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My last two Amazon purchases ended up being counterfit, even after spending a ton of time trying to avoid counterfits. I'm still going to use my fake electric t

My last two Amazon purchases ended up being counterfit, even after spending a ton of time trying to avoid counterfits. I'm still going to use my fake electric toothbrush heads and fake Apple 5W USB charger, but I'm not using Amazon anymore.

pault 8y ago
Careful with those fake chargers. They're known to catch fire.
- behringer 8y ago
  There was a kid in the news recently who was electrocuted to death because of their fake charger. https://www.health.com/home/cell-phone-electrocution https://www.health.com/home/cell-phone-electrocution
  - wyldfire 8y ago
    That story looks bogus. Snopes [1] says: > Neither Sinar Harian nor its English-language peer the New Strait Times asserted that the youngster was electrocuted by the earphones he was wearing, but that was the conclusion reached by a number of international publications, including widely-read U.S.-based Vice and Teen Vogue, both of whom aggregated the story. ... > As an emergency room doctor, Uren& stopped short of calling the notion impossible because “I have seen some strange things in my career thus far,” but he added the story that the teen died from being electrocuted by earbuds “strains credibility.” [1] https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/electrocuted-by-earphones/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/electrocuted-by-earphones/
    - behringer 8y ago
      There's been multiple reports of people dying through headphones. Maybe they're all bogus, but considering an ER doctor presumably knows nothing about electronics, I'll disregard his opinion. Instead I'll listen to what an electronics engineer thinks about counterfeit chargers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi-b9k-0KfE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi-b9k-0KfE
      - hnick 8y ago
        Here's a high profile case from Australia a few years ago. https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/store-which-sold-faulty-usb-phone-charger-faces-605000-fine-20160729-gqgnha.html https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/store-which...
- amluto 8y ago
  And shock you or destroy your equipment. A lot of what makes real (UL/ETL listed) chargers expensive is making sure that line voltage stays adequately separated from the low voltage side.
  - Crosseye_Jack 8y ago
    I would add "In a small space" Making an larger power supply that keeps the high and low sides adequately separated is pretty easy and cheap as long as you stick to genuine components. But that then leads onto the whole fake component issue. For example the component will be a optocoupler but the dirt cheap knock off supply may not be using the same level of quality or a knock off component as those found in genuine power supplies which _could_ create a High to Low voltage path if that part failed.
  - Dylan16807 8y ago
    > A lot of what makes real (UL/ETL listed) chargers expensive is making sure that line voltage stays adequately separated from the low voltage side. Even a very cheap and simplified design can do that. I wouldn't say "a lot" at all, maybe a few percent of the cost at most. It's a corner that could possibly be cut, but it's not one of the bigger corners.
    - taivare 8y ago
      This summer I, had a dehumidifier plugged in with a 3-prong connector . . good thing I, checked it shortly after I started the unit ,the adapter was very/warm . . a short in a cheap adapter . . went to electric supply store and made sure I got a high quality UL rated brand.
    - kens 8y ago
      I've done a lot of charger teardowns, and very cheap chargers always violate UL safety rules. It's a combination of cost (e.g. triple-insulated transformers), it's hard to fit clearance distances into a small charger, sloppy manufacturing, and they don't seem to even try.
      - 8y ago
ikeboy 8y ago
Amazon now only allows authorized Apple sellers on any Apple products so shouldn't be an issue there

pault 8y ago

Careful with those fake chargers. They're known to catch fire.

behringer 8y ago
There was a kid in the news recently who was electrocuted to death because of their fake charger. https://www.health.com/home/cell-phone-electrocution https://www.health.com/home/cell-phone-electrocution
- wyldfire 8y ago
  That story looks bogus. Snopes [1] says: > Neither Sinar Harian nor its English-language peer the New Strait Times asserted that the youngster was electrocuted by the earphones he was wearing, but that was the conclusion reached by a number of international publications, including widely-read U.S.-based Vice and Teen Vogue, both of whom aggregated the story. ... > As an emergency room doctor, Uren& stopped short of calling the notion impossible because “I have seen some strange things in my career thus far,” but he added the story that the teen died from being electrocuted by earbuds “strains credibility.” [1] https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/electrocuted-by-earphones/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/electrocuted-by-earphones/
  - behringer 8y ago
    There's been multiple reports of people dying through headphones. Maybe they're all bogus, but considering an ER doctor presumably knows nothing about electronics, I'll disregard his opinion. Instead I'll listen to what an electronics engineer thinks about counterfeit chargers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi-b9k-0KfE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi-b9k-0KfE
    - hnick 8y ago
      Here's a high profile case from Australia a few years ago. https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/store-which-sold-faulty-usb-phone-charger-faces-605000-fine-20160729-gqgnha.html https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/store-which...
amluto 8y ago
And shock you or destroy your equipment. A lot of what makes real (UL/ETL listed) chargers expensive is making sure that line voltage stays adequately separated from the low voltage side.
- Crosseye_Jack 8y ago
  I would add "In a small space" Making an larger power supply that keeps the high and low sides adequately separated is pretty easy and cheap as long as you stick to genuine components. But that then leads onto the whole fake component issue. For example the component will be a optocoupler but the dirt cheap knock off supply may not be using the same level of quality or a knock off component as those found in genuine power supplies which _could_ create a High to Low voltage path if that part failed.
- Dylan16807 8y ago
  > A lot of what makes real (UL/ETL listed) chargers expensive is making sure that line voltage stays adequately separated from the low voltage side. Even a very cheap and simplified design can do that. I wouldn't say "a lot" at all, maybe a few percent of the cost at most. It's a corner that could possibly be cut, but it's not one of the bigger corners.
  - taivare 8y ago
    This summer I, had a dehumidifier plugged in with a 3-prong connector . . good thing I, checked it shortly after I started the unit ,the adapter was very/warm . . a short in a cheap adapter . . went to electric supply store and made sure I got a high quality UL rated brand.
  - kens 8y ago
    I've done a lot of charger teardowns, and very cheap chargers always violate UL safety rules. It's a combination of cost (e.g. triple-insulated transformers), it's hard to fit clearance distances into a small charger, sloppy manufacturing, and they don't seem to even try.
    - 8y ago

ikeboy 8y ago

Amazon now only allows authorized Apple sellers on any Apple products so shouldn't be an issue there