Shure SM57's (Mexico, China, eBay)

R

Rich Smith

New member
I placed two separate orders for a low cost, brand new, Shure SM57 on eBay. Both orders came through fine. Here’s what happened:

Order No.1
Being leery of sales from China, I bought a SM57 for $42 (shipping included) on eBay from a person said to be in the USA. I paid thru PayPal. When I checked on the shipping a few days later, eBay said they had cancelled the advertisement for cause. I had no way to contact the seller. But the Mic arrived safe & sound within 2 weeks. (Assembled in Mexico / Shipped from China.)

Order No.2
Before Order No.1 arrived, I thought I had been bamboozled. So, I ordered another SM57 on eBay from a different seller for $28 (shipping included) from a seller said to be in China. Again, I paid thru PayPal. Within one day, eBay notified me the sale was cancelled, for cause. Again, I had no way to contact the seller. But, again the Mic arrived safe & sound within 2 weeks. (Again, assembled in Mexico / Shipped from China.)

I now have two brand new SM 57’s. Both work well. (I don’t have any way to actually test their performance/spec.)

Rich Smith
 
i personally would not purchase a shure mic from anyone other than an authorized dealer. unless i wanted two potentially fake 57s
 
Rich Smith said:
I placed two separate orders for a low cost, brand new, Shure SM57 on eBay. Both orders came through fine. Here’s what happened:

Order No.1
Being leery of sales from China, I bought a SM57 for $42 (shipping included) on eBay from a person said to be in the USA. I paid thru PayPal. When I checked on the shipping a few days later, eBay said they had cancelled the advertisement for cause. I had no way to contact the seller. But the Mic arrived safe & sound within 2 weeks. (Assembled in Mexico / Shipped from China.)

Order No.2
Before Order No.1 arrived, I thought I had been bamboozled. So, I ordered another SM57 on eBay from a different seller for $28 (shipping included) from a seller said to be in China. Again, I paid thru PayPal. Within one day, eBay notified me the sale was cancelled, for cause. Again, I had no way to contact the seller. But, again the Mic arrived safe & sound within 2 weeks. (Again, assembled in Mexico / Shipped from China.)

I now have two brand new SM 57’s. Both work well. (I don’t have any way to actually test their performance/spec.)

Rich Smith
Click to expand...

get a real one, hold it, test the weight. you'll feel the difference for sure.
 
To find out:

1. Inside an XLR connector, the ground contact sticks through the cardboard insert. On many XLR connectors, this appears as a silver horizontal line near the top of the connector. On a real SM57 (at least the current ones), this should be painted black. On a fake, this would be silver. That said, older mics probably are not painted, so this isn't guaranteed.

2. Check the weight. A real SM57 weighs approx. 284 grams (10 oz.). If the weight is significantly less, it is probably fake.

3. Listen to it. If it sounds muffled, it is probably real. :D

Here are some other ways to tell:

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2139144
 
So both sales were cancelled by ebay? Did you get a refund? I would think that if fleabay would cancel the sale, it is nul and void, and thus you do not pay. If you got free mics, hey, serves the sellers for trying to pull a fast one.

But then, fleabay SUCKS! I don't know who I trust less- ebay'ers- or ebay it's self.

I am so wary of conterfit SM's that I don't think I would EVER buy one thru ebay.
 
Ive seen the SHS mics...and they are pretty decent...and I have to admit that the Behringer clones are not so bad...but they are not as good as the real thing...but mostly better than the PG57.
 
I had the same thing happen on a Shure Beta 57a, then I recieved a Shure Beta 57a in the mail from somewhere in Africa.

I can't imagine their being a black market for microphones.
Regardless this guy came in the sealed Shure Beta 57a box, with original paper work, carry case....
It sounds great.
I can't imagine the amount of work that would go into making a "knock-off"

I paid 54 US dollars for it.
 
iownrocknroll said:
I had the same thing happen on a Shure Beta 57a, then I recieved a Shure Beta 57a in the mail from somewhere in Africa.

I can't imagine their being a black market for microphones.
Regardless this guy came in the sealed Shure Beta 57a box, with original paper work, carry case....
It sounds great.
I can't imagine the amount of work that would go into making a "knock-off"

I paid 54 US dollars for it.
Click to expand...

Some of the fake Shure mics come with warranty paperwork, too. Try to actually make a claim.... :)
 
I just can't imagine faking a shure microphone.
There would be no profit margin.
If you bought a radioshak mic for 30 dollars and disguised it to look like a shure for say 15-20 dollars then sell for 54 with free shipping.


you wouldn't make anything.
 
iownrocknroll said:
I just can't imagine faking a shure microphone.
There would be no profit margin.
If you bought a radioshak mic for 30 dollars and disguised it to look like a shure for say 15-20 dollars then sell for 54 with free shipping.


you wouldn't make anything.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know, but I suspect that the knockoffs run something like $5-10 to make and then they make it all up on volume. Don't forget that in some parts of the world, like China, the average monthly wage is @$255 overall. For Chinese factory workers, the average monthly wage is @$115. Rural wages are about 1/3 as much. So clearing $10 on the sale of a knockoff mic can be pretty significant to some.
 
iownrocknroll said:
I just can't imagine faking a shure microphone.
There would be no profit margin.
If you bought a radioshak mic for 30 dollars and disguised it to look like a shure for say 15-20 dollars then sell for 54 with free shipping.


you wouldn't make anything.
Click to expand...
Look at this: http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-m...e/144385-fake-shure-sm57s-including-pics.html

For what ever reason there are indeed fake sure SM57 microphones. There are even different versions than what you see there.
 
What are the possibilites of different version?

This is like someone making a knockoff toyota corolla and selling to for 11,000

It's not worth it, especially since the US dollar isnt' worth ANYTHING!
 
Thanks for the advice and commiseration guys,

I bought these SM57’s with my eyes wide open. I risked buying counterfeit, but hoped that even a counterfeit SM57 would be better than the standard $30 Karioke mic that promises to cook breakfast and pour champagne while it makes you a big star. So far I’m not disappointed with what I received. Counterfeit or not. My bar wasn’t set too high.

At the same time, I really dislike what the ”world economy” has done to many of the products we need. You can’t tell the good guys from the bad guys. If Shure doesn’t manufacture in the USA, how can quality control be assured from their overseas suppliers. One day it comes from Mexico, next month China, and next year from who-knows-where. And every time the offshore supplier changes because somebody bid lower, there’s a learning curve in manufacturing. I don’t trust that kind of operation. It’s always unreliable. I can’t even find socks that fit anymore. (Rant, kick, grumble... and throw something.)

As it turned out, I think eBay did their job promptly and don’t begrudge their style of operation. I don’t hold them responsible for anything. And I appreciate PayPal keeping my bank account one step removed from the errant seller.

I just wish I still had the Altec’s I used back in the ‘60’s. (sigh)

Rich Smith
 
Rich Smith said:
At the same time, I really dislike what the ”world economy” has done to many of the products we need. You can’t tell the good guys from the bad guys. If Shure doesn’t manufacture in the USA, how can quality control be assured from their overseas suppliers. One day it comes from Mexico, next month China, and next year from who-knows-where. And every time the offshore supplier changes because somebody bid lower, there’s a learning curve in manufacturing. I don’t trust that kind of operation. It’s always unreliable. I can’t even find socks that fit anymore. (Rant, kick, grumble... and throw something.)
Click to expand...

I hear ya, but when you're looking on ebay for huge discounts on mics that we all know could be fake, it isn't really Shure's problem. Buy them from the authorized dealer - then Shure should care about quality control, etc.

And everybody gripes about off shore manufacturing but nobody really seems to put their money where their mouth is. I try to buy American-made equipment but it's not my mission.
 
No.. I don’t buy that argument anymore. When companies like Shure made a “business” decision to take manufacturing offshore in order to “grow” the business (under the guise of staying in business).... all bet’s are off. Now they are no different than any other reputable international corporation. (Fine Print: Past reputation is no guarantee of future performance.)

My loyalty will return when they bring manufacturing back to the USA and take charge first hand. Same goes for any other American corporation that went “international”.

Rich Smith
 
well, then buy American-made, and only American-made.

I agree with you but it's not my mission. I have lots of Chinese electronics, two Korean guitars, even an Indonesian Squier. I have three really nice MIA basses, two MIA bass amps and a MIA guitar amp. Unfortunately, almost all of the MIA stuff was bought used, so that's only a resale for the economy.
 
Its interesting.

As I borrowed a freind of mine my Shure Beta 87a for a one off special gig he was doing.
He was blown away, he wanted to buy it off me for cheap , I said no way was I selling that mic, I really like it.

So he tells me he is looking at ebay , so I warned him to be careful as there were some dodgy ones floating around on ebay.

Dave
 
Mr. Blues,

I'm afraid this problem only gets worse as time moves forward. Buy "new" and it probably comes from offshore. Buy "used" and it still probably came from offshore... originally. Change an offshore supplier and the old tooling becomes part of a counterfeit operation. Lots of smoke and mirrors out there!

I didn't really intend to single out any specific product or manufacturer; and I don't have the answer. But the problem can be a real pain.

Rich Smith
 
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