hey guys,

recently, the slew of fake knockoffs on ebay is really imcreasing.

just last two weeks, i have had someone bring me a coupla fake dls amps and speakers, a guy i know also managed to pick up some fake dynaudios.

then i happened on this thread on a car audio forum, it seems the number of fake items is really increasing. not always hgih end brands, but even mainstream stuff like JL isbeing knocked off.

my experience with these is that unless you are a dealer or is very famaliar wit hthe stuff, its hard to tell, with amps, often you have to look at the circuit board to see the difference.

intial performance maybe okay, not as good sa the real stuff but okay, but hte biggest problem is reliablity, have had people blow up their stuff in a matter of month, then left stranded.

and it doesnt seem to matter if the sellers has good feedbacks or not, it seems the fake items are mixed in iwth the real so its hard to say which is whcih until you get it.

anyway, just want to give you guys a heads up

reference to this thread for more info:

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/...ad.php?t=24745

b

 

Thanks for the heads up bing.. I used to buy ALL of my stuff off of ebay... but that was when I was a poor college student. Now that I'm a baller working stiff I can afford to blow all my money on authorized dealers

All equipment in my upcoming build has been purchased from authorized dealers.

 

Bing… That’s good information. The thread from a different forum you include in your post is very interesting.

I have purchased electronic gear on eBay, and fortunately I haven’t been “burned” too badly yet. But, I think that anyone who buys electronic devices on eBay should be aware that:

1) Unless the seller is an authorized dealer (and most are not), there’s no manufacturer’s warranty. In fact you depend upon the seller to provide a warranty.

2) A “new” description on eBay doesn’t necessarily mean a new product. “New” often means “not used” or “never installed.” That’s a big difference, especially when it comes to devices with features requiring application software (navigation devices being an example). A device designated as new might be a return that looks new, but ended up with a gray-market-seller and lacks necessary registration codes. I have experienced this, and you are at the mercy of the manufacturer pleading for support.

3) It is very painful doing an installation (whether you do it yourself or pay a professional) only to discover you have a counterfeit product that doesn’t perform as it should; or worse, simply fails to operate at all. Certainly it’s wise to bench test first, but that’s a short test that may not show what happens after a few hours of operation (when durability, heat, etc., come into play).

BTW: Remember the exploding/burning batteries that happened in laptops and cell phones? In fact, many of these were counterfeits made in central Asia.

--Spike