Fluke or fake

[westfeild]

OK i'm looking to buy a new 87V,

Does anyone know of any fakes to watch out for, i have seen some new 87V Flukes on ebay (UK) at a good price but can i be sure they are genuine, these are offered from a private seller with 100% feedback also they have said that you just register on line with the warranty card!
Already lost out with a faulty Rigol DS1052E chinease import (coupling fault) and don't want to repeat the mistake but with the 87V at half price it seems a really good buy.

Anyone had a bad experience with a knockoff meter, Paul.

[Bored@Work]

Until now, no one has show us here or anywhere else where I hang out on the Internet a completely fake Fluke. I don't claim they don't exist at all, but if they exist they seem to be extremely rare. So rare that it is very unlikely you get a complete fake.

What sometimes shows up are jokes with "brands" like "FUKE" or similar. And of course there is always the chance an eBay seller is a conman and has nothing to sell at all.

Fluke has an official policy of only honoring the lifetime warranty if you buy from an authorized dealer and are the first owner. However, people claim they managed to register instruments they got from other sources. But I wouldn't count on it, especially because I don't think being able to register an instrument is a guarantee that Fluke will honor the warranty later when you need it.

[westfeild]

Hi, that is what i was thinking especially the warranty, after my experience with the Rigol warranty i think i will give it miss and buy from an authorised dealer

[saturation]

I have yet to encounter a counterfeit Fluke 87 or any in that series and I've bought 2 of eBay some years ago.  However, if you are in the UK, the very close competing and more feature rich Agilent 1272a is much cheaper and better value for your pound; see element14 prices for example.  They are authorized and the product is new.  Compared to US prices, the 87V is very overpriced in the UK.

[westfeild]

Hi Saturation,

yes it is frustrating just how overpriced Fluke is in the UK compared to US. I have not considered the Agilent so i will take a look at the spec, it is approximately £100 cheaper than the Fluke from Farnell but still over £100 more expensive than the 87V ebay offer taking VAT into account

[siliconmix]

fakes are way way cheaper than the real thing.

[EEVblog]

I have never heard of an actual fake Fluke meter, i.e. one that didn't come out the Fluke factory.
The "clones" are easily identified as being different.
There are tons of grey market genuine ones though.

Dave.

[rolycat]

If you want an 87V, Rapid Electronics are selling them for £265 + VAT.

With VAT, that's over £115 cheaper than Farnell, although they seem to be out of stock at the moment.

[retiredcaps]

Hi Saturation,

yes it is frustrating just how overpriced Fluke is in the UK compared to US.

It is the same here in Canada.  A brand new Fluke 87V is $519 Canadian list.  While corporations and governments might get a discount, I highly doubt your average hobbyist buying one will get any discount.  A brand new Fluke 87V on Amazon is around $320 USD so we are paying a $200 premium even though the Canadian dollar is at or close to par with the USD.

Good condition used Fluke 87Vs go for about $200 USD on ebay.com.  I can buy 2 Fluke 87Vs and not worry about warranty since I have two.

Alternatively, if I don't need the Fluke 87V and can use any series 80 III, they can be had for $100 USD.  So I can buy 5 of them and not worry about warranty.

[saturation]

Yes.  With the Canadian dollar stronger now, the traffic across the borders in Michigan and Buffalo has risen considerably on the weekends.  Alas, the customs people are equally more vigilant.  But at those price differences, if you live near the borders its a better deal across the river.

Do you get any taxes or duties from buying from the USA through eBay or Amazon?

Hi Saturation,

yes it is frustrating just how overpriced Fluke is in the UK compared to US.

It is the same here in Canada.  A brand new Fluke 87V is $519 Canadian list.  While corporations and governments might get a discount, I highly doubt your average hobbyist buying one will get any discount.  A brand new Fluke 87V on Amazon is around $320 USD so we are paying a $200 premium even though the Canadian dollar is at or close to par with the USD.

Good condition used Fluke 87Vs go for about $200 USD on ebay.com.  I can buy 2 Fluke 87Vs and not worry about warranty since I have two.

Alternatively, if I don't need the Fluke 87V and can use any series 80 III, they can be had for $100 USD.  So I can buy 5 of them and not worry about warranty.

[retiredcaps]

Do you get any taxes or duties from buying from the USA through eBay or Amazon?

If I understand it correctly, Canada Customs is supposed to levy tax on anything over $20 USD.  I have kept under that $20 ebay price.

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/postal-postale/duty-droits-eng.html

However, when a listing like this goes on ebay (working Fluke 87V for $80 Buy It Now), it is worth it to pay the tax.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200719065060

The listing only lasted 8 minutes.

[retiredcaps]

Other observations based on two local Canadian resellers.  Take it with a grain of salt as this may not be representative across Canada.  Both, however, have national presence and locations across the country.

I have noticed that Agilent has almost the same MSRP USA and Canada LIST price based on looking at the lower end 1230 series.  The U1231A, U1232A, and U1233A are priced at $99, $135, and $165 USD respectively on Agilent's US website.  The "local" Canadian reseller has $99.99, $149.99, and $169.99 list price.  So Kudos to Agilent for acknowledging the currency parity.

edit: I just noticed that Agilent is have rebate until April 15, 2012.  It can be up to $100 depending on the model that you buy.  Good only for USA and Canada.  With the $100 rebate for the U127xA series, this makes it about 1/2 the price of a Fluke 87V.

Uni-T are unexplainably marked up almost 2x at the dealer compared to what I can buy on ebay.  For example, the Uni-T UT-33C is $24.99 CDN LIST price before taxes.  I can buy this multimeter + free shipping + no tax for about $13 CDN off ebay.

[saturation]

Yes, T&M gear certainly get strange pricing when compared internationally.  That deal on Agilent is sweet, I hope others can avail of it, price being equal, the Agilent is a better deal; if the Fluke is cheaper then it just beats the Agilent on price.

However, its hard to say what I'd take on a desert island with me, as the one and only meter.  The Fluke has 20+ years of proven reliability, while my 1 year torture testing the 1272a has stood up well, its too young to consider as a mission critical machine, if you have such a need.

Other observations based on two local Canadian resellers.  Take it with a grain of salt as this may not be representative across Canada.  Both, however, have national presence and locations across the country.

I have noticed that Agilent has almost the same MSRP USA and Canada LIST price based on looking at the lower end 1230 series.  The U1231A, U1232A, and U1233A are priced at $99, $135, and $165 USD respectively on Agilent's US website.  The "local" Canadian reseller has $99.99, $149.99, and $169.99 list price.  So Kudos to Agilent for acknowledging the currency parity.

edit: I just noticed that Agilent is have rebate until April 15, 2012.  It can be up to $100 depending on the model that you buy.  Good only for USA and Canada.  With the $100 rebate for the U127xA series, this makes it about 1/2 the price of a Fluke 87V.

Uni-T are unexplainably marked up almost 2x at the dealer compared to what I can buy on ebay.  For example, the Uni-T UT-33C is $24.99 CDN LIST price before taxes.  I can buy this multimeter + free shipping + no tax for about $13 CDN.

[Joy at MCS]

I've not seen a fake Fluke before, doesn't mean they don't exist though.

 

[jawadwidz]

Dear friends

are there any close more economical alternates to FLUKE precision calibration meter

Are there any appointed distributor in Bangladesh

[Stray Electron]

However, when a listing like this goes on ebay (working Fluke 87V for $80 Buy It Now), it is worth it to pay the tax.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200719065060

The listing only lasted 8 minutes.

   There's something fishy about that auction lasting only eight minutes.  What's more the seller relisted it but the new listing was cancelled by E-bay so it's pretty much a certainty that there was something fraudulent about it.

   I've been looking at the LeCroy scopes on Ebay and there were two listed by the same seller where he wanted you to call a phone number and pay him in cash. Yeah, right!  The first two scopes were listed in Louisiana but both ads suddenly disappeared, not ended but just completely gone. A few days the exact same scopes were back for sale on Ebay but now listed in Ft Pierce, Florida AND two more listed as located in Paris, France at the same time.  After less than a day, all of those listings also disappeared. Then they reappeared but now located in Pennsylvania, same story the buyer wanted a cash sale and said to call a phone number.  Those ads disappeared and where replaced by two more ads but now in Nevada IIRC.  I stopped looking after that.  But all of the ads were identical with identical starting and shipping prices.  I remember that they offered international shipping for the ones in Paris for $27, even for shipping to the US!

   So a word to the wise; if it looks too good to be true, it probably is!

    PS I just looked at the link that you posted.  $5 shipping?  NOBODY is going to ship something like that for $5!  It's clear that whoever the seller was, he doesn't know what shipping costs is in the US!

    One of the interesting things about all of the LeCroy listing was that the sellers were different in every case and that they appear to be legitimate E-bayers and that none of their other listings were taken down.  It looks to me like someone hacked into their accounts and listed two fake scopes and was hoping that someone would be foolish enough to call him via telephone and pay him in cash, probably by untraceable Western Union Moneygrams or something that.  Bear in mind that if a buyer did that then their lose would not be covered by Paypal or by E-bay.

[tooki]

However, when a listing like this goes on ebay (working Fluke 87V for $80 Buy It Now), it is worth it to pay the tax.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200719065060

The listing only lasted 8 minutes.

   There's something fishy about that auction lasting only eight minutes.  What's more the seller relisted it but the new listing was cancelled by E-bay so it's pretty much a certainty that there was something fraudulent about it.
...

I don’t think an eBay listing from 6 years ago gives any insight whatsoever. The person above you necroposted an unrelated question in a thread from 2012...

[Electro Detective]

If you want to save quite a few pounds and don't need the few extra frills of an 87V, consider an older Fluke 87-1 or 87-111,
make sure it has a bright crisp display, clicketty smooth selector dial turn, and WORKS (very important  ) 

take along any working meter with a good tested 'known working' set of leads to compare basic readings, using a resistor, diode, LED, 9v battery and an AC 9v or 12 volt isolated wall wart etc .
Bring along a fresh 9volt battery too in case the prospect Fluke is dead or acting weird

If you don't need AC True RMS, then there are more cheaper Fluke options in the 80 series

My 87-1 is 20+ years old, works 100%, still a go to meter and will be for ages,

even more so when I can't find or get to a buried 87V or 28-11      LOL

A  Fluke 28-11 is another option, it's a bigger tougher water resistant 87V on steroids

Whatever you go for, open it up and check the fuses are ok and the correct type...no cheapie TooHungLo knockoffs, speaker wire, galvanized nails or jerry rigged rolled cooking foil 
otherwise safety and CAT ratings go south    so no point wasting money on a 'safer' Fluke

Maybe a -Wanted To Buy- ad here at EEVblog might get things moving along