Fake Nikon Gear Alert! D7000 MB-D11 Knockoff

A few months ago I purchased a Nikon D7000 and MB-D11 battery grip from Amazon.com. The order was fulfilled by ANATOLIAN BOOKSTORE, INC and two days ago I figured out that this grip is actually a fake. Check out the full post to see high res images from every angle of this grip.

Once I figured out that this grip was fake I started searching the internet and I found this exact grip WITHOUT Nikon branding on Amazon made by “Neewer”. This grip only costs $42.00 (which is quite a good deal). If you have been sold any fake gear, let us know in the comments below.

Youtube version:

September 13, 2011

Lee Morris

Gear

Anonymous

Yes, you’re right. I didn’t notice that the fake had Nikon branding but the other 3rd party one doesn’t.
Rich Heller

The real grip has metal in the base that you can clearly see, and is much much heavier. I had a fake from ebay, and the seller straightened it out and even paid to have it returned to China. Got a real one from Abe’s of Maine in NJ – they have the best price around.
http://www.facebook.com/mikarusso Mikhail Talnikov

Hello everybody! It is so pity to see Nikon’s goods so good faked!!!I have also seen an faked battery EN-EL3, it was realy identic like a real one, only the write NIKON was made with a little bit different font.
F@ckIng china’s workers….
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XMZBX4DEUYCX6D3N23RQSFG6BA Mack

We hope that only the MBD11not the unit.. thanks for sharing Lee..now i am aware of that.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Brian-Roberts/100002383707135 Brian Roberts

Fake Nikon batteries are another thing. Got cought. The answer is to weigh them and you’ll be surprised
http://www.facebook.com/RioFastRacer Che Ibarra

Amazon gave me my money back on that fake grip that I paid full $220. I miss the grip alot on my D7000 though. I can not seem to find the REAL grip though…Adorma and BH dont have it in stock. Anyone know where I can order the real on? Is Cameta Camera a reputable dealer? Thanks guys.
Robert V

Amazon will refund that item if it is fake. Call them.
http://arenacreative.com/ ArenaCreative.com Stock Photos

The bootleggers are getting way too crafty nowadays…
http://twitter.com/wearesoia kevin mayfield

China doesnt enforce any kind of regulation for copyright infringement. They do the same knock offs in all industries. They are making fake gibson les pauls and selling them as gibson USA models for $300 bucks instead of $1500. They come with warranty cards and everything. Bottom line, if it looks to good to be true then it is. If it ships from china and is ridiculously cheap then it is fake. I dont trust any ebay seller that ships from china, bootlegging is rampant there.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=15613146 Scott Henderson

Exactly… just ask Nikon’s facebook team!
http://www.facebook.com/blinkofani Rich Kim

you should call amazon and report them.
amazon is VERY VERY VERY good about their A to Z buyer’s protection policy and they don’t tolerate fakes…
sorry you had to deal with this bullshit!
http://twitter.com/GokhanCukurova GOKHAN CUKUROVA

how come you need to change batteries before the bride is walking down the isle. either need new/ fresh batteries so you don’t run out that quick or you go without fully charging??? You tell us which…
Anonymous

I bought the Neewer grip for my new D7000 also. It was not a Nikon labeling. After using it for just 4 days, it failed. Shutter release and AEL buttons worked, but not primary or secondary wheels, and it did not recognize the 2nd battery. I have shipped it back, and they will be sending me a new one.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Lindsey-Bryant/9213879 Lindsey Bryant

This just happened to me! I hate that I’m now “sucker.” How did you manage to get your money back from Ebay, AND keep the knock-off mb-d11? I’m having trouble doing just that. Any advice is appreciated :)
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=526925996 Kris Vaugier

They have serial numbers on them… and any camera retailer will check this. The scam you speak of is decades old and retailers have long grown smart to this. Even Walmart!
cy sawyer

Same here, i just re-sold it and bought a real one from Henry’s Camera here in town.

Lesson learned.
Jin Xiong Kwong

Found the factory in ShenZhen, China…. one of the Nikon OEM battery, battery grip factory manufacturing it, they got the blueprint, mold and same materials but they listed it as A grade fake battery grip…. selling at RMB270…. I think Neewer is just taking the fake stocks directly from China and sold it as REAL…
Jin Xiong Kwong

Found the factory in ShenZhen, China…. one of the Nikon OEM battery, battery grip factory manufacturing it, they got the blueprint, mold and same materials but they listed it as A grade fake battery grip…. selling at RMB270…. I think Neewer is just taking the fake stocks directly from China and sold it as REAL…
Jin Xiong Kwong

Found the factory in ShenZhen, China…. one of the Nikon OEM battery, battery grip factory manufacturing it, they got the blueprint, mold and same materials but they listed it as A grade fake battery grip…. selling at RMB270…. I think Neewer is just taking the fake stocks directly from China and sold it as REAL…
Anonymous

Just had same experience with a MC-30 remote cable. Old one from Japan and BH lasted 2+ yrs. Amazon one is stamped ‘China” and lasted less than a day.
Wolfie Wolfie

I purchased an off brand one and it looks identical to the one here. It, however, is not branded as a Nikon product though. It was clearly not a Nikon product and the ebay seller didn’t represent it as being a Nikon product, only that it fit a Nikon camera. There are plenty of off brand grips and I am ok with those. The ones I am not happy with are these that pretend to be a legit brand product when they are not.
http://www.facebook.com/Andrephillipdenaro Andre Phillip

LETS BE REAL HERE, DO YOU REALLY WANT TO RISK DESTROYING YOUR $1200.00 PIECE OF EQUIPMENT BECAUSE YOU WERE TOOOOO CHEAP TO BUY THE REAL THING!!!!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Gabriel-Carriere/559335723 Gabriel Carriere

Well I had 4 DSLR’s and I used the china battery packs on all of them without issues..Even if they are cheaper. Battery packs cost around 2 to 5$ each to make. So if Nikon sells them for 600$ well… you can sure bet i won’t encourage them to make 595$ dollar profit on them.

There is markup and MARKUP. It’s not becase you pay more for something that they should charge you more for accessories..
Al Ursales

I just won one on ebay for $92. Before I placed any bids, I asked the seller if they were OEM Nikon Brand MB-D11. I asked the seller twice to tell me the truth before we waste our time and I leave him with negative comments. He told me not to worry about it and that it is indeed 100% OEM. Now it is being shipped…from China…I should have read the negative comments first (98.5% positive) because lo and behold, 1 guy got the exact same item I bought and left a comment saying it was fake. I can only hope that one dissatisfied buyer was lying.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=578662407 TheGary Clark

After watching the videos on real vs fake, I ventured over to ebay to look for a vertical grip for my 5D Mark II. No one was selling grips branded as Canon just $36.99 grips that work on the Canon 5D Mark II’s. I could have paid Canon’s $250 price but I decided to pay the guy in Hoboken $36.99 with free 2 day shipping. All Steve Martin once needed was a simple ‘Blue Spot’ and all I needed was a simple vertical shutter button.
http://www.bertmclendon.com Bert McLendon

Beware of the “Bookstores” selling electronics and software especially in NY. I bought a copy of photoshop (with the gut feeling that it was a crack) from a “bookstore” and of course it was a crack. Luckily I got refunded all of my money via Ebay. Anyway, I’ve seen a ton of these “bookstores” selling knockoffs from software to electronics, it’s a front for black market warez.
Walter Sanchez

How do I get to see the High-Res images?
Jeff Miller

I’m sitting here trying to decide if I have a fake or not.

I bought from Amazon. As near as I can tell, the order was fulfilled directly by Amazon.com (how can I tell if it was fulfilled by someone else? My order status says “Sold by: Amazon.com LLC” Is that definitive?)

Here’s what I have:

The rubber is clearly not a match for the camera. The rubber on the grip is stickier and has more of a matte finish and isn’t as pure black as the camera. But looking closely at the photos on Amazon, what I got looks like the photos.

BUT…the dials operate correctly. AND the mounting wheel is solid, unlike the floppy one in the video. Since I only have one, I can’t test to see if the battery tray fits correctly across units.

I followed the video to this page hoping to see some high-resolution images. As it stands, I can’t tell one way or another.
Jeff Miller

Wanted to circle back to this.

I found this web page from Nikon Europe: https://nikoneurope-en.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/49662/~/beware-of-counterfeit-accessories-for-nikon-digital-cameras

It has a bunch of detailed photos of real grips v fake.

Based on those photos, as well as discussions with other MB-D11 owners, I am satisfied that mine is genuine Nikon.

BUT…the rubber is not an exact match to the camera! My conclusion is that you can not determine the authenticity of a grip exclusively by the rubber. Apparently somewhere along the line the camera factory in Thailand and the grip factory in China diverged in terms of their rubber suppliers.
AleksejsPolakovs

Can’t find high res photos in this article, neither in any links provided. Are they still acceptable?

Thanks.