WARNING - 'Very Probable' Fake Ritchey Stems on eBay

Hi All

Friend of mine recently bought a Ritchey stem off eBay, I went round to help him fit it and immediately recognised it as very probably a fake. I have had Ritchey WCS kit before and it's head and shoulders above the quality of the one in question.

It's got a dodgy carbon wrap over a poorly made alloy stem. Quality of finish is terrible and graphics are wrong in part.

I advised him to get in touch with the seller and ask for full refund. The seller gave him a full refund no questions asked, he just had to post it back. Kind of makes you think the seller knows it's fake???

The item number is 140911287163, I urge you all to report it to eBay and beware.

Pretty sure this is not a genuine Aerospoke too.

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I have a fake FSA carbon stem, only cost like a tenner and is still going strong after a year.
As long as it's priced decently I don't see a problem.

Err.. no problem.. except that it's possibly a fake they're selling as genuine?!

Ah didn't know it was being sold like that, the one I bought just said "carbon stem for fixie track bike" haha

I value my front teeth too much to put anything fake/of dubious quality on my bike

that doesn't even look remotely right. A quick google could tell you that.

Some people don't google every purchase before buying though. I would expect a stem that matched the dimensions I wanted and had a known brand to be of suitable quality.
I wouldn't check their website to verify that I'd got the correct part.

really? Not even to check the price? Not even to check how it looks on a bike?

Cant believe thats a WCS. The bolts look like they're a foot too long, and the finish is nasty.

I just bought a slightly too cheap to be true EA90 stem. Having recieved it, it is definitly the real deal.

Would be easy to weigh it. If its not WCS light, its fake. If it is, I'd be even more worried TBH.

Some people don't google every purchase before buying though. I would expect a stem that matched the dimensions I wanted and had a known brand to be of suitable quality.
I wouldn't check their website to verify that I'd got the correct part.

I did. But only because the faceplate looked naff. Turns out high end Easton stems now have naff looking faceplates, and the nice cut out () ones dont fit :(

really? Not even to check the price? Not even to check how it looks on a bike?

Nope. My only requirement for stems is 4-bolts, black and known brand.

I'd take a look at the thing and see that it was black with 4 bolts, said Ritchey and pull the buy trigger.

Actually most of my stems have been PRO stems from Scherrit so it's less of an issue but still, if I wanted one quickly and that matched my requirements I wouldn't look at Ritchey's site to verify it.

Well, I might now that I know there are fuckos doing fakes..

The WCS stem above definitely doesn't look like legit stems but the point is, unless you knew what they looked like, it's good enough match that someone just after a stem isn't going to double check.

report it to eBay and they shut the account

EBay make reporting very difficult these days. They really don't nor want to give a fuck they just want their cut.

Eh? I've got one of those stems in my hands and looks alright to me, I think it's just an older model than the current full carbon wrapped ones?

I got it on a bike with full WCS finishing kit. (saddle/post/bars/stem/headset...)

Are the bolts really that long?

Think of the extra weight!

I want to know why 'very probable' is in inverted commas

Eh? I've got one of those stems in my hands and looks alright to me, I think it's just an older model than the current full carbon wrapped ones?

I got it on a bike with full WCS finishing kit. (saddle/post/bars/stem/headset...)

Thinking about it thought it doesn't have the Ritchey R on the faceplate.

How much are they ont bay?

Think of the extra weight!

Mainly the fact that they look shite so long, and the finishing on the ends of the bolts screams cheapo hardware store bolts. I dont think bike stem bolts should have the sharp flashes.

Eh? I've got one of those stems in my hands and looks alright to me, I think it's just an older model than the current full carbon wrapped ones?

I got it on a bike with full WCS finishing kit. (saddle/post/bars/stem/headset...)

Could be legit then, innit. I couldn't find one that looked the same though.

Pics?