WGB

I was surfing Ebay last night and casually looking at brakes. I suddenly found Dura Ace brakes very very very cheap. Ad stated: "Genuine Shimano Dura-Ace Brake Set, BR-9000, Front & Rear" and the price was $20:13 - not a starting bid - and included free shipping.

Being a suspicious fellow I assumed they were knock-off's (forgeries) and I didn't buy them. Shimano is the biggest component manufacturer on the planet so logically they would be targeted by bad folk. Having said Shimano wheels are made in Malaysia so brakes could well be made in China and I don't know these specific ones have any issues.

My issues is what is there to stop a bad person from buying forgeries and putting them on frames deliberately to fool people into buying his low end bike or a person with limited knowledge from hearing that Dura Ace are good brakes and adding them to his or her bike and then later selling it?

Forged parts are being sold for our cars and even aircraft as are forged medicines which endanger our health. The last thing I'd want would to do is buy a bike in good faith and have my nice new Dura Ace brakes fail on a steep hill.

Is there anything to look for that makes Dura Ace a real Dura Ace part?

Kobe 

Was the seller from China? There have been a lot of fake ads lately where they steal someone else ad and description. No idea how they make money on it because the buyer is protected by Ebay's buyer protection policy and the seller would not receive anything in theory.

rccardr 

Not a forgery, just a scam. Bet the seller was in China with zero feedback. Been happening more and more, sometimes with vintage bits.


You buy, you pay, nothing shows up, PayPal refunds your money. Not sure who wins with this scam, maybe the seller disappears and PayPal is left holding the bag.

Trakhak

Recent Bikeforums discussion of this particular type of scam:

Ebay Scam? What is going on here?

WGB

I can live with the thieves, just don't want to have to stress over losing all my money on a knock-off.

3alarmer 

...if it makes you feel better, I'm unaware of a recent trend toward counterfeiting bicycle components. It's too much trouble for the money amounts involved. Bicycle frames themselves ( the older ones from famous name makers) have been counterfeited for many years now, and there is growing consensus that a lot of carbon fiber reinforced plastic frames with famous names on them (like Colnago and Pinarello) sold cheaply on the internet might be fakes.

Generally, the old maxim about "If it sounds to good to be true..." holds in these cases.

dweenk 

It's not a knock-off; it is vapor - as in nothing there.

They have no products only an *bay sellers account, and *bay is doing squat about it. Just another of those too good to be true deals.