*It is possible that some Authorized Berkey^® Dealers may still have an inventory of older filters in stock with 2nd-Generation holograms. You may contact our Customer Service Department to confirm if a dealer or seller is an Authorized Berkey^® Dealer.

CAUTION:

Counterfeit goods are a growing problem for manufacturers and consumers across all industries, and water filters are no exception. We offer these guidelines to help consumers identify the differences between authentic Berkey^® filters and potentially harmful counterfeits. The examples shown above are just small sample of the many fake “Berkey” products that are offered for sale every day to unsuspecting consumers.

Where and How to Buy

The best option for purchasing Berkey^® products is through Authorized Berkey^® Dealers’ own websites—many of which use “Berkey” in their website domain name. You can shop an Authorized Berkey^® Dealer’s selection with confidence—knowing that Authorized Berkey^® Dealers only stock authentic Berkey^® products. New Millennium Concepts, Ltd. (NMCL) has a global network of Authorized Berkey^® Dealers that you can obtain genuine Berkey^® products from.

A second buying option would be U.S. based Amazon.com (again, U.S. only) that has worked with us in recent years to develop and enforce strong anti-counterfeit polices and to only allow our list of authorized Berkey^® Dealers to sell on specific Berkey^® Authentic listings to help protect consumers from fake goods. But be aware that Amazon marketplaces outside of the U.S. have still not taken this issue seriously, with counterfeit sellers mixed in with authorized Berkey^® Dealers selling on those platforms. If you are buying on Amazon outside of the US (Amazon.com), you can call our Customer Service Department before making a purchase to verify if the seller you have chosen to buy from is an Authorized Berkey^® Dealer or not.

As a third option, you could consider other major retailers and third-party online marketplaces (such as Walmart.com, eBay, etc.). However, please be aware that many of these marketplaces either do not have strong anti-counterfeit policies to protect brand owners’ intellectual property and consumers, or they are not effective in enforcing their policies. Furthermore, they have not been easy for us to work with in removing counterfeit sellers, even though many of these criminals have been identified and reported to them. Even if a seller/storefront on these platforms claims their products are “genuine” or “authentic” (which is part of their deceptive selling tactics)—it’s likely that the product is a counterfeit. That being said, we do have many authorized sellers selling genuine authentic Berkey^® products on these sites, and you can call our Customer Service Department before making a purchase to verify if the seller you have chosen to buy from is an Authorized Berkey^® Dealer or not.

We strongly recommend that you stay away from overseas-based discount marketplaces (such as AliExpress, Alibaba, Temu, Made-in-China, DHgate, Fruugo, etc.), where there are NO Authorized Berkey^® Dealers. Any products with the Berkey name for sale on those sites—even if they claim to be “genuine” or “authentic”—are 100% counterfeit. Coincidently, these are the marketplaces that sellers of counterfeit goods shop to buy their fake products, then package them to appear as if they are authentic Berkey^® products for resale to consumers like you on third-party marketplaces such as eBay, Walmart, etc.

Moreover, since there are no Authorized Berkey^® Dealers located in China, any website based in China, or seller storefronts on third-party marketplaces with contact info that shows they are in China (such as on eBay, Walmart, etc.), and/or orders of “Berkey” products that ship from China are 100% counterfeit as well. We recommend that you always investigate the seller’s/storefront’s contact information for these important details, as well as read reviews on the specific seller to see if anyone has reported receiving counterfeit products from them before making a purchase.

Please note that producers and sellers of counterfeit products are getting better at copying Berkey^® filters, and even after considering these guidelines, you may still receive counterfeits that look identical to original Berkey® filters if you do not purchase Berkey^® products from an Authorized Berkey^® Dealer (the only guaranteed source for authentic Berkey^® products). If you have any questions as to if an online merchant is an Authorized Berkey^® Dealer or that you may have received a counterfeit product, please call our Customer Service Department. Please note that if it is identified that you have received counterfeit filters, your dispute and its resolution must be made through the marketplace/seller you purchased from, not NMCL.

Other Buying Tips

As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. Pricing is another indicator of authenticity for most brands—including ours. Berkey PF-2™ Fluoride and Arsenic Reduction Elements—currently in production and widely available—should be selling for $103 (or more) in the U.S. for two filters. But any PF-2 filters being sold for drastically less than that price is guaranteed to be a cheaply made copy of unknown quality and performance, and should be considered counterfeit (even though the listing says they are authentic or genuine, and from the images used in the listing, they appear to be authentic). The phrase “too good to be true” is absolutely true in this case–they are counterfeits; don’t buy them.

The Bottom Line about Counterfeits

Sellers of counterfeits do not care about your health and wellbeing; they only care about profiting from deceptive sales of fake products. Counterfeits are not the same as genuine authentic Berkey^® filters and don’t deliver the proven performance that authentic Berkey^® filters are known for. Moreover, counterfeit filters may even be adding dangerous substances to drinking water filtered through them. That’s why you should always only buy authentic, proven Berkey^® filters from verifiable Authorized Berkey^® Dealers.

And, a Word About Lookalikes

Don’t fall for lookalike filters that use our “Black Berkey^®” name or Berkey “BB9-2” or Berkey “PF-2” model numbers or trademarks in their titles or product descriptions to legitimize their brand as “replacements for”, “fits Berkey”, or “compatible with”—when they are not. Black Berkey^® Elements are a unique blend of filtration media designed to work synergistically and target specific contaminants that far exceed the reduction capabilities of black filters solely composed of activated carbon. And as discussed earlier with counterfeits, you get what you pay for, so don’t be fooled by the “too good to be true” price of unknown, unproven lookalike brands.

To be sure you are getting the desired results for the reduction of a broad spectrum of contaminants in your drinking water, buy only authentic Black Berkey^® Elements (if you can find them from an Authorized Berkey^® Dealer) and authentic Berkey PF-2™ Fluoride and Arsenic Reduction Elements for your Berkey^® water filter system.