Counterfeit strings?

Hmmm, very strange.

http://slippedisc.com/2018/02/fraud-alert-fake-strings-are-being-sold-on-amazon/

Wow, this is quite bizarre.
Now I have to re-think all the inexpensive D'addario strings, etc I've bought on eBay in the past.
Were they real or fake? It'll be hard to know.

They all sounded and felt genuine though.

I don't think that is a new thing and I don't think it is just D'addario strings . I've been hearing warnings about counterfeit strings for a few years. Aquila even has a guide to help you identify counterfeit Aquilas.

https://aquilacorde.com/wp-content/uploads/counterfeit_aquila_strings.pdf

The message here is buy from a reputable source.
You know the old saying “If it sounds too good to be true”.

SailingUke said:

The message here is buy from a reputable source.
You know the old saying “If it sounds too good to be true”.

Click to expand...

Yes, using a reputable shop is important. While everyone likes a bargain, there is a lot of fake stuff on ebay and amazon. In the music field there are bogus instruments, strings, reeds, etc. Often you can spend more in the long run, as the saying goes "good money after bad".

What I fear is that if the counterfeits aren't obvious to the buyers, a "reputable" store with high ratings and low prices could be getting away with a bit of highway robbery

Rllink said:

I don't think that is a new thing and I don't think it is just D'addario strings . I've been hearing warnings about counterfeit strings for a few years. Aquila even has a guide to help you identify counterfeit Aquilas.

https://aquilacorde.com/wp-content/uploads/counterfeit_aquila_strings.pdf

Click to expand...

Thanks for the link which I have checked out. I did indeed buy some strings off of eBay that looked identical to the fakes shown on Aquila’s website. IIRC they didn’t perform well and I decided not to purchase that way again - but not before buying another ‘bargain’ packet which may or may not work as emergency spares. My confidence in the Aquila brand was shaken but I later purchased a properly packaged set of Aquila strings and found them to work well, as expected. They too were purchased off of eBay, but not from China, and I feel more confidence in the U.K. supply chain.

If I understand properly fake Aquila strings are still for sale on eBay. In less than a minute I found some for £1 delivered from China, Aquila wasn’t in the listing tittle but it was in all the pictures and they look just like my spare set of presumed fakes. In another listing Aquila was in the listing tittle and they were £4 or best offer. The buyer, me for example, just thinks that they are purchasing a surplus no frills pack that was previously supplied and packaged for factory floor use - if frills cost money then most of us are happy to loose them and save the money, well provided the product is genuine.

I do wonder what is actually fitted to Ukes that come with an Aquila Strings label, from China it could be anything and I don’t doubt that some honest Chinese companies and individuals are taken in as well.