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
In the end, when you buy goods, the only thing you are entitled to is the goods. If you get something different, all the seller is responsible for is making sure you get what you paid for. They are not responsible for giving reasons behinds mix-ups. It would be nice to know what really happened and why, and a good gesture on newegg's part to give a true* explaination, but they buyer is not entitled to an explaination.
*By true, I mean true as far as newegg knows. As I stated before, if D&H told newegg they were demo boxes, newegg had no way of knowing otherwise.
And regardless of Newegg not knowing if these were "counterfeit merchandise" or "demo boxes", it's Newegg and not its supplier that's liable for this mess, to the customer.
Also, Id like to applaud Intel for stepping in to clarify what was being said and also being a good business in general. Well done Intel and Newegg.
I'll still gladly shop at newegg anyway without hesitation. :toast:
Kei
And again, they are not entitled to an explaination. They might want one, and ask for one, and newegg might give one, but the customer certainly is not entitled to an explaination in any way.
There will likely not be an explanation from Newegg on this, at least not for some time. The amount of money involved and the fact that the fraud crossed state lines means the FBI will be investigating what happened.
I ordered a new CPU and ram from them this morning, I have no doubt I will receive what I ordered. Newegg’s customer service has gone above and beyond my expectations when I have dealt with them.
So let's see:
There any many situations and scenarios that could have happened. The bottom line is they are taking care of their customer to the best of their ability! They are proactively sending out emails instead of waiting to hear from customers first. They are providing free overnight shipping or refunds depending on what customers prefer. How could they take care of their customers any better reasonably?
For all we know the distributor gave them that excuse and before they got a chance to investigate it fully (maybe because they wanted to take care of their customers) they went with that story. Would you rather wait while they investigate it to find out exactly what happened before they took care of their customers? We're not entitled to know EVERYTHING that might have impacted our order timing.
The truth is probably not so picture perfect but I bet its a far cry from how evil you're making them sound for telling either a white lie or what they believed to be the truth.
In the end they're taking care of their customers and there's not much else you could ask for.
The truth is Newegg told its customers they got "demo boxes". Press alleged it's a cover up (many in the older news thread did, too) and in response, instead of coming out to clarify, Newegg's suppliers sent cease and desist orders to the press. Then the press called in Intel and asked for its take. Intel said that no, those parts aren't demo boxes, they're counterfeits. Meanwhile Newegg is resolving the issue with customers. So regardless of who came up with the "tell them they're demo boxes" idea, Newegg lied to its customers.
Now, is there really something you couldn't understand from the news? There's no need to be defensive about Newegg in the whole discussion. I myself am a Newegg customer, I know their standards.
They're responsible so they're responsibly taking care of their customers.
Also why are you holding them responsible for their supplier sending out cease and desist orders?
If an employee is drunk and puts the wrong item in your box and you have to exchange it are you entitled to know an employee was drunk on the job and got fired? No they'll apologize for the mix-up and correct it the best they can.
Gotta go to work so last post from me.
You saying they 'lied' indicates they knew exactly what happened before they sent out any statements. It also portrays newegg in a sinister and damning light which is why I took a defensive tone on their behalf since I think they're a great company. Also including their distributors actions in the same statement you're criticizing newegg in it seems like you're grouping them together.
So you say I'm wrong, I'll agree to disagree.
Once again let me reiterate that the scope of the news article (and even this discussion) is not to talk about Newegg. In the article, Newegg is but a small component of the issue. There's no need to be so defensive about Newegg. Yes Newegg did a great job dealing with its customers, but that's not central to the issue.
Of course they've shot themselves in the foot, its a PR disaster. Yeah, they can say what they like, but saying the first thing that came into their head without the facts, instead of admitting they'd been caught out, is disingenuous. Or is that how YOU carry out your business?
And again, from what I have read customers are not having to ship the demo box back before newegg ships them a proper item. Just pictures of the demo box emailed to newegg customer service, and newegg overnights the new item.
But instead it is far more likely that newegg came up with a lie about the issue and falsely blamed it on specifically one of their major suppliers without reason. Yeah, that makes business sense right there.:rolleyes: I wonder which is more plausable...
And the statement didn't come out "way after" the story broke on the forums. The story hit the forums at about 8PM Thursday, and the statement came out less than 24 hours later at 5PM Friday. I've dealt with suppliers, and I can tell you when I call them for something that isn't related to buying product, it can take a while to get a response. That is a reasonable amount of time really, you call them up and wait for them to respond, and it probably took D&H a while to figure out the issue and respond also.
And it actually isn't a PR disaster, if anything it helps their reputation, because they are handling the issue so quickly, and making the situation with their customers right as quickly and painlessly as possible.