I also posted this in my Counterfeit, anyone? thread, but I know that not everyone frequents the sticky threads. I thought that casual visitors to this subforum should be aware of the situation, too.
I'm unhappy to report that what I said above about never receiving a counterfeit when buying directly from Amazon is no longer true. I didn't get burned by Amazon once, but twice!
I ordered two of the Custom Series knives. The first was a Hatamoto in "Like New" condition. I knew there was a possibility of fraud with this one because Amazon was stipulating that the box had been opened. But I'd had good experiences in the past with "Like New" knives and I thought hopefully that Amazon had addressed the knife-swapping swindle, seeing as it's been exposed as a problem for quite a while now. Boy, was I wrong. Here's what I received.
Because the trash that somebody returned looks nothing like the knife pictured ON THE BOX, I couldn't believe that Amazon sold me this knife as a genuine Hatamoto.
The second knife I purchased was a brand new Caledonian Edge. What I received was a pure counterfeit.
The tamper-resistant seal was missing from the inner box, so clearly the knife was not new-in-the-package, as Amazon claimed.
Either it was another fraudulent return that Amazon dishonestly restocked among the new knives, or Amazon employees are stealing knives from the warehouses and replacing them with counterfeits. Either way, I was the one who got screwed.
Needless to say, I'm done buying knives from Amazon. When I first read about the knife-swapping scam that thieves were perpetrating on these large companies, I had sympathy for the vendors. But when I see that the vendors are aware of the problem and aren't lifting a finger to stop it, and in fact are even attempting to pass along the problem to legitimate buyers, I lose all concern.
So, beware of Amazon. You definitely can receive a counterfeit knife, even if you purchase it brand new directly from Amazon itself. And if you aren't savvy about the counterfeits of the brands you're buying, you might not even realize that you've been ripped off.
-Steve
I'm unhappy to report that what I said above about never receiving a counterfeit when buying directly from Amazon is no longer true. I didn't get burned by Amazon once, but twice!
I ordered two of the Custom Series knives. The first was a Hatamoto in "Like New" condition. I knew there was a possibility of fraud with this one because Amazon was stipulating that the box had been opened. But I'd had good experiences in the past with "Like New" knives and I thought hopefully that Amazon had addressed the knife-swapping swindle, seeing as it's been exposed as a problem for quite a while now. Boy, was I wrong. Here's what I received.
Because the trash that somebody returned looks nothing like the knife pictured ON THE BOX, I couldn't believe that Amazon sold me this knife as a genuine Hatamoto.
The second knife I purchased was a brand new Caledonian Edge. What I received was a pure counterfeit.
The tamper-resistant seal was missing from the inner box, so clearly the knife was not new-in-the-package, as Amazon claimed.
Either it was another fraudulent return that Amazon dishonestly restocked among the new knives, or Amazon employees are stealing knives from the warehouses and replacing them with counterfeits. Either way, I was the one who got screwed.
Needless to say, I'm done buying knives from Amazon. When I first read about the knife-swapping scam that thieves were perpetrating on these large companies, I had sympathy for the vendors. But when I see that the vendors are aware of the problem and aren't lifting a finger to stop it, and in fact are even attempting to pass along the problem to legitimate buyers, I lose all concern.
So, beware of Amazon. You definitely can receive a counterfeit knife, even if you purchase it brand new directly from Amazon itself. And if you aren't savvy about the counterfeits of the brands you're buying, you might not even realize that you've been ripped off.
-Steve
