Mitutoyo Fakes
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So, about a year a go I ordered a Mitutoyo 8" (500-197-30) off of Amazon. It was from a 3rd party seller, but fulfilled by Amazon, so I thought that I would be safe. I found out via email this morning that I have a fake.
I started having problems with the caliper a few months ago and have just been dealing with it. It started not always going exactly back to zero each time it was closed. It was close, but not exact. A few days ago I saw an article on fakes and sent pics of mine to Mitutoyo. They sent this back.
A Genuine Mitutoyo Does:
- Arrive with empty battery compartment
2. Arrive with a true SR44 Battery (not LR44) in the blister pack (mine has a SR44 blister pack with an LR44 battery in it) - Have only clean, workmanlike, flux-free solder connections visible inside the battery compartment
- Enclose an inspection certificate with the serial number matching the label on the back
- have a crisply printed, properly centered label, with a readable QR code patch, and a lowercase "a" in the word "Pat."
- enclose a foldout owners manual sheet printed on thin (air mail type) paper, neatly machine folded
- have display digits that are 0.32" (8mm) high
8. display four digits to the right of the decimal while in inch mode
9. delay resetting the "origin" until the recessed button has been held down for a full second - NEVER give an erroneous reading, irrespective of how fast the head is moved
- Slide smoothly from the beginning, with no cleaning or exercise required
- have no visible burrs, mill digs, or grinding marks on inside corners or non-bearing faces (e.g. reliefs at the base of the jaws)
- have a centered, perpendicular and evenly riveted slide stops front and rear
- have a stop plate rivet heads about 0.10" finish diameter on both sides
- ** have a 0.47" x 0.38" rear stop plate**, asymmetrically placed so the maximum opening is just over 6.05" (longer for the 8" model)
- have a smooth, flat and uniformly recessed plastic scale cover, with no end projection beyond the scale stop
- have a 0.270" OD knurled lock knob, with a smooth-turned end section relieved to 0.230" OD x 0.032" long
My caliper violates several of these (bold ones). It is a very good copy and most that get them will never know they are fakes. I wouldn't have without some poking around. They are still better calipers than the Lyman and harbor freight I had been using...but have not held up to periodic use that I have submitted them to.
The good news is that Amazon has pretty good customer service. I have had these just less than a year (one year on March 24). They were bought from 3rd party and fulfilled by Amazon. Amazon refunded 80% of the purchase price. I turned around and ordered another set directly from amazon. If they are not correct I will return them immediately.
My Fake Calipers
Legit Pics from Mitutoyo
- Arrive with empty battery compartment
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Interesting.
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Yeah, there's all kinds of "fake" stuff being sold on Amazon and one needs to be really careful about what they buy to get what they think they're getting.
The same kind of thing happens even with lesser quality calipers as there are some that are pretty decent for under $100. For example, I have one that does quite well (not as good as Mitutoyo's, but good enough), which is an IP54 that's distributed under an number of names. The good one's are constructed a particular way and the "fake" ones offered at cheaper prices have quality flaws and build differences that one can see to recognize them as such. And like "Mitutoyo Fakes", those selling the fakes use pictures of the real stuff to hide what you're really getting. So, as always, it's . . . buyer be aware when buying on Amazon or any of the likes of it.
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Thank goodness... mine is legit.
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well mine appear to fake as well, that's unfortunate.
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https://www.amazon.com/Brown-Sharpe-Vernier-Stainless-Measurements/dp/B009UX5472
Old school, Swiss made, and believe it or not, less errors overall.
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Would it be possible to see a couple more photos of your fake ones, if you have them?
Thanks
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If you bought a counterfeit item from Amazon, you should both notify Amazon that this occurred and demand a refund. I be that if you make enough noise you will get some results.
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Mine were from 3rd party and fulfilled through amazon. Amazon made up 80% ($119 of $148). If it were actually sold by amazon I have no doubt that they would make it up. My next set is on the way and is directly from amazon.
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@tackyp said:
Would it be possible to see a couple more photos of your fake ones, if you have them?
Thanks
I can post more pics, but most of the differences are hard to distinguishing from pictures. Biggest visible differences are the fourth digit readout and the battery.
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@rhyno said:
well mine appear to fake as well, that's unfortunate.
I hate that for you. I feel violated. I am not tricked by fakes very often...but they got me this time.
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I’ll be contacting mitutoyo.
I had a feeling they might be fake for awhile, but I haven’t done much shooting or reloading so I didn’t do much. But I swear I “registered” them with mitutoyo and everything was good, not that that means a whole lot.
The case appears to be quite a bit different from what I’ve seen on other mitutoyos as well.
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@dddoo7 said:
Mine were from 3rd party and fulfilled through amazon. Amazon made up 80% ($119 of $148). If it were actually sold by amazon I have no doubt that they would make it up. My next set is on the way and is directly from amazon.
So they at least gave you 80% credit?
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For those curious, the smaller 4th digit is a dead giveaway. I have had digital Mitutoyo's since they very first came out about 30 years ago. None of the legitimate ones that I recall seeing ever had that smaller 4th digit.
Also, pay attention to the placement of the "Absolute" on the front. On both my coolant-proof ones and the regular ones I also have and ddd007 pictured, the "Absolute" is on the battery cover. The fakes have it on teh case above the cover.
Fake ones on Ebay. These don't even have a 4th digit. And the "Absolute" is not on the cover.
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Any update @dddoo7 ? We’re the new ones fake as well?
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New ones are good to go. I ordered them directly from Amazon...not just "fulfilled by" Amazon. There is a difference between the two and after using the real ones I could probably tell a fake by feel...however with these being my first set of "nice" calipers I didn't know the difference until I had the real ones. The fake ones are still better than the $20 Lyman set or the Harbor Freight digital that I have...but they are not worthy of the $150 that I paid for them.
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Greg you sent a link for the genuine Mitotoyo caliper that you recommend somewhere in a post. I thought I had ordered it but apparently I had not. I couldn't locate the link via searches. Can you resend the link. Don't want to get stuck with a fake.
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