counterfeit

Counterfeit network gear: used gear makers fight the battle

Cisco Subnet — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:53:43 -0400

Over 100 attendees gathered on Wednesday, June 18 for Network World's live chat on counterfeit network gear -- how to detect it and protect yourself -- with guest Mike Sheldon, chief executive officer of Network Hardware Resale. NHR employs more than 200 people in the United States and Europe. Sheldon discussed methods for identifying fake gear, the refurbished hardware industry's efforts to educate users about counterfeits and Cisco's role in eradicating this growing problem.

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More on counterfeit Cisco gear: FBI thinks it's a national security risk

Cisco Subnet — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:07:06 -0400

The FBI is freaking out over the fact that the U.S. Department of Defense has been sold counterfeit Cisco gear. The concern isn't so much over whether Cisco is getting the revenue it deserves - it's more about the possibility that hackers could be embedding backdoors into the counterfeit gear to allow them access into U.S. military networks at a later date.

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Brothers up in court for scamming government agencies with fake Cisco gear

Cisco Subnet — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 18:29:17 -0500

Two brothers in Richmond, Texas are due in court Friday accused of scamming several government agencies with fake Cisco parts, according to a story in Click2Houston.com (via ChannelRegister). Michael Edman and Robert Edman were charged Dec. 24 with conspiracy and trafficking in counterfeit goods.

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Cisco catches U.K. firm red-handed peddling counterfeit Cisco gear

Cisco Subnet — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 19:02:54 -0400

Manchester, U.K.-based Gen-X IT was caught red handed by Cisco for trying to shift counterfeit Cisco stock to the networking giant.

According to a report in Vnunet.com, cisco arranged a test purchase from Gen-X IT as part of an investigation in January 2005. Manchester Trading standards then seized various counterfeit products during a raid on its premises in September 2005, reports Vnunet.

Gen-X IT, which is not an authorized Cisco partner, has agreed to make a public apology, disclose supplier information and has paid Cisco a cash settlement in return for the vendor not commencing legal action.

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Global Warming’s Best Kept Secret

Green Your Network — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 14:40:56 -0400

When most of us think about the Chinese impact on the environment, we consider their major manufacturing facilities spewing out carbon dioxide at an alarming rate with no sign of slowing anytime soon. China threatens to become the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases by November this year, partly because it manufactures products to satiate the bulbous American appetite and consumption demands.
A chimney spouts a column of smoke in residential and commercial district of Beijing, China. (AP / Elizabeth Dalziel)

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Sterlicchi reports on Cisco Grey Market for CIO Connect

Corey Donovan — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 13:05:38 -0400

John Sterlicchi of CIO-Connect has written a fair summary of the "gray market" issues in the Cisco marketplace.

Cisco gets worried about the "Grey" Market in it's equipment.

I particularly appreciated the background on the origins of the grey market in the 1970s with DEC and Amdahl. There are also some nice quotes from David Willis of Gartner and Network World's own Brad Reese.

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Refurb Radio goes live on the air

Brad Reese — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:23:47 -0400

Refurb Radio is a podcast for refurbished IT hardware resellers, brokers, dealers and industry insiders to discuss trends and events in the secondary IT hardware market. Distributed weekly via RSS or download, you can listen while you IM your 20 best broker buddies. A podcast and blog produced for the benefit of used enterprise IT hardware resellers, Refurb Radio allows brokers and dealers to chime in on industry topics and insights.

Sponsored by Vibrant Technologies, a Minneapolis, Minnesota based used IBM, HP and Sun server as well as Cisco hardware and storage reseller.

Refurb Radio focuses on topics in the following markets: Refurbished Servers IBM, HP, Dell and Sun Refurbished Storage EMC, Hitachi, Brocade, Emulex and STK Refurbished Cisco Networking hardware

Corey Donovan is a cohost and the blogger in chief for Refurb Radio, who can find anything online. When he is not instant message fighting, Corey is busy overseeing all business development processes and online marketing for Refurb Radio sponsor Vibrant Technologies. When he’s not engaged in lead generation or scanning the web to keep up with industry trends, Corey might be found playing office wiffleball as one of the most feared competitors. Corey Donovan has been labeled the office photographer with his camera at-the-ready for all Kodak moments, and is also the man behind the curtain on Vibrant’s blog, "The Remarketer," and is a much respected blogger on Network World Magazine.

Marty Brown is also cohost of Refurb Radio and a graduate of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (home of the world famous Golden Gophers), where he majored in speech and economics. After college Marty decided to focus his energies on IT hardware sales as an account executive with Vibrant Technologies. Marty sells midrange to high-end IBM, HP and Sun Microsystems, as well as IBM storage.

Lindsi Gish is the producer of Refurb Radio. A prolific multitasker at Vibrant Technologies, Lindsi can be found assisting a client, writing creative copy for a marketing project and setting a sales rep straight – all at once. Lindsi’s interests are as varied as her abilities. From the Minnesota Twins, Macs and tech trends to the latest fashion, music and pop-culture news. Lindsi graduated from Bemidji State University with a creative writing degree and is the official Vibrant staff editor for any important correspondence and marketing materials, saving many grammar-deficient Vibrant employees from themselves.

Refurb Radio Episode One Used IT Hardware has Many Names Episode one show notes: A) ASCDI Las Vegas Marty and Corey discussed the upcoming ASCDI meeting for roughly the first 10 minutes of the show. Then glossed over some of the interesting sessions and some of the social events. B) Used IT Hardware Terminology Corey and Marty reviewed the various terms thrown around for used IT hardware including - Used, Refurbished, Remanufactured, Remarketed, Off-Lease and secondary market. And other terms related to the server, storage and Cisco markets, but often mis-used - Gray Market, Black Market, Counterfeit, Chisco, etc. C) Wacko Circuit City Lay-off In an amazingly daft move, Circuit City lays off their best sales reps to save money. Refurb Radio Episode Two Brad Reese tells it like it is Episode two show notes: RefurbRadio welcomed Brad Reese to the podcast. 0-10 Minutes: Intro and Brad Reese’s Background Brad discusses his journey from Interlink Communication Systems to Alliance Datacom to working with Reggie Grant. 10-20 Minutes: BradReese.Com Brad discussed his namesake site and its service and scope. 21-27.5 Minutes: Blogging at NetworkWorld.com Brad discussed Network World’s Cisco Subnet and his blog there. Brad is posting there about the people behind the scenes in the Cisco World and he sees it as sort of the "People Magazine of the Cisco World." 27.5 - 36 Minutes: Cisco Topics at NWW.com We discuss the Used Cisco Buyer’s Guide, Chisco, Counterfeit Cisco and Cisco’s attack on the secondary market.

The next guest scheduled to be interviewed on Refurb Radio is Joseph Marion, president of the ASCDI and writer at Processor Magazine. Refurb Radio, an entertaining way to glean insider information on the thriving secondary IT hardware market.

http://www.BradReese.Com

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Cisco set to fight aftermarket sellers

Cisco Subnet — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 19:09:40 -0400

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UNEDA President: Cisco Gray market is NOT the new Cisco Black market

Brad Reese — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 19:54:18 -0500

Mike Sheldon, president of the board of directors of the United Network Equipment Dealer Association (UNEDA), is striving to establish best business practices in addition to facilitating cooperative sales and marketing efforts for the association's approximately 300 members. “UNEDA is committed to the resale of only legitimate Cisco equipment,” says Sheldon. “We know all too often that Cisco tries to paint our industry with the same brush as black marketers and counterfeiters." "Instead of using the counterfeit 'threat' to inject fear, uncertainty and doubt in the minds of enterprise customers, Cisco instead should join forces with UNEDA to help us stop the proliferation of counterfeit Cisco goods and prosecute anyone found reselling such equipment.” UNEDA members agree to a code of ethics that includes implementing processes to ensure that counterfeit and stolen Cisco equipment does not enter their inventories. Members take an active role in policing the industry, and dealers found to be in violation of UNEDA’s ethical guidelines are immediately expelled from the organization. Most reputable sellers of Cisco pre-owned equipment have more stringent practices in place to detect black market or counterfeit Cisco goods than Cisco Systems itself, its registered partners and authorized distributors. Product packaging is not a reliable way to judge Cisco authenticity, which is why the best secondary Cisco marketers conduct extensive tests on all resold Cisco equipment to prove legitimacy. In addition to setting high standards, top providers are working closely with law enforcement to eradicate the counterfeit Cisco equipment problem. Sheldon is also the president and CEO of Network Hardware Resale (www.networkhardware.com), the largest provider of secondary Cisco network equipment gear with more than $138 million in annual revenue. “Every piece of Cisco equipment taken into NHR’s Cisco inventory undergoes comprehensive inspection and testing and is guaranteed to be authentic and function like new,” says Sheldon. “We back our promise by including a standard, one-year, overnight replacement warranty on all Cisco equipment at no additional cost.” So isn’t it time to set the record straight, that the Cisco Gray market is NOT the new Cisco Black market? http://www.BradReese.Com

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United network equipment dealer association tackles tough counterfeit and fraud problems in the Cisco secondary market

Brad Reese — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 19:52:20 -0500

Beginning in 1995, there were about 5 dealers that bought and sold refurbished Cisco equipment. Today there are over 400 refurbished Cisco dealers. In the late 1990s the Cisco dealer community began to join with other individuals to use a free email-based listserv that was mainly concerned with the buying and selling of equipment used by Internet Service Providers. Every day there were over 2,000 messages posted. The quality of this public list was highly variable. Often buy/sell messages were delayed for hours. Flame wars broke out between combative individuals. It was a disorganized mess. Many participants desired a better buy/sell list but the free public list had the necessary momentum. On May 1, 2003 the owner of that free listserv decided that it would no longer be free and this was an unwelcomed development. Sensing that the time was right to start a new list, Optimum Data located in Omaha, Nebraska and Network Hardware Resale in Santa Barbara, California collaborated on a new dealer-only buy/sell listserv. It was named the Network-Equipment List. In the beginning of 2006 many subscribers of the Network-Equipment List formed a new international trade assoication and called it the United Network Equipment Dealers Association (UNEDA). Goals of UNEDA are manifold, including bettering trading standards between dealers and their respective customers, assist in OEM relationships and fighting against illegal counterfeit sellers. re: Fake network gear re: Counterfeit Cisco VoIP Gateway Problems re: SMARTnet warranty fraud against Cisco With years of experience in the secondary Cisco market, UNEDA members have become the new front line in assisting Cisco Systems with its ongoing battle to protect customers from counterfeit, theft and fraud in the secondary Cisco market. UNEDA members work closely with Cisco and various law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute offenders. UNEDA has over 300 dealer companies registered as Members from a dozen countries around the globe with joint sales revenues in excess of $2 billion annually. Do you believe Cisco enterprise customers will benefit from this new reputable secondary Cisco market association, UNEDA? http://www.BradReese.Com

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