When buying gear online, new or used, are there simple checks to spot reproductions?
ASKED BY · Craig Macfarlane · BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS · 17 OCT 2026 · ▶ 00:49:04
Counterfeits are widespread for Shure, Neumann, and other brands; check serial numbers with authorized dealers, ask for receipts from authorized dealers, and verify registration; buy used gear from reputable dealers like Carisdale Cameras who test and warranty items; microphones are especially risky to buy secondhand.
Register equipment and check if serial numbers already exist in the system; contact known retailers with the serial number to verify purchase history and authenticity.
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48:32But you need to be careful when moving gear in totes alright, let's go to The next one did we get you mark? Mark? I just said the porter brace is an alternative to Pelican. All right. Craig McFarlane from Boston, Massachusetts. When buying gear online, new or used, are there simple checks to spot reproductions? This is really challenging. I have, or we as a company, we've had this challenge too.
49:04It's for certain products. Right now, there's a lot of counterfeit. I mentioned this earlier. There's a lot of counterfeit Shure products on the market, but there's also a lot of counterfeit Neumann products. In particular, we've seen counterfeit SM58s, SM7Bs. We've seen counterfeit Shure wireless products like the SLXD wireless line, which is very popular. We've also seen counterfeit Neumann TLM103s, which is one of the most popular studio condenser microphones that they sell.
49:30I've seen counterfeit a few other Neumann counterfeit mics as well. I think a Camus 105 and a few other ones that if unless you really know what to look for, you put them side by side. There are there are slight differences, like the color on the badge is slightly different. The screws that they use are different, but they've gotten visually very convincing.
49:55And I would be hesitant to buy certain types of products just because I know there's so many counterfeits. I'd be very hesitant to try to buy them privately unless someone could produce a receipt saying that they actually bought it from an authorized dealer. Because these products have serial numbers, so we can look up serial number sales history and find out where did this product actually come from.
50:18In fact, we take trade-ins. I won't even take a microphone from someone unless they actually bought it from us. We're not going to take a Shure or a Neumann microphone because it's too much risk. In fact, some people have gotten bit by this where they've actually purchased these products and then they find out later that they're actually counterfeit. And you kind of have to open up these products, sometimes get into them to really see some of the differences.
50:44So I'd be cautioning you when you do that. Buying used stuff, by the way, through an actual dealer is a way better place to get that stuff. So, you know, find whatever your local shop is, whether, you know, if you're looking for cameras. I try to buy something used from Carisdale Cameras because I know that they've actually tested these things. They've cleaned them up.
51:03They provide some kind of warranty even on a used item. So that's my recommendation. Go ahead. What do you think, Mark? So I think that we had, if I remember correctly, a shore rep on the show probably about a year, maybe two years ago. and she said that this was such an issue with them that they started putting serial numbers on the microphones.
51:27They had never done that before. So it would seem to me that one of the first things you'd want to do is see if you can register the equipment just so it may show up when you register that this product's already been registered or you know that that serial number is completely fake. Yeah, absolutely. And if that person can't reproduce the receipt,
51:50you know you can ask them where they bought it from and if they say they bought it from Sweetwater or they bought it from other dealers just call that company and give them the serial number and they'll be able to tell you right away just by looking up the data on that whether or not it was actually sold by them and then you'll be able to verify that it's a it's a real product
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