There has been an alarming amount of fake 8TC showing up on Ebay lately. I have some basic advice for Kimber Kable customers. There are no authorized sales of new Kimber Kable products on Ebay or Audiogon or any other website of this type. If you see new goods at substantial discounts they are more than likely counterfeit products. The concept of “too good to be true” is so obvious here.
My recommendation is for all consumers to contact us to inquire about a local dealer where you would get the level of customer service and the support this type of purchase normally appreciates. If saving a few dollars is worth a loss of some customer service, hands on advice, and the risk of receiving used or damaged product or a cheap imitation then buying through Ebay or Audiogon may be a great option.
We talk with all our dealers often enough to know who would best help any type of customer. I cannot stress to you enough the belief we have in passionate local dealers. They are a dying ember of hope for the next generation of music lovers. If you have the opportunity to vote for a dealer, which is essentially what you do with each purchase you make, why cast that vote for someone who does very little to promote your passion in your local environment where it will have the most impact on your life?
Kimber Kable products carry a lifetime warranty that will only be facilitated through the original transactional supply chain. So if in your lifetime of owning the product you were to ever have a problem, you would have to seek resolution through the channel you purchased the product. In fact when we can establish that the products were purchased through an authorized dealer we will always go to great lengths to make sure that you as our customer feel the full force of Kimber Kable’s support and service are at your disposal. It is not uncommon for us to do upgrade and damage repair for free even if it was normally a request that should be charged for. My point is this… Only a local dealer can give you the level of service and support that I strive for in my purchasing. I try to support the business’ in my town at all times. I do not mean to tell you to waste money on a dealer who does not earn your business with their fine service even to the point of loaning you cables to try would not be uncommon, but rather to simply encourage you to seek out the purchasing channel that earns your business and then cast your vote of satisfaction with your money.
Below you will see some pictures of fake products from the Internet. I will continue to post photos as we see them. We also get product sent to us from customers who have been ripped off looking to verify authenticity. I plan to start listing the people we catch engaging in these filthy business practices. Kimber Kable has a long standing reputation for being honest and fair. We insist that all our dealers and distributors abide by the same practices that have sustained us for the past 30 years.
So just to get your take on this post, is this for real or fake?
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Kimber-Kable-12TC-Speaker-Cable-2-5M-Pair_W0QQitemZ270521105120QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3efc507ae0
That product is definately not ours. The seller is located in Hong Kong selling into the US, that’s a huge red flag. Our products are made right here in Ogden, UT. How is it conceivable that we could build a product, sell it to a real dealer, said dealer sell it to a guy in Hong Kong, ship it to him and there are still great savings to be had? I don’t know how much money people think we make, but this is ridiculous. I guess the silve rlining is that imitation is the highest form of flattery. Thanks for the question.
Okay…how about this product? Real or fake, do you think?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200434511638&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
It looks like real product. It is a few years old, but looks to be legit. Purchasing though this method would invalidate our lifetime warranty. I could only be 100% certain if I were to have the product in front of me, but it does looks to be real.
I think i’m familiar enough with your speaker wire,that when I saw this
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Kimber-Kable-8TC-Teflon-Speaker-Cable-2-5M-Pair_W0QQitemZ270522707977QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3efc68f009
you tell me please,this individual lists the cable on his
online ebay store also.
Thanks
dear sir, recently i bought kimber kable 8tc black and blue wire. since i saw that your 8tc are gold and red, i am confussed coz i bought from Adelphi Singapore. is the kimber that i bought fake or not. thanks for your time
Our partner in Singapore is Norman Audio. Norman Audio does have a store in Adelphi. I reccomend you follow up with them. As far as the TC cable goes, black / blue was our standard configuration for many years. We have never made gold / red cable.
There are no legitimate dealers selling new cables on Ebay, Audiogon or any other web site other than their own. It is plausible that a dealer would want to refresh his demo cables or have trade in cables from time to time. Used cables are a great way to save some money. The product will hold up for many, many years. Most KIMBER consumers keep the original sales receipt or can at least tell you where they bought the cables. This is the information I ask for before I buy anything that is so easily counterfeited. It is suspect to me when a seller with very high feedback is listing new items because that indicates a never ending supply which negates any KIMBER authorized sales. Understand that we offer a lifetime warranty and many other benefits when the products are purchased through the proper channels. You must have confidence that the seller can offer the proper support in any purchase. Here is a list of sellers that are not authorized dealers:
Hi Nate,
Just to clarify, are you saying that you have intelligence which suggests that these sellers are known to be selling counterfeit products or just that they aren’t authorised dealers ?
I ask becase I’m currently waiting for some “Heroes” from one of these suppliers, as they aren’t available from the authorised dealer here in the UK (RATA).
Rgds,
Howie
I am stating that the names listed are not authorized dealers. Yes I do have information that some have engaged in trafficing counterfeit products, but that is beside the point. Any product that an unauthorized seller handles will never be elligible for service, warranty or upgrade through us. The trouble with this type of transaction is bigger than your occasional purchase. The more we as consumers reward this type of dirty business model with our buying dollars, the more attractive it becomes to a person who is only interested in getting their hand in the revenue stream. This kind of sale that is only about price undermines the great value of service and knowledge. If we are unwilling to pay our local dealers to stay in business then we have no one but ourselves to blame for the lack of local support. Your local dealer, RATA in this case normally has many HERO in stock. Please email the specific item you were looking for and I will make sure RATA is aware of a need to increase stock levels.
I’ve been looking for 8TC on eBay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270558802047
There’s a plethora of models from Hong Kong, however the seller of the above auction confirmed my doubts that the cables he sells are not genuine. What a f… con man :/
Do not buy anything from the eBay user on9cowcow !
Is there also a proliferation of fake Kimber interconnects out there? My brother purchased these PBJ’s on ebay from the seller “heyhsia”, who was allegedly in California. Only one of the pair had a shrink wrap on one end of the cable, and it seems to be lettered the opposite of all the pictures I’ve seen of PBJ cables. I’m new to using Kimber Kable, so I don’t know if there have been other versions. Please help clear this up if you can. The link to the sale is http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200460669745&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT. Any way I can upload photos we took of the cables to you, Nate? Thanks….we need to educate folks best we can to who the fakers are because there will always be someone who is buying off of ebay to save money!
How about this: http://cgi.ebay.com/Kimber-Kable-12TC-High-End-speaker-cables-8-ft-2-5M-x2-/280493498212?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item414eb71f64
It seems very original.
Any KIMBER KABLE goods sold as “new” on Ebay or Audiogon are 100% bad news. If Kimber Kable products are offered at ridiculous discount they are most likely fake. If ebay seller on9cowcow or any other seller from Asia has anything for sale it is not our product. Some sellers have been responding to our aggressive pursuit of counterfeiting and are now changing their ads to exclude the name Kimber Kable. This is just another loophole these predators are trying to exploit. There is no guarantee and no support from us on any product that does not come from our authorized dealers. If you want to save money on cables talk to a real dealer about used, trade ins or demo goods.
The only way to verify is to send the cables in. By the time you pay shipping both directions you may have canceled out your savings on suspect product. If you are buying used product ask the seller for his receipt or the name of the store he bought from.
Could you comment how to differentiate visually an authentic cable of a false cable?
Hi, My system has Kimber Hero interconnects, both baklanced and unbalanced throughout, all bought from The Cable. Co. Unfortunately, (I think), before I bought those, I had bought a 30 foot length of 8TC speaker wire unterminated and sold “as new” on Audiogon, by “badgirl”, for $350.00. Is there some way I can tell if they are fake by visual inspection. I know now that the price was really too good to be true, I didn’t know the actual bulk cable price then ($20.00 per foot I believe) and I wanted to try them. I was told by the seller of course, that they were genuine Kimber and his ad which read ” 20 foot length, new clear and white Kimber 8TC $250.00″. I will gladly write this off to experience and go to my friend John Pharo at The Cable co. to buy a new pair if it seems they are fake. Don’t be afraid to give me bad news, I love your interconnects and I want to be sure I am using your speaker cable in my system. Thank you in advance for your help.
Jimmy Staff
Jimmy,
The only way is for us to verify is to have a look at it in person. The best I can offer you is to compare the look and texture to known valid product. Once you verify that you got ripped off have ebay or audiogon wage a literal war on this crook who sold to you.The seller you mention is a predator. The more we as a hi fi community can work together to stop the business of a scumbag like this the better. I am sorry that you were taken advantage of. I hope more people can learn from your mistake.
My Kimber Kable 8TC bought from on9cowcow is original. The dealer and I couldn’t see or hear a difference! I think they were stolen from your factory in China!
This Hong Kong seller, on9cowcow, said they had connection with the factory and hence the super good deal. See Q&A section in their auction. Any comment?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270570340088
hi i´d like to know if this item is genuine or not: 250643776239 at ebay. i have other postmaster spades that seem to be original and they are not as wide as the ebay ones. thank you
The seller is not a real dealer. The product is not made in China. I would suspect a fake, but without the product in hand it is very hard to say. The more troubling matter is if someone will engage in selling counterfeit or black market goods I would have concerns that you would even receive the goods as pictured.
What!! I would know if this liar on9cowcow had a connection to the factory because the “factory” is 20 feet from my desk here in Ogden, UT. We are not the kind of company that just slaps our name on a bunch of cheap junk we buy from random vendors. The product is hand wound, braided with a non-automated mechanical braider, tested, hand terminated, tested, packaged and shipped right here in our building. We do not, have not and will not outsource this process to make a quick buck. Stay tuned for a video series of virtual tours we are putting together.
It may or may not be real. I am near certain it is not, but that’s been covered extensively here on the blog. The alarming thing is a suspicion they were stolen from our factory in China. WE DO NOT HAVE A FACTORY IN CHINA! It’s really a matter of logistics. We all live in Utah. The guys who build cables have been working here for at least six years and some as long as 20. They have families, they have kid’s soccer and baseball games. Commuting to China to build cables every day would be really inconvenient.
Yes alarming think because some other companies are mading their cables in China. Now ebay is completely full of that allegedly fake Kimber cables. A suggestion: ask for the Vero protection at ebay to remove all that cables that are using your name & copyright without permision. I have thought that maybe they are using some photos of real cables but they send the copies. Definetely i will not buy any of that fake cables coming from Hong-Kong.
Thanks for the information.
tac.thailand
Here’s another seller in China that I don’t think you mentioned on your list.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380241982768&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_500wt_928
I have a question about the company “msshifi” on ebay. You say they are not an authorized dealer, but they seem to have legitimate products. Do you think they are? They are located in NY.
Thanks!
look here for fake kimber cables & fake wbt plugs:
http://sites.google.com/site/isthistherealstuff/kimberkable
http://sites.google.com/site/isthistherealstuff/kimberkable-two
hope that helps
I think any product sold by msshifi is either fake, stolen or tainted by their filthy business practices. They are not, never have been and never will be an authorized KIMBER KABLE dealer.
badgirl = bad deal. The goods look counterfeit to me. If you could determine that they are indeed coming from a real dealer you could feel more confident. I have added badgirl to my list of disreputable sellers. Thanks for the inquiry.
Hi Nate,
I am looking to buy a pair of 12TC cables. Following what is said here about eBay and Hong Kong sellers, I looked elsewhere. First, could you point me to an authorized Kimber reseller in Belgium? Secondly, could you tell me if RAL Audio (ralaudio.com) are selling genuine Kimber Kable cables? I doubt they wouldn’t, but I just want to make sure.
Thanks in advance.
Cary
Hi, Nate. I have found that there are genuine Kimber Kable 8TC that comes in bulks. I think there is a high chance that some custom made no-box cables that can be found on eBay may possibly be made by someone from the cable that comes in bulk. This makes them as much original as made in your factory and of course doesn’t affect the cable quality in any way.
What do you think? Is it a real scenario?
From the beginning of this blog we have recieved many requests to verify the authenticity of new or used items that may or may not be Kimber Kable product after the purchasing from an unauthorized seller.
We do not offer support to these sellers and thier customers which includes verifying the products they sell. The reason is simply this: Verifying the authenticiy of purchases from unauthorized dealers is offering reassurance, support and encouragment to bypass doing business with our dealers and ourselves.
We have made a list of unauthorized sellers with in this blog that we continue to add to. However, we realize that it is not always obvious which dealers are authentic and which are not and that some of the cables these hucksters advertize do look real. But some things such as a cable being advertized as new for a discount should be obvious. There is truth to the old saying that “if it seems to good to be true, it probably is”.
If you are not absolutely certain that the dealer you are doing business with is an authorized Kimber Kable dealer please call myself 801-621-5530 or Nate Mansfield and we can verify the dealers authenticity for you. This is certainly much better than trying to verify a purchase after the fact.
“My recommendation is for all consumers to contact us to inquire about a local dealer where you would get the level of customer service and the support this type of purchase normally appreciates.”
I don’t know whether this is the case or not. So, I could be mistaken. But I suspect Kimber Kable is letting the counterfeiters get away with their counterfeiting so that Kimber can influence its customer into purchasing Kimber products only through authorized dealers near MSRP. Maybe Kimber is even paying them to make the counterfeit goods! I could be mistaken, but it appears this is a tactic which manufacturer’s are using to eliminate the doctrine of first sale. (See Nate Mansfield’s spiel about local dealers). If this is the case, then it is very unethical in my opinion. Kimber needs to do its part and remove those counterfeits from eBay and Audiogon. eBay has a verified owner’s rights program too! Is Kimber a VERO member? I am boycotting Kimber because of this. BTW: I have reported 172 counterfeit cables to eBay. Let’s see whether Kimber does it part to rid of them!
In regards to the comment I left above. I disagree with Nate. I don’t think it’s a “dirty business model” for a consumer to sell his used cables on eBay or Audiogon. This reminds me of the losers from the dinosaur media, i.e., ABC, NBC, CBS and the major publishers. Get over it. The internet is replacing local dealers. Adapt or become extinct. It’s August 22, 2010 and – according to your blog – you knew in March 2010 that HongKongsupply was not authorized. As of today, HongKongsupply is still up and running. Kimber has done nothing to stop it! You’ve done absolutely nothing in the past five months which helps prove my point! Let’s see whether you have the courage to approve my comments. You’re located in the USA. Be a real American and do not censor my speech through moderation. You are attacking consumers and the doctrine of first sale. Your company is not the victim. You benefit whenever the counterfeiters flourish.
Cary,
Sorry that this post slipped past me. Are you still looking for a dealer?
Yes it is possible. It is common for a dealer to buy in bulk and make cables as requested. It is also a likely scenario for fraud as you would then have no ablity to verify authenticity. If the dealer is authorized then you have no concerns. Feel free to ask about specific dealers or to have us direct you to a trusted source. I just returned form a HIFI show in Asia and I was shocked how much fake Kimber is on the market there.
Jose,
The only way to verify authenticity is to send the cables to us for inspection.
Jose,
Send the cables in to my attention.
Kimber Kable
Nate Mansfield
2752 S. 1900 W.
Ogden, UT 84401
Yes. Correspond directly with me for details.
nate.mansfield@kimber.com
Sorry the link is now too old to access. Are you still looking for Kimber Kable in your market?
Regards,
Nate Mansfield
nate.mansfield@kimber.com
Sales Manager
Kimber Kable
http://www.kimber.com
2752 S. 1900 W.
Ogden, UT 84401
T: 801.621.5530
F: 801.627.6980
Jason,
I’m sorry it took a while to get to this comment. I didn’t want to be the type of guy who just gives a hollow promise. I have been working on a real solution to the problem. I travelled to Asia where I was met with a emphatic answer that there is no way to track down the source of counterfeit products. I have had all ebay auctions dealt with and I continue to work dilegently in every area possible to erradicate the problem. The real solution will come through educatiuon of the general public that there is indeed a problem. I assure you that Kimber Kable does not benefit as counterfeiters flourish. I am very concerned that consumers are buying goods of little value. I would like to clarify that I like the idea of a consumer selling used product through ebay or audiogon. This represents a great method to pass along legitimate product to someone who is looking for some savings. The dirty business I refer to is the selling of counterfeit goods under the expectaion that it is authentic. Sadly the consumer and the manufacturer both lose in this scenario. The consumer pays for goods that do not deliver on their expectations and the manufacturer loses any interest or loyalty from the consumer because the product fails to deliver on our promise of performance. I would be interested in any solutions that the public feels would help this campaign.
Cary,
Contact B&D in Germany. You can find them listed on our global locator. And yes RALAUDIO is an authorized dealer in the US.
The only way to know is to take the cable to one of our dealers or send it in to us. I think as more people question authenticity we will need to start charging a fee to cover the time and shipping, but for now you can send it in to me. The address is on our site and please include a note detailing the purchase and clearly state that you want to know if the cables are genuine.
Absolutely possible. It is not uncommon for our dealers to buy speaker cable in bulk spools. There are many advantages in doing this as one spool can accommodate any special requests. As long as you are dealing with an authorized dealer you can get the Kimber Kable quality that you expect. In the case of used products I recommend asking if the seller remembers when and where they bought the product originally. Most Kimber Kable customers even save the receipts.
RAL is a real dealer. They cannot sell internationally. In Belgium please contact B&D to find the nearest deaelr. The contact info is on our page here Look at the Distributor for Germany.