Wow... Counterfeit bearings are a thing?

[guysmiley]

I know this has been touched on and covered already. I am pretty wet behind the ears I guess but when I sourced bearings for my budget rebuild I got a couple from different sellers on eBay. One looked older but high quality SKF from Italy. The other just looked off. On a hunch I searched and found that counterfeit bearings is a huge business and rampant on sites like eBay. Chinese junk. I emailed pictures to SKF directly and found I was indeed right and am glad I did not spend all the time tearing down the saw only to put a low quality bearing in.

Just posting to remind folks who do have the deepest pockets to always go through a reputable dealer and cross fingers with NOS items on auction sites like myself. Here is a picture of the box that my "Made in Italy" bearing came in... Be careful out there!

 

[TLG]

I'm not sure why you say this is a counterfeit SKF. It is a standard 6303 bearing. You should be using a C3 fitment clearance bearing in a chainsaw. This designates proper running clearances in this application. It will be stenciled in the race besides the part number. SKF does have manufacturing in Italy. They can be bought in C2 to C4 fitments. Hope this helps you out

 

[pioneerguy600]

Always read what is etched on the bearing races before application, it will tell who the manufacturer is and the bearing sizes plus fitment. The China made bearings seldom have all the info etched into the outer race.

 

[guysmiley]

I'm not sure why you say this is a counterfeit SKF. It is a standard 6303 bearing. You should be using a C3 fitment clearance bearing in a chainsaw. This designates proper running clearances in this application. It will be stenciled in the race besides the part number. SKF does have manufacturing in Italy. They can be bought in C2 to C4 fitments. Hope this helps you out

SKF has an email that you can reach out to directly and provide pictures where they will evaluate and respond whether or not your product is genuine. They also have an app for this purpose. Even though the bearing I received had the etched markings it was notably lesser quality than the other "made in Italy" skf I ordered from a different source.


SKF made a determination that one of my bearings was counterfeit. They also identified the other as genuine but past it's shelf life warranting closer inspection before use.


Just because the bearing comes in the right box and has the etched dimensions does not mean it is legit. I will attach the reply sent from SKF if it helps.

 

[HansFranz]

Seems like bearings -- like house paint or roof shingles -- should be about the last thing one should try to save money on, considering that 99% of the expense of replacing them is labor, not parts/materials... but I have done similar, and paid the price, more than once...thanks for the head's up.

 

[tomsteve]

its not only bearing that are counterfeited. chinese companies doesn't care about trademarks, copyrights, or patents.