Buy Authentic.
The Empire Brand represents Exceptional Quality along with Excellent Value and has since 1840. Today, we exclusively manufacture and create our products in North America from our main facility located in Perry, Iowa, USA with certain Empire Brand parts manufactured in our sister facility in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Because of that reputation for quality and value, there will always be other organizations poised to produce products that compete with your own, either with their own version of a common part, a new take on an existing item, or a truly revolutionary breakthrough. We invite healthy competition as that’s how progress is made and ultimately the customer wins with a variety of products to choose from that will satisfy their own specific challenges and needs. That’s a good thing. It keeps people honest and pushes innovation.
Of course, from time to time there are always organizations that will not only copy a design, but go so far as to mark and market it in such a manner that an untrained customer might believe they are getting the real thing. Typically, these items are manufactured overseas using low cost labor and materials sourced from areas not subject to the same Labor and Environmental Requirements as North American made products. And in most cases, those copied or counterfeit wear parts do not stand up against the original they were copied from.
Below are some tips to tell if you have the real deal. Or, if you want to find out for certain where you can get Authentic Empire, click on the link and we’d be happy to help put you in touch with an outlet.
Look for the Empire Logo.
Qualified resellers are welcome to use our logo in their advertising and marketing efforts. In fact, we encourage them to do so.
So, if you see our logo in the flyer you just received, or on the parts counter where you are purchasing items, that’s a good sign that the parts you are buying are Authentic Empire Brand parts.
If your not sure though, you can always Contact Us. Our staff would like to hear from you.
Look for the Empire Origin Stamp.
Products Manufactured under the Empire Brand will have a stamp branded into the part indicating that it is an Empire Part and it’s origin (some parts may have stickers identifying authenticity). Most copies and counterfeits trying to confuse a consumer into thinking it’s an Empire part usually will not have an origin stamp or sticker on the actual part.
Agricultural Parts imported into the USA or Canada are not required to indicate on the product the country of origin anymore. Only the customs documentation and container those parts are shipped in are required to show the origin country. Because of this, customers are left guessing where the product comes from adding to their confusion of whether they are getting a ‘real’ part or not.
So, if you have the part in front of you, turn it over to verify it has a proper Empire stamp inset into the steel. If you still have questions, you can always Contact Us to get our take on it.
Scrutinize the Seller's Website.
The Internet can be a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, it can also be a place where unsuspecting people are taken advantage of daily. It is up to the consumer to be ever-vigilant when navigating around the internet to be aware of those things that ‘don’t just look right’.
Sometimes you will see the ‘Empire’ name in the description but with little or no context. Does it actually say it is a Empire manufactured part? Does it reference Empire as the part but then say country of origin as say ‘Turkey’ somewhere else? (it’s happened). Is there NO REFERENCE to country of origin? Is the description unclear in any way that may leave you guessing whether it’s authentic or not? What does the company or product reviews say as to whether the goods are authentic?
People and organizations that are selling authentic goods are typically very clear that the goods they are selling ARE authentic. Look for those descriptions on their websites and again, if you have questions, Contact Us. We will be happy to help you out.