Checking if item is counterfeit?

[Ming the Merciless]

KMC also supply chain by the 300m ? reel, where they just chop off what is needed.

The one I have is a 50m reel of KMC X9. Got it when a bike shop was closing down. I ride a recumbent and replacing chain twice a year is about 5m. Thus 10 years worth of chain. But it cost me equivalent of about £4 per chain, and stays dry with the factory grease intact.

 

[Pblakeney]

I've just bought some brake pads and Shimano cleats from Wolf Cycles. Now, I have no suspicion they are anything other than genuine but I was wondering how we check what items actually are genuine Shimano. There is a Shimano authentication app but this isn't available here in UK, even if I try a VPN.

So, even if you buy from a reputable store how can you be sure if items are genuine. I'm particularly interested in the cleats as I foolishly some years ago bought from Amazon and they broke on a climb and I got thrown off bike, albeit at low speed.

I once queried a product on Amazon with the original company. Their response was that if is was sold and shipped directly by Amazon then it would be genuine. If it was through a 3rd party reseller on Amazon then buyer beware.
It may have only been relevant to this one company but something I now always check before buying on Amazon.

 

[Binky]

I once queried a product on Amazon with the original company. Their response was that if is was sold and shipped directly by Amazon then it would be genuine. If it was through a 3rd party reseller on Amazon then buyer beware.
It may have only been relevant to this one company but something I now always check before buying on Amazon.

I can't remember which company sold them but I'm sure wasn't a LBS via Amazon, they were fakes. This was around 3 years ago.
I've bought stuff on Amazon (not necessarily bike kit) which almost certainly isn't genuine but it didn't matter. Something like cleats do as I learnt to my cost!
It's not just Amazon, from research I did yesterday Ebay even worse and almost certainly will be fake items from there if it's not from a genuine bike shop selling via.

As I've said, I have no reason to suspect items I got from Wolf are anything other than genuine and going by picture I posted above it confirms they are but my point is how do we know if items bought are genuine. That's crux of it really. I think all we can do is buy from a known bike shop and trust they are good.

 

[Llama]

The Amazon issues are due to the fact that Amazon has one bin location for products, regardless of whether it is an Amazon-supplied product or a third-party seller. So it's just luck of the draw if you get the genuine or fake.

Just be aware that, despite resellers buying only from genuine wholesalers/importers, often people buy a real item and a fake. Swap them to return the fake and get a refund. Then keep the genuine which has only cost them the price of the fake. If the store doesn't check properly, it will just get resold.