Submitted by Cisco is not taking enough action to stamp out the sale of counterfeit products on Internet auction sites, according to networking-product resellers. Mike Sheldon, chief executive of reseller Network Hardware Resale, told ZDNet UK on Wednesday that Cisco was not willing to co-operate with resellers to investigate potentially counterfeit Cisco products being sold on auction sites such as eBay.
From what I’ve read, it seems like a bulk of the counterfeit items are the interface cards(GBICs, VICs, WICs). Generally speaking, the buyer will get burned if the module fails. If I’m not mistaken, Cisco will not authorize TAC support unless it’s purchased new through an authorized reseller or purchased as refurbed gear direct from Cisco.