thailazer

Saw an ad for what I thought were Futaba servos on ebay and clicked away, thinking I found a factory-direct source of nice reliable new servos. Then my friend from down the road sends me this link:

http://rcmodelreviews.com/fakefutabaservos.shtml

Checking the photos on the ad

http://www.ebay.com/itm/111118263612...84.m1439.l2649

I see that I now have 23 dollars of counterfeit servos headed my way. Arghhhhh!

Buyer be ware....... The ad is made purposely confusing to make you think they are Futaba servos.

KW_Counter

When you get the servos verify they are fake.
If they are, then report the incident to eBay.
You may not get your money back but you may get the seller stopped.

Good Luck,
KW_Counter

init4fun

Hi Thailazer ,

A very interesting find indeed ! I went to the link you provided for the fake Futaba servos , and noticed something wild . Did you see in the seller's written description where he puts the word simulation in brackets like this ; ( SIMULATION ) ? I'll bet the seller thinks that covers himself from the liability of selling fake cloned goods but it does not . Did you use paypal or any such payment service where you could cancel the transaction since you weren't looking to buy "simulated" Futaba servos instead of the real thing ?

Lastly , I think you ought to send that link to Futaba's corporate officials as they may be interested in getting the sale of cloned Futaba goods stopped .

Good Luck .

rcmiket

Seems like the price would have triggered there's something not right.

Mike

AMA 74894

My Feedback: (1)

yup, this is a well known counterfeit issue. the most glaring external difference is that the output shafts on the counterfeit servos is white, where genuine Futaba servo output shafts are black.
I've reported this lister on Ebay, and provided links to Futaba describing the differences.
http://www.rcmodelreviews.com/fakefutabaservos.shtml
http://www.futaba-rc.com/techsupport/counterfeit.html

as a side note: the listing is for six 'Creative' S3003 servo's that are FOR USE IN A Futaba car boat or plane (how's THAT for sneaky??)

Hemikiller

My Feedback: (125)

Anytime I ran across those fakes I've reported the sellers, just doesn't seem to make any difference. Check out the pics, they look nothing like them at all.

thailazer

Once I receive the items, I'll definitely give them a negative review if they are counterfeit as expected. Friends warned me not to due to recent articles, but is is a bummer to see misleading ads.

http://us.cnn.com/2013/12/02/tech/co...iref=obnetwork

thailazer

Here is another ad on Ebay that states Futaba, but looking at them they have a white shaft and just don't look quite right. Could this be just a better looking counterfeit?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/High-Torque-...item43bc3bf00a

Edit: Forgot to mention that my local hobby shop has both versions in stock, clearly marked original and copy with the associated cost differences. The locals think the Chinese copies are junk.

topspin

After looking at those links I can see how easy it is to get sucked in by these forgeries. Too bad that there isn't some international law that prohibits that sort of thing.

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

Most of the other countries have trade laws that prohibit counterfeit goods from coming into their country. The USA doesn't .....We don't want to hurt the feelings of our foreign trade partners now do we?

AMA 74894

My Feedback: (1)

yup. the EASIEST way to tell a counterfeit...
Genuine Futaba servos have a BLACK plastic output arm.

raptureboy

Well your first clue would be 6 Futaba servos for 22.99 next would be they are coming from China. The ad does say money back refunds but you would have to pay the return shipping.

rcguy59

My Feedback: (8)

If they put a "Turnigy" label on them they could get FIVE bucks apiece for them.

countilaw

Most people see only the price and bite. If they do the research and know the product, they wouldn't get taken in by the clones. But a lot of people want to go cheap, which turned out to be very very expensive in the long run.

Hey, but as the Hobby King advocates claim, they saved so much money, they can afford to throw them away. But again that usually means they saved $2.00 only to throw away $4.00 worth of bad product.

I really get only what you pay for.

Frank

twinbrother

My Feedback: (7)

Yes, you can never be too careful on ebay, even with high rated sellers. Here is my experience with one seller on ebay from Hong Kong.

ebay seller: rocky_models_hk

This ebayer sells RC airplane stuff. I purchased a set of Lander Full Metal 90 Degree Electric Retract Main Gear in Dec. The retracts arrived a couple of weeks later from Hong Kong. While testing, one of the retracts stopped working. I tried getting it to work again, but no success. I contacted the seller and he told me to put some oil on the turning mechanism. He assured me if it didn't work, he would warranty the item for a full replacement. I did that and no success. I discovered, after inspecting the motor, that it burnt out. I emailed the seller letting him know and no response. I emailed him 2 more times about the burnt motor and no response.

After repeated attempts of contacting rocky_models_hk without a response, I opened a Paypal resolution case. The seller immediately closed the resolution the next day. He ignores my emails but finds time to close the resolution. Immediately, I escalate it to a claim. Due to the lack of response from the seller, Paypal found in my favor and is awarding me a full refund. I, however, had to spend $35 to send back the retracts to Hong Kong.

rocky_models_hk has a 99.2% rating. However, I noticed the seller provides no customer service. If the item you purchase arrives working, then it all works out. However, if you get a damaged or broken item, the seller not only ignores you, he rebutts by saying the buyer never responds to him. Apparently, he's done this on a number of occasions with other buyers based on the rating reviews I've read.

Fellow RC modelers, you are more than welcome to purchase from this seller. However, if your item is damaged or broken, you won't get your money back or a replacement unless you have Paypal force him to take it back. Every time I ask for the warranty, rocky_models_hk ignores me. Only through ebay and paypal did I get my money back...less $35 for shipping the DOA product back to him. Rather than being out $100, I am only out $35.

thailazer

I got the servos from tosell7 and they are indeed not genuine Futaba. I opened a case with Ebay to get my money back from them, and also stated that the seller should not use the name Futaba on any photographs or text.

thailazer

I've had great success getting stuff directly from China for very near manufacturing cost, but this seller is changing that perspective. Messages say things like "be patient" and that it might take up to 35 days to issue a refund. That on top of no response on whether they received my return. This seller has a 98.6 % positive rating on ebay but with the volume he does, 225 negative comments in the last month. I'll be checking those stats with every seller before buying something again!

By the way, ebay automatically closes resolution cases after a certain period. I have until February 8 to get me refund. Not sure what happens if the time goes by without a refund.

thailazer

The seller (TOSELL7) asked me to revise my feedback before they would issue a refund so I escalated the case with ebay. Within two hours, there was a refund in my PayPal account. I am still out six bucks of postage, but at least I got back the purchase price. Case Closed, but they are still advertising with the name Futaba in the ad.

twinbrother

My Feedback: (7)

$6 only? Lucky you. I lost $35 to rocky_models_hk for selling me a piece of junk and lying about a return on the item.

twinbrother

My Feedback: (7)

rocky_models_hk: FROM BAD SELLER TO TERRIBLE SELLER!!!

Paypal just emailed me today that rocky_models_hk tried to appeal the refund I got for the broken retracts. I sent back the broken retracts to the seller, rocky_models_hk, and the seller has the audacity to ask for the money I was refunded. That's some balls right there. rocky_models_hk sells me broken retracts, gets them sent back to him, and on top of that, wants to keep the money that was refunded to me. If that doesn't say bad ebay seller, I don't know what does.

BEWARE ebay seller rocky_models_hk!!!

aspeed

I would just use them. They seem like a pretty nice servo for a reasonable price. It isn't right (or legal) to have the Futaba name on though. It is misleading.

thailazer

The quality is not there though. I have never had a genuine Futaba 3003 servo fail and that was the point of getting more. Their ebay ad stating Futaba and showing photos with that name still stands so likely others are still being misled.

K-Bob

My Feedback: (1)

It's never a good idea to reward scam artists. Never.

aspeed

I have to agree now that I think about it that way. They should get new stickers with their own name.

thailazer

Now Amazon is selling copy servos! YIKES!

http://www.amazon.com/Futaba-S3003-S...pr_product_top