apple Louis Rossmann just had 20 Apple batteries seized by US Customs

[GoldenLag]

Just now, D13H4RD2L1V3 said:

It could likely be the same supplier Rossmann has relied on for all this while. 

and if that is the case then at least a large part of the shipment is genuine, or else why would Rossmann utilize them?

[Spotty]

48 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

As I understand it from watching his video those were legit batteries taken from in some other way broken devices

Louis Rossmann purchases the batteries from a non-authorised supplier in China. I do not believe he would know the original source of the batteries beyond the Chinese seller that ships the parts in to the USA. His claim was that US Customs wouldn't know the difference between a genuine battery and a counterfeit battery bearing the Apple^TM logo and branding as they lack the technical knowledge - and that it was possible that the batteries may be genuine batteries, such as batteries taken from old recycled devices as you suggested. However it is noted that he does not outright claim that this was the case, merely offers it as a possible explanation, and also offers not supporting evidence to suggest the goods were genuine.

 

Another poster in the thread has noted that previously Rossmann has purchased "genuine" apple parts, only to receive the items and further investigate them to find that they were indeed counterfeit. I'm not sure if they have a source for these claims (@indrora Was it a youtube video where Rossmann shows off counterfeit parts he has received? Link?), but here is their quote

 

6 hours ago, indrora said:

you literally never know what you're getting sometimes. I've bought batteries that claimed to be unbranded but turned out to have branding slathered all over them.

 

Worse, sometimes you buy what you think are legit parts only to find out that they're not. He ends up with counterfeits all the time and has regularly talked about how he spots them. 

 

There's a very real possibility that Louis Rossmann believed he was ordering genuine/recycled parts, however the supplier from China shipped him fake/counterfeit parts instead. Rossmann has not received the goods, and at this stage he has no way of knowing the authenticity of the items beyond the legal notice he received from the United States Customs and Border Protection office which states the goods are counterfeit, and any claims made by him are purely speculation and assumptions without any supporting evidence.
 

If Louis Rossmann takes this matter to court, the alleged counterfeit parts will be presented as evidence and his legal representation will have an opportunity to argue the authenticity of the items, and will have the opportunity to have the goods inspected by an independent third party expert/witness. There is the possibility that if Rossmann decides to pursue the matters in court, then it *may* be determined that the goods were indeed genuine Apple parts and that the US CBP made a mistake in their initial claim that they were counterfeit - in which event Rossmann would be able to counter sue the US CBP for legal fees, as well as loss of business as a result of withholding the parts. If the matter goes to court the evidence will be presented and hopefully the court documents made public and we can look at the court documents and evidence submissions, along with expert testimonials as to the authenticity of the goods (which, if this is Rossmann's defence he will most definitely need), and then make our own judgements based on the information presented.

 

At this point of time there are two sides to the story in regards to whether or not the batteries are genuine. Side A) is presented by a department of the United States Government in the form of a legal document that states that the goods have been inspected and have been determined to be counterfeit - A claim that if found to be made incorrectly could have serious legal repercussions. Side B) is presented by Louis Rossmann in a youtube video who claims that Apple is evil and it's all a conspiracy theory to get him.

 

The US CBP are able to make the claim that the goods seized were counterfeit, as they have intercepted and inspected the goods in order to make that determination. Rossmann has no basis to make claims that they are genuine parts as he has not inspected the goods and has no supporting evidence to indicate that they are genuine, other than, and I'm paraphrasing here; 'Our supplier in China tells us these are good batteries and the Louis Rossman store has a good customer rating; so these must be genuine batteries' (6:02).

 

Am I completely disregarding the possibility that these were indeed genuine parts removed from recycled machines that were seized by customs by mistake? Absolutely not - However, with the limited information provided to us currently, there's no reason to believe this to be the case. It's still open as a possibility, however there is no information at this time to support this theory.

Likewise, until there is factual information provided to support the claims by Louis Rossmann, any claim that the seizure of goods by the US CBP was undertaken on behalf of Apple in an attempt to get revenge on Louis Rossmann for participating in a CBC report is nothing more than a conspiracy theory.

People need to base their opinions based upon the information that is provided to them and not be either a Rossmann or Apple fanboy just believing whatever suits their own agenda and bias. There are far too many people in this thread that are blatantly believing any claim Rossmann makes without any supporting evidence simply because of the fact that they do not like Apple or their business practices.

[D13H4RD]

Just now, GoldenLag said:

and if that is the case then at least a large part of the shipment is genuine, or else why would Rossmann utilize them?

The only problem here is that we're speculating at this point. We only have the document from the CBP and Rossmann's own statement. 

 

Unless we see the batteries, or find more info, we're probably just digging holes.

 

It's entirely possible that these were legitimate batteries repurposed for replacements or it could also be possible that they were actually counterfeits and Rossmann got bamboozled. 

[Master Disaster]

6 hours ago, Spotty said:

So it wasn't that he was importing batteries to be used in Apple devices. It was that he was importing counterfeit batteries that bear trademarked branding.

 

US customs treats counterfeit batteries or other parts and accessories the same as they would treat a counterfeit iPhone or counterfeit Samsung Note 9 from China. They seize it, issue a notice to the recipient and destroy the counterfeit goods. Rosmann should abandon the goods and move on. Not worth fighting US customs on this, and if they are counterfeit items as described in the notice, then he should never have tried importing them in the first place. In future he should stick to generic unbranded replacement parts - not counterfeit replacement parts disguised as being genuine with trademarked branding.

Except they weren't counterfeit, they were refurbished. There's a big difference.

 

Or I should say, Louis usually orders refurbished units so they SHOULD have been refurbs.

[dgsddfgdfhgs]

after all, we can proof that apple is listening and have taken action

[Master Disaster]

14 minutes ago, VegetableStu said:

so going by these, if one counts pulling parts off a 100% genuine assembled system as a genuine part...

 

EDIT: also the "What matters is the logo - so long as it is there, it does not matter where it came from" part probably sounds like Apple going "they came from where again? we didn't authorise this" without looking and just blanket seized them

or maybe the customs going "why does this weirdly shaped Tetra-Paks have the Apple logo on them? we must deal with it"

Yeah, so essentially Apple is confiscating genuine parts as being counterfeit simply because they didn't authorise the sale of said items, and it's using the US government to do it for them.

 

Louis needs to get this looked at by the Supreme Court and needs to try and get a legal definition of the difference between counterfeit and refurbished set out in writing. Unfortunately the chances of him being able to do this and/or being able to afford to do this are slim to none.

[Linus_torvalds]

39 minutes ago, D13H4RD2L1V3 said:

So your solution to solving the issue of companies ripping its customers of is to wish they'd rip them off even more?

That's their own fault. If you are stupid enough to stand in a line on the streets and spend many nights in the tent to get a phone for 1000$ and be beta tester for company which makes billions out of you and your alikes that's your fault. No one is to blame here! No one forced you to do that. I like what apple does to it's customers, they deserve it! They transformed iphone into a luxury phone. Nothing, i mean NOTHING is luxury about that phone except the price! They made it the device by having which you have some kind of social status. I and many people do not think so! Apple will exist until people like this (iSheep) will exist. I am not spending thounds of dollars on tech. I always buy devices which i need! I play on them, i watch movies on them, i do not have to buy different dongles for them, when they get damaged i can always repair them by changing damaged part and get them in working condition and this costs me very cheap. Also they are prety modern and good looking devices. My laptop for example T440s. 1.56 kg 1080P IPS display 2 batteries and you can put 3 SSDs in it. q 2.5" and 2 M.2. Tell me which macbook can have 3 SSDs in it? Also it has shitload of ports. 3 USB3.0, VGA, mini display port, RJ45, 3.5 jack, sim card slot, SD card reader, smart card reader and a docking port with posibility to extend ports quantity by 3x. It's relible much more relible then any macbook and also has spill resistant keyboard.

 

54 minutes ago, D13H4RD2L1V3 said:

What about the Pixel Slate? $600 tablet but comes with a freaking Celeron. 

Again, does someone force you to buy that? Why do not buy product which is cheaper? If you can't afford it there are many options. Just do not buy! Do not get ripped off! If you need tablet get older model, get new one after some months used, search for alternatives, wait for discounts. There are people who have Galaxy S8 and when S9 was released they went and bought that. Where is logic? What is a difference between S8 and S9? Those people clearly have money but no brains. They are brainwashed by commercials. Just put those devices side by side and tell me why would you want to buy S9 if you already have S8. What S9 can do that S8 can't? 

[Bouzoo]

54 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Except they weren't counterfeit, they were refurbished. There's a big difference.

 

Or I should say, Louis usually orders refurbished units so they SHOULD have been refurbs.

Just to be the devils advocate, at the beginning of the video, time stamp 0:44, he says: ...because when I import batteries, that are original... but he never outright says they are, he says the are good batteries. Furthermore, they were seized a month ago, but he mentions the timing after publishing the piece, so I'm not sure honestly who to believe.

[Misanthrope]

I like what Rossmann represents because he is exactly the kind of attitude we need in person, opposing the status quo and questioning, yet also an example of why his efforts seem to be so utterly futile and end up in failure, you can't oppose systematic problems without understanding them and you cannot defeat an enemy trying to fight within it's framework.

 

So he can make viral videos until he is blue in the face complaining about Apple as much as he wants and things won't change anything even a little bit because he is just addressing the final result, the road that ends on a company like Apple, without addressing how you get there and why mega-corporations exist.

[GoldenLag]

12 minutes ago, Bouzoo said:

he says: ...because when I import batteries, that are original... but he never outright says they are,

but doesnt he say

 

".....because when i import batteries, that are original......"

 

doesnt that say he import Original Batteries? like, outright in the quote you quoted?

[Bouzoo]

7 minutes ago, GoldenLag said:

but doesnt he say

 

".....because when i import batteries, that are original......"

 

doesnt that say he import Original Batteries? like, outright in the quote you quoted?

To me, it sounds like he implies it. Maybe they were original before, maybe in general, he never outright says these batteries were original. Maybe he doesn't know if he got originals this time. Maybe it's a lottery. I know amazing good batteries that are not original for non Apple products that I'd recommend over originals even. That's how I see it.

[Shally]

8 hours ago, DrMacintosh said:

I mean the US stillhasmany states where Civil Asset Forfeiture is a thing. If you get arrested an officer can take whatever you have on you in some instances. 

 

Just another example of outdated laws and mismanagement of government institutions. 

And a corrupt Apple...

[Master Disaster]

24 minutes ago, Bouzoo said:

To me, it sounds like he implies it. Maybe they were original before, maybe in general, he never outright says these batteries were original. Maybe he doesn't know if he got originals this time. Maybe it's a lottery. I know amazing good batteries that are not original for non Apple products that I'd recommend over originals even. That's how I see it.

Given what I know of Louis it's very unlikely he would say "I always buy originals" in a public setting if he wasn't 100% confident on what he was buying.

 

Obviously there is always a chance he was sent knock offs but I have to imagine he knows his suppliers, probably personally, he will have a very strong working relationship with them, they'll know what he expects, he will know what they expect and they 100% will know he has no qualms in calling out bad Apples, by name on his stream. He's done it multiple times in the past.

[D13H4RD]

1 hour ago, mate_mate91 said:

Snippy McSnipface

Here's better advice.

 

Don't give a crap about what others do with their money. Focus on what you as a consumer are happy with.

 

I've seen people get the Note9. I've seen people get $1500 lenses for their $2499 cameras. Meanwhile, I'm content with my Note8 alongside my a6000 which I've spent a total of $1100 on plus lenses. I don't care what others spend their money on. It's their money. I focus on mine.

 

Just because someone does a yearly upgrade on their phones or PC components doesn't necessarily mean they have more money than brains. 

[D13H4RD]

1 hour ago, mate_mate91 said:

Again, does someone force you to buy that? Why do not buy product which is cheaper? If you can't afford it there are many options. Just do not buy! Do not get ripped off!

I forgot to put this in my reply, but that's not what I'm getting at.

 

Google expects you to pay $600 for a tablet that only has an Intel Celeron CPU when laptops with a Core m3, older Core iX U-Series or even a Ryzen U-Series processor exist.

 

Yeah, it's a tablet, but given Google's positioning, it looks to be more of a tablet/laptop hybrid running a non-mobile OS. I don't know why they think it's fine, but personally, that's a hard pass. I'd rather spend a little more and get a perfectly capable laptop with a U-Series processor.

[Athan Immortal]

5 hours ago, HashBrowns said:

Thanks, edited this into the original post as well for clarification.

[asus killer]

i saw the video, and i think Apple have every right to do so. The batteries had the logo of Apple so you can't just import them without their authorization, as you can't import nike shoes from China for example. 

And not even going to his claims that they are legit Apple products, which obvious they weren't. The US is even very easy on this as in many countries Louis could loose the batteries and have to pay Apple for importing counterfeit material and the country customs for the all process.

[Sauron]

11 hours ago, DaPhuc said:

Apple is corrupted. 

You got it the wrong way around - Apple is the one corrupting people here. ALLEGEDLY

10 hours ago, DrMacintosh said:

Evidence? Can you prove that Apple is using Customs as their personal secret police? Or is it possible that a federal department of the US is doing what it was tasked to do, however unjustly?

Tasked to do by whom exactly? Can you name another replacement part for an end of life product that regularly (or ever) gets confiscated by customs? It doesn't matter how many middle men there were, this is what Apple wants and, even if we assume there was no illegal foul play, there was a lot of lobbying involved at the very least.

[Sauron]

14 minutes ago, asus killer said:

you can't import nike shoes from China for example.

And why not exactly? If Nike produced them it stands to reason that they profited from that transaction... so what is the problem? Also, if Nike straight up didn't sell those products in the US then they most certainly wouldn't lose anything from people importing them from elsewhere - unless Nike was counting on planned obsolescence to force you to buy a new pair of shoes...

16 minutes ago, asus killer said:

And not even going to his claims that they are legit Apple products, which obvious they weren't.

Source?

[asus killer]

6 minutes ago, Sauron said:

And why not exactly? If Nike produced them it stands to reason that they profited from that transaction... so what is the problem? Also, if Nike straight up didn't sell those products in the US then they most certainly wouldn't lose anything from people importing them from elsewhere - unless Nike was counting on planned obsolescence to force you to buy a new pair of shoes...

Source?

i went to my local customs and saw personally people got their nikes stoped. You are the one that have to prove they are legit, and of course they aren't or you would by them in your country. This is not rocket science.

Do you really believe is claims that those 20 batteries (and all the ones he says he imports) are removed from legit apple products. Oh come on let's be real here.

[Sauron]

7 minutes ago, asus killer said:

and of course they aren't or you would by them in your country.

Ok, go out and buy a replacement Apple battery for that specific laptop in the US. Let me know how that goes. The Nike comparison breaks down when you start buying things that are actually available for purchase in your country.

[Guest]

Well, I don't know how customs deal with those kind of problems but...

In my experience, I ordered a Dell battery for my XPS, when it came to me it was almost identical to the original but the Dell logo was marked with a permanent marker.

So my question is: Do china sellers do this because they know customs can be a pain in the *ss for no reason? 

(This was a perfectly genuine battery, I'm using it after 1.7 years and still has 91% of the original capacity)


EDIT: From his yt channel comments

[asus killer]

1 hour ago, Sauron said:

Ok, go out and buy a replacement Apple battery for that specific laptop in the US. Let me know how that goes. The Nike comparison breaks down when you start buying things that are actually available for purchase in your country.

I hate apple. They should sell replacement parts. They are smart people selling things to very not smart people.

But that had nothing to do with what i wrote. If he bought unmarked batteries this was not a discussion, but they had apples logo so he's in the wrong. And 2 wrongs dont make a right

[D13H4RD]

55 minutes ago, Lukyp said:

El Snipó

The mystery deepens

[Sauron]

2 minutes ago, asus killer said:

I hate apple. They should sell replacement parts. They are smart people selling things to very not smart people.

But that had nothing to do with what i wrote. If he bought unmarked batteries this was not a discussion, but they had apples logo so he's in the wrong. And 2 wrongs dont make a right

So if apple produces these batteries, they lie in a warehouse, then someone tries to import them from china bacuase they aren't available in the US, it's a wrong? I don't think I follow your logic.