OWC Selling Fake MagSafe 2 power adapter?

[Audit13]

they are not authentic. They have the Apple logo and markings that suggest Apple made/designed products. Talking with and in writing from OWC staff they claim 100% authentic and direct from Apple.
So pretty much these are the definition of counterfeit.

counterfeit: adjective, made to look like the original of something, usually for dishonest or illegal purposes.

I'm not in a position to defend owc since I have never dealt with them.

Is it possible they are actually from Apple and have an agreement with Apple to make the font look different from units sold in retail Apple stores? I don't know.

In the end, I made a decision a long time ago not to buy from owc because of their prices.

 

[CTYankee]

counterfeit: adjective, made to look like the original of something, usually for dishonest or illegal purposes.

I'm not in a position to defend owc since I have never dealt with them.

Is it possible they are actually from Apple and have an agreement with Apple to make the font look different from units sold in retail Apple stores? I don't know.

In the end, I made a decision a long time ago not to buy from owc because of their prices.

No. These are cheap bad fakes. The electronics are different and lack the protections Apple designed. Read the rest of the thread for details.

 

[Audit13]

No. These are cheap bad fakes. The electronics are different and lack the protections Apple designed. Read the rest of the thread for details.

I realize just by reading their website they are not OEM but they also don't seem to meet the definition of "counterfeit" .

 

[AlanShutko]

I realize just by reading their website they are not OEM but they also don't seem to meet the definition of "counterfeit" .

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. The website says in big letters "Apple Genuine Units" and the pictures show Apple logos. How is that not counterfeit?

 

[CTYankee]

I realize just by reading their website they are not OEM but they also don't seem to meet the definition of "counterfeit" .

I’m not sure it can be any more the definition of counterfeit. The definition you posted is exactly what is happening.

 

[Audit13]

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. The website says in big letters "Apple Genuine Units" and the pictures show Apple logos. How is that not counterfeit?

counterfeit: adjective, made to look like the original of something, usually for dishonest or illegal purposes.

I never said the product is not fake. I'm saying that potential claimants need to look at the definition of "countefeit".

The product picture in this thread does not look like an original to me so it doesn't meet the definition of being made to look like an original in my opinion. I can't stress enough that it is my opinion.

The other part is proving dishonest or illegal purposes. OWC, as a defendant, would need to be presented with corroborating from claimant too as far as I know.

If you wish to pursue legal action or file a claim, the choice is yours. Is it worth the amount of work involved? I can't say.

 

[chrfr]

counterfeit: adjective, made to look like the original of something, usually for dishonest or illegal purposes.

The product picture in this thread does not look like an original to me so it doesn't meet the definition of being made to look like an original in my opinion. I can't stress enough that it is my opinion.

The other part is proving dishonest or illegal purposes. OWC, as a defendant, would need to be presented with corroborating from claimant too as far as I know.

If you wish to pursue legal action or file a claim, the choice is yours. Is it worth the amount of work involved? I can't say.

counterfeit: (noun) a fraudulent imitation of something else; a forgery: he knew the tapes to be counterfeits.

The adapter sold by OWC is, in every respect, intended to appear to be an Apple power adapter. To say that it doesn't intend to look like a legitimate Apple product is clearly wrong. It even uses Apple's Magsafe branding on it, which is a registered trademark, and OWC's own website specifically claims these are genuine Apple products.

Selling counterfeit goods is a criminal offense, enforced primarily by the Federal Trade Commission.
Counterfeit goods can be reported here: https://www.stopfakes.gov/article?id=Report-Fake-Goods
Apple also has a counterfeit reporting site here: https://www.apple.com/legal/contact/counterfeit-prevention.html

The printing and typography on these does not match any of the power adapters I have at my disposal. I would assume the internals are of similarly poor, and potentially dangerous, quality. I'm sure Apple would like to hear about the product at their link above.

 

[Audit13]

My posts were meant to play devil's advocate, nothing more. I certainly appreciate all of the information posted in this thread. It's a learning experience for me as well.

This thread was started on August 22, 2017 and OWC continues with this practice. I'm just wondering why this has not been halted for violating U.S. statutes.

 

[BigMcGuire]

My posts were meant to play devil's advocate, nothing more. I certainly appreciate all of the information posted in this thread. It's a learning experience for me as well.

This thread was started on August 22, 2017 and OWC continues with this practice. I'm just wondering why this has not been halted for violating U.S. statutes.

My sentiments as well. Makes me even more resolute about just buying from Apple direct... :/

 

[sahnert]

You could also report it to Apple:

Apple - Legal - Counterfeit Questions

www.apple.com

Edit: now I see this was posted earlier. I’ll leave it here in case someone else misses the earlier link like I did.

 

[profcutter]

Yeah, this fits every definition of counterfeit. They’re being sold under the pretense of being Apple genuine adapters. If they wanted to be straight, they should have owc branding on them. Seems open and shut, don’t know why they’ve gotten away with it for so long.

 

[CTYankee]

I realize just by reading their website they are not OEM but they also don't seem to meet the definition of "counterfeit" .

I’m not sure it can be any more the definition of counterfeit. The definition you posted is exactly what is happening

Yeah, this fits every definition of counterfeit. They’re being sold under the pretense of being Apple genuine adapters. If they wanted to be straight, they should have owc branding on them. Seems open and shut, don’t know why they’ve gotten away with it for so long.

Those who can tell are few and few among them will do anything. OWC is also a huge advertiser so none of the Mac news outlets seem interested in biting the hand that feeds them.
If everyone reading this thread were to do something: report to Apple, report to FTC, write the Illinois attorney general, call and complain to OWC, or just leave a review on yelp....something...there might be change.

 

[Audit13]

I’m not sure it can be any more the definition of counterfeit. The definition you posted is exactly what is happening

Those who can tell are few and few among them will do anything. OWC is also a huge advertiser so none of the Mac news outlets seem interested in biting the hand that feeds them.
If everyone reading this thread were to do something: report to Apple, report to FTC, write the Illinois attorney general, call and complain to OWC, or just leave a review on yelp....something...there might be change.

If OWC's actions clearly meet the statute definition of counterfeit, why hasn't Apple taken legal action in civil court? Surely, someone on Apple's legal team has looked into the matter, especially if OWC's business practices knowingly violate statutes? I find it hard to believe that Apple is not aware of OWC's business practices or that Apple has simply chosen to ignore them. Apple is a world-wide brand and I doubt Apple would allow any company to conduct any illegal activity where it's name can, may, or will be sullied.

Why haven't the federal or state AGs taken action if OWC is clearly violating federal and/or state statutes? Should be an easy prosecution? I also find it difficult to believe that the AGs are not aware of OWC.

The real question to me is why has this been allowed to continue if OWC is clearly breaking the law? Is there more to this than meets the eye?

 

[bsbeamer]

This is part of a long list of complaints people have with OWC over the years. The previous major gripe was/is many of the RAM modules they sell as "NEW" are pulls and/or buyback models that they slap their logo sticker on. It's unacceptable to sell as "NEW" without disclosing that information and even worse when you consider their markup over actual RAM manufacturers like Samsung, Crucial/Micron, Kingston, Hynix.

MANY online outlets, blogs, and news sites get free demo units "for review" of products from OWC and/or have sponsorship with them. It's rare to see their actions called out publicly by many of them.

I really try to avoid their products whenever possible. Buy chargers from Apple directly or certified resellers (like B&H).

 

[tnhybrid2020]

Glad to find the thread as I just figured out two adapters I bought from OWC last year are these same fakes - bought new OEM ones to compare after my Macbook started shutting down abruptly and other weird problems. The problems stopped with the new adapters and I finally added two and two. Just glad I didn't accept substitutes instead of the refund I asked for which of course Macsales refused to give - but also glad I'm only out $100 instead of their junk bricking my machine or starting a fire.

I wrote a public FB post and will be reporting this to Apple and StopTheFakes.gov. Thanks to everyone who weighed in!

 

[Rastered]

These aren't even close the type is bad, the weight of the 85w OWC COUNTERFEIT is 193g, the Apple is 260g! Both purchased this year. There's all kinds of subtle red flags with the color and moulding. The plastic will flex on the fake one.