duplicate products on eCommerce sites like Flipkart, Amazon, snapdeal, etc

Guys, I dint put this under online shopping as I wish to discuss this and get a solution or suggestion.

I bought a Puma shoes from Amazon couple of days back and it was delivered today. This is what I ordered.

When I opened the box, I realized it was a duplicate product as the finish, fitting and overall looks easily prove it to be duplicate. I have raised a replacement already.

I checked a lot of websites like flipkart, snapdeal, etc and all are filled with such fake/duplicate Puma, Reebok, Fila, adidas shoes. I also tried to search for original India websites of some of these brands and hit 2 identical websites of Adidas and Reebok.

adidas Official Shop | adidas and Reebok Official Shop | Reebok they use exactly the same theme, web layout and are run by the same company "adi Sports (India) Pvt. Ltd." (check the website footer). Looks like Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Fila, etc doesn't have official online stores in India.

This one looks to be genuine though: Buy Sports T-Shirts,Running Shoes,Shorts,Jackets and Accessories Online India - in.puma.co

Have you guys faced this problem ?? where do you guys usually shop from for such stuff?? What do you guys suggest ? I need a genuine and decent shoes for about 2K which will last for some time (I bought sparx shoes from their official site and it lasted for 3 years)

(btw, a friend recently got some bare denim tshirts for 200 bucks from amazon and im sure they were fakes as i have used bare denims earlier and I know the quality.)

Never had duplicates from flipkart or amazon but I ordered a Transcend 4 GB DDR3 RAM from snapdeal and i found it was a duplicate piece.. Immediately I got BSODs and had to return them.
Similar case was with Xbox 360 Controller.. I got a duplicate xbox controller despite paying Rs 2300 for original controller.. Duplicate 360 controllers are available in ebay for Rs 1100.

Did you check the seller's rep before buying? Which seller was it?

i ordered Puma shorts worth 499 from PayTM.
i received a Pima bermuda made by some nameless company.
raised a ticket for return and money back with screenshots and pictures of the shorts.
received a callback and bashed the customer rep left and right for the poor QC.

Now i only use PayTM for mobile recharge and topup, that too, very sparingly.

chimera201 said:
Did you check the seller's rep before buying? Which seller was it?

A2Z ALPHA was seller. and he has good rep. I dont know if the people realise but I am definite the product is duplicate/1st copy. Infact I checked with a couple of friends too, who too suggested I replace this. Here's some pics. Its difficult to make out, but if you are used to branded stuff you can feel the difference in material, stitching, comfort, etc.

*forum.digit.in/attachment.php?attachmentid=16444&d=1471065795

*forum.digit.in/attachment.php?attachmentid=16445&d=1471065813

*forum.digit.in/attachment.php?attachmentid=16446&d=1471066167

Reebok is a subsidary of Adidas so basically reebok comoany is owned by adidas so both of the website have same site layout.

Many products are sold for low or same rates but products are duplicate.
Get refund from a on / Flipkart etc.
A friend got duplicate shoes from Amazon. He got money back.

Beware !
Batteries also are duplicate on many websites for Camera / Mobiles etc.

101gamzer said:
Reebok is a subsidary of Adidas so basically reebok comoany is owned by adidas so both of the website have same site layout.

Thanks, that answers one of my question. Also a whois on both india domain shows they are owned by Adidas group.

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satinder said:
Many products are sold for low or same rates but products are duplicate.
Get refund from a on / Flipkart etc.
A friend got duplicate shoes from Amazon. He got money back.

Beware !
Batteries also are duplicate on many websites for Camera / Mobiles etc.

Now can somebody advise if these could be genuine

???

adidas Official Shop | adidas and Reebok Official Shop | Reebok

I searched for Puma "Storm" Shoes on official Puma store and on amazon.com(US) and got nothing. That itself should say it's fake. Always check the exact naming scheme and then compare pics with official sources. The price was also low for such a brand. Usually the cheapest will still be higher than Rs. 2K. Puma Ignite is a 9k shoe when I was shopping some months ago.

desai_amogh said:
A2Z ALPHA was seller. and he has good rep. I dont know if the people realise but I am definite the product is duplicate/1st copy. Infact I checked with a couple of friends too, who too suggested I replace this. Here's some pics. Its difficult to make out, but if you are used to branded stuff you can feel the difference in material, stitching, comfort, etc.

View attachment 16444
*forum.digit.in/attachment.php?attachmentid=16444&d=1471065795

View attachment 16445
*forum.digit.in/attachment.php?attachmentid=16445&d=1471065813

View attachment 16446
*forum.digit.in/attachment.php?attachmentid=16446&d=1471066167

WTF

I have the exact same shoe.. sold by the same A2Z Alpha..

I even wrote a review..

All in all, a good shoe at the price point.

I bought it for 1800INR during a lightning deal. Its perfectly well placed at that price point.
I have been using it for the past 1.5 months, regularly, for office and gym use.
It is moderately light weight, has good ventilation and fits well. The materials used are awesome.
However, the fitting could be better. the curvature of the material on the inside of the big toe is not up to the mark and bends awkwardly.

I use it mainly for working out and running, and it serves very well for that purpose. It has a very good grip on road, tiles.
Before buying, make sure that you have the proper size selected. Proper size shoe is the primary point for comfort.

EDIT: the original box pack has a price of 3999INR. This shoe is NOT at all worth that much. This made me wonder whether the bloated MRP is a business tactic to attract more buyers. The company would have a high MRP on the product and then apply "discounts" to make the customer feel like he getting a premium product at a very very low price. Its just not logical that someone can sell a 4000INR product at 2200INR normally, and at even lower prices during deals...

Please let me know how you are following up with Amazon..

How much did you pay for the Puma shoes

anirbandd said:
WTF

I have the exact same shoe.. sold by the same A2Z Alpha..

I even wrote a review..

All in all, a good shoe at the price point.

I bought it for 1800INR during a lightning deal. Its perfectly well placed at that price point.
I have been using it for the past 1.5 months, regularly, for office and gym use.
It is moderately light weight, has good ventilation and fits well. The materials used are awesome.
However, the fitting could be better. the curvature of the material on the inside of the big toe is not up to the mark and bends awkwardly.

I use it mainly for working out and running, and it serves very well for that purpose. It has a very good grip on road, tiles.
Before buying, make sure that you have the proper size selected. Proper size shoe is the primary point for comfort.

EDIT: the original box pack has a price of 3999INR. This shoe is NOT at all worth that much. This made me wonder whether the bloated MRP is a business tactic to attract more buyers. The company would have a high MRP on the product and then apply "discounts" to make the customer feel like he getting a premium product at a very very low price. Its just not logical that someone can sell a 4000INR product at 2200INR normally, and at even lower prices during deals...

Please let me know how you are following up with Amazon..

Amazon took it back few hours ago and gave me refund just now. i bought it for Rs. 1504/- btw.. and yes the toe thing was awkwardly fitting for me too. i never liked it from the time i took it out of the box. pretty saddened by the whole purchase

I put a lot of time usually reviewing stuff befor i buy something and it was a utter waste this time.

desai_amogh said:
Thanks, that answers one of my question. Also a whois on both india domain shows they are owned by Adidas group.

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Now can somebody advise if these could be genuine ???

adidas Official Shop | adidas and Reebok Official Shop | Reebok

Yes those are official sites of adidas and puma.I think all the items sold there are genuine.

desai_amogh said:
Amazon took it back few hours ago and gave me refund just now. i bought it for Rs. 1504/- btw.. and yes the toe thing was awkwardly fitting for me too. i never liked it from the time i took it out of the box. pretty saddened by the whole purchase

I put a lot of time usually reviewing stuff befor i buy something and it was a utter waste this time.

so did you tell them that it was a fake or something in the lines of that?

Pics are always real on website.
Product delivered can be manipulated.
No one can tell that product is genuine or not till it reaches in hand.
Better buy with take back guarantee program only.

anirbandd said:
so did you tell them that it was a fake or something in the lines of that?

I returned it as too small for fitting. However have posted it as a duplicate product in the reviews with pictures as in the 1st post, also gave a reference to official India, EU and US Puma websites citing no "Storm" model listed anywhere. My review has not made it to the website yet. My refund was initiated on 13th Aug, but haven't received it in the account yet. Returned product also shows as "in Transit" for now. Ill post back when I get a refund and if at all my review shows up on their site.

In the meantime I ordered a Black Expedite Shoe from in.puma.com for Rs 1946 (Rs 2289 + 15% joining discount on website

). Im at least this time pretty confident of getting a genuine product. will post back about that too.

Update: My review just got approved and showing up on their site here.

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Update: Amount was credited to my account last evening.