PSA - Counterfeit Chains Are Rampant
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#77
Newbie
Scammers too...I had a bad experience with two Amazon retailers recently trying to buy a Campagnolo Record 11 speed chain. Both times they showed a picture of the box of an actual Campy Record chain but then sent a non series specific Campy chain with a decal they put on it that said "Record 11 speed chain". I learned my lesson after that and pay the extra 2 dollars and get it from a bike shop that likes a decent reputation.
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Something is just not adding up here. The whole point of making knock-off products would be the substantially higher profit than manufacturing other products. Since the packaging, quick link and chain are for all intents and purposes identical than the original plus is was being sold at a discount where is the great upside for this manufacturer. In other knockoff situations I have seen it was for crazy expensive products and the knockoff can quickly be identified as as inferior. That is not the case in this case.
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Something is just not adding up here. The whole point of making knock-off products would be the substantially higher profit than manufacturing other products. Since the packaging, quick link and chain are for all intents and purposes identical than the original plus is was being sold at a discount where is the great upside for this manufacturer. In other knockoff situations I have seen it was for crazy expensive products and the knockoff can quickly be identified as as inferior. That is not the case in this case.
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Want to get upset about something? Think for a moment how much easier it is to make defective generic drugs and how much harder they are to detect.
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I really think the act of putting them in a fake box screams intent to peddle counterfeit goods. Not saying that any online LBS or Amazon is complicit, but by putting them in a box so similar to Shimano’s own packaging, there was an intent to deceive/defraud any purchaser.
Now, can we talk about why people don’t believe my Rollexe is real?
Now, can we talk about why people don’t believe my Rollexe is real?
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#86
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The lack of reflector/shine on the parallelograms on the box front is an obvious giveaway if you are looking at the box in person.
It's pretty much impossible to tell from an online listing, even if the picture from the listing is real, you could get sent a counterfeit.
The main point to my thread is to increase awareness. I hope that I succeeded.
It's pretty much impossible to tell from an online listing, even if the picture from the listing is real, you could get sent a counterfeit.
The main point to my thread is to increase awareness. I hope that I succeeded.
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The one thing I will say about Amazon and the fake chain is that they refunded my money with no questions and did not require me to send back the counterfeit.
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What about the Wipperman chains and Connex links? Aren't they supposed to be good quality? Anyone use them?
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The lack of reflector/shine on the parallelograms on the box front is an obvious giveaway if you are looking at the box in person.
It's pretty much impossible to tell from an online listing, even if the picture from the listing is real, you could get sent a counterfeit.
The main point to my thread is to increase awareness. I hope that I succeeded.
It's pretty much impossible to tell from an online listing, even if the picture from the listing is real, you could get sent a counterfeit.
The main point to my thread is to increase awareness. I hope that I succeeded.
And the online listing could have the real image and then Amazon sells the fake someone put into stock. Even if you know what it looks like and buy the "right" one by image, you can get the counterfeit and then have to return it for someone else.
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this thread has me worrried. i bought a couple 12 speed M9100 XTR/DA chains from merlin and they arrived in practically unbranded plastic bags. i assumed they were just OEM packaging. but …. ?
they look genuine, and haven’t broken, but i have had some new drivetrain noises.
they look genuine, and haven’t broken, but i have had some new drivetrain noises.
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#94
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this thread has me worrried. i bought a couple 12 speed M9100 XTR/DA chains from merlin and they arrived in practically unbranded plastic bags. i assumed they were just OEM packaging. but …. ?
they look genuine, and haven’t broken, but i have had some new drivetrain noises.
they look genuine, and haven’t broken, but i have had some new drivetrain noises.
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this thread has me worrried. i bought a couple 12 speed M9100 XTR/DA chains from merlin and they arrived in practically unbranded plastic bags. i assumed they were just OEM packaging. but …. ?
they look genuine, and haven’t broken, but i have had some new drivetrain noises.
they look genuine, and haven’t broken, but i have had some new drivetrain noises.
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Shimano QL:
KMC QL:
On this, yes, I'd assume so. Over on the photography side I know there are people who have found high-speed SD cards with low-speed chips on them in full retail channels like Best Buy, which in that case makes me assume someone at the factory subbed the slower chips to make a quota and hoped nothing would happen. I'd imagine the vendors are clueless.
#97
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That looks like a KMC quick link. They're typically stamped with chain size (10S, 11S...). datlas, I can't really tell from your pictures, but are the links in the counterfeit chain chamfered?
Shimano QL:
KMC QL:
Years ago (7?) I bought a 32GB SanDisk SD card off Amazon, sold by Amazon. Would not write beyond 4GB no matter what I did, would error out. I did some research, compared the logos, and it was the same thing as the OP is describing - the lettering and the quality looked slightly different from what it was supposed to (notice the font on the boxes is different). At the same time I found some articles about 'ghost shifts' running the production line Friday night and making a bunch of "fake" SD cards.
Shimano QL:
KMC QL:
Years ago (7?) I bought a 32GB SanDisk SD card off Amazon, sold by Amazon. Would not write beyond 4GB no matter what I did, would error out. I did some research, compared the logos, and it was the same thing as the OP is describing - the lettering and the quality looked slightly different from what it was supposed to (notice the font on the boxes is different). At the same time I found some articles about 'ghost shifts' running the production line Friday night and making a bunch of "fake" SD cards.
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Whatever happened to Shimano releasing this app?
https://bike.shimano.com/en-US/infor...unterfeit.html
https://bike.shimano.com/en-US/infor...unterfeit.html
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The "factory seconds" story you guys are telling yourselves is a fantasy that lets you hope the fake will be good enough. The fakes are different enough in details that it's just not a real possibility. It's not like there's a "lower quality" lever on the chain machine.
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Shimano lets their workers take home components that they can sell on the side to help pay for needed surgeries for their ailing mothers and disabled children. Those are the "counterfeit" chains that are sold on eBay.