Monday, March 8th 2010
Intel Steps into Alleged Counterfeit Core i7 920 Sale Issue
After last week's report on some of Newegg.com's customers receiving what the store calls "demo boxes" that it described to have been accidentally shipped by one of its "long term partners", Intel stepped in with a clarification on how it looks at these anomalies. In a statement to HardOCP.com, Intel's Dan Snyder said "Intel has been made aware of the potential for counterfeit i7 920 packages in the marketplace and is working to how many and/or where they are being sold. The examples we have seen are not Intel products but are counterfeits. Buyers should contact their place of purchase for a replacement and/or should contact their local law enforcement agency if the place of purchase refuses to help."
The "examples" Intel is referring to in the statement are these so-called "demo boxes", apparently 300 of them, which could be out on the loose. Meanwhile, Newegg.com is making efforts to get in touch with each of the affected customers and rush-delivering genuine merchandise or providing 100% refund, depending on what the customer chooses. While the whole episode seems to have taken a toll on Newegg's image as one of the most reliable, efficient, and competitive online retailers which it built over years, in the line of fire seems to be its "long term partner", a certain distributor in charge of these Intel processors. The same company sent cease and desist letters to some online publications to withdraw their reports on this issue, blaming them for publishing "untrue statements" about it. However Intel's statement adds clarity to the issue. Indeed some customers may have received "counterfeits", and indeed there are no such things as "demo boxes", at least as far as Intel is concerned. That said, whoever is behind these "demo boxes" still stands to face the law for infringement and imitation of Intel's product design, and trying to profit from it.
Sources:
HardOCP.com, TechEYE.net
The "examples" Intel is referring to in the statement are these so-called "demo boxes", apparently 300 of them, which could be out on the loose. Meanwhile, Newegg.com is making efforts to get in touch with each of the affected customers and rush-delivering genuine merchandise or providing 100% refund, depending on what the customer chooses. While the whole episode seems to have taken a toll on Newegg's image as one of the most reliable, efficient, and competitive online retailers which it built over years, in the line of fire seems to be its "long term partner", a certain distributor in charge of these Intel processors. The same company sent cease and desist letters to some online publications to withdraw their reports on this issue, blaming them for publishing "untrue statements" about it. However Intel's statement adds clarity to the issue. Indeed some customers may have received "counterfeits", and indeed there are no such things as "demo boxes", at least as far as Intel is concerned. That said, whoever is behind these "demo boxes" still stands to face the law for infringement and imitation of Intel's product design, and trying to profit from it.
104 Comments on Intel Steps into Alleged Counterfeit Core i7 920 Sale Issue
Whoever pulled this switcheroo off better be, for his sake, waaaay gone and with a good escape plan, or his ass will get sued into the next dimension so quick he won't even be able to afford a lawyer - That's even aside the criminal case.
Me ? I wanna see him caught and put on trial. Ordering a 300$ CPU and getting a a PoS fake ranks high up on the list of sucky things that could happen in eCommerce.
Newegg really did shoot itself in the leg with their public statement, though.
I'm still smelling mafia ties to these productions. Who knows could have been a couple college guys that swapped a pallet of 920's at Neweggs distrobution center.
Besides that, the only way they could have shot themselves in the foot would be to not take care of the customers, and they did that very quickly. They can say whatever story they want.
and +1 to newtekie1
Now to the above if you reply "then it shouldn't matter what story Newegg tells its customers", then the reply is "no, it does matter. When customers pay $300 for something, they deserve to know exactly what was shipped to them, and why they should spend another $10 shipping it back to Newegg to get a replacement or refund."
The customers that shouldn't care who D&H is are the customers that shouldn't care if they really are demo boxes or not, and are the same customers that only care that they get what they paid for in the end.
The customers that paid $300 don't care what was shipped to them, they don't care if it was a demo box or a counterfit, they just want what they originally paid the $300 for. And newegg is assuring that, as they are sending out replacement very quickly, I believe with overnight shipping if what I've read is correct, without the customer sending the original "demo" box back.
And fankly, if I was one of the customers that recieve one of those bad units, my only concern would be getting the right part that I paid for, not why I got what I got. Newegg could tell me aliens came down and abducted my i7, I wouldn't care, as long as a real i7 was shipped to me.
EDIT:Every single item i had to ship back to newegg has been FREE to do.
Besides, we're missing the point. According to Intel, these are certainly not "demo boxes". So one of these: Newegg or its supplier, is in for trouble...part of what's making news.:)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQrAOQ4TzQc&feature=player_embedded