Filters and auction sites

[hashcake]

I'm just wondering what the general oppinion is these days on buying filter via a certain auction site.
Some years ago I got some good deals on various Hoya Pro 1 filters and they were all genuine but I remember back then that some people had been duped and ended up with fakes.
The video on youtube still exists that shows how to identify a fakes which is very helpful.

 

[GTG]

Just my opinion but I'm sure the fakers change design and improve the fakes over the years.

This makes youtube vids and guides less reliable than you might first imagine.

Auction sites are obviously one of their main ways to sell them so they are certainly there lurking.

If they are a registered business then try to cross reference them on trustpilot if possible.

 

[HoppyUK]

There are fake filters about (memory cards and batteries too) and it's very hard to tell without comparing side by side with a genuine one.

The best way to be sure is to buy from a retailer that receives stock from the official importer. If you find prices significantly lower than established discount sellers like Amazon (not Amazon marketplace) or Camera King etc I'd be suspicious and personally wouldn't risk it just to save a tenner.

 

[hashcake]

Just my opinion but I'm sure the fakers change design and improve the fakes over the years.

This makes youtube vids and guides less reliable than you might first imagine.

Auction sites are obviously one of their main ways to sell them so they are certainly there lurking.

If they are a registered business then try to cross reference them on trustpilot if possible.

I agree that they've got better at faking products, some of the stuff on fake Britain is an eye opener .

 

[hashcake]

There are fake filters about (memory cards and batteries too) and it's very hard to tell without comparing side by side with a genuine one.

The best way to be sure is to buy from a retailer that receives stock from the official importer. If you find prices significantly lower than established discount sellers like Amazon (not Amazon marketplace) or Camera King etc I'd be suspicious and personally wouldn't risk it just to save a tenner.

I like Camera King, I've previously had good deals with them before.
They seem to be the cheapest legit supplier for the filter I want and WEX are almost double the price.
I'm quite fussy with Amazon and I only buy from them directly.

 

[YoshiK1]

Buy from a reputable seller if you're concerned. I never really considered there could be fakes on these sites however I've always bought from reputable sellers and always liked to buy new anyway so never had an issue.

 

[Retune]

There are fake filters about (memory cards and batteries too) and it's very hard to tell without comparing side by side with a genuine one.

The best way to be sure is to buy from a retailer that receives stock from the official importer. If you find prices significantly lower than established discount sellers like Amazon (not Amazon marketplace) or Camera King etc I'd be suspicious and personally wouldn't risk it just to save a tenner.

I like Camera King, I've previously had good deals with them before.
They seem to be the cheapest legit supplier for the filter I want and WEX are almost double the price.
I'm quite fussy with Amazon and I only buy from them directly.

Even Amazon itself (direct, not marketplace) isn't necessarily reliable these days, because when marketplace sellers use the 'fulfilled by Amazon' service, their inventories can be 'commingled' with each other and with Amazon's own inventory. There are supposed to be checks for authenticity when this happens, but there are too many stories of fake items being supplied via this route (including filters) to have much confidence in the process. You may be better with a well-known camera shop that just uses Amazon as a storefront and ships directly rather than using the fulfillment service. There are some reliable German dealers that use ebay in the same way, which can be handy for B+W filters. I've used Cameraking for Hoya filters and they seemed to be fine.