Newegg ships counterfeit Intel Core i7 processors

[Jos]

It seems like 300 or so unlucky individuals got a really bad deal on a new Intel processor over the weekend. HardOCP is reporting that a number of Newegg.com customers have complained about receiving counterfeit Intel Core i7 920 parts, which looked genuine from the outside at first glance, but a closer look at some misspelled words on the box and the contents inside tells the real story.

The problem supposedly roots from the retailer's partnership with D&H Distributing, who issued 2,000 units to them -- 300 of which turned out to be bogus. The processor itself is actually a piece of metal with a real-looking heat spreader. The cooler looks like a solid piece of plastic with a sticker of a real Intel heatsink and fan on top, while the user manual is nothing but a few sheets of blank paper held together with a single staple.

Newegg has released a statement and an apology, saying they are aware of a shipping error of "demo boxes instead of functional units" and that their customer service team has already begun reaching out to the affected buyers. The statement doesn't clarify the purpose of these alleged "demo boxes" or how they slipped into stocks of real working processors without anyone noticing them -- seems like they are not being entirely forthcoming.

Furthermore, in a brief statement, Intel acknowledged the existence of the fake chip and said it was investigating, suggesting there is more to the story rather than just a mix-up of inventory. For its part, D&H Distributing is serving up several sites with cease and desist threats for reporting on the issue, demanding an immediate retraction and apology to make up for the "grave and irreparable damage" they have suffered as a result.

Permalink to story.

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

 

[TomSEA]

I would still buy from NewEgg in a heartbeat. Their customer service and pricing is tough to beat and this looks like a snafu from one of their distributors, nothing NewEgg did wrong.

 

[Vrmithrax]

Riiiiiiiight... Cease and desist reporting the truth, it's hurting our image. Just because we sent 400 bogus processors to Newegg to ship to customers, that doesn't mean people have to know about it, right?

Amazing how some companies do business, isn't it?

 

[Wagan8r]

Wow, I never would have thought Newegg could make such a mistake. I purchase nearly everything computer/electronics related from them. This won't change that, but it's a little disconcerting nonetheless. I hope they find out who's the culprit!

 

[JMMD]

I've been buying from Newegg since they opened. I'm not completely surprised by this but it won't change my buying from them.

 

[Vrmithrax]

This isn't necessarily Newegg's mistake. If you bought a lot of 2000 parts from a known vendor, those parts would sit on your shelves unopened until customers ordered them. You can't open and inspect the parts, many have tamper-tape sealing them to help identify returned vs. new merchandise (and prevent scamming product swappers).

So if the box looked right enough to not warrant closer inspection, you could easily miss some typos. And in a lot of 2000 units, it would be easy to lose 300 impostors.

 

[isamuelson]

I don't think this is NewEgg's fault. And, it seems like D&H is quick to send out cease and desist memos.

 

[compdata]

Little early to know where the issue resides as no one is being completely forthright. If no one will come out and explain exactly what happened then all the parties get to share some of the blame - Newegg for covering for their supplier instead of their customer and D&H for poor QA.

 

[fref]

Just how can such a thing happen?!? Both NewEgg and D&H are reputable companies, so I'm sure neither of them did that on purpose. Now, where in the chain did these fake processors come from? NewEgg orders from D&H, and D&H orders from... Intel themselves? Or some other even bigger distributor? In either case, I don't see how fake processors could have been slipped in. I hope we'll hear more about this!...

 

[Badfinger]

Having worked with hardware a long time, 1 person probably goofed and that's all there is to it.
It's a PR nightmare for sure!
I am a long time Newegg customer, 20+ orders, not one screw up of any kind.
I have NOT been compensated for this positive statement. (at this time, ;p)

 

[slh28]

I wonder if anybody tried to put this in their mobo and see if it would work

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Theres no way their trying to trick people into fake processors...?
Weird stuff, but seems irrelevant and will blow over soon enough due to Newegg's reputation.

 

[pipopaz]

Is hard to pinpoint the fault in here because of the long chain of distribution: Newegg orders from D&H, D&H orders from someone and that someone might order from china.

 

[captaincranky]

Eliminate the Middle Man....

Christ, isn't Newegg big enough to buy direct from Intel in the first place? Imagine how good the prices would be if we didn't have to pay some parasite for two-stepping the merchandise

 

[Guest]

Looks like someone either stole 300 or so processors and made fake boxes to replace the missing ones or a person could have wanted to hurt either companies reputation and put these in there to make somebody look bad.

Newegg has such good customer service that I have used for RMA's and they will always work with the customer to fix the issue so I don't see them trying to scam anyone with these fake processors.

 

[poertner_1274]

This is definitely an interesting read, but I don't see how this would tarnish Newegg's image at all.

I think it's funny how D&H has issued the cease and desist orders. They were the ones who provided the parts...

 

[TorturedChaos]

I just chuckled at this. I mean if I was waiting on a CPU and got one of these I would be PISSED, but I didn't so it just kinda amusing. Won't slow me down from ordering from newegg again at all.

 

[z71kris]

Vrmithrax said:
This isn't necessarily Newegg's mistake. If you bought a lot of 2000 parts from a known vendor, those parts would sit on your shelves unopened until customers ordered them. You can't open and inspect the parts, many have tamper-tape sealing them to help identify returned vs. new merchandise (and prevent scamming product swappers).

So if the box looked right enough to not warrant closer inspection, you could easily miss some typos. And in a lot of 2000 units, it would be easy to lose 300 impostors.

I completely agree, we order stuff all time in bulk, there would be noway until we started using something to tell if it was no good, or counterfeit...this will have bearing on me ordering from newegg again!

 

[klpowell]

I use to manage a retail computer store and used D&H as a supplier, in all the years I worked with them I found them extermly professional and they always shipped good products. I find it hard to believe that the problem here is D&H. NewEgg often imports their own products instead of using a middle man, they are big enough to be able to do this. They proably just made a bad business decision thinking they could get a good price and it bit them and now they are passing the buck. These large distribs. are not going to be buying from anyone who is not the manufactor.

 

[Puiu]

Newegg is still one of the biggest retailers on the web. With so many people buying from them i don't think they'll have any image problems because of something that wasn't their fault. I for one won't be afraid to buy from them.
I also use Newegg to search for user reviews for the products i want to buy.

 

[cyrusjumpjet]

This is terrible!
.... and also pretty funny. I can't imagine the look on some people's faces.
Obviously not really NewEgg's fault. Like everybody's saying, I'll still buy all my stuff from them.

 

[Relic]

Been using Newegg since 03/04 and don't plan on changing anytime soon. Mistakes happen especially to big companies, it's the way they react to it that's important and they seem to be doing the right thing by proactively contacting affected costumers. Where as D&H is sending journalists cease and desist letters...lol?

Anyway it is curious to see what really happened as Intel is calling them counterfeits but D&H says they are demo's.

 

[Wendig0]

"cease and desist threats for reporting on the issue, demanding an immediate retraction and apology to make up for the "grave and irreparable damage" they have suffered as a result"

Sorry D&H, but slander isn't slander when it is the truth. If someone at D&H wasn't trying to be slick and pass off phony processors in the first place, none of this would have happened and their reputation would still be intact.

I agree with everyone here that Newegg is not to blame. I will definitely continue doing business with them.

 

[SweetIT]

Accidents happen and even though unfortunate the company should not be criticized too severely for this mishap. Newegg is a great company. I shop there personally however I do wish that they would start accepting po's so that the college I work for can order from them! By them going ahead and working out a solution proves it was unintentional and that they will do whatever to make it right. They are leading by example and that is commendable

 

[thatguyandrew92]

I love newegg. I've had some bad parts before and newegg has RMAs ready so fast to replace my itmes.

<3 newegg