Paying so much for counterfeit goods is never a good feeling. You end up wasting a lot of money and maybe disappointed with yourself. Street lights are no different. While they make the night more beautiful and safer, purchasing fake components will cost you dearly. Today’s market is full of conmen eagerly waiting to prey on unsuspecting customers. They have mastered the art of fabricating original products which can only last for so long. You, therefore, need to be extra careful when purchasing such equipment. You also need to assess solar street light components to ensure that all the parts are genuine. This includes the solar panel and battery, light fixture and controls the mounting bracket and the pole.
But how can you know if each of these components is genuine?
In this article, I will share with you six tips to help you spot counterfeit street lights from the genuine ones.
1. Manufacturer’s Specifications
Every manufacturer uses a standard unit of measuring for all his/her products. This includes length, width, weight, mass, volume, and other critical features.
They even go to the extent of publishing these units to their websites and product descriptions. This is supposed to help you differentiate their products from the fake ones.
Therefore, any solar street light component that you buy should be exactly, as stated by the manufacturer. Counterfeit products are likely to have some irregularities.
BY ensuring you do your research before getting the product, you’ll be able to acquire genuine solar street light components.
2. Materials and Markings
Most counterfeiters are not so keen on the details of the original product. So, you can use this to your advantage and spot fake items.
One crucial detail is the product manufacturing material. Solar street light components such as the mounting bracket are made of aluminum and a stainless-steel hardware.
Therefore, if you get another product with different materials, then that may be a sign that it’s a fake product. However, some companies may use a different material for the same component hence the need for research.
The products’ structure is also the same for most manufacturers. Therefore, if the structure of your light controls differs from the manufacturer, that may be a counterfeit.
The laser markings for the street light components such as the hardware should also be similar to the manufacturers.
Checking the solar street light components for such signs will help ensure that you have a genuine solar street light.
3. Use of Incorrect Logos and fonts
For every manufacturer, it’s paramount to stick to your brand format and logos. This includes the style of writings that you use, your motto, and even the fonts used for printing.
That’s the only way they ensure that their customers get genuine products from them. Solar street lights companies are no different.
You, therefore, need to ensure that for every component you acquire, the logo on the product is similar to that of the purported company. The fonts used in writing the user instructions should also be similar.
Counterfeiters may find it hard to copy the logos exactly as they are, and so forge something similar. They may also fail to use the same fonts and ink colors when writing the instructions and product descriptions.
Such small irregularities should help you determine the genuine solar components.
4. Incorrect dates and part numbers
Genuine products from the manufacturer usually have the right number systems and date formats. Counterfeits are typically made of random numbers that easily give away the product.
This is because most of the counterfeiters aren’t sure of how the different companies come up with their numbers or dates.
Therefore, the numbers they come up with are way off when compared with that of the manufacturer. Some of their dates may even be in the past or future.
Therefore, to gauge if the solar street light component you are buying is legit, get always consult with the manufacturer.
