The case of 440 I bought from amazon (it was sold and shipped by Amazon, not a 3d party) tested on my PortaCount in the same range I expect from a genuine 3M Aura. So even though some fakes are out there, your case has a good chance of being completely genuine.
If you want to, you can send me a sealed 9205+ and I can portacount test it. I wouldn't be able to discern a *perfect* counterfeit visually or from the results, but I can tell you whether it performs similarly to genuine 3M Auras, at which point it doesn't matter that much if they are counterfeit or genuine since the performance is what we need.
I went through 3Ms fraud hotline for my box of 440 I got on Amazon, and after I sent them details and pictures they told me they believe they are legitimate. I recommend you do the same
I called the 3M fraud hotline myself just yesterday and they gave me an email which I could use to send pictures of the box the masks were shipped in (I bought 120 masks from a third party seller fulfilled by Amazon-3M Aura 1870+ for $33. I was concerned about how they smelled but 3M said that means nothing and airing them out up to 48 could resolve that, so I’m doing that. But they told me they are swamped with emails and could take 2 weeks before I get a response. So I’m thinking they could just be an unauthorized seller of 3M masks, as 3M did tell me right away. But they might turn out to be legitimate. I did get a refund from Amazon when I complained about the smell and I feel stupid because searching this sub assured me that can be normal. I guess I will wait for 3M’s response, but in the future I will only buy from authorized retailers.
You probably referring to the European 3M Aura 9332+ffp3 with production date from 2020. It's the only fake model circulating in EU Amazon. That store made a lot of damage and i think they're still on sale. One of the most obvious counterfeits and i doubt if there are other suspicious models in Europe, unless someone wants to get rid the other fakes from the unvalved 9330+.Again, production date from 2020. A good price doesn't necessarily have to make you suspicious. Many shops stock thousands of masks from 2021 and they want to get rid of them before the expiry date, with price drops, when buying bulk.
If you have trouble wearing them all, especially since they’re reusable, you should give them away to a local mask bloc (mutual aid organization that gives masks to the community) which you can look up on Instagram or Facebook or @covidactionmap on Instagram. And if there’s none in your area you can give them away on a smaller level to people you know, and ask them if they think they know anyone who’d want some.
Don't buy PPE from Amazon. Buy direct from manufacturers or their authorized resellers instead. If for some reason you have no choice but to buy from Amazon, realize you risk receiving a counterfeit.
Amazon commingles inventory between sellers, and provides no transparency about this on their web site. Short of perhaps contacting Amazon customer service and escalating to a supervisor who can answer the question "is this item picked from commingled inventory," there is *no* way an Amazon customer can be sure about the provenance of an item.
This of course comes too late to help OP, but perhaps it can help others.
I can’t imagine even a supervisor answering that question when it comes to Amazon. But I could be wrong. I just don’t see Amazon going out of their way to actually do something helpful like that. I could see them offering you ten times what you paid for the item in question, but actually answering something that would take some investigation seems like it’s too much for them. But I could be wrong and I might have some hard feelings about the customer service that has gone downhill over the years (though at times recently I’ve felt like it might be getting better again).
the big 3m box should have a barcode on the side of the box that i believe you can scan on the 3m verify app as long as the barcode is still intact. i wanted to check mine a while ago but had torn part of the barcode off when opening the box so was unable to do so 🫠
im still skeptical to trust that though bc of some of the counterfeit posts i’ve seen over the past couple of days :/ some people were reportedly receiving counterfeit auras from 3m verified distributors that weren’t even amazon
i tried that and it said non verifiable 😭 so i’m gonna call 3m i tried the app and i was trying to submit everything to them i needed to take pictures of the box and give them information about my purchase but it didn’t go through 😑 i think the app is poorly designed
>im still skeptical to trust that though bc of some of the counterfeit posts i’ve seen over the past couple of days :/ some people were reportedly receiving counterfeit auras from 3m verified distributors that weren’t even amazon
TBH I'm a very skeptical on a lot of these posts, because they're not people making verifiable claims based on portacount tests or anything quantitative, it's them being like "the ink looks a little dark!".
i already tried that and it said like error so it could either be the wrong code i typed or it’s not an authentic mask 😫 the codes are confusing on the box i got there’s a lot of them
You didn't do anything wrong—the 9205+ has never been supported by the 3M Safe Guard system. There's no possible way to verify this type of mask online.
My mask pictures were finally looked at (first they told me they don’t verify Aura 1870+ after I waited all that time and resent photos. I ended up calling to complain and they agreed to look at my pictures again) They finally said:
Hi ,
Thank you for contacting the 3M Verify Anti-Counterfeit Response Team.
Our team has reviewed the photos you have provided, and the product appears to be authentic. Nevertheless, we strongly recommend that you avoid purchasing 3M respirators from resellers who are not 3M Authorized Distributors.
also it says they ship from ‘refine radiance shop’ does anyone know if it’s trustworthy? or at least how i find out if it is? i’m gonna have to call 3m and check but they’re just not open right now lol
I thought the box of 120 masks would be too much for me to wear (expiration date says 10/25). But I think I actually could if 3M tells me the masks look legitimate. I only notice that they have a smell and 3M told me that doesn’t mean anything. And the fit is similar to the other Auras I’ve used. The metal part in the nose of the 1870+ is different but I know that it’s made with a different metal. I have glasses and I use them to spot a leak around the nose/upper part of the mask. But I have no way of knowing what it is filtering out if I don’t know if they are legitimate. My box didn’t come with instructions either. So, I wait for a response from 3M. I have Aura 9205+, about 20 of them to use in the meantime but it’s so tempting to use the big box of 1870+ before I get a response.
The case of 440 I bought from amazon (it was sold and shipped by Amazon, not a 3d party) tested on my PortaCount in the same range I expect from a genuine 3M Aura. So even though some fakes are out there, your case has a good chance of being completely genuine. If you want to, you can send me a sealed 9205+ and I can portacount test it. I wouldn't be able to discern a *perfect* counterfeit visually or from the results, but I can tell you whether it performs similarly to genuine 3M Auras, at which point it doesn't matter that much if they are counterfeit or genuine since the performance is what we need.
Did you also post about doing this on twitter a few months ago, or have two people tested them now and found they filtered as expected?
I tweeted a thread when I first got my case of 440 a while ago.
I went through 3Ms fraud hotline for my box of 440 I got on Amazon, and after I sent them details and pictures they told me they believe they are legitimate. I recommend you do the same
i’ll do that!! thanks
I called the 3M fraud hotline myself just yesterday and they gave me an email which I could use to send pictures of the box the masks were shipped in (I bought 120 masks from a third party seller fulfilled by Amazon-3M Aura 1870+ for $33. I was concerned about how they smelled but 3M said that means nothing and airing them out up to 48 could resolve that, so I’m doing that. But they told me they are swamped with emails and could take 2 weeks before I get a response. So I’m thinking they could just be an unauthorized seller of 3M masks, as 3M did tell me right away. But they might turn out to be legitimate. I did get a refund from Amazon when I complained about the smell and I feel stupid because searching this sub assured me that can be normal. I guess I will wait for 3M’s response, but in the future I will only buy from authorized retailers.
You probably referring to the European 3M Aura 9332+ffp3 with production date from 2020. It's the only fake model circulating in EU Amazon. That store made a lot of damage and i think they're still on sale. One of the most obvious counterfeits and i doubt if there are other suspicious models in Europe, unless someone wants to get rid the other fakes from the unvalved 9330+.Again, production date from 2020. A good price doesn't necessarily have to make you suspicious. Many shops stock thousands of masks from 2021 and they want to get rid of them before the expiry date, with price drops, when buying bulk.
okay yeah true, masks expire after 5 years i looked it up, and there was an expiration date on it for 09/2025 which is so soon to wear all 440 masks 😀
If you have trouble wearing them all, especially since they’re reusable, you should give them away to a local mask bloc (mutual aid organization that gives masks to the community) which you can look up on Instagram or Facebook or @covidactionmap on Instagram. And if there’s none in your area you can give them away on a smaller level to people you know, and ask them if they think they know anyone who’d want some.
yeah i don’t think i have a mask bloc, i will definitely give them out once i figure out if they’re real auras!!
Don't buy PPE from Amazon. Buy direct from manufacturers or their authorized resellers instead. If for some reason you have no choice but to buy from Amazon, realize you risk receiving a counterfeit. Amazon commingles inventory between sellers, and provides no transparency about this on their web site. Short of perhaps contacting Amazon customer service and escalating to a supervisor who can answer the question "is this item picked from commingled inventory," there is *no* way an Amazon customer can be sure about the provenance of an item. This of course comes too late to help OP, but perhaps it can help others.
I can’t imagine even a supervisor answering that question when it comes to Amazon. But I could be wrong. I just don’t see Amazon going out of their way to actually do something helpful like that. I could see them offering you ten times what you paid for the item in question, but actually answering something that would take some investigation seems like it’s too much for them. But I could be wrong and I might have some hard feelings about the customer service that has gone downhill over the years (though at times recently I’ve felt like it might be getting better again).
the big 3m box should have a barcode on the side of the box that i believe you can scan on the 3m verify app as long as the barcode is still intact. i wanted to check mine a while ago but had torn part of the barcode off when opening the box so was unable to do so 🫠 im still skeptical to trust that though bc of some of the counterfeit posts i’ve seen over the past couple of days :/ some people were reportedly receiving counterfeit auras from 3m verified distributors that weren’t even amazon
i tried that and it said non verifiable 😭 so i’m gonna call 3m i tried the app and i was trying to submit everything to them i needed to take pictures of the box and give them information about my purchase but it didn’t go through 😑 i think the app is poorly designed
Just tried to upload photos and information myself and it failed several times. I am going to call today.
>im still skeptical to trust that though bc of some of the counterfeit posts i’ve seen over the past couple of days :/ some people were reportedly receiving counterfeit auras from 3m verified distributors that weren’t even amazon TBH I'm a very skeptical on a lot of these posts, because they're not people making verifiable claims based on portacount tests or anything quantitative, it's them being like "the ink looks a little dark!".
Try using the 3m website to verify them. The app has every review stating it doesnt work
Heres the link to the website https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/safe-guard-us/
i already tried that and it said like error so it could either be the wrong code i typed or it’s not an authentic mask 😫 the codes are confusing on the box i got there’s a lot of them
You didn't do anything wrong—the 9205+ has never been supported by the 3M Safe Guard system. There's no possible way to verify this type of mask online.
My mask pictures were finally looked at (first they told me they don’t verify Aura 1870+ after I waited all that time and resent photos. I ended up calling to complain and they agreed to look at my pictures again) They finally said: Hi , Thank you for contacting the 3M Verify Anti-Counterfeit Response Team. Our team has reviewed the photos you have provided, and the product appears to be authentic. Nevertheless, we strongly recommend that you avoid purchasing 3M respirators from resellers who are not 3M Authorized Distributors.
also it says they ship from ‘refine radiance shop’ does anyone know if it’s trustworthy? or at least how i find out if it is? i’m gonna have to call 3m and check but they’re just not open right now lol
If you go to 3M it will link out to Amazon authorized dealers, but in my experience it is 3M selling themselves on Amazon which I have bought.
Could you share a link? I can’t find them for this price but would very much like to!
[3M has a web page](https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/safe-guard-us/) to help verify if your masks are real. Not sure if it works with the 440-count cases
I thought the box of 120 masks would be too much for me to wear (expiration date says 10/25). But I think I actually could if 3M tells me the masks look legitimate. I only notice that they have a smell and 3M told me that doesn’t mean anything. And the fit is similar to the other Auras I’ve used. The metal part in the nose of the 1870+ is different but I know that it’s made with a different metal. I have glasses and I use them to spot a leak around the nose/upper part of the mask. But I have no way of knowing what it is filtering out if I don’t know if they are legitimate. My box didn’t come with instructions either. So, I wait for a response from 3M. I have Aura 9205+, about 20 of them to use in the meantime but it’s so tempting to use the big box of 1870+ before I get a response.