A couple weeks ago, I picked up a pile of gear from a client, all of which needed to be serviced.
Once we figured out what went where, I filled out all the paperwork, and carefully shipped it off to the respective manufacturers. Keep in mind that all of this is gear I've sold over the years. Little did I know that I was in for a big surprise.
Before the repaired units arrived back here, we received the invoice from Shure. Noted on the invoice was the phrase "CP Counterfeit Unit". In other words, the customer's property (CP) was not what it appeared to be.
I didn't know what to think. We had sold the unit, and this particular client doesn't buy anything from anyone else. So how did he end up with a counterfeit receiver and antennas?
We called the service department and spoke to the technician who made the determination. He assured us that it was indeed a counterfeit unit, manufactured in the Phillipines and sold online in the United States through various online stores.
The tech explained "we see these all the time, and unless you compared the two side by side, you would never know the difference."
While we will never know exactly how this happened, the client's best guess is that this receiver came back from a missions trip where the genuine receiver was sent with a student group. At some point during that trip, someone made the switcheroo of the unit that we had sold for a non-functioning knock-off.
So why am I telling you this? We sell these units. I held the counterfeit receiver in my hands and carefully boxed it up in order to send it back to Shure for service. The church where I serve on staff owns six of these. I see Shure SLX units all the time, and I couldn't tell the difference. My guess is that you wouldn't either. Take a look at these photos.
The plastic bumpers were removed from the counterfeit units. Can you see any other differences?
More than once, I've counseled customers who ask us to match prices that are below our cost from online sources, and I've repeatedly advised them that they are not dealing with an Authorized Dealer, and there's a strong likelihood it could be counterfeit or stolen.
As this client found out, warranties don't apply in cases like this. Plain and simple. When I took it back to him and explained the situation, he was so mad that he made a commotion in the lobby of the church as he threw it into the trash.
This was the first time I had held in my hands proof of what I've been warning people about for years.
When you buy from us at you'll have the piece of mind in knowing that we deal directly with the manufacturers and their authorized representatives. Every piece we sell is the genuine article and is backed by the full manufacturer's warranty. We stake our reputations on that daily.