Would the Real OEM Please Stand Up?, Which OEM?

TECH TIP

Would the Real OEM

Please Stand Up?

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. When you buy a genuine OEM part through an autho- rized distributor, the product you get is made by the Original Manufacturer of the printer. If the distributor is not authorized by the OEM, you cannot be sure. How can you tell the difference?

In many cases, that’s not easy to do. Here are some ways “OEM” gets confusing out in the marketplace:

1)OEM product that doesn’t meet OEM specs: Let’s say Factory A makes true OEM product. But let’s say they have components that did not meet the OEM’s strict testing guidelines. If they sell these non- specification parts to another party, can that party sell them as OEM product? The answer is no.

2)The OEM

manufacturer changes the composition slightly:

If the same manufacturer changes the composition of

the materials slightly so they can sell the parts to non-OEM authorized suppliers, can those be sold as OEM? The answer is no — although they are from the same place the OEM parts come from, they are not OEM.

While there is no DNA test to identify a real OEM part, there are a few rules of thumb to help ensure you are buying a genuine OEM part:

1)“Authorized Reseller” The easiest way to determine whether a product is true “OEM” is to find out if the com- pany is an OEM Authorized Reseller. If so, they are more than likely selling the genuine part. The reason is that in order to remain “authorized,” a company must commit to sev- eral principles, including accu- rately labeling product as OEM. Straying from the strict defini- tion of OEM and one risks los- ing authorization.

2)Which OEM?

Ask if the product you are purchasing is HP, Lexmark,

By Jeremy Mueller

Xerox or another specific OEM, not just “OEM” in gen- eral. If the company names a specific OEM, this could be the real McCoy.

3)Low, low, low price. . .

If the price is too good to be true, it probably isn’t the real deal.

We’re aware of your concern that the term “OEM” gets overused and misrepresented in the marketplace. You can be sure that at Parts Now!, OEM means that every com- ponent within an assembly is sourced from the original manufacturer. If just a single component within a larger kit is OEM, we won’t claim it as OEM.

Purchasing true OEM products from authorized distributors like Parts Now! brings additional value. Not only can you be sure your part is bona fide OEM, you can also get better access to OEM parts.