product I ordered. They need to clamp down on the sellers using the platform and ensure that what they advertise is what you get.

CannedPakes

Amazon is like 90% chinese garbage now. Worse than ebay.

zacster

I was in China a few months ago and my colleagues went to a "fake" mart. You could buy just about anything there. Some were just knockoffs and copies, and some were "overruns" manufactured in the original plant but not sold by the product owner. Anything made by Apple was available with and without the logo, but all made at the original plants, but a lot of fake Apple stuff too. Some stuff was quality made, a lot wasn't.

Everywhere we went in Shanghai we always had the question of whether it was what was advertise or not.

ThermionicScott 

The rise of sites like Wish.com makes me wonder if people no longer care about getting fake stuff, or if they like to live under the delusion that they bought the real thing for a way lower price than all those other suckers.

Dan Burkhart 

KMC has recently changed their packaging and nomenclature, so it may be 100% authentic, just older stock.
Not discounting the slight possibility of counterfeit chain, but I would not automatically assume that.

zacster

When I looked at the chain my first thought was that it was fake though, the X pattern was not well formed. And it was then that I checked the packaging, looking for some indication that it was what I had ordered but it didn't say X8.99 anywhere on the package. I then pulled out an X10SL chain that I have in the box and that is totally different and this X10 is NOT new either but from two years ago, just unused in my parts collection. That's when I checked the KMC website and saw that the X8.99 packaging is the same graphics as the X10 that I have. And the X8.93 or X8.99 designations go back a ways and is explicit. It could well be that this is an earlier version of the X8 chain in the old style packaging, but then it should be sold as such.

I also read the Amazon reviews and there were others that thought the same.

hokiefyd 

Would you mind posting a close-up picture of the chain? It might help others who end up with the same one spot the counterfeit vs. the real thing.

Moe Zhoost

I'd also like to see pics of the chain and packaging.

Wilfred Laurier

Yes, please post a picture of the chain and packaging. I heard a story like this before and doubted it until I saw the picture - I think they were supposed to be Avid V brakes, and they were a shoddily made copy* of a cheaper brake that was obvious when you saw it.

*I assume a copy - could have been a factory reject that got diverted from the recycling pile.

easyupbug 

Correct. I supervised vendor evaluations in the PRC before retiring and can tell end runs and unauthorized runs can be problem for buyers and manufacturers. Quality of materials can range from no difference (end run) to significantly lower with the manufacturing process unchanged (unauthorized runs). They typically don't need to build a new manufacturing line for making fake chains, just switch from KMC material specifications to a local customer's material specs. At the Silk Market in Beijing you can get a quality Louis Vuitton handbag at a fraction of the company price or one that looks perfect but will fall apart in weeks.

pdlamb

I'm a little bit surprised someone would go to the trouble of counterfeiting KMC (although it could be an end run or unauthorized run as noted above). It's like, why would you counterfeit a $5 bill? For the same effort you could counterfeit a Shimano or Campagnolo chain, or a $20 or $50 bill.

ThermionicScott 

KMC makes Shimano chains.

Perhaps the counterfeiter (if they are in this case) is hoping to stay under the radar. Counterfeit Campy chains would draw some attention once people noticed, right?

TiHabanero

Was the KMC chain the OP ordered the lowest priced one? It might just mean the difference between the real deal and a fake.

NoWhammies

I'll throw my hat in to the ring requesting the OP post some photos of the chain and packaging. If they are able to compare the real vs. fake in the photos that would help too.

CannedPakes

They make fake Casio watches, and the real ones are like $10.

sdmc530

Amazon is a **** show IMO! Ebay is way more reliable. There are some really good bike stores on ebay that are legit and honest. Prices are fair and they actually have a phone to call. I only use a couple of sellers on their now. Amazon I never use anymore, been burned twice on ebay with fakes and getting worse all the time I think.


FWIW KMC did change its packaging and its not in a box but a plastic blister type pack now but the chain itself didn't change. KMC is good stuff for my money.

02Giant 

Where's that pic?

CliffordK

I agree, photos would be nice. I got some Shimano HG73 chains from China. They seemed to wear quickly, but I could never ascertain whether they were legit or not. But, I started looking at other brands through mainstream sources after that.

zacster

I've already sent the chain back, but you can go on Amazon and look at the reviews of the X8.99 and you'll see others with the same opinion, plus I know someone posted a pic of the good and bad boxes. The cardboard box is what KMC shows as the packaging, the plastic looks fake, but may be an older style of packaging. Or maybe newer, but it sure doesn't look like it. It is a very generic graphic with no details, no sales pitch. Amazon review link

My guess is that this is an overrun using cheaper materials. But I have to agree that it doesn't make sense to copy an item that is cheap enough to begin with, so maybe these are just rejects. It could be that KMC didn't like the quality and wouldn't take them and these are now on the market? Who knows. I bought one that comes in the box on ebay instead. At least the box was in the posted picture.

Dan Burkhart 

This is the packaging that X8 chains come in from my distributor
They switched to this type within the last year or so.

unterhausen

Moderators note: I would rather not close this thread, so can we keep politics out of it? Politics is only allowed in the P&R forum

Marcus_Ti

This was my thought....OP's pics looks like what I remember from the last time I bought KMC a few years ago.

Of course, at the end of the day, I have to wonder so long as it is within specification how much it actually matters...

Papa Tom

I bought a KMC in the local bike shop about a year ago and it came in a generic white box. The shop owner assured me it was the real thing and said he would replace it at no charge if it gave me any problems at all. I've had it on the bike for at least a year now and it has performed just fine.

I will never know if it was "real" or not (I trust the LBS owner), but I can vouch for whoever actually manufactured it.

sdmc530

the last few I purchased came in the plastic pack that Dan posted above FWI

mpetry912 

In tech products there is a concept of "OEM Packaging" and then "Retail packaging". OEM of course is what is supplied in this case to the bike factory. Retail is what ends up in the bike shop. There's a price differential.

Make no mistake, manufacturers are all doing yield management, with tiered pricing and distribution channels based on product quality and cost. I think that is what's being described in this thread.

Mark Petry
Bainbridge Island, WA USA