counterfeits parts ebay scammers and amazon shills

[grondeau]

I just went through the process of getting taken by less-than-reputable online dealers.  This prompted me to do a little investigative journalism and write up this piece on my blog.

https://squashpractice.com/2024/01/01/counterfeits-parts-ebay-scammers-and-amazon-shills/

Enjoy and buyer beware!

Cheers,
Gary

[magic]

No surprise.

Sites like eBay don't give a damn about fraud, as long as a sale happens they get their cut and that's what matters.
They might help you recover your money from the seller to shut you up, but only after you have wasted time on this bullshit.
They have zero interest in banning sellers (bad for business) and even less in proactively looking for counterfeits or scams.


I like your pictures of open TO-3 cans with TO-92 sized dice in them

[theHWcave]

Excellent article!
Yes we have probably all had similar experiences. I keep a list of (UK) sellers that I have had good experiences with before. Its no guarantee and I would never buy a safety critical component that way.

[Oldtestgear]

Counterfeit parts are everywhere, not just the likes of eBay or Amazon.  I was involved in the semiconductor industry for many years  & fakes turned up from even reputable companies. The problem has only got worse since I left. Many years ago it was estimated that 6% of semiconductors were faked in some way.

Some companies make a business out of testing parts to ensure these are genuine including de-capping to check that the die is from the claimed manufacturer.

Phil

[tggzzz]

I just went through the process of getting taken by less-than-reputable online dealers.  This prompted me to do a little investigative journalism and write up this piece on my blog.
https://squashpractice.com/2024/01/01/counterfeits-parts-ebay-scammers-and-amazon-shills/
Enjoy and buyer beware!

No surprises, but worth documenting and you've documented it well. Thanks.

And welcome to the forum

[madires]

Unfortunately bitter reality. Caveat emptor!

But sometimes you can get salvaged genuine components.

[watchmaker]

I had this happen to me on an "original" piece of art.  Called eBay Concierge and they claimed they had no idea how this could happen.  THANK YOU for the explanation.

[Haenk]

As already stated, the bitter truth - ebay and Amazon just don't care (but honestly, the technical knowledge is not to be expected from a 1$/h agent in India).
Maybe some interesting background:
Check the business numbers. You can even look them up in China. They sell whatever cr*p they want, defraud customers, ignore taxes, legal issues - you name it. *But* I have yet to find a business not stating the correct business registration number. I can only assume there are really hefty penalties in China.
Second: It is common practice, to construct the business of "one factory, one hundered sales agents/sales companies/brands". And it's actually quite clever, when acting in foreign markets. If one seller/brand is burnt - no worries, the other 99 are still in the game, so the factory can continue to sell.