Beware!!! Fake Furutech product sold on the US soil


Hello, everyone. This happened to me about a month ago. I was thinking all the time about telling my story to Audiogon community and now I decided to do it.

I bought Furutech e-TP60 power distributor(https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisaa1i6-furutech-e-tp60-ac-distribution?show_listing=true) on April 28th. I contacted the seller(TbazAudio) and no any responses for almost 2 weeks, so I decided to open transaction on Paypal, then the seller quickly shipped the item without asking me if I still needed the item. This made my first bad impression with this seller. The seller felt sorry about the delayed shipping, so the seller offered $20 for compensation if I would keep the item. I decided to keep the item and asked for $20 partial refund. The seller didn’t respond again, my second bad impression, so I decided to give negative feedback. I saw earlier negative feedback from a buyer about late shipping like I had. The seller again immediately refunded. I felt like I really must force the seller. Right now my negative feedback and previous negative feedback are gone. I have no idea how seller negative feedback can be erased.

The item was shipped to my company in Oregon, then it took about 2 weeks to ship to my destination country(Thailand) as I am not based in the US. You can 100% trust this shipping company as they always take photos of the items before shipping. I saw exact same item. When the item arrived, I plugged it and listened, then I felt something was wrong with this item. It sounded worse than my non-audiophile power distributor. I decided to take the item to my Furutech Thailand distributor(Clef Audio). They are Furutech expert as you can see this video clip( https://fb.watch/5StA_vlGeK/), it’s in Thai language but you can see they can differentiate the fake and the authentic. They checked the item and confirmed that this Furutech e-TP60 is fake product from China. This made me really shocked. Anyone that keeps reading to this point, please follow how to differentiate the fake and the authentic Furutech e-TP60 by looking at this photo item and the authentic on Furutech website.
1.The authentic one is matte silver. The fake one that I got is shiny silver.
2.The authentic one has black lines between receptacles. The fake one that I got has red lines between receptacles.
3.The authentic one has star screws. The fake one that I got has round screws.
4.The authentic one has smooth words "+GC-303". The fake one that I got has elevated C letter.
5.The authentic one has real Furutech receptacles with Furutech logo, ground sign and PSE JET sign. The fake one that I got doesn’t have any logos or signs.

The seller didn’t believe and didn’t accept that he sold fake Furutech product, always kept asking who I talked to confirm that it’s fake. With 5 different points, it’s clear enough that this Furutech e-TP60 is fake. Anyone can look at Alibaba or Aliexpress website and see fake Furutech e-TP60 with very cheap price and same characteristics like this fake item. The seller offered 50% partial refund or return it with full refund. Additionally, the seller offer $25 as compensation. I couldn’t accept fake Furutech product, so I decided to return it. I sent it via DHL Express and it took only 1-2 days to arrive the seller. The seller then again show unprofessionalism by questioning me why it was arrived so quickly without looking tracking number I provided. When the item arrived to the seller, this was the real beginning of unprofessional seller. I told him that this item was fake at the first glance. With the words "+GC-303" on the e-TP60, why would the letter C be a little higher than other words? He was very angry and then told me that the $25 refund was off because I threatened him. He sent a lot of messages to me via Audiogon message. It was like he couldn’t control himself. 
OMG!!! This is the real unprofessional seller. How can this seller get Audiogon verified dealer?
I should get $198.37(full refund) + $25 = $223.37. I realized that I misunderstood and calculated wrongly, without $25 refund that the seller broke the deal with unprofessionalism, the total refund must be $198.37 - $20 = $178.37. Claimed that I was a fraud by taking $20-$45 profit by receiving and returning to get profit. I have been in this AV hobby for 5 years and I have an occupation with enough salary to be in this AV hobby. I have work to do. I don’t have enough free time to receive and return to get $20-$45 profit. At last I got full refund($20 + $178.37 = $198.37) with very exhausting way.

I sent e-mail to Mr.Scot Markwell from US Furutech distributor(Elite Audio Video Distribution) to verify fake Furutech product. He helped me confirm that I received fake Furutech product. He also asked me where I bought it and in the future check with him.

There are 2 points that I learned with this situation.
1.You can’t always trust Audiogon verified dealers with positive feedback. I know there are a lot of good Audiogon verified dealers.
2.Even though you are in the US, you must be careful with fake Furutech products from China. You should buy Furutech products from authorized dealer or trusted sellers. I know there are a lot of non-authorized dealers that sell authentic Furutech products.

P.S. I swear and vow that my story is real and true. I have all evidences(all the chats, photos) to confirm my story.
This is the strong and good point of Audiogon support team.
natpolly
@jetter Actually there were at least 2 negative feedbacks from me and another one but they were erased. As I told on my post and comments, I have no idea how negative feedbacks can be erased.
I can assure you that TbazAudio(Tony Shahbaz) is one of the worst and most unprofessional seller in my 5-year AV enthusiast experience.
You can ask him directly and I hope he will confess he sold fake Furutech product.
I was very lucky with help from Audiogon support team.
Interesting, the seller has 75 items for sale right now on A’gon and tons of positive feedback and no negative. This makes no sense for him to jeapordize his reputation for a $200 sale.  
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Thanks, natpolly...

I've had great success with Furutech products in the past several years.  After having seeing all the "cautions" on their website, I don't mind paying a premium in going through "The Cable Company" for my purchases.  They have a lot at stake.  More Peace, Pin
If you search alibaba.com you can find many of these fake products readily available for bulk purchase.

fake Krell, even stamped "Made in USA"

How bout a Furutech power outlet for $12!

There are countless more...
These days they are rampantly stamping these fakes as made in USA, Japan, etc.

Some fakes are exceptionally well done, unlike the ones in the above links.
I have an Audioquest silver power receptacle here and, visually, I can not tell if it's fake or not. It's that well done.

Go through authorized dealers, verify that too if need be.
It goes without saying, Anything fake for us audiophiles is utterly pointless.

"hey I got these fake silver interconnects. They're not that great, I don't know what everyone is  going on about..."   Utterly...Pointless...

The thing that is worse than receiving the fake Furutech product is unprofessional TbazAudio verified dealer who will never accept or confess he sold this fake Furutech e-TP60. Furthermore, he broke the $25 refund deal.
AV enthusiasts must consider before buying AV gears from this seller.

I believe there are a lot of professional Audiogon verified dealers who sell authentic products and will not break the deals or promises. 

Thank you for your comments.
Just dishing out what you guys say about my country: If you do it so can I.

@roadwhorerecords No, just west of NYC  
Let me guess, you live just west of Hong Kong?

Normally I always try to buy from US companies, but when I have bought from other countries or EBay, I always use PayPal.  I to have been scammed before and while it took awhile, PayPal has always come through.

All the best.

JD
re: Natpolly not expecting fake products from US seller.  Because shipping takes a long time and the stigma of buying things from China, many sellers of Chinese knockoffs are finding US distributers.   You see this on ebay.  Widget from China $5.  US made $15.  Chinese widget from US reseller $8.  --Jerry
I can relate to your being upset and angry about this, I'm sure I would be screaming at anyone responsible.

That said, I'm amazed that there are companies out there that would even be bothered to knock off snake oil bullcrap.
@scchengmus 
 -2
 You know that is not even close to a factual statement.  Let me guess, you live just west of Hong Kong? 
To me it’s obvious. This is because the US is the world’s largest manufacturer and outsourcer or fake and fraudulent products. 
To answer some comments

I know some AV enthusiasts don't believe in audiophile products(snake oil). I think it depends on the AV systems to hear big or little difference. I was lucky that I knew something was really wrong with this fake Furutech e-TP60.

Up to now, I have been confused too. How can negative feedback be erased? I opened transaction on Paypal because the seller didn't respond at all(almost 2 weeks). When the seller shipped the item and provided tracking number, he escalated the case to Paypal and Paypal decided to close the case. That's why I couldn't open transaction or case on Paypal again.

I should have compared this fake Furutech e-TP60 to the authentic on Furutech website to see that it was fake at the first glance. And I was tempted with cheap price too. Please take a look at this link : https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002509599717.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.71fb56cbiNdZ1F&a...
This is fake Furutech e-TP60 that looks exactly the same that I received with 5 different parts from the authentic as I described in my post.

Some sellers or dealers sell authentic Furutech products with good deal and good price.

Thank you everyone for your comments.
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Always double check, why a far better price offered on a new product, company site has photos of their products so you can compare.
I bought a set of Furutech locking bananas and I was really disappointed with the fit (too small) and that the metal bent out of shape very easily.  Perhaps I actually got fakes?

They were pretty inexpensive and not from Parts Connexion.

Since then I use either WBT or pure copper, inexpensive spades.
Personally, I would like to know why Audiogon removed the negative feedback...

Steve
The first step I would take is ask Audiogon why the negative feedback was removed and how it can/should be reinstated.  The second thing thing I would do is ask Paypal for a refund - sounds like you have the required documentation to file a claim.
https://www.furutech.com/2021/02/18/20476/
Furutech also announces about fake Furutech products from China.
I really didn't expect fake Furutech products from the US seller.