Counterfeit...

No, I haven't gone into the funny-money business.  A trip across the border will let you know that counterfeiting of all kinds of products is alive and well.  We make it a point to not buy counterfeit crap.

I recently ordered a phone mount for the Vespa... you know, so I can text and talk while riding.  Yeah, I am kidding.  BUT, it is nice to have the phone for the Waze app or Maps.  The parts for attaching the RAM Mount to the bike came from 3 different vendors through Amazon.

For the record, I always look at the reviews to get a feel for the product and the vendor.  This place had hundreds of good reviews and one that said, "This is a counterfeit product!"  With all the good reviews, I figured that one bad one was a crackpot.  Amazon fulfilled the order and I put the parts together on the Vespa... fits good, seems to work just like it is supposed to.  Except the RAM Mount emblem on the center of the X-Mount (the part that actually holds the phone) fell off.  It said Ram Mount on the plastic parts under the emblem.  I stuck the emblem back on a dozen times, and it fell off.  Not a big deal for the function of the unit, but it looks better with the emblem on there.  I contacted RAM Mounts to see if they could send me out another emblem (with better adhesive).

They wanted photos of the unit before doing any warranty work.  Seems reasonable, but this is strictly a cosmetic thing.  This morning, RAM Mount let me know that two of the three parts I ordered are, indeed, from them; but, the main part of it - the part that actually holds the phone - is a counterfeit.  Really?  Is it worth someone's time to counterfeit a $20 item??

I contacted Amazon (and did a review on the product, stating the fact that it is a counterfeit)... it isn't particularly easy to get through to a person, but they do have an on-line chat feature.  I explained what I found out and asked if I could get a real replacement.  They offered to refund my purchase price, told me to not take the trouble to send the item back, and to re-order from another of their vendors.  I asked, "Since this one said 'RAM Mounts' in the title, how do I know if the next one is genuine or not?"  I got a "We are constantly monitoring our vendors..." stock reply.

I have other RAM Mount stuff (for my mic stand and GPS mounting for car and boat).  This part looks like the others, but doesn't "open and close" as smooth.  But, it seems to function.  I will look for another X-Mount when we're out and about.

I admit, living in a small town, I like the convenience of Amazon.  Their price isn't always the cheapest, but they generally have what you are looking for.  And, with a Prime membership, we get it in 2 to 3 days... yeah, I know it is 2 days for the rest of the country, but are are at "the edge" of the country, so sometimes it is 3 days.  Up until now, we have gotten the real brand on things we've ordered.  I think.

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Totally unrelated...

Remember back in the early days of the internet, and when you pulled up AOL, you got the, "You've got mail!" announcement?  You're too young to remember that?  Why are you reading this blog you little whippersnapper?  Go text somebody.

I'm old enough that I remember Compuserve (yes, before AOL).  You didn't have a name, you had a number... 9 digit, if I am remembering correctly.  That was my first connection to the internet.  What?  Yes, I had to push dinosaurs off the computer to get to it.  Yes, the computers were steam powered back then, because electricity hadn't gotten to us, yet, back in the mid-west.  Cell phones weren't a thing.  I remember hooking an audio coupler to my first bag phone and being able to check weather before heading out in the plane.  What?  Yes, we had planes back then.

Today, e-mail is almost as old fashioned as talking on the phone.  I still get e-mail, but most of it is from places I've done business with or unsolicited offers of all kinds of things.  Still, it is less annoying than the robo-calls that now plague our cell phones (those used to be off-limits to the scammers).  But, today I got an e-mail that made me smile... money has been put in my account.  Not a scam, it is from the e-book distributor who handles "Cat On A Leash."  My second quarter sales.  It isn't going to move me up into a higher tax bracket, but I appreciate that years after writing the book, it still gets some sales.

It reminds me of Molly; makes me smile.  Which, of course, turns my thoughts to our sweet Isabella, which now gives me smiles and the occasional heart punch.  Sitting beside me right now is the always lovable Rufus.  When I talk to him, he nuzzles his head into my arm... and that really makes me smile.