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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 Digik
by milesvp 9y ago
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.
- CamelCaseName 9y agoAt 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.
- kayfox 9y agoYou will note with Digikey the packing list includes a certification that the parts are not counterfeits.
- fludlight 9y agoLocal retailers sell cheap knockoffs, too. Look up "Lumber Liquidators china formaldehyde".
- andrei_says_ 9y agoThank 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.