Aliexpress "Concern observed:Illegal Product"

[trl]

Hello,

Just got an e-mail regarding an order I’ve received a couple of months ago from an AliExpress seller:

"We are contacting you to inform you of a precautionary notice regarding product compliance related to an item that you purchased:

Product Name:“NITECORE SRT7i 3000 lumen flashlight, illumination distance 580 meters”
Concern observed:Illegal Product

As part of our ongoing compliance assessments, we have observed that this product bears similarities to products that are not compliant.

This notice is issued as a precaution, in the interest of transparency and consumer safety.
We encourage you to contact the seller to request clarification and, if necessary, to initiate a return or refund process.

If the product is confirmed to be non-compliant, you may arrange a return by requesting the seller’s return address. If no issue is identified, you may disregard this message.

To contact the Seller: Please go to the " Orders" section of your account, navigate to the relevant order, and contact the seller. If the item was purchased for another person, please inform the recipient immediately.

We regret any inconvenience that may cause and thank you for your attention and understanding.

Best regards,
AliExpress"

I’ve contacted the seller to let me know if the product is counterfeit or not, maybe Nitecore initiated a legal action against that seller (although now is selling different Nitecore models on its AliExpress store) or maybe the Nitecore battery from inside might have had a recall or might explode or something, so I’m waiting for an answer.

Meanwhile, I was wondering if any of you had similar experiences and what was the actual root-cause?

Of course, any thoughts would be appreciated. I’m also thinking to upload here some close-up pics, just in case someone might tell me if the product is original or counterfeited.

Thanks!

[Qubeet]

@trl

if any of you had similar experiences

I didn’t.
I’m curious what was the store?

[trl]

Pinghu Store.

[jon_slider]

@trl

we have observed that this product bears similarities to products that are not compliant.

maybe they mean not CE compliant? (you can check to see if your light lacks the CE marking)

“CE compliant” means a product meets the safety, health, and environmental requirements of the European Economic Area (EEA) and has the CE mark affixed to it, acting as a self-declaration of conformity by the manufacturer or importer."

I would not assume your Nitecore is counterfeit…

I think a lot of Aliex sellers buy discontinued genuine products at a deep discount, for resale.

[zoulas]

Its not clear what is not compliant.

I cannot help but ask why did you buy a Nitecore product from Pinghu store.

[trl]

No CE label on the case actually I see a CE marking on the back of the case, but I do see a CE marking on the head of the flashlight.

[trl]

I don’t see why not…it was cheaper than in most EU stores and the AliExpress reviews for this product were stating that is the original Nitecore product, but made for sale in CN, hence the lower price I suppose.

I had a return window if the product would have been defective or counterfeit, but for me all looked just fine, no complains here.

[Dc38 (The Glutton)]

The CE label is right above “made in china”, bottom slightly off center

[jon_slider]

@trl

AliExpress reviews for this product were stating that is the original Nitecore product, but made for sale in CN

that explains the Chinese lettering on the box.. and the lack of CE which is only applicable to EU

but clearly the actual light is not “illegal” for lack of a CE mark.. it is only the Box that makes it not suitable for export to EU.

congrats on your light

[trl]

You’re right, thanks. I need my glasses then.

[trl]

Thank you! I’m not in love with the new electronic switches, there is not the same feeling like in the P10/20/30 series where the mechanical switches feel more…alive and present, but overall I think it’s a great light and a good addition to my collection.

[gravelmonkey]

My gut feeling is that this is something to do with nitecore dealership agreements and the store you bought the light from is treading on someone’s toes and Nitecore is trying to enforce their rules.

[jon_slider]

CE means: “Conformité Européenne,” or “European Conformity”.

So, nothing illegal happens if someone in USA buys a China boxed Nitecore.

It would only be illegal to sell into the European Union, because of the box.. the light itself is actually EU conforming.. it has the CE marking

What Im seeing is packaging for domestic China sales (Nitecore is in China), that has Chinese text.. iow, not packaged for export

otoh, the packaging w English text is for units sold outside China (and has CE marking on the box to access EU markets)

The light inside the box is the same, and includes CE marking for access to EU markets (CE has no meaning in USA or China)

[Dc38 (The Glutton)]

This, MAP, same thing as those “not labelled for individual sale” markings.

[Rusty_Joe]

I think you are correct.

[trl]

Just got the answer from the vendor and I kinda tend to think he’s right.