As the demand for Berkey® water purification systems and filters has skyrocketed worldwide, causing backorders and extended shipping delays, we’ve also seen a resurgence of knock-off products of Berkey® filters, stainless steel, and accessories. Though it might seem appealing to save a few bucks, your health and safety isn’t worth taking the chance, especially when the sole intention of the pirated versions is to mislead and deceive the public.
We wanted to provide some insight on what to avoid and why to avoid purchasing knock-offs.
- Knock-off brands are deceptive. They lack originality and distinction which is why they coast along content on deceiving unsuspecting consumers. Their idea is to appear similar enough to the original product that people will assume that the knock-off also functions similar to the original. WRONG. Compare the following set of authentic Black Berkey Elements with its two most popular knock-offs below it from Amazon.com:
- Knock-off brands and products are unethical and unashamed of infringing upon intellectual property. Take these images below. The first one is an official product image to be used by Authorized Berkey® Dealers in their marketing material, not for knock-offs to edit & mislead consumers, actively using as if they had legal rights to use officially branded Berkey® images. This official product photo features the Berkey® trademark embossed on the Big Berkey® system’s stainless steel top and bottom canisters. Notice how the knock-off not only illegally uses the official product photo, but alters the image colors and edits out the embossed “Berkey®” stamp from both the top and bottom stainless steel chambers.
- Perhaps the most crucial aspect of why only authentic Berkey® products should be purchased and used in conjunction with authentic Berkey® products is the testing data. Berkey® filters have been officially tested time and again and continue to exceed both filtration and purification standards. See testing here. Knock-off products do not have the proprietary formulation, integrity of raw materials, and manufacturer warranty that come with genuine Berkey® products.
We invite our customers and friends alike to report such deceptive brands and their products to the managers of such sales channels in hopes of eliminating unethical and misleading brands and companies from the market. Consumers have the right to enjoy genuine and lab-tested products without concern for authenticity and well-being. Please contact us if you have any questions about the authenticity of your Berkey® products or purchases.
