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Apple Files $2M+ Lawsuit Against Counterfeiter, Finds 90% of 'Genuine' Accessories on Amazon Are Knockoffs

Cartoonkid said:
Don't forget the "M"...Monoprice.
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yanksfan114 said:
Never tried them but have heard good things.
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Monoprice is very good. They've been the "insider's secret" for computer folk for many years - they were a great place back in the day to get, say, $5 HDMI cables when everyone else was only selling $60 Monster HDMI cables (nowadays Amazon is awash in cheap HDMI cables). Amazon's big advantage, now, is that (if you can identify legit sellers), you can have things arrive the day after tomorrow "for free" (if you've bought into Amazon Prime), whereas Monoprice has more traditional shipping. But Monoprice has tremendous variety, good return policies, and it's all direct from them, so there's no question of bad 3rd party sellers sneaking in, or glowing fake reviews. Speaking of reviews, that's Monoprice's other big win - any random cable is likely to have hundreds of reviews from very nerdy folks, some of whom may have already described whether the cable will work for the odd purpose you have in mind. Very comforting buying cables or converter boxes that have hundreds of reviews from users who have a clue (vs. some of the 1-star reviews on Amazon from people who are irate that the USB cable they bought won't connect their TV to their VCR). So, I don't use Monoprice as much any more unless I've got a bunch of cables/etc to order, but they are, indeed, good.

(Does anyone else have a habit of regularly clicking "no, this review wasn't helpful" on 1-star reviews where it's clear that either the buyer is unhappy that the item won't accomplish some unrelated function that was never mentioned/suggested in the item description, or they clearly had trouble with the shipping, or 3rd party seller, not the item itself?)
 
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ssspinball said:
This reflects really poorly on Amazon's reputation as a trustworthy seller.
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Yes, and its good they are working with Apple by banning sellers where appropriate. Now if they could just get rid of the "I was provided this product at a discount in exchange..." reviews. Seems now there are more of those than legitimate reviews.
 
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TallManNY said:
But for now Amazon has been largely ignoring this issue in favor of driving traffic through its site.
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Yep. Meanwhile, Amazon prohibits sale of the Apple TV by anyone on their site, "because it might cause confusion" (about whether it can play Amazon Prime video - something they themselves are keeping off the device). I like Amazon for most things, but... WTF Amazon?
 
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Boatboy24 said:
Yes, and its good they are working with Apple by banning sellers where appropriate. Now if they could just get rid of the "I was provided this product at a discount in exchange..." reviews. Seems now there are more of those than legitimate reviews.
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Actually, I don't mind those reviews so much, if they're very up-front about it. If you keep the bias potential in mind while reading the review, many of them are from well-meaning folks who have had hands-on with the device, and may end up answering some question you had (or, heck, the picture of the toaster next to their cat can give you a better idea of size, etc.)

I could do without all the reviews where the title is "Five Stars" and the text is something like "itz gud" - that's not a review, that's mindless approval with no useful information, and highly untrustworthy. I'd also like to see an end to the answers in the FAQ section from clueless people, who take the time to post answers that say, "I don't know, I bought the other color" (like how on earth is that worth clicking "post" on?).
 
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co.ag.2005 said:
Add Aukey to that as well. 4 A's... I have several chargers, cables, and a USB battery charger from Aukey via Amazon. Great products. Anker is at the top of my list as well, but I did once receive counterfeit Anker cables. Amazon rectified pretty quickly.
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I'll have to look into Aukey. And yeah I kinda meant direct from the companies but as long as it's via a reputable seller, they're most likely good.
 
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MarcusCarpenter said:
Spending £800 on an iPhone and then cheaping out on a counterfeit charger.
Where's the logic?
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The problem is they are not just some cheap $1 unbranded charger. They are advertised as the real thing, Apple branded under the Apple listing in Amazon, and are often are close to full price. They even arrive with apples packaging and logo on.
 
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funny enough all the chargers that came with my macbooks and what not have stopped working or blew up, and the knock off ones are the ones still working
 
trainwrecka said:
The knock-offs from overseas are getting out of control on Amazon. It has become increasingly harder to know if I'm buying an authentic product until it shows up at my door looking like a 5 year old created the product.
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Not only that but it's increasingly putting our safety at risk considering what happend to unfortunate souls using Note 7's that exploded. It's not a joke it can be quite concerning.
 
ilikewhey said:
funny enough all the chargers that came with my macbooks and what not have stopped working or blew up, and the knock off ones are the ones still working
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Same for me. Knock-off products, while often worse, are sometimes better than the real thing.

Heck, Apple themselves have had to recall millions of their own chargers and cables over years in the past, so being "genuine" has not always been a guarantee of safety from shocks or fires.
 
ArtOfWarfare said:
It seems like Apple should sue Amazon if Amazon is allowing these sellers to pretend that they're official Apple products.
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Amazon took them off and suspended the seller as soon as they were notified that they weren't real Apple products. What else do you want them to do? How are they supposed to find out that they're not real? Should they get Apple's internal (and probably confidential) design drawings, disassemble one sample of each product everyone who sells through them offers, and see if it matches? It's not like the packages or the products had "Counterfeit" stamped on them.
 
kdarling said:
Same for me. Knock-off products, while often worse, are sometimes better than the real thing.

Heck, Apple themselves have had to recall millions of their own chargers and cables over years in the past, so being "genuine" has not always been a guarantee of safety from shocks or fires.
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I've never seen a knockoff that was better than the original.

And, yes, Apple has had to recall products occasionally. So what? When a knockoff is dangerously defective, there's never a recall, there's just the occasional house burned down out in the world. Is that better somehow?
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Efrem said:
Amazon took them off and suspended the seller as soon as they were notified that they weren't real Apple products. What else do you want them to do? How are they supposed to find out that they're not real? Should they get Apple's internal (and probably confidential) design drawings, disassemble one sample of each product everyone who sells through them offers, and see if it matches? It's not like the packages or the products had "Counterfeit" stamped on them.
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No, the answer to keeping knockoffs out of your supply isn't "inspect every one and compare to the design drawings", it's have a traceable supply chain from manufacturer to storefront. If a 3rd party seller vouches for a product's authenticity and the product turns out not to be authentic, then the seller should be taken out and shot - er, I mean, permanently banned from Amazon. If Amazon says, "sold by Amazon" vs. coming from a 3rd party seller, then I expect Amazon to actually know that the product came from an authorized distributor who got it from the authorized manufacturer. If they don't, if Amazon sells something as authentic on the basis that the shipping container came from some random place, but had "genuine Apple, no really" scrawled on the side, then Amazon should get called out on this, just as if I went to a supermarket and bought milk, and it turned out to not be milk, the supermarket would face substantial consequences.
 
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ArtOfWarfare said:
It seems like Apple should sue Amazon if Amazon is allowing these sellers to pretend that they're official Apple products.
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Only if it can be proven that Amazon knew without a doubt that they were counterfeiters.

Otherwise, why blame Amazon? Just like every other online store, Amazon can be deceived and tricked by the thousands of 3rd party merchants it deals with. Exactly like so many violators of Apple Store policies end up "tricking" Apple, and Apple does not discover their deceit (e.g. falsified reviews) until years later.
 
shareef777 said:
Didn't realize I needed to baby a cable. I'll cradle my $2k+ laptop, not my $20 cord. The fact that you only charge your iPad every 5-10days (the fact that the battery even holds a charge at this point) tells me you don't don't actually use your products very much. Maybe your children get more done on the equipment then you do. I've had my MacBook for 4+ years now and the vowel letters are worn down. That's how much use my equipment gets..
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Not sure what cables you may need, but try Monoprice. Lightning cables are MFi certified and much cheaper than Apple. Plus they give a lifetime warranty on all of their cables (they do sell some made by other mfg's that don't have the same warranty). And their customer service is top-notch IMO.
 
MacRumors said:
Update: Amazon tells MacRumors it has "zero tolerance for the sale of counterfeits" on its website. "We work closely with manufacturers and brands, and pursue wrongdoers aggressively," it said.
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Oh give me a break, half the good deals on electronics are either knockoffs or grey market and Amazon has got to know that.
 
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CarlJ said:
I've never seen a knockoff that was better than the original.

And, yes, Apple has had to recall products occasionally. So what? When a knockoff is dangerously defective, there's never a recall, there's just the occasional house burned down out in the world. Is that better somehow?
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No, the answer to keeping knockoffs out of your supply isn't "inspect every one and compare to the design drawings", it's have a traceable supply chain from manufacturer to storefront. If a 3rd party seller vouches for a product's authenticity and the product turns out not to be authentic, then the seller should be taken out and shot - er, I mean, permanently banned from Amazon. If Amazon says, "sold by Amazon" vs. coming from a 3rd party seller, then I expect Amazon to actually know that the product came from an authorized distributor who got it from the authorized manufacturer. If they don't, if Amazon sells something as authentic on the basis that the shipping container came from some random place, but had "genuine Apple, no really" scrawled on the side, then Amazon should get called out on this, just as if I went to a supermarket and bought milk, and it turned out to not be milk, the supermarket would face substantial consequences.
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Exactly. The knock-off manufacturers don't ever get sued because nobody knows where to find them. The minute the s**t hits the fan, they disappear like cockroaches when the lights turn on.

I vote for the "shot" option for 3rd party counterfeit sellers. LOL

As for items "sold by Amazon," I agree. There is absolutely no excuse for them not knowing if the products are counterfeit. Just because they're the largest retailer in the world, doesn't mean they can shirk their responsibilities to their customers.
 
Chones cajones said:
Well, it's not like they're doing it for the consumer's benefit. Counterfeit products branded as their own that either just stop working or go up in flames damage the company's reputation. The last thing Apple want is consumers thinking their products are unreliable.
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Bingo. Beats by Dre had similar issues. Lots of bad reviews. My friend was one of them, I looked at his headphones. Knockoffs!! He tried mine, purchased at the Apple Store and could tell the difference right away. Good for Apple taking initiative.
 
CarlJ said:
I've never seen a knockoff that was better than the original.
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I have, at least as far as Lightning cables go. I've tried a bunch of them, Apple and not, expensive and not, and the toughest have been some under $5 ones from a dollar store of all places.

And, yes, Apple has had to recall products occasionally. So what? When a knockoff is dangerously defective, there's never a recall, there's just the occasional house burned down out in the world. Is that better somehow
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Nope, but I didn't say anything about that.

What I did comment, was that buying the genuine article is no guarantee of safety either. This was in response to the idea that people were "safe" by doing so. Safer, sure, usually. But not safe absolutely.

As I'm sure you'll agree, consumers should always take care with any product. Having a genuine charger is not going to save you if you abuse it or place it under covers or whatever.
 
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