OEM parts on Amazon?

Of course you have obviously counterfeit items, but then you have counterfeit items that look more legitimate than the actual legit product!

The obvious counterfeits aren’t much of an issue to the trained eye, but nowadays some clones are virtually undetectable from aesthetics alone. They look like the real deal but are indeed poorer quality clones.

I’ll give you a perfect example. I ordered a soccer jersey online, it was branded as authentic. When I got it, I immediately realized it was a knock off. But that’s because I have a keen eye for detail in everything. Frankly I wear the jersey because despite being a knock off, only I know it. It’s basically indistinguishable from the authentic, the quality of product, the tags, and packaging all looked 99.99% legit. It’s crazy to think that someone out there produced this knockoff because it makes me wonder how they were able to do it and be so close. But that’s just a shirt. If the jersey snags a thread and falls apart, who cares? It’s just a piece of clothing. But if you have a subpar part on your automobile, it could damage your vehicle and even worse, put your personal safety at risk in the event something goes left.

For this reason, Amazon would be a good place to avoid buying things like parts that need to be or should be close OEM quality. The QC checkers that stock the items on behalf of Amazon for vendors may not have the eye to detect counterfeit items in any given department or they fakes might be so good, that they don’t get flagged.

+1 for Rock Auto, Amazon rarely beats their pricing anyway.

Marky Dissod said:

(Assuming that the microchip was not for location monitoring or purchase tracking,)
what is the purpose of putting a microchip on this filter?
Just 'cause the box is OEM, doesn't mean the contents are.

We are living in the age of caveat emptor.

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They put a microchip in GE refrigerator filters so that you can only use ice and water through them for 6 months. It functions 180 days after activation. After that, the ice and water feature in the door just shuts down if you don't replace it. Of course, they don't tell you that when you buy the refrigerator. If a new filter doesn't have this chip or a fake one, it will not dispense anything, PERIOD.
That's how I found out with the new one I bought from Amazon. It simply would not work. I went to Lowe's and bought the exact same item from a factory box., put it in and it worked immediately. At that point, I knew.....

Stbentoak said:

They put a microchip in GE refrigerator filters so that you can only use ice and water through them for 6 months. It functions 180 days after activation. After that, the ice and water feature in the door just shuts down if you don't replace it. Of course, they don't tell you that when you buy the refrigerator. If a new filter doesn't have this chip or a fake one, it will not dispense anything, PERIOD.

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So, GE poached a product development specialist from John Deere? Or Hewlett Packard?

Joseph Garcia said:

Be safe, rather than sorry. Purchase your OEM replacement parts from either RockAuto.com or GMPartsDirect.com.

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I have a local auto parts chain where I live called ABC Auto and they sell OEM/AC Delco. They charge a little more but that’s fine.

I normally only buy gm stuff off of Amazon if it is being sold by the "ac delco store"
when you click on the item it tells you who the seller is.
there are plenty of items that claim to be oem but there not
just a matter of using your noggin

I’ll buy fluids filters and whatnot off Amazon without issue. Been doing that for years without issue. But if I’m going for a specific part I’ll use TascaParts.com, GmpartsDirect.com. RockAuto.com.

homesick said:

FWIW, I haven't bought OEM from Amazon, but have from eBay; mostly NOS parts.

On eBay, you have to be very careful; there are both factory and aftermarket sellers. Practice will make you better at differentiation. Factory packaging and factory part numbers are two of the clues I use.

joe

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If you are in Canada I use a dealer out of Ottawa that sells on average 30% less and they are great to deal with. You can contact [email protected] chris is great.
I just finished ordering all the moldings in Black for my Yukon xl. And saved a bundle. There are GM dealers in the US who do the same. you just have to find them. I was told by my dealer he can do those prices due to the amount he buys and the rebates he gets. I would hesitate to buy on Amazon when you can get GM at these prices. And he take back returns when there is a problem. As I said great to work with.

diezelraccoon said:

Had a quick question. I’ve been getting OEM/ACDelco parts on Amazon. I was told supposedly to stay away from Amazon with that because there are knock off companies that advertise them as OEM but they really are not.?

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I wouldn't do it, I learned my lesson the hard way with a rear main seal that was advertised as GM OE, but it was counterfeit, and failed, and I had to pay the labor twice on this.

It doesn’t matter which online supplier you buy from, theres a chance you might get a knockoff. To be safest, look at who you’re actually buying from. On Amazon, 60% of the stuff sold is through a third party, beyond Amazons control. The same shady companies that sell elsewhere like EBay also have Amazon storefronts, as do the legitimate businesses that are honest. On Amazons or any other website, all you need to do is look at the seller, and if it’s not Amazon, check out the reviews on that seller. Almost all the time, the reviews will tell you if it’s a good company or stay away. Also, if the price is too good to believe…..