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Re:Amazon and Ebay Opened Pandora's Box of Chinese Counterfeits by elefanten on Monday October 30, 2017 @01:38PM (#15587113)
I have ceased entirely. All product categories. For most of late 2016 I played the annoying game of "would some really counterfeit this product?", which usually ended in a stalemate.

First I stopped buying anything that goes in my body.

Then I stopped buying anything that goes on my body.

Then electronics.

Finally, sometime early this year when I caught myself pondering whether paper cat litter pellets might be dangerous if counterfeit... I just realized it was time to stop.

Until they show they care about this, I'm Amazon-free. It's nice, I'm walking more than I used to and it feels good.

Re:Amazon and Ebay Opened Pandora's Box of Chinese Counterfeits by andrei_says_ on Monday October 30, 2017 @03:48PM (#15588281)
What are some guaranteed counterfeit free alternatives?
Re:Amazon and Ebay Opened Pandora's Box of Chinese Counterfeits by milesvp on Monday October 30, 2017 @04:29PM (#15588603)
In the EE community, it's generally understood that if you use ebay or amazon, you're probably going to get counterfeit electronics components. Mouser and Digikey are largely considered safe places to order components from, and presumably they have incentive to maintain their supply chain as free of counterfeits as possible.

For physical goods, I'm more inclined to go to local retailers, since I can inspect them. Case in point, rat traps, I couldn't find a place on line where I could convince myself they weren't selling cheap knockoffs, so I drove to home depot and bought them there. I can't guarantee I didn't buy counterfeit traps, but at least they were high quality.

Re:Amazon and Ebay Opened Pandora's Box of Chinese Counterfeits by kayfox on Monday October 30, 2017 @05:39PM (#15589144)
You will note with Digikey the packing list includes a certification that the parts are not counterfeits.
Re:Amazon and Ebay Opened Pandora's Box of Chinese Counterfeits by CamelCaseName on Monday October 30, 2017 @05:06PM (#15588890)
At the end of the day, no one but the sellers are concerned about counterfeit vs. real. The only thing that matters is the quality, and any marketplace with insufficient controls is bound to suffer in that metric.
Re:Amazon and Ebay Opened Pandora's Box of Chinese Counterfeits by andrei_says_ on Wednesday November 01, 2017 @02:57PM (#15604416)
Thank you. What about less specialized but pricey and thus likely to be counterfeit items, like electronics ( headphones, speakers, hdmi cables, dashcams), cookware (don't want toxic stuff in my food), wool/leather clothing, organic teas etc.
Re:Amazon and Ebay Opened Pandora's Box of Chinese Counterfeits by fludlight on Monday October 30, 2017 @09:40PM (#15590547)
Local retailers sell cheap knockoffs, too. Look up "Lumber Liquidators china formaldehyde".
Re:Amazon and Ebay Opened Pandora's Box of Chinese Counterfeits by x0x0 on Monday October 30, 2017 @06:33PM (#15589581)
I think monoprice still makes and sells all their own stuff.

I still think it's safe to buy makeup on jet, though they're probably going to start doing 3rd party nonsense soon.