Are these genuine Flukes?

[G7PSK]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251815357531?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

The seller states that these are new stock sold as seen with no returns or guarantees, this makes me wonder  if they are fake or what.
I would be interested as they are at under half price at present but they would not be a bargain if something is wrong with them or they are fake.

[Excavatoree]

Anything is possible, but the price is consistent with what I've seen other 179's go for on E-bay.  (US price around 200 dollars, this is very roughly equivalent)

179s aren't that old.  Not the most optimum meter for electronics, but better than most.  (see other forum posts about 179)

[retiredcaps]

It is likely a genuine Fluke, but be aware that despite it being new, you will get NO WARRANTY from Fluke as ebay is not considered an authorized dealer.

I would also avoid sellers that offer no returns unless you pay a really low price and can afford to lose that money.  "As is" lets the seller off the hook for almost anything.

While the price is low now with 3 hours left in the auction, most of the action will happen in the last 30 seconds of the auction.  With 9 bidders, the price will certainly be higher.

[G7PSK]

It just sold for £165 which as there is no warranty is more than I would be willing to pay, I would rather get a new one from an authorized dealer.

[retiredcaps]

165 pounds is around $318 CDN dollars with the current exchange rate.  Doing a quick price check at three authorized Canadian dealers, the average price is around $325 CDN.

Good thing you passed.

[EEVblog]

I have never seen no heard of a non-genuine Fluke.

[G7PSK]

I am seeing a lot of these advertised on Ebay now are they Chinese market and or are they also being cloned in China. A fluke even a simple one at £30 is very very cheap.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FLUKE-101-F101-Portable-Handheld-Digital-Multimeter-Tester-15B/281539479061?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D29166%26meid%3Dc763ac2a55094d879326e4214ba78c19%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D181510463471&rt=nc

Or has Fluke also joined the race to the bottom.

[EEVblog]

I am seeing a lot of these advertised on Ebay now are they Chinese market and or are they also being cloned in China. A fluke even a simple one at £30 is very very cheap.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FLUKE-101-F101-Portable-Handheld-Digital-Multimeter-Tester-15B/281539479061?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D29166%26meid%3Dc763ac2a55094d879326e4214ba78c19%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D181510463471&rt=nc

Or has Fluke also joined the race to the bottom.

That's a genuine Fluke:
http://www.fluke.com/fluke/vnen/digital-multimeters/compact-multimeters/fluke-101-digital-multimeter.htm?PID=77003
Yes, Fluke make some cheap meters in China for various markets.

[JohnnyBerg]

Yes, Fluke make some cheap meters in China for various markets.

After all, Shenzen is the worlds center of gravity, when it comes to electronics. 

[george graves]

I have never seen no heard of a non-genuine Fluke.

I know.  That's so surprising. Dave, why do you think that is?

I'm guessing no one wants to take on that giant?  Have people tried and gotten squashed?  Too small of a market? 

[dexters_lab]

I am seeing a lot of these advertised on Ebay now are they Chinese market and or are they also being cloned in China. A fluke even a simple one at £30 is very very cheap.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FLUKE-101-F101-Portable-Handheld-Digital-Multimeter-Tester-15B/281539479061?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D29166%26meid%3Dc763ac2a55094d879326e4214ba78c19%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D181510463471&rt=nc

Or has Fluke also joined the race to the bottom.

i have a 101 and 107, for the price i would rather have one of these over some other cheap meter (yea, i am a cheapskate!!)

[LordNobady]

I have never seen no heard of a non-genuine Fluke.

I know.  That's so surprising. Dave, why do you think that is?

I'm guessing no one wants to take on that giant?  Have people tried and gotten squashed?  Too small of a market?

I think that the market that would by a Fluke from a dealer that will sell fake Flukes is to small. Company's will by from dealers, and makers will by china (uni t) brands just as good and so it is not worth the risk.

[Wytnucls]

They are authorized Fluke dealer shops in China. Seems that copyright is enforced. Even the fake Fluke DMM bags are nowhere to be found. Not with 'FLUKE' written on the yellow panel, at least.

[Kjelt]

Yes, Fluke make some cheap meters in China for various markets.

Not smart IMO, it cheapens the brand name. Philips with its tvs had some product differentiation, they used another brand name for their lower price electronics: Aristona.
They stopped with that in the 90s or so, after which the low quality products also where given the A-brand name which had bad results in consumer scores.

So Fluke stop using your A-brand name for those cheap shit chinese multimeters and start using another name such as Fluck.

[Wytnucls]

They may be cheaper, but are well made, to Fluke's high standards.

[electr_peter]

Has anyone seen a true fake/copy of a brand name multimeter (Agilent, Tektronix, FLuke, Amprobe, Brymen)? I have not seen an example of this.
In most cases only the name("Fuke"instead of "Fluke") and overall looks are copied (Vichy series is similar to Fluke 179, someone on the forum discussed thermometer similar to Fluke). Also, build quality is so crap in comparison to original brands.

I think DMM brands are not copied that often because it is difficult and expensive to do so and there are cheaper options available (like UNI-T).

[amyk]

The closest to cloning a Fluke would probably be the Fuke:

http://en.taitan.net.cn/products_detail/&productId=90fceeb0-9193-495f-b2e6-d6065cb9906e.html

[dannyf]

Going back 5 - 15 years and there were tons of fake Flukes, either outright fake ("Fluke") or disguised fake ("FUIKE" for example).

What happened is that people realized there isn't much difference between a Fluke and a Uni-T for what most people do and they might as well get a genuine Uni-T at a fraction of even the fake Flukes' prices.

As you cannot find enough fools to buy those fake Fluke, making them becomes an un-attractive business proposition.

[Spyke]

Meh, all of the Fluke's are made in China anyway with typical cost reductions employed.
I took apart my 289 recently (to check the RTC battery) and found that it used those annoying plastic self tapping screws *everywhere* to hold it together.
For this high calibre of a DMM you would at least expect some metallic inserts and machine screws. I've seen better assembly techniques in the cheap brands.
The only place where metallic inserts are used are on the binding posts, I guess if they could cheap out there and get away with it they would.

[retiredcaps]

Meh, all of the Fluke's are made in China anyway with typical cost reductions employed.

The current Fluke 280, 80V, 170 series and 77IV are still made in the USA.  The 113-117 are Made in China.

There are some meters that are labelled 280C 170C and I believe these are made in China for the Chinese market.  I have no photo evidence of the "C" suffix to support my theory right now.

[retiredcaps]

Here are the "C" versions I mentioned.  Since they are linked on fluke.com, you know they are 100% real Fluke meters, but with the "C" suffix.

http://www.fluke.com/fluke/cnzh/Digital-Multimeter/Fluke-170.htm?PID=56027

http://www.fluke.com/fluke/cnzh/Digital-Multimeters/Fluke-289.htm?PID=56061

edit:  Someone did a pcb photo of the 289 and 289C below.

http://www.54535.com/jishu/pince/1799.html

[Muttley Snickers]

I've never seen a fake Fluke, if they did exist then they could be a bit of a collectors item provided it was within specification. . Although I have seen fake Mitutoyo stuff, They don't seem to have any hesitation when it comes to the Japanese products.

Caveat Emptor