Allied Electronics & Automation, in collaboration with the experts at Banner Engineering, explored the dangers of purchasing “verified substitute” products through unauthorized.
While refurbished and counterfeit products present substantial financial and physical risks to customers in their own right, “verified substitute” products represent a relatively new variation on this theme. Instead of being marketed as authentic products, these products are presented to buyers as cheaper but viable alternatives that are built to the exact specifications of another product, often down to the serial number. Despite the term, these products are not verified in any capacity by the manufacturer responsible for the original design.
“The appeal of these substitutes is easy to understand due to significantly reduced prices,” says Jim Hanson, digital channel manager at Banner, “but in our experience, their customers are not properly educated in what they are buying or not buying. There is no guarantee that these products do what they claim, and buyers do not have the security of Banner’s 12-month limited warranty or rigorous certification process.”
Although the legality of the practice of offering such alternatives is still under review, Banner is wasting no time in taking action to try to bring awareness of these products to as many customers as possible before they experience malfunctions, costly downtime, or worse.
“This is a trend that we have to stay ahead of,” says Tytus VanMatre, global marketing director at Banner. “We want our customers to know what they are getting into and that Banner and our authorized partners are always available if they have any questions or concerns about what they are buying. These resources alone are worth any price discrepancies between our products and cheap knockoffs. We are honored to work with Allied to bring this issue to the forefront of the global conversation.”
As an authorized distributor of Banner Engineering products and solutions, Allied helps engineers, purchasers, maintainers, fleet and facility managers, and inventors build, maintain, and renew their machinery and technology. Additionally, Allied stocks a full range of industrial equipment products and components, as well as offers expert advice on industrial control technology and other design and manufacturing topics.
