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Counterfeit Camera Accessories Warning

It is one thing to knowingly purchase a "compatible" third party camera accessory - one that is labeled with the brand name of the actual manufacturer - or a brand name licensed to that manufacturer. You likely save some money - and knowingly accept any shortcomings of the product and the risks that come with it. But when you spend the money to buy the camera brand name accessory, you expect the quality product you paid for.

Unfortunately, there is evil in this world. In this case, counterfeiters are the evil. If you had any doubts, read the email I just received:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Very glad to learned that you company is doing camera batteries, and we would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves as one of the camera battery leading factory in Shenzhen,China.

We supply 1:1 high copy camera batteries for Canon/Sony/Samsung/Panasonic/Nikon/Pentax/Minolta/JVC/Olympus...

Our Canon LP-E8 high copy battery packing is SEALED, with 3D hologram, can sell as original on your side, and make large profit for you.

Any interests of our products, don't hesitate to contact us anytime.

Looking for become your longterm and reliable partner.

Counterfeit Canon LP-E8 Battery Pack

Have Blue Color PE Bag for battery, like original.

Counterfeit Canon LP-E6 Battery Pack

Counterfeit Canon LP-E5 Battery Pack

Newest Version Short Package which just released out from Sony Company.

Counterfeit Sony Batteries

Your Friend
Sally(Sales)

"Your Friend"? Hardly.

I did not include the extensive contact information included in this email for a couple of reasons. One is the "McAfee SiteAdvisor Warning: This e-mail message contains potentially unsafe links to these sites" message flag. The other is that I reported the company to the authorities and will let them address the legal side of the issue.

Nikon has addressed the counterfeit issue a number of times recently:

"It has come to our attention that counterfeit Nikon accessories are sold in various countries around the world. Counterfeit accessories may not be equipped with safety mechanisms such as the protection device. When these counterfeit products are used or charged, the cameras performance may be sacrificed, or the products may be the cause of fire or explosion due to the generation of extreme heat or leakage. In the worst case, the camera may be damaged or people could be burned or otherwise injured. Therefore, from both a performance standpoint and a safety standpoint, only the use of genuine Nikon accessories, equipped with safety mechanisms including the protection device, with your Nikon digital camera is recommended."

Here are links to some of the Nikon articles:

Beware of counterfeit accessories for Nikon Digital Cameras
Counterfeit Multi-Power Battery Packs MB-D10 for Nikon Digital Cameras
Counterfeit rechargeable batteries
Counterfeit EN-EL9a Rechargeable Batteries for Nikon Digital Cameras

The take-home for you is that, if you are buying a brand name product, you need to buy it from a reputable retailer. An unscrupulous retailer can sell you a counterfeit product that you cannot discern from the real one - at least until the unfortunate happens. Then it is too late.