It's the first seemingly non-third-party listing on Amazon.com for the search term, "iPhone lightning cable." It's the 4th search result. If you hover over the first of "Other sellers" you'll see a store which has a 67% satisfaction rating. If you click through and read the negative reviews, almost all of them list getting a fake product. Amazon lists the brand of the cable as "Apple." The item description says that it comes in "non-retail packaging."
On a related note, is this an AmazonBasics knock-off? https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Lightning-USB-Cable-Cert... or are they really selling a product that bad (looking at the reviews/photos)?
Same $19.99 price as an Apple original. Amazon lists "Apple" as the brand. But read the reviews--2.5 stars over 379 reviewers. First review: "Fake Apple cable. Doesn't work."
Under "Other sellers," Amazon.com is listed as an alternative, albeit for $5 more. That one is surely authentic, right? But what if the inventory is co-mingled with that of the other sellers for the same product?
For a lot of things I buy on amazon, being authentic or not is irrelevant, being of good quality or not is my only concern. Of course for a lot of brands 'authenticity' and good quality go together, but that's only a signal to me, authentic products can also be crap.
Perhaps that's also why I don't buy most brand stuff on amazon, as it gives me nothing more than the official retailer's site, prices should be the same, and customer service will be on par or better.
To be clear I don't condone selling fakes, I just think it's a fool's errand to look for 'good deals' on amazon or any third party site when it comes products where brand matters over all.
no. the answer is no.
http://www.righto.com/2012/03/inside-cheap-phone-charger-and...
I buy photography components off Amazon, buying a B&W UV filter has become impossible on Amazon. The fakes are actually a lot better than bottom-end UV lenses which is fine, but I didn't spend $45 for a knock-off. I spent that money for the real thing. If I could get the fake at a knock-off price I'd even consider it, but the fakes are being sold as the real thing at full price.
After I found out how how to spot the fakes I found that half of the UV lenses I already had were fake. The real ones are made of brass and have better glass coatings. The fakes are made of aluminum and the threads are not as good which is important for lens filters, you don't want one getting jammed on a $1200 lens. They are painted black so the main way to tell them apart is to weigh them.
The amazon review comments for B&W filters have extensive coverage of how to spot the fakes: https://www.amazon.com/77mm-XS-Pro-Clear-Multi-Resistant-Coa...