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I've been nailed more than a few times, mostly on lower cost items without prime (i dont mind saving a few bucks and waiting). Items I've gotten that are counterfeit:

- Brand name lock

- Serial Adapter (knockoff chipset)

- Apple Watch charger (these are endemic)

- Dell brand charger

You likely don't realize it but you probably have counterfeit items in your home right now, that were either very carefully copied or part of a "third shift". You also likely have refurbished items sold as new, and if you've ever gotten brand name things in plain packaging, cross-market items (such as intel CPUs that are sold at much lower prices in other regions, and then sold for a profit to the US).




When I wanted a second Apple Watch charger cable, I could not find any on Amazon that I was willing to order.

The ones that were listed as being actually from Apple and sold by Amazon were no cheaper than buying at the local Best Buy or Target or I think Walmart (I know they sell Apple watches and bands, but I'm not actually sure if they have Apple brand chargers).

Every single less expensive third party one had either almost exclusively terrible reviews, or an overwhelming majority of the positive reviews were for completely unrelated products (and the reviews that were not obviously for other products usually omitted actually saying what they were for so you could not tell if they were actually for the charger or for some previous item that once had the same listing).


> or an overwhelming majority of the positive reviews were for completely unrelated products

Like so many things at Amazon, this has gotten completely out of control. There are so many variants of it, too: There’s what I would call “style overloading” where the control that usually lets you choose between the red or blue toaster has been overloaded to choose between the toaster, the egg beater, and the waffle maker, and all the positive reviews for the waffle maker now give the toaster 4.5 stars in the search results. Then there’s what I will call “SKU retreading,” where a discontinued product has its product page repurposed for a new one, transferring all the old reviews and resulting search presence to the new one.

Somewhat appallingly, I’ve seen even popular brands like Aukey engaging in the latter. As you say, it’s sometimes not clear until you actually read the reviews and see they’re referring to features the product doesn’t have, or are posting pictures that look very different from the product photos. I’ve even used the “report incorrect product information” link on these and described the problem, and the listing has unsurprisingly remained unchanged weeks later.


> The ones that were listed as being actually from Apple and sold by Amazon were no cheaper than buying at the local Best Buy or Target or I think Walmart

Isn't that basically a rule for apple peripherals? You can't buy them new for cheaper than MSRP?


I didn't really think about it until the parent comment, but looking at your comment - it's kinda funny to me because all of the above product categories, I expect and WANT cheap "knock offs" that cost less. But what's funny to me is that it's never labelled MASTER or APPLE. It's literally labeled something like XIOMI or SAXAS or some shit like that. I could walk into a Home Depot and buy a $20 MASTER lock (or set of 4). Or I can just buy something that does the same thing - which is security theatre. That's the real thing deterring thieves, the look that I've done something that makes is 5 times harder is enough to deter probably 99% of the potential thieves. And it's not a wonder, with amazon packages just sitting on porches, of course there's easier things to steal than something behind a lock.


You don't want knockoff chargers. The power supply holds every other component in your computer at its mercy. Get the best one you can!


Obviously I care about my computer. But I care more about my life. Get a proper charger people. http://www.righto.com/2012/03/inside-cheap-phone-charger-and...


The lock was a specialty lock for a specific purpose (disc lock for a motorcycle). It's supposed to have a reinforced shaft and hardened casing that makes the tools that thieves use on cheaper disc locks useless.

I definitely do not want a knock off charger. I didn't care so much about the serial adapter, but it was still very annoying.


CPUs might be a different story, but I have the same experience as others: if I've gotten counterfeit goods I haven't been able to tell. At that point I don't really care.


> if I've gotten counterfeit goods I haven't been able to tell. At that point I don't really care.

On an individual level, sure. If the real product fails 1/1000 of the time, and the counterfeit fails 1/100 of the time, you've got 99%+ happy customers of both. The damage is only really evident in the aggregate.


My initial reaction is the same every time, but then about safety issues. Everything from toxic materials to potential fire hazards -- you won't know unless it's too late.


You will when your house burns down.




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