Avoid the fakes

While most counterfeiters are lazy, some are quite clever. FURminator® de-Shedding tools are designed with certain “tells” which we revise from time-to-time. If you are concerned that you may have a counterfeit product, please stop using the product and contact us. We will typically ask you to provide information as to when and where you purchased it, and may ask to examine either photographs of the products/packaging. In some cases, we may ask you to provide the actual product. Want to be sure you have a genuine FURminator® product? Contact us using the Report the Fakes form below.

Generally, the first thing you should do is review the re-seller’s refund policy. If we determine that your product is counterfeit, we will provide you with a written evaluation stating this. While we cannot intercede with re-sellers on your behalf, we generally are able to direct you to the departments of the larger on-line hosts of re-sellers from which you can request a refund. For more information, please see this section. Please note that we are unable to refund your purchase price for counterfeit products, as we did not sell those products. Need more information? We’d like to hear from you using our Report the Fakes form below.

The best way you can help is to always buy from a recognised FURminator® retailer. Remember, if the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. If you believe you see someone offering counterfeit FURminator® products for sale, please help us by reporting what you see. To do so, please complete our Report the Fakes online form below.

“Counterfeit” simply means “fake.” These are products that companies sell that may appear to be genuine FURminator® products, but are not. Many of the most valuable EU brands are threatened by groups that wish to defraud consumers using the goodwill generated by those brands. The FURminator® brand is proud to be at the forefront of efforts to stamp out this practice. Have a counterfeit? Let us know using the Report the Fakes form below.

Remember, if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. Counterfeiters will often “bait and switch” the unwary consumer by showing pictures of a genuine FURminator® de-Shedding tool, only to ship fake, inferior items. Genuine FURminator® products are available at most pet speciality retailers. Before you make a purchase from another re-seller, ask yourself these questions: a) Is the re-seller selling a lot of products that are not intended for pets? FURminator® products are primarily sold to retailers that service customers who purchase products for their pets. Be wary of retailers who primarily sell non-pet products but have a limited inventory of de-Shedding products or retailers that you don’t often purchase from (such as pawn shops and one-off sellers on online marketplaces). b) Is the re-seller only selling de-Shedding tools? Counterfeiters often purchase fake goods in large quantities and then attempt to quickly sell through their inventory before moving on to the next product. Look at the seller history to see what products have been sold. c) Who is actually selling the product? There are many internet sales sites which operate as “marketplaces” allowing multiple re-sellers to list products for sale. These sellers are independent sellers and normally are not affiliated with the host retailer (for example, Amazon.com hosts such “marketplace” re-sellers). Be sure you know who is actually selling you the product; this is not always the same entity that is shipping you the product. You can usually determine which company does what by looking for the terms “SOLD BY” and “SHIPPED BY” (or similar terms). Amazon may SHIP you a product, but Don’s Cat Palace might be the company that actually SELLS you the product who may or may not be sellers of legitimate FURminator® products. While there are chances of encountering online counterfeit sellers or online sellers of grey market imports non-original goods, in Europe we do have online partners who do sell original FURminator® tools on their own websites. If in doubt, please get in touch with us. d) Is the re-seller advertising “Discount FURminators” or “Cheap FURminators"? FURminator® products are not commodity products, and are typically not marketed in this manner. e) Is the re-seller using a website with a name that misspells FURminator® (for example, ferminater.com or furmminator.com) or uses the word FURminator® as part of the main part of the website name (for example, furminatorforyourcat.com)? While a legitimate on-line retailer may sometimes use the word FURminator to direct the consumer to that portion of its on-line store that sells FURminator products (for example: www.amazon.com/furminator), they do not engage in the foregoing activities. Remember, our European FURminator® website is www.furminator.net. Apart from this, we have partners with their own websites, as aforementioned, selling original FURminator® products. If in doubt, please get in touch with us. Concerned about a re-seller? Contact us using ourReport the Fakes form below.

Our primary concern is always the well-being of our customers and their pets. We take counterfeiting very seriously. We have a dedicated Brand Protection Team that continuously monitors the internet and auction sites for counterfeit product. These efforts result in the removal of hundreds of fraudulent listings each month. We work with Customs authorities and law enforcement agencies to seize shipments and inventories of counterfeit products, and to criminally prosecute those persons and entities that engage in this sort of illicit activity. While as a matter of company practice, we cannot comment on pending litigation, we also sue counterfeiters as a matter of course. Questions? Contact us at our Report the Fakes form below.