Here’s a quick test to see if your GARY FONG LIGHTSPHERE purchased on AMAZON.COM is a counterfeit.
Simply scratch the edge of the artwork. Ours is raised. Now one might ask, are we tipping off the counterfeiters by saying this? We have registered the product with the US Customs and Border Patrol to put it on a watchlist.
Since all Gary Fong products are manufactured in the USA, no product should arrive from foreign borders. Should USCBP find contraband, they will confiscate the entire shipment and all products shipped from the black-listed shipper will be held in quarantine for inspection. On top of this, we have instructed Amazon as to how to determine counterfeits.
The quality of Chinese merchandise is very low. There is an odor from the chinese materials. The diffuser has a white dye, which cuts off power from the flash. White dyes also make it easy to hide inperfections (such as bubbles). Lastly, the material does not hold its shape. Please, inform anybody you know who is dissatisfied with their Lightsphere to watch these videos to see if they have purchased a counterfeit. Amazon vendors, such as COOLPAC (closed down) or CONTINENTAL SUPPLY (still active) are currently selling counterfeit merchandise. We know, because we received them.
If you get a counterfeit – PLEASE mark it with a sharpie as a counterfeit, then return it to Amazon and report it. Amazon can then destroy all merchandise in their warehouses and close the counterfeit-selling storefront. My friend bought lip gloss on Amazon thinking she was getting the brand-name merchandise, and she got a chemical burn on her lip! I only buy brand-name goods manufacturer direct.