warning!!! newegg selling fake intel cpu's!!!

[deadrats]

I believe Intel and Newegg. No reason to actually group Newegg and D&H. Don't get me wrong I love a good conspiracy theory... but they're just that theories. This is just too absurd to believe Intel or Newegg had anything directly related to this from starting. And, the only reason I don't include D&H is that I've never heard of them. I'm with Smurf on this one. Someone got between Intel and D&H in the suppply stream.

Intel would absolutely never do something like this intentionally and I doubt that D&H would do anything to jeapordize a relationship to someone who's probably their best (and biggest) customer. And I really doubt Newegg would pull something like this intentionally. Waaaaaaay too much street cred.

My 2nd take, they're probably some mock-ups used to put on b&m hooks for customers to 'look' at. Then they go to the counter and say, "I"ll have one of them 920's back there". These CPUs are probably too hot a seller and too expensive to chance shoplifting to actually put on the selves.

This would be like plastic mock-ups of iPods selling by mistake as well. They look real on the outside so customers get that happy fuzzy looky at something and then buy the real thing at the counter.

My take, I believe someone was just a month early with their April fools joke...

the problem with your reasoning is that each of the involved parties has taken conflicting stances: D&H took the approach of sending out threatening C&D letters, in my opinion a clear sign that they aren't exactly clean in all this; newegg is claiming they are intel demos that somehow mistakenly mixed with legit hardware and intel is claiming that they have no knowledge of any demos and that they have absolutely nothing to do with them.

thus it is not possible to believe all 3 of them because all three claims and actions are inconsistent with one another.

then there's this reality, if intel didn't make these fakes, who did and for what purpose and how did they end up being sold to unsuspecting buyers?

this would be like having a company selling blank dvd's, with fake microsoft holographic packaging, made up serial numbers with fake stickers and the distributor claiming that they were microsoft "demos".

it's fake intel packaging, plastic coolers, plastic cpu molds, packaged to look like the real thing, this is not an innocent mistake, someone had to deliberately manufacture them and put them into the market place, considering who reacted with the most hostility as soon as word started to spread, i would say there's is a good direction to start looking.

check out these additional pics and details of the fakes, with fake batch numbers and holograms and misspellings on the package:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=7596

http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/processors/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=223200147

http://www.pcworld.com/article/190983/intel_investigating_sale_of_fake_core_i7_chip.html

http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/counterfeit-intel-core-i7-920-cpus-spotted-2010038/

http://www.techspot.com/news/38144-newegg-ships-counterfeit-intel-core-i7-processors.html

based on the misspellings they are chinese in origin, but this isn't some minor misunderstanding, this is deliberate attempt to rip off the general public, the only question is who was voluntarily in on it.

[lordsmurf]

deadrats, you're always eager to jump on a conspiracy.
Sorry, but that's all this is.

[jagabo]

this is deliberate attempt to rip off the general public

No, it was a deliberate attempt to rip off whoever first paid for them. Maybe NewEgg, maybe D&H, maybe somebody else. Companies like NewEgg buy stuff on the gray market all the time. They just don't admit to it. As long as NewEgg makes good on the problem it's fine as far as the consumer is concerned.

[lordsmurf]

Companies like NewEgg buy stuff on the gray market all the time. They just don't admit to it. .

This is why people need to quit trying to find unrealistic prices on items.
Good price, yes.
A "steal" -- no, because there is often actual theft involved. The term "a steal" is rooted in this.

[AlanHK]

very likely that newegg had no idea what they were selling (though that does seem highly unlikely that no one bothered to take a second look at any of the 300+ fake i7 920 they sold to customers) and i also find it highly unlikely that no one at the distributor that supplied newegg with the fakes ever noticed that something was wrong..

So it's both "very likely" and "highly unlikely".
Glad you made that clear.

i guess english comprehension wasn't your favorite subject in school, reread what i said, it is very likely that newegg (as a corporation) had no idea what they were selling (as in it wasn't an official policy to defraud) but it seems highly unlikely that no one (as in the guys in shipping and receiving, that took delivery from D&H and then filled customers orders) bothered to take a second look at any of the 300+ fake i7 920's that were shipped to customers.

duh.

Actually "English comprehension" is basically what my job is. That may be what you meant, it isn't what you wrote. As written it was simply a self contradiction or more charitably, confused and ambiguous.

Try to work out what the "that" in "though that does seem highly unlikely" actually refers to.

More generally: though I hate to agree with Smurf, you seem to have a habit of finding some snippet of news online, selecting the parts of it that fit your agenda and giving it an inflammatory headline to make some company that you dislike look bad. Enough people never check your source so you might get away with it sometimes.

[deadrats]

edit: here's another update to this story:

http://hothardware.com/News/Newegg-Responds-To-Concerns-Over-Fake-Core-i7-Shipments/

Newegg is currently conducting a thorough investigation surrounding recent shipments of questionable Intel Core i7-920 CPUs purchased from Newegg.com. Initial information we received from our supplier, IPEX, stated that they had mistakenly shipped us "demo units." We have since come to discover the CPUs were counterfeit and are terminating our relationship with this supplier. Contrary to any speculation, D&H Distributing is not the vendor that supplied us with the Intel Core i7-920 CPUs in question.

Newegg’s top priority is to proactively reach out to all customers who may have been affected to ensure their absolute satisfaction. We have already sent out a number of replacement units and are doing everything in our power to resolve the matter promptly and with the least amount of inconvenience to our customers.

We have always taken pride in providing an exceptional experience for each customer, and we apologize for any inconvenience to our valued customers. We take matters like this extremely seriously, and are working in close cooperation with Intel and the appropriate law enforcement authorities to thoroughly investigate this incident."

well it looks like D&H was innocent after all, i guess i understand the threatening C&D letters. as a side note it does seems that one of their suppliers was trying to pull a fast one and newegg has decided to stop doing business with them. i am surprised that newegg decided to publicly name the supplier but i guess they had no choice in light of the fact that D&H was taking a lot of heat.

it also looks like law enforcement is getting involved, it will be interesting to see who exactly was behind them.

[lordsmurf]

I almost expect crackpots in forums or on Youtube.

What irks me is that site Hard|OCP -- seriously, what a bunch of tools. They clearly have a biased hard-on against Newegg. It's turned into little more than semi-libelous horseshit, with zero journalistic skills or ethics --- it appears to be a bunch of nerds banging jibberish on a keyboard. It reminds me of Fox News and anything to do with the DNC.

[jagabo]

well it looks like D&H was innocent after all, i guess i understand the threatening C&D letters.

I don't. They should simply have sent a letter indicating they were not the source of the fake processors. Sending C&D letters with threats of litigation first is overkill. If I was in a position to be buying from D&H I would be looking for another supplier.

[lordsmurf]

D&H is in the right with the C&D, just FYI. It boils down to defamation, as it is untrue information, and it is being published in a way that is intentionally harmful (biased) against D&H. It is not objective. Real journalists would rush to cover their ass, with edits to the stories and retractions. Then again, a real journalist would have never written that anti-Newegg drivel.

[budz]

personally i never buy anything online, i don't know if it will get damaged during shipment, if i'll get an empty box, whatever, i don't want to have to deal with it, i prefer being able to walk into a store and and buy something, at least that way if there's something wrong i can always go find someone to rip a new one.

Sometimes buying at a brick & mortar is not safe either:

http://consumerist.com/2009/04/best-buy-sells-9-year-old-discontinued-hard-drive-as-br...es-refund.html

http://consumerist.com/2010/01/best-buy-sells-box-with-wrong-hard-drive-shrugs.html

I now open all boxes and check the contents before walking out of the store.

Yup, "Crap Buy" is famous for that! Anytime I buy a hard drive/dvdrw I open up da box right in front of the cashier after I pay for it. I don't leave until I see what's really in the boxes.

[greymalkin]

boy it's the same thing every day..some new computer related story by the same person 82 times removed from what actually happened spewing hysterical speculation as fact. at least it's fun watching you back-pedal as more information comes out.

[Supreme2k]

While I agree that deadrats' posts often have a (sometimes irrational) bias to them, he didn't create the news stories or misinterpret them this time. A few so-called legit PC news sites have gotten on the newegg hate bandwagon.

[jagabo]

D&H is in the right with the C&D

Hardocp reported that "Another source is telling us that 300 counterfeit processors were purchased by Newegg from D&H Distributing". That is not defamation.

[lordsmurf]

The defense to defamation is truth. There is no truth here.

Allowed: "D&H sucks, I think they're crooks."
This is a review, an opinion, and it's protected speech.

Not Allowed: "D&H sold counterfeit CPUs to Newegg."
This is a false statement, presented as fact, and is being used in a context that is intentionally harmful.
This is not protected speech.

"Another source is telling us" is only a temporary protection, when proven wrong. Retractions are the ethical thing to do when a source is discovered false. Failing to retract when appropriate can still leave you open to civil tort.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defamation ... or read any media law book. This is basic stuff.

[jagabo]

Not Allowed: "D&H sold counterfeit CPUs to Newegg."

HardOCP didn't say D&H sold the fake processors.

[lordsmurf]

from the article:

Another source is telling us that 300 counterfeit processors were purchased by Newegg from D&H Distributing and that the fakes were delivered last week in a shipment totaling 2000 pieces. It was also communicated to me that Newegg has now "discovered" all 300 counterfeit processors.

Maybe you just misunderstood what was written? I can understand! That writer sucks. The grammar and structure is pathetic, and would earn a failing grade in a high school journalism class. To call those "articles" is silly anyway. That site just puts forum posts into page format. So we're back to the "crackpots in forums" thing.

Compare the drivel they wrote to a real journalist's writing: http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/processors/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=223200147

The "demo box" thing is not entirely unrealistic, either. Many store dummy boxes are indeed full of misspellings, being cheaply made by third parties. If you don't believe me, go to a furniture store and look at all the fake stereos and TV sets. My local Walmart has used fake laptops for "demo" displays in the past, and I've seen DVD players in stores in years past.

..... and I'm not even a fan of Newegg.

[jagabo]

from the article:

Another source is telling us that 300 counterfeit processors were purchased by Newegg from D&H Distributing and that the fakes were delivered last week in a shipment totaling 2000 pieces. It was also communicated to me that Newegg has now "discovered" all 300 counterfeit processors.

Maybe you just misunderstood what was written?

You highlighted the wrong part:

Another source is telling us that 300 counterfeit processors were purchased by Newegg from D&H Distributing

They are not reporting that D&H sold the CPUs. They are reporting that a source told them that. As new information became available they reported it. There is no libel here.

[lordsmurf]

"Another source is telling us" is not a protection.

Compare it against the common colloquial example:
Falsely shouting "SOMEONE SAID FIRE! SOMEONE SAID FIRE!" in a crowded movie theatre.
So that doesn't protect you. Sorry.

Real journalists check their sources, and generally won't publish if unsure. When proven incorrect, retractions (or "corrections" or "updates") tend to follow.

From a writing stance, the inclusion of D&H added no value to the story. At a real publication, the copy editor would have stricken that out.

Again, all we're really seeing here is shit writing from a site that has some sort of bias against Newegg. And again, I don't like Newegg either -- but this is the wrong way to go about showing that dislike. It's unprofessional, if nothing else.

[Snakebyte1]

D&H should have issued a formal statement right at the start, in which they clearly state they were not the source of the CPUs in question. At that point it would have forced those who reported they were to either produce their proof or retract their claim. If the reporters failed to do so and/or continued making such claims against D&H, then that would be the time to take legal action.

Many of these so-called news sites/blogs reporters are probably some unemployed dude living in his parent's basement. Companies need to learn that bringing out the lawyers gives the appearance of legitimacy to these so-called journalists, which is exactly what they are looking for.

[budz]

At this point and time who cares! Newegg is taking control of it and that's all that matters. Old News already...move on peeps! Just my 2 freaking cents!

[jagabo]

D&H should have issued a formal statement right at the start, in which they clearly state they were not the source of the CPUs in question.

Unless they never sold i7 920 CPUs to NewEgg they couldn't even be sure that they weren't the source.

[deadrats]

I almost expect crackpots in forums or on Youtube.

What irks me is that site Hard|OCP -- seriously, what a bunch of tools. They clearly have a biased hard-on against Newegg. It's turned into little more than semi-libelous horseshit, with zero journalistic skills or ethics --- it appears to be a bunch of nerds banging jibberish on a keyboard. It reminds me of Fox News and anything to do with the DNC.

how is this "crack-pottery"? do you know how this story came to light? a rather respected member of hardocp's forum was building a new system and ordered a i7 920 from newegg. when he got the package he say that it was just pieces of plastic molded to look like a cpu/cooler. he went to the forum and posted his story with pics. the hardocp editors looked into it and decided to put it on the front page. as soon as that happened hundreds of reports started surfacing of other buyers that had been fleeced like this.

hardocp, not knowing exactly what was going on, decided to warn their readers that newegg was shipping fake cpu's and contacted both intel and newegg for an explanation. in the meantime, dozens of tech site jumped on the story, as did i, and as did the wall street journal.

hardocp's sources told them that D&H was behind the fakes, newegg tried to blame intel and intel said "we have no idea what they are talking about" and started their own investigation. at the same time, D&H, instead of issuing a statement saying something along the lines of "look, we aren't the source, please don't rush to judgement" had the lawyers issue rather strongly worded C&D letters, along with demands for an apology that appeared on the main page of said sites, for no less than 30 days, and this was only the 2nd day of this story. their actions certainly made them look like a company with something to hide.

along the way i decided to share the story with this forum's members as a "buyer beware" notice.

i fail to see in what way hardocp, any tech site, news outlet or i acted in an irresponsible manner.

if you consider that newegg sells each i7 920 for $289 (which is a total rip when you consider that microcenter sells them for $200 :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Descr...+920&x=26&y=26

http://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.phtml?web_group=byopc_proc

that's 300-400 fame cpu's sold to customers at $290 bucks a pop, that's 87 thousand to 116 thousand dollars worth of fake merchandise, anything over $1000 dollars is grand larceny, you're talking about a serious crime.

i fail to see why anyone would show any loyalty to any business that defrauded it's customers out of tens of thousands of dollars nor do i see why you or anyone else would take offense to anyone that brought this theft to consumers attention.

you and everyone else should be saying "thank you" instead of talking about crack pots and tin foil hats or questioning any sites journalistic integrity.

[deadrats]

Again, all we're really seeing here is shit writing from a site that has some sort of bias against Newegg. And again, I don't like Newegg either -- but this is the wrong way to go about showing that dislike. It's unprofessional, if nothing else.

what are you smoking? some of that really good smurf weed? newegg is one of hardocp's oldest advertisers and they regularly link to their site when mentioning a product in a review so that readers can either check pricing or buy.

http://hardocp.com/article/2010/03/08/counterfeit_intel_cpu_saga_comes_to_close

Initial information we received from our supplier, IPEX, stated that they had mistakenly shipped us "demo units." We have since come to discover the CPUs were counterfeit and are terminating our relationship with this supplier. Contrary to any speculation, D&H Distributing is not the vendor that supplied us with the Intel Core i7-920 CPUs in question.

so it wasn't a mistake, it was an intentional attempt to steal, they were in fact counterfeits.

hardocp also did print a retraction with regard to D&H:

At this time we offer our apologies to D&H Distributing for naming it as the supplying distributor. HardOCP was simply reporting the information that we believed to be accurate. We would NEVER "speculate" on something of this nature, as there is NOTHING for us to gain by misinforming our readers. We will be investigating further as to why we were misinformed on this detail.

Again, my apologies to D&H Distributing. Our number one goal at HardOCP is to provide our readers with accurate reporting.

[lordsmurf]

Deadrats, you're speculating now, too. Enough, already.

[AlanHK]

when he got the package he say that it was just pieces of plastic molded to look like a cpu/cooler. he went to the forum and posted his story with pics. the hardocp editors looked into it and decided to put it on the front page. as soon as that happened hundreds of reports started surfacing of other buyers that had been fleeced like this.

"Fleeced"? So you're asserting that the buyers didn't get a replacement or refund?

that's 300-400 fame cpu's sold to customers at $290 bucks a pop, that's 87 thousand to 116 thousand dollars worth of fake merchandise, anything over $1000 dollars is grand larceny, you're talking about a serious crime

Again, you're assuming that newegg would not have to compensate the buyers.
Of course they must if they haven't already, and no company except a fly-by-night eBay scammer would think they could get away with it for a minute.

You keep implying that newegg deliberately set out to cheat their customers.
That just does not make any sense, not because of morality but because replacing CPUs with plastic mockups didn't and couldn't succeed.
There are plenty of ways to pad bills if that was what they wanted to do, perfectly legally.

[budz]

Deadrats, you're speculating now, too. Enough, already.

I totally &

[kazyn]

There's only 1 likely scenarios here, Supplier(whoever they are). Intel is rich enough and not stupid enough to sell counterfeits, they own most of the cpu market they'd just look like idiots. Is it highly newegg unlikely did it unpurpose. Maybe they should inspect there products before hand now. All these cpus must of came from the supplier. And whoever did this obviously didn't look at the phony merchandise. Lordsmurf in almost every thread you get into a fight with someone and you end up looking even more stupid. Its like you don't realize your wrong, or you can't believe you could be wrong. How do you transfer a VHS to DVD good. BUY A DVD PLAYER.

[RdM642]

maybe it's because there's at least 300 plastic i7 920 replicas sold to newegg customers, so if i need a need foil hat so do hundreds of other customers.

personally i never buy anything online, i don't know if it will get damaged during shipment, if i'll get an empty box, whatever, i don't want to have to deal with it, i prefer being able to walk into a store and and buy something, at least that way if there's something wrong i can always go find someone to rip a new one.

You have zero better chance of getting satisfaction from the average brick and mortar store than you have from Newegg which is an incredibly great retailer.

I have bought items at BestBuy and microcenter that have been opened returns sold as new with part missing three or four times and had a HUGE hassle in getting a refund or proper exchange. It is very common for people return items to BestBuy with cables missing, swapped memory (!). Many brick and mortar stores have seals and heat tables for platic wrap so they can sell returns as new. I bought a laptop at best buy a few years ago which had its one gb ram swapped to 512 and its 60gb hdd swapped to 30!

I have never, ever had a problem getting satisfaction for any of my purchases from newegg, the few rare times I have had a problem with them, and I must have made 200 purchased from them over the past 20 years they have fixed the problem, apologized and typically offered some kind of credit to make up for my lost time..

[JimmyS]

To think that NewEgg would be complicit in any way with this does not make any sense. While the tally for the fakes could be over $100K as stated, that is really only pocket change to the net of a company as large as NewEgg. It would have virtually no significance to their bottom line. The colateral costs to them for such a fiasco in lost sales and customer loyalty could multiply that figure dozens of times over. But, here is what I conder the main argument why NewEgg would not have knowingly let this happen. They have filed for an IPO and there are hundreds of millions of dollars at stake. How kindly do you think the SEC and future investors would react to this company being implicated in a case of fraud.

[RdM642]

Aso it wasn't a mistake, it was an intentional attempt to steal, they were in fact counterfeits.

Not by neweggg. Newegg made an honest mistake. The intentional attempt to steal was by the supplier or a transshipping company to the supplier or by someone who works in the dozen or so a warehouse or shipping company transport platforms these CPU's went through, or most likely an organized counterfeiting gang outside of the US!

So a hundred or two got out to Newegg's customers. That is probably a couple of days of sales. Every retail buyer gets reimbursed and Newegg is taking a finical hit it did not cause and hopefully will be able to claim its loses to its supplier who then in turn can go back through their chain to find out who ripped them off.

I see zero -- ZERO -- wrong with Newegg's response to this. In fact it is commendable.

Modern retail is a highly automated affair. It is all pallets and barcodes. There are highly professional organized crime gangs which specialize in counterfeiting, substituting dummies, printing highly advanced holographs and finding and exploiting weaknesses in supply chains that are global.

Newegg probably sells tens of millions of items worth hundreds of millions per year at margins of 10% or less. They seem to do an excellent job.