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How to prevent dealing with merchants from China who produce fakes/copies?

by TheEliteWarrior
16 replies
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Is there anything to request from manufacturers from China to ensure that their goods are legitimate?

Certificates of authenticity are what I have in mind but are there any examples of those?

Will these certificates be sufficient if the US customs holds the shipment and decides to sue because it suspects that the goods are copies/fakes?

Any insights appreciated
#china #dealing #fakes or copies #merchants #prevent #produce
  • Profile picture of the author Silas Hart
    Not really. If a company is willing to sell fakes then chances are they are willing to fake any kind of certification or authentication and even documentation for shipping, or even health related rules and regulations. (IE: Lead paint)

    If it's a real concern, you could find a company who will inspect the products before shipment or before a deal is made.
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  • Profile picture of the author Importexport
    Originally Posted by Silas Hart View Post

    Not really. If a company is willing to sell fakes then chances are they are willing to fake any kind of certification or authentication and even documentation for shipping, or even health related rules and regulations. (IE: Lead paint)

    If it's a real concern, you could find a company who will inspect the products before shipment or before a deal is made.
    Originally Posted by TheEliteWarrior View Post

    Is there anything to request from manufacturers from China to ensure that their goods are legitimate?

    Certificates of authenticity are what I have in mind but are there any examples of those?

    Will these certificates be sufficient if the US customs holds the shipment and decides to sue because it suspects that the goods are copies/fakes?

    Any insights appreciated
    Silas Hart is quite right. If they will produce fake products they will produce fake authentication.

    I am often asked the same question, and the answer is simple: Contact the brand owner direct to verify the authentication. Some big brand owners will not bother to answer you, in which case run the other way. That product is almost certainly fake.

    Unless you have yourself received confirmation from the brand owner you would be taking a great risk. I have seen some brilliant fake copies of certificates and letters of authority.
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    • Profile picture of the author TheEliteWarrior
      Originally Posted by Importexport View Post

      Silas Hart is quite right. If they will produce fake products they will produce fake authentication.

      I am often asked the same question, and the answer is simple: Contact the brand owner direct to verify the authentication. Some big brand owners will not bother to answer you, in which case run the other way. That product is almost certainly fake.

      Unless you have yourself received confirmation from the brand owner you would be taking a great risk. I have seen some brilliant fake copies of certificates and letters of authority.

      Thanks for the response. I know that modifying a product to a certain extent can prevent it from being classified as a counterfeit item. I'm not sure by alteration of the product would make it original. Any ideas?

      Also, will that certificate of authenticity, be it real or fake, be sufficient to get the customs to pursue the manufacturer rather than the reseller on grounds that the reseller thought that the items were original?
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  • Profile picture of the author onegoodman
    The best way to reduce your chances from buying fake items do the following :

    - Check the company review and reputation (specially the negative one)
    - Communicate through email and make sure that you ask the supplier on the email if these items are original and not fake (if he confirmed, you have an official documents that protect you in case he sent a fake items and get caught by customs)
    - Don't import a big portion, get a sample first in order to check the item yourself

    With that being said, you will have hard time guarantee an item is legitimate. Upon my knowledge in China, you can go to WalMart and buy pirated DVDs. If that is the case in WalMart, you can imagine what is the case else where ....
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  • Profile picture of the author Auctiondebteliminator
    GET SAMPLES!

    And another way to prevent getting copies/fakes is to create your own product -- and have specific processes and manufacturing specifications.

    There are plenty of companies that can take your product/prototype/proof of concept and then create manufacturing specifications.

    You then take these to the factory where they will modify their machinery to create the product for you --- then voila! no fakes, because you know it is YOUR product.

    ADE
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    • Profile picture of the author Importexport
      You will not be protected no matter what evidence you may have of your good intentions. If you land a shipment in the US and the goods are copies, the goods will be seized and you would lose all the money you had paid.

      You would most likely be prosecuted, and the court would decide whether or not you intended to import illegal goods. You may be found innocent, but at what cost?

      Never take the risk.

      Unless, as I pointed out in my original post, you have irrefutable confirmation direct to you from the brand owner that the goods may legally be purchased by you, you will suffer.
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      • Profile picture of the author vne5
        It's also a good practice to not buy brand name products. I mean really, if your gonna try to sell D&B or Armani for example, contact their distributers direct. Hint: If you are buying a Rolex overseas and it costs you $10..chances are... I can go to nearly any store here in Beijing and buy a pair of Armani jeans for $10... Wouldn't be caught dead trying to re-sell them though.
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      • Profile picture of the author Silas Hart
        Originally Posted by Importexport View Post

        You will not be protected no matter what evidence you may have of your good intentions. If you land a shipment in the US and the goods are copies, the goods will be seized and you would lose all the money you had paid.

        You would most likely be prosecuted, and the court would decide whether or not you intended to import illegal goods. You may be found innocent, but at what cost?

        Never take the risk.

        Unless, as I pointed out in my original post, you have irrefutable confirmation direct to you from the brand owner that the goods may legally be purchased by you, you will suffer.
        Yep.

        A guy I know was importing Chi Hair Straighteners and selling them for a cheap price at a local flea market. He was making great money until customs seized 75 of them and he served 15 days in jail and had to pay $120,000. - Even though he had only sold about 50 of them. And he thought they were legit, and this company in China has certifications of authenticity and documents supporting they were a legitimate distributor of these products. He was buying them from AliExpress too. His public attorney told him if he had imported just a couple then he could have got away with saying he didnt know they were fakes, but by buying a bulk amount more than once was evidence that he knew what he was doing - which is something I agree with.
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        • Profile picture of the author TheEliteWarrior
          Originally Posted by Silas Hart View Post

          Yep.

          A guy I know was importing Chi Hair Straighteners and selling them for a cheap price at a local flea market. He was making great money until customs seized 75 of them and he served 15 days in jail and had to pay $120,000. - Even though he had only sold about 50 of them. And he thought they were legit, and this company in China has certifications of authenticity and documents supporting they were a legitimate distributor of these products. He was buying them from AliExpress too. His public attorney told him if he had imported just a couple then he could have got away with saying he didnt know they were fakes, but by buying a bulk amount more than once was evidence that he knew what he was doing - which is something I agree with.
          ok, so what if it's an unbranded item which I thought was not a copy? how would that fare in court proceedings if it turned out that it was indeed a copy which I was unaware of?

          Correct me if I'm wrong but I reckon it would still be illegal.
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          • Profile picture of the author Importexport
            Originally Posted by TheEliteWarrior View Post

            ok, so what if it's an unbranded item which I thought was not a copy? how would that fare in court proceedings if it turned out that it was indeed a copy which I was unaware of?

            Correct me if I'm wrong but I reckon it would still be illegal.
            Yes you are right. If it is a copy of a product that has design, patent, trademark, or copyright protection you would still be in trouble, no matter how ignorant you might be about the illegal copying. CAVEAT EMPTOR !!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author todawg_not
    Originally Posted by TheEliteWarrior View Post

    Is there anything to request from manufacturers from China to ensure that their goods are legitimate?

    Certificates of authenticity are what I have in mind but are there any examples of those?

    Will these certificates be sufficient if the US customs holds the shipment and decides to sue because it suspects that the goods are copies/fakes?

    Any insights appreciated
    Are you trying to import branded items into the USA. These are just examples: Nike, Lacoste, Oakley etc

    1st of all you can't import Branded items unless you have authority or permission by the company that owns the Brand.

    That's never going to happen.

    Of course they will be fake because Chinese factories know there is high demand for it that's why they produce it.

    If you get caught with a shipment of branded products you will be prosecuted and your shipment destroyed PERIOD.

    You can import branded items over the internet in small volume only if you buying from a licensed reseller, even then big companies will already have distribution channels,warehouses and agents already setup in countries. Companies also protect they're brand and territories and restrict items geographically to take in consideration this.

    Sound complicated with branded products, its suppose to be because their protecting they're business and trying to stop fakes getting into the market.

    Stay away from trying to import branded items because 99.9% of the time they will be fake unless you have express permission from the company in writing.

    If you happen to get this magical piece of paper keep it close to your chest it's you get out of jail card. lol

    I'm being facetious, if you take this route it will be a slippery slope your trying to cross

    Good luck

    Nigel
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  • Profile picture of the author PinkVelvet
    That's true what Nigel said. I would suggest going with a company in the United States instead. There are many companies that would offer 25% or even 50% off if you just buy in bulk. You might need to up your prices, but at least you will know they are authentic. There is nothing worse than getting in trouble with the law.
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  • Profile picture of the author dominatricks
    Banned
    how can you recognize if the item is fake?
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    • Profile picture of the author Importexport
      Originally Posted by dominatricks View Post

      how can you recognize if the item is fake?
      There is one sure fire way to tell - PRICE.

      As explained elsewhere in this thread it is near enough to impossible to find genuine branded products available in medium to small quantities. The brand owners have every base covered. The only way you can buy the genuine article at wholesale prices is through the legitimate, authorized distributor network appointed by the brand owners.
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  • Profile picture of the author Auctiondebteliminator
    If you order it from China and they claim it's authentic high-end [insert brand name here]

    It's fake.

    100% of the time.
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  • Profile picture of the author brainstorm1
    Find a reputable trading company in China to find these products your looking for. They know exactly who is to be trusted and who isn't. I have a pretty decent contact thats located in guangzhou, PM me if you want details.
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