There is growing concern among eBay customers regarding fake Cisco equipment.
Anyone who has taken a stroll down Manhattan's Canal Street lately has no doubt become aware of the thriving market for fake Rolexes, Luis Vuitton hand bags and the like.
This phenomenon has recently infiltrated the network hardware market. These fakes, often referred to in the industry as, "Chisco" (fake Cisco products originating in China), are popping up more and more.
Cisco Systems is the largest provider of networking equipment in the world, and accounts for some 80% of all used networking equipment sales worldwide. This enormous popularity has made Cisco the obvious target for fake product reproduction.
For example, eBay 'Chisco' store Sincere Networking (shipping from China), offers a new sealed Cisco module VWIC-2MFT-G703 for a "Buy-It Now" price of $105.00.
That exact same Cisco Part Number VWIC-2MFT-G703 has a Cisco Authorized Refurbished (i.e. Cisco factory refurbed and SMARTnet eligible) list price of $2,192.00 with 49 refurbed units currently available from Cisco Systems own inventory.
Joshua Levitt
"When shopping for used Cisco equipment, be wary of suppliers from China. Historically, most of these fakes have originated somewhere in China. So be careful when dealing with a Chinese supplier."
"Try to deal with a reputable supplier and develop a relationship. It helps to look for quality business certifications such as 'ISO 9001' and others when choosing a reseller."
"When using online auctions like eBay, feedback is king! Make sure you deal exclusively with resellers who have significant positive feedback from multiple people. Take a quick peek at the actual responses and confirm that they in-fact come from unique sources and not all the same person."
"People have been known online, to buy large inexpensive quantities from one another to essentially stuff the ballot box and artificially flood the others feedback score."
Shane Breen
For example, eBay 'Chisco' store etnetworking had this buyer feedback:
"Bad serial number per cisco. 'Bootleg product' ask for more $ after end of auction."
eBay 'Chisco' store etnetworking is offering a new Cisco NM-2FE2W-V2 at the "Buy-it Now" price of $500.00
That exact same Cisco Part Number lists new from Cisco Systems at $2,300.00
Obvious question, why has Cisco Systems not shuttered these eBay 'Chisco' stores selling blatant fakes shipped from China?
Have you experienced 'Chisco' fakes in the Cisco marketplace?
Brad Reese cofounded BradReese.Com Cisco Refurbished, which enables affordable networks globally by assuring customer satisfaction with guaranteed one year warranties on both Cisco Repair as well as Refurbished Cisco.
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Seven Tips to Buying "IT" on eBay
We have noticed several counterfeiters on eBay offering Cisco, a handful of which are Chinese-based. Of course, not all hardware from China is counterfeit, although it is also our experience that it frequently is.
On our blog, The Remarketer, Vibrant offers seven tips to buying IT hardware on eBay and also when it makes sense to do so. This doesn't only make sense to ensure that you don't get fake Cisco, but also to make sure you don't get scammed completely.
(I seem to recall a seller who was offering "photos" of Cisco routers instead of the actual product, noted in the fine print of course.)
The recommendation to check for feedback is a great one, but really do make sure that it is legit and plentiful. Another recommendation that we included was to contact the seller. Ask the sellers direct questions and make sure you get direct responses. You can also often find information about the sellers by doing a Google search on them.
Corey Donovan
Vibrant Technologies
Feedback on Ebay is not the best way to determine...
In my own opinion feedback is NOT a good way to tell if a company on Ebay is selling fake Cisco gear! Most of these guys on Ebay selling this equipment all have great feedback. This is because the individuals buying the gear do not know that the equipment is fake! I would suggest to anyone that has bought a item that is questionable to report it to Cisco Brand Protection & Ebay!
ebay
I agree with Shane! My procedure is to request the serial numbers from the seller, and run them prior to the auction close. I also pay careful attention to the seller’s policies regarding DOA equipment, fakes and warranty’s. If they lack any of those things you can usually ask them to include some coverage in writing and they are generally happy to oblige.
Don't rely on feedback
Feedback is definitely not the panacea to identifying counterfeits at all, but it is worth looking at. You're really browsing for negative comments more than anything. If you see many people posting that they got non-functioning or sketchy gear that will raise a great big flag.
I agree that other tactics like communicating with the sellers and running serial numbers (if you have that capacity as the buyer) are great tips. Also, do background checks on Google for the name of the company offering the equipment. Of course, don't be afraid to ask companies like Vibrant or Shane's company for help checking it out.
While you're at it, check prices with legitimate resellers, too. You might find that peace of mind can be had for not that much more than what you're paying at auction. (Unless of course you've found one of these 80% off of new, straight from a knock-off factory resellers, in which case peace of mind will cost you a fair amount more, but you also won't have equipment that fails and/or won't go under support).
When in doubt buy AUTHORIZED CISCO FACTORY REFURB
Due to the issues with Fake Cisco products we have started pushing our customers to buy Cisco Authorized Factory Refurbished products.
Customers looking for used Cisco equipment can now be assured of the quality and support they come to expect from new Cisco products, through the Cisco Authorized Refurbished Equipment program. Cisco Authorized Refurbished Equipment gives customers a price competitive alternative to buying uncertified and unlicensed products off the secondary market. All equipment sold through this program is labeled "Refurbished by Cisco Systems", indicating that the product is Cisco tested, refurbished, authorized, and supported.
Advantages to customer:
-Fully tested and refurbished by Cisco
-Current revision IP-only software and new software license included
-Full warranty protection (same as new) through Cisco's Technical Assistance Center
-Automatically eligible to add SMARTnet Maintenance or other service contracts for extra support
-Both current and end-of-sale products available
-Competitive pricing
If you are interested in purchasing used equipment let me know this Cisco Authorized Refurbished Equipment program will work great for you and your company. Inventory varies daily, and sales are on a first-come, first-served basis. For current inventory and pricing please contact us.
FAKE CISCO ON EBAY - TAKE ACTION & DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
If you are a dealer, broker, reseller or end user and you see a auction that is on Ebay that is questionable turn them in with Ebay Trust Division & send a email to with the link to the Ebay auction. Cisco does not have the man power to watch every auction so they look to us to help them.
Shane Breen
DORETEL Communications, Inc.
http://www.DORETEL.com
Reseller
I have read all the comments about fake cisco equipments on ebay and yet not anyone gave a clear description on how to stop these scammers.
My question is where does someone know where to buy Cisco equipment for resale. Basically if ebay is full with scammers, where then does a small reseller buys his or her network equipment for price that they can sell and make some profits as well.
I have purchased several equipements on eBay from reputable dealers, but yet their prices are not the very best for resellers.
Thanks
Easy to tell the fakes
I've recently been trawling ebay for nm- and wic- parts and it's easy to spot the suspicious ones. All you have to look for is new sealed items that are buy-it-now only that have a similar price to the used auction items.
I asked a question of one dealer selling a wic-1adsl card "brand new sealed" for $180 + $25 (80 available) shipping from Hong Kong. "Is this a genuine Cisco part?" The response: "This is the Malaysian OEM version"
I also see a "Cisco NM-4E Brand New in Box with 2 years warranty" with buy-it-now price of $69 + $30 shipping. Nice picture of card on top of official looking full color Cisco manual and box, Suuuurrrre it's real....
I question if it would really cost Cisco all that much to put an end to this. It would take just one full time employee to police ebay and find the fakes and one higher level full time employee to initiate investigation and prosecution.
Chisco cat and mouse
I personally think that Cisco can only do so much to stop the counterfeit of their products. It's always going to be a game of cat and mouse, and the scammers are always going to find new ways to "outgame" Cisco. I think the responsibility rests on our shoulders. As resellers we need to educate ourselves on the lastest tricks, and make every effort to check and recheck our inventory to be sure that we aren't the ones being scammed. There will always be companies out there who will take advantage of selling fake merchandise, there is just too much money in it not to. But, if we continue to be diligent about our own inventory, then we give our customers the opportunity to buy genuine cisco without having to worry about whether or not they are purchasing the "real deal"
OEM Responsibilty
Perhaps instead of vendor scare tactics coercing customers into purchasing from "reputable" sources or paying tremendous amounts of $$ for "certified refurbished" product, the OEM should assume a level of intelligence in the market that exists among both customer and vendor alike, and provide a simple means of verifying authenticity. How you ask? Perhaps a simple online 30second serial lookup tool for all visitors to have access to. But why do this when you can increase product branding while at the same time increase direct sales? If that Coach or Rolex could have such easily identifiable serial numbers, I am sure they would