# Is this Mitutoyo caliper for real?



## extropic (Mar 9, 2021)

Mitutoyo 500-196-30

The price is about 1/3 of the price on Amazon.
The seller has 10 feedback and the listing says 126 sold. What??
Seller has 3 eBay listings (all Mitutoyo calipers).

This has to be counterfeit goods, right? Or, am I paranoid?

Edit: I just noticed the listing headline reads 500-196-20/30. Dash 30 is the current model. I suppose it's possible he has purchased a pile of old stock -20s at a very low cost and is selling them cheap. Too good to be true?

Edit 2: I found THIS video and read one article he linked. I'm convinced the eBay listing is counterfeit.
HERE is another eBay listing for $0.10 lower item price, direct from China.


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## Dabbler (Mar 9, 2021)

counterfeit.


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## jbobb1 (Mar 9, 2021)

If it looks too good to be true, it is too good to be true.
Steer clear.


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## graham-xrf (Mar 9, 2021)

The quality of the pictures is a bit blurred. The price asked is probably wrong because..
.. even to Mitutoyo in a China mass production operation, there is not enough margin. 

It looks too good to be true - so it likely is.
Counterfeit!


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## Janderso (Mar 9, 2021)

I agree, BS


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## RJSakowski (Mar 9, 2021)

There have been numerous posts and articles about counterfeit Mitutoyo calipers.  Some of them were obvious as in misspelling Mitutoyo or different font but others were so subtle that you had to take the calipers apart to see a difference.  It got so bad that tool vendors were buying what they thought were genuine calipers and selling at normal prices.  Customers were advised to buy only from tool suppliers like MSC whoi buy directly from Mitutoyo to insure getting a genuine article.


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## Dabbler (Mar 9, 2021)

@RJSakowski we have that same problem here in Canada.  The provisioning chain is getting polluted with fakes - not many, but enough.  I just ordered a Mit from KBC Canada, and I know they are an authorized dealer, getting their stock directly from Mit Canada.


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## RJSakowski (Mar 9, 2021)

I have run into numerous scam ads on one of the social media sites.  The ads are selling snake oil or knockoffs of legitimate products for ridiculous prices.  Stihl has been one victim in the recent months.  In another case, the scam artist was selling a product before it had even been released by the manufacturer.  Reporting scam ads to the website moderators gets no response.

If I see a product being advertised at an unbelievable price, I will attempt to find to original manufacturer and verify the pricing.  Recently my wife is shopping for a greenhouse and an ad came up on a social media site for one at a very low price. As it turned out, it was a brand that I had looked at in the past and I checked with their authorized distributor and the offered price was less than 20% of the MSRP.  I backed away very quickly.  Again, reporting the ad resulted in no response.


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## projectnut (Mar 9, 2021)

It's almost certainly a fake.  They are using the same pictures as Travers Tools, but not the exact part number.  Travers has the part number 500-196-*30*.  The one on eBay has a part number 500-196-*20/30.  *The asking price on the Travers site is $160.99.

I bought this one from Travers last year for $156.00.  Prices are going up not down.









						MITUTOYO 500-752-20 0 - 6
					

Designed To Perform In The Harshest ConditionsTake Digital Measurements Where You Couldn't Before Without Compromising Accuracy Or SpeedTough work settings call for tough digital calipers like these. The sealed housing is rated IP67, which means it is impervious to coolant, water, dust and oil...




					www.travers.com


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## brino (Mar 9, 2021)

I see this now:







Perhaps someone reporting it did help?

-brino


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## extropic (Mar 9, 2021)

brino said:


> I see this now:
> View attachment 358644
> 
> 
> ...




Perhaps the scammer reads H-M and saw he was becoming infamous?

I prefer to imagine a building fell on him.


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## martik777 (Mar 9, 2021)

I've had these for years - just as good as the Mitu's IMO, no issues at all, CR2032 battery lasts over 1 year:









						iGAGING IP54 Electronic Digital Caliper 0-6" Display Inch/Metric/Fractions Black  | eBay
					

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for iGAGING IP54 Electronic Digital Caliper 0-6" Display Inch/Metric/Fractions Black at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!



					www.ebay.com
				




There is an Absolute origin version but the EZcal have always returned to zero for me:









						iGaging Electronic Caliper ABSOLUTE ORIGIN 6" Digital IP54 Extreme Accuracy  | eBay
					

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for iGaging Electronic Caliper ABSOLUTE ORIGIN 6" Digital IP54 Extreme Accuracy at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!



					www.ebay.com


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## GunsOfNavarone (Mar 9, 2021)

I bought one. It was guaranteed to be real. Got it and though it is an awesome copy...it was a copy. Sent it back and it went to some old lady's house that had no idea what it was. She sent it back to me and I got my money back. I'm not complaining for free. Its very good and I don't mind scribing with it and treating it like, well a cheap caliper. If you can pick one up for 20 ish dollars, it's better than ANY cheap caliper I've bought.


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## keeena (Mar 10, 2021)

martik777 said:


> I've had these for years - just as good as the Mitu's IMO, no issues at all, CR2032 battery lasts over 1 year:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I bought an iGaging OriginCal Absolute that I leave in my home office. While not as nice as Mitutoyo, it is pretty smooth and just as accurate/repeatable. The fractional readout option is neat for quick/dirty stuff (goes down to 128ths). I definitely think it was worth the ~$50 shipped. The IP rating is the only drawback (IP54)

This is the exact one I have: Amazon link


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## Tankueray (Mar 30, 2021)

RJSakowski said:


> If I see a product being advertised at an unbelievable price, I will attempt to find to original manufacturer and verify the pricing.  Recently my wife is shopping for a greenhouse and an ad came up on a social media site for one at a very low price. As it turned out, it was a brand that I had looked at in the past and I checked with their authorized distributor and the offered price was less than 20% of the MSRP.  I backed away very quickly.  Again, reporting the ad resulted in no response.


If she's still looking, what's out there is too small for the price, including the recent price hike on the large Harbor Freight one.  (Have it, built it, love it, but wouldn't do it again. I paid $429, it's $849 now; plus all the supplies and labor to reinforce it.)  Google "cattle panel greenhouse" or go to buildmyowngreenhouse.com  The former is larger than what's out there via retail and cheap and easy to build (I built one as a chicken coop); and the latter is how many commercial high tunnels are constructed - they even qualify for the USDA grant.  I bought the benders and some fence pole, but it's another one of my projects that's sitting in a pile for now.  Jigglygreenhouse.com has the best prices for the hardware.  With both of those options, the clear plastic to cover it is literally the most expensive part.   The best part is that you can make either of them bigger, because a greenhouse is the same as a shop, you always need more space.


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## RJSakowski (Mar 30, 2021)

Tankueray said:


> If she's still looking, what's out there is too small for the price, including the recent price hike on the large Harbor Freight one.  (Have it, built it, love it, but wouldn't do it again. I paid $429, it's $849 now; plus all the supplies and labor to reinforce it.)  Google "cattle panel greenhouse" or go to buildmyowngreenhouse.com  The former is larger than what's out there via retail and cheap and easy to build (I built one as a chicken coop); and the latter is how many commercial high tunnels are constructed - they even qualify for the USDA grant.  I bought the benders and some fence pole, but it's another one of my projects that's sitting in a pile for now.  Jigglygreenhouse.com has the best prices for the hardware.  With both of those options, the clear plastic to cover it is literally the most expensive part.   The best part is that you can make either of them bigger, because a greenhouse is the same as a shop, you always need more space.


Thanks for the info.  My wife bought one from Home Depot.  The price was competitive and we figure that if we have any problems, it's better to deal with someone local rather than a virtual store.  I'm laying the footing for it now.


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## Papa Charlie (Mar 30, 2021)

The seller has, as indicated, pulled the product indicating "Sold Out". But when you go to his store, he has nothing else to sell. 

I look at the sellers store before I buy which sometimes helps me decide if I will buy or not. The old adage, " If it sounds too good to be true, it is" always sits in the back of my mind. Unfortunately, regardless of the protective measures I take, I get burned once in a while. 

We have tried a couple of times to buy some Stevia (liquid sweetener) off of Amazon. Very hard to find in the stores and has been for some time even before Covid. They show the correct Mfg's bottle and label, but what we have received is some knock off with a different label and a horrible chemical taste. We have reported it to Amazon several times and they have done nothing. 

So much for "Truth in Advertising".


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## Flyinfool (Mar 30, 2021)

Just looking at the add it must be a knock off, the listed specs do not match the real Mit.



> Resolution - 0.01 mm / 0.005 "
> 
> Accuracy - ± 0.02 mm / ± 0.01 "


That is pretty poor resolution and accuracy, I can do that with a 6 inch scale. I even have a 6 inch scale that is graduated in 1/100ths inch


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## Tim9 (Apr 5, 2021)

Blurry pictures and price too good to be true. It’s counterfeit Chinese crap. When I was around 25 years old....almost every month there was a news story on TV of the Port of New York intercepting counterfeit Rolex, Gucci, or designer clothing. They would seize the entire shipment.
   Back then.... the State Department of the USA would also pitch a Bi**h too. And then there would be serious penalties for the trading partners in which were to blame.


    I buy a lot of Chinese tooling. And I have no problem buying something that says Made in China. But I have a huge problem buying a Rolex which says made in Switzerland but it was made in China or Singapore. And the same goes for a mic that says Mitutoyo -made in Japan but it was made in some Chinese factory who stole the intellectual property from the real Mitutoyo factory run by his brother or cousin...

anyway....that’s my rant...


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