BCDrums

Good question. When I put in the code for confirmation, the website returned a message confirming that the strings were legitimate, and it said:

Please note that attempts to authenticate the same Players Circle code a second time will produce an invalid result.

However, after seeing your question, I put the same code in two more times and got a Verified both times, so it didn't seem to work. Will drop them a note, see what they say.

I do know that when you go to a ballgame or a concert, they scan your ticket's bar code. The next guy who tries the same code won't get in, so such a technology does exist.

jccaclimber

You see this with the calibration certificates on the boatloads of fake Mitutoyo calipers in the world. In that case the serial number on the calipers often doesn’t match the one on the certificate inside, and if you buy multiples they all have the same serial number.

Invalidating the SN doesn’t help as someone could check the SN before purchase, invalidating it for future users. Nobody wants to register their chain.

Supply chain traceability like a shipping tracking number could solve this. If for example the KMC we page says that chain was sold 3 years ago to a local distributor in France and I’m looking at a seller in east Asia or the USA then the odds are good something is fishy.

timtak

I am sending the fake chain back to China.
> One of the easiest ways to spot fakes is the model name font which will be inconsistent.

Ah, yes, I see now that the zero is oval in the fake "0" but a sort of rounded rectangle in the real KMC packaging.


Fake zero is thinner and oval, real zero is fatter and slightly straight on the vertical sides

Papa Ado

Thank you for the reference. We are also looking into similar options for packaging.

BCDrums

I wrote:
D'Addario responded:

Thank you for reaching out! Our Play Real site is currently experiencing a bug - but our team is actively working on getting it resolved. During normal function, the Play Real site will only authenticate a code once, but since there is an issue on the site currently, this is resulting in a valid code being able to be authenticated multiple times. We are hoping to have this issue resolved shortly.

So the idea of a unique code on a chain's package that could verify it as authentic seems quite feasible.

Good luck, Papa. In the meantime, I buy my chains (and strings) from reputable sites and businesses and I don't have to worry too much about counterfeits.

smd4

I get counterfeiting Rolexes. Good ones can sell for thousands. But bike chains? Down to the packaging?? I would have never guessed.

timtak

Incidentally, the difference in the packaging of Shimano chains (which are also afaik made by KMC) is as below,

Fake the three slashes towards the top left hand corner of the cardboard box are printed all in white

Fake Shimano Chain without Silver top Right by Timothy Takemoto, on Flickr
Genuine the first two of the three slashes are printed in silver ink

Genuine Shimano Chain with Silver top Right by Timothy Takemoto, on Flickr

dantonvb

The best fake verification method I know is used by Pineng power bank brand.

You have to scratch the verification label at the back side of the packaging. Then you will see a unique serial/verification number, that you have to enter in Pineng website. It will return if the number is valid or the date and time the first valid verification was tried.

The detailed procedure could be seen here: https://pineng.com.my/Beware-Of-Fakes

The site for entering the verification number is this one: https://pineng.com.my/Product-Verification

AndrewJB

You might not have shopped for a chain on EBay lately...I would not be surprised if 80% of the Shimano/KMC chains for sale are fake....
P.S....I don't get my chains from EBay

jccaclimber

Let’s say for a moment that the counterfeit costs as much to make as the name brand product (I’m guessing it does not).
You get the same sale price, so right off you get the same margins as the OEM.

You also save:
Warranty (goes to Shimano).
Packaging cost (those reflective bits cost something).
Advertising cost.
Cost of development for any IP.
I’m guessing some cost of quality. Those details that Shimano puts into the side plates have some tolerance and I’m guessing it’s tighter on the genuine product. Same for proper metallurgy though that’s a low fallout sort of activity.

Better yet you’re doing something harder to track down than a high dollar item.

Of course you also sacrifice my definition of basic morals, but that’s just my opinion.

FBinNY 

I would.

Of course it depends on your definition of "fake". Possibly the same chain, but lacking proper packaging, or a "back door" product, or even a reject from a bad production batch. Otherwise, there's no reason to tool up to produce a counterfeit unless you can sell it at a large margin close to what the original would fetch.

A lot of so-called fake bike items were originally made and sold to an OEM. Later they were surplus to needs and unloaded onto a middleman to sell.

You make money counterfeiting high value goods like Rolex because they fetch a high price and there's plenty of room to make a passable fake cheaply, and make a good profit while still undercutting the original.

The economics of bike chains aren't anything close to that.

easyupbug 

I agree with FBinNY, in the early 2000s while doing vendor evaluations for industry I was fascinated by the shift in fakes and quality legitimate production endruns, etc. from the alley behind the American Embassy to the massive Silk Street Market. If the parent company does not do it's due diligence and manufacturer can get the same steel supplier, have all the production equipment ready to go, only short the Shimano provided packaging so the package lettering or color is off you might actually get a good deal.

timtak

In the case of the chains in fake Shimano packages (without the silver bits) the chains that I bought from aliexpress did not last at all long -- less than 3000km.

I think I can usually get nearly twice that from even the cheapest (FSC) chains that I buy but then in the past I have tended to wait for chain drop before changing chains rather than using a tool (my waxing experience is going well so I think I will be using a tool in future).

There several reviewers saying that some of the fake KMC chains are failing on the first ride but I have sent mine back so I will not find out. The seller claimed "It came from the factory" and the chain itself looked like a real one rather than the fake pictured on the KMC site.

KMC chains from individuals in non fake seeming boxes are now pretty cheap on auction in Japan, their price perhaps having been depressed by the fakes.

Papa Ado

80% is too high, but you may be surprised at the amount of fake chains online. Check out the multiple Shopee and Lazada websites for a deep dive. If the seller claims that the chain "came from the original factory" but it's in a fake aftermarket box, they are lying. If it's a grey market OEM chain (without AM box), they would likely sell it in it's polybag packaging.