Tamron targets counterfeit lenses with new warning for customers

Fakes are rife in the worlds of photography and video. Typically, it’s things like memory cards and batteries. Sometimes, though, it’s something a little more expensive, like lenses. Tamron has been a victim of such fraudsters, and now Tamron China has issued a warning.

The company says that their service department has started to receive a number of fake “Tamron” lenses in China. While the warning does appear to be primarily targeted towards Chinese purchasers, we know how easy it is for these sellers to target the rest of the world.

Tamron warns against fake lenses

The statement issued by Tamron specifically calls out products sold in China. But with platforms like eBay, AliExpress and potentially even Amazon, it’s not difficult to see these leaving China and being sold to customers in the rest of the world.

These customers will be in for a shock when it arrives and doesn’t offer the level of quality Tamron wants people to have with their lenses. They’ll be in for even more of a shock when they send it in for repair, and Tamron tells them it’s fake and they’re not going to fix it.

Here’s the company’s (Google-translated) statement in full.

A solemn statement on the appearance of multiple batches of counterfeit Tamron lens packaging on the market

Dear Tamron product consumers and Tamron dealers:

Since the Tamron brand and products entered the Chinese market, the company has always regarded the protection and protection of consumers’ legitimate personal rights and interests as the company’s long-term work focus.

Recently, our after-sales service department has found that some consumers purchased products with fake packaging (not mainland China), parallel imports disguised as mainland China products, and second-hand refurbished products disguised as mainland China new products in the process of serving consumers.

These unscrupulous merchants have greatly damaged the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, and have also caused serious adverse effects on the reputation of our brand. In this regard, our company will continue to work with relevant departments to crack down on various illegal acts that infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of Tamron consumers in accordance with the law.

In order to better protect the rights and interests of consumers, our company recommends that consumers purchase from sellers recognized by our company. For the recognized dealers, please refer to the list on our official website or call 400-610-5688 for inquiries; now attached are the records of some of the unscrupulous merchants purchased by the victimized consumers and the comparison chart of the real and fake packaging boxes for identification.

In order to help buyers find legitimate products, Tamron has released images showing some of the tell-tale signs of the fakes they’ve received. These include the fonts on the logos and stickers, as well as the overall print quality on the lens items themselves.

You can avoid these fakes by buying from authorised dealers, but even legitimate sellers can be caught out with fakes sometimes. But if you are in the market for a Tamron lens, regardless of where you buy it or who you buy it from, now you should be able to spot the fakes a little more easily.

[via Photo Rumors]