Shimano warns about fake clearance site

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OP
OP
C R

C R

Guru
Location
Worcester
More to the point, does Barclaycard feel lucky? :laugh:
You would also be giving away personal info such as delivery and billing address and email address, and a password if you are creating an account, which would be very useful to all sorts of lowlifes.
 
Good evening,
......In my past as a trade journalist we would often get companies raging against "grey imports", ......
"Old business model" Ribble was heavily based on selling non-retail parts, I received Ultegra parts in a polythene bag with a folded cardboard header, I was quite happy. This was how Airfix sold their cheapest kits, they were obviously not retail packaging and probably annoyed Madison, but they were Shimano parts.

You would also be giving away personal info such as delivery and billing address and email address, and a password if you are creating an account, which would be very useful to all sorts of lowlifes.
Sorry but nearly all of this is already "publicly" available for quite a low fee, the problem isn't having this information, it is having a card processor who will give you the money before all the customer complaints come in and your account is cancelled and all the payments recalled.

Bye

Ian
 

Mike_P

Guru
Location
Harrogate
In case of stumbling onto a fake website I have two credit cards, one solely used for online transactions and which, when I remember, I get a replacement card for with a different number every two years or so.
 

Drago

Legendary Member
I use a different, totally unrelated password for everything, and a junk email address for anything that isn't of well known provenance. There are easier ways of finding my address.

Aside from getting my card details they aren't getting useful. The banking act covers me for losses on the card. Theres little risk to me (not that I have any intention of buying from them because im not a fishist).
 
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BurningLegs

Veteran
Interesting that they haven’t specifically stated that it’s counterfeit product, just that it’s imitating their brand.

Like others here I wonder if it’s legit gear intended for other markets (embarrassing for Shimano and annoying for their customers) or if it’s “over runs”. I doubt this is happening now due to shortages presumably resulting in a high run rate in factories, but often factories in the Far East will churn out “counterfeit” product that is basically workers doing overtime to create the normal product.

This has been a real problem in my field of IT where leading vendors such as Cisco have had all sort of issues with end users and customers who request support and returns on kit with serial numbers that the vendor doesn’t recognise!
 

Jenkins

Legendary Member
Location
Felixstowe
More than likely has absolutely no stock or any intention of shipping anything and, by ther time the 'buyers' realise they've been had he's long gone having been paid by the credit card company.
 
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I like Skol

A Minging Manc...
likely has absolutely no stock or any intention of shipping anything and, by ther time the 'buyers' realise they've been had he's long gone having been paid
Possibly some of THIS^^^^
But also maybe some of THISvvvv

I reckon there must be more than just a few factories sub-contracting to Mr Shimano and I reckon the conversation goes something like this....
"Yes Mr Shimano, we are working 12hrs a day to fulfill your order and the price is very good [but we are actually working around the clock and selling the other 12hrs production on the grey/black market for big profits rather than the peanuts you give us]" ?
or if it’s “over runs”. I doubt this is happening now due to shortages presumably resulting in a high run rate in factories, but often factories in the Far East will churn out “counterfeit” product that is basically workers doing overtime to create the normal product.
 

mpemburn

Well-Known Member
Someone I used to ride with gambled a few hundred dollars on an eBay listing for a full Ultegra groupset—a fraction of the actual cost. Talked to him months later. No product, no communication. A thing that looks too good to be true mostly likely isn’t.
 
Good evening,

"Old business model" Ribble was heavily based on selling non-retail parts, I received Ultegra parts in a polythene bag with a folded cardboard header, I was quite happy. This was how Airfix sold their cheapest kits, they were obviously not retail packaging and probably annoyed Madison, but they were Shimano parts.


Sorry but nearly all of this is already "publicly" available for quite a low fee, the problem isn't having this information, it is having a card processor who will give you the money before all the customer complaints come in and your account is cancelled and all the payments recalled.

Bye

Ian
Yeah I remember getting Shimano parts from Ribble like that. In one of the packaging, Shimano clearly states " not for individual sale" or something like that . It was meant for intermediaries and bike mechanics for assembly and repairs. I wondered how Madison allowed it. Cheapest parts as I recall. You could mix and match as well.
 

Nebulous

Guru
Location
Aberdeen
I buy Ultegra chains, often from Wiggle. Usually they are in the blue cardboard Shimano wrapping, but sometimes they are simply cut to length and wrapped in cellophane or bubble wrap.

They are OEM products for bike shops, but it doesn't impact me if it is the same chain.
 
It's always a very confusing situation with regard getting genuine products because there are so many variables. As already pointed out you can have non retail versions of the same product, you can have imports that don't go through the official UK Shimano importer and of course you can have fake products. Shimano themselves use some Chinese factories for their low end products, Tourney etc and some products may be available from that factory without the Shimano branding. Then of course you have the full fake products that look similar but could be destined to fail quite quickly or even break apart. I seem to recall there were sellers that mixed genuine products with fake in the past so different customers would actually get different products when they ordered the same item. I guess this is to get positive reviews.

If you have a retailer who bypasses the official Shimano UK importer and lets say buys from a location in the world where Shimano prices are much more competitive this may actually be the same quality just cheaper. Companies like Poundland, Home Bargains, B&M etc often buy from other markets where products are sold cheaper and import them into the UK themselves. Some products are even made in the UK and re-imported because they are sold cheaper in other markets.

Most actual fake products you can tell when you examine them. A simple picture of the genuine product for comparison normally helps. I seem to remember fake derailleurs missed the shimano branding on the pulley wheels and other minor changes they couldn't be bothered to do.

A while back Amazon were selling a Tourney derailleur for £4.20 and this was Amazon selling it not a marketplace seller. The normal price is back up to about £16 but they sold them at £4.20 for about 4 months it seems. They were genuine Shimano but where did they get this stock to sell at £4.20. I bought quite a few for the parts bin. I'd assume there was an overstock somewhere in the world and they were cleared out cheaply and Amazon bought them, seems unlikely to have come through official channels. I don't think any other retailer had these discounted at the time in the UK. If it wasn't Amazon themselves officially selling them and instead a more dodgy retailer you might assume they were fake.
 
Location
London
If it wasn't Amazon themselves officially selling them and instead a more dodgy retailer you might assume they were fake.

Fair to assume that if you bought from amazon or amazon marketplace or ebay and something proved to be fake after delivery/examination that you could get a quick refund?

i do note that some ebay sellers do avoid specifically avoid saying that something IS shimano, but maybe leading you on/getting you to "co-operate" in the fraud so that you have no come-back.
 

Spoked Wheels

Legendary Member
Location
Bournemouth
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