Okay i just received the product from amazon.com.

The box that i received the pw7015l in is completely different than the one i got 6 months ago directly from dell.  It looks like this... except it says pw7015l on it and there is a plastic wrap that is over the box.  The dell one i got last time directly from dell was taped with plastic where i had to rip it off.

Also, when i look at the box, there are a few scratches on it.  I haven't opened box yet but for some reason, it doesn't seem to look new i think.  I then googled and it seems like lot of power banks from dell got recalled.  So could this be one of them?  I never seen a pw7015l box like this ever... it looks like the one below.  Then i read the ones below got recalled because of safety hazard.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Hybrid-Adapter-Power-Bank-PH45W17-BA-45W-AC-Adapter-Notebook-Power/163865129529?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20190212102350%26meid%3D3d21bb154e6e4f619420b535c0c8d895%26pid%3D100012%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D264453817909%26itm%3D163865129529%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100012.m1985

So should i return it?  I mean shouldn't it be in plastic taped packaging when bought new?

Dell might have changed packaging styles at some point and/or have different packaging styles for products sold to different types of customers, through different sales channels, or in different quantities, but a new product should not have plastic taped packaging.  Sometimes products will be sold as "new, but repackaged" indicating that the product was never used but the original packaging may have been damaged in shipment or something and is therefore being resold at a discount.  But if you didn't see anything like that indicated by the seller, then that's strange.  As for whether the products on Amazon are legit, if the product is actually sold by Amazon, then it's a very safe bet.  But if it's a third-party seller, even if they're listed as "Fulfilled by Amazon" (which means the seller keeps their inventory in Amazon warehouses for fast shipping and return processing but still sets their prices), then there's no guarantee that the product is legit.  Amazon does try to prevent counterfeit products from being sold on their site even through third-party sellers, but they simply can't inspect every single unit of every single product they sell to confirm that it's legit, especially given how good some counterfeits have gotten these days.

I'll be honest, I didn't read a post that long considering it was all about packaging.  Amazon does sell some products with optional "Frustration-Free Packaging", so that might account for the difference.  Otherwise, I don't know of a way to find out if Dell themselves changed packaging for a particular product sometime in the last 6 months.  But if this is going to bother you, I'd return it while you still can and buy direct from Dell, or through Amazon when it's actually sold by Amazon.  If you don't want to do that because it would cost more, then you'll have to accept that you're rolling the dice.  It's pretty much that simple.

And as I said above, when a product says "Fulfilled by Amazon", it means the seller sent their inventory to Amazon to hold.  The seller doesn't sell their inventory to Amazon.  Amazon essentially has their inventory on consignment.

Hi thanks for response.  Well i used wrong choice of words.  I meant the dell pw7015l i got from dell directly over 6 months ago, it came with shrink wrap packaging?  Im not sure if thats the word or not but im close to 100 percent sure when i got the pw7015l from dell directly, i used a scissor to cut the package open.  Basically imagine you bought a brand new iphone... you know how it just doesn't come with the box and you open it and you have to rip the packaging opened?  The one from dell i got a while back, im close to 100% positive it was like this.

But the one i received from amazon earlier, it was strange because the box was put in like what is used to package printing paper.  Does that make sense?  Except the side of it is like completely open.  I never seen any packaging like this ever.

Well i got this 6 months ago on dell and it was not like this.  I do not think they made any changes recently in packaging.  Could i find out if they did or not?  The other thing is when you check on ebay for example for the pw7015l, you do not see one seller show a picture of the pw7015l with this box style/design if the seller shows the pw7015l and the box.  Either they use the regular picture of box of the pw7015l or use the actual box of the one they are selling.  So would this be a concern to you?

I saw this packaging on google and amazon on like old hybrid adapters... and it seem to say some of these were recalled.  But this is a different model/watt.  But i could not find one single picture of the pw7015l with this packaging online.  So isn't this bad?

Well i did buy it from amazon services inc.  Also they shipped the product very quick.  But my concern is i read amazon has counterfeit products etc.  Also if you buy a product from 3rd party and its fullfillled by amazon, that means it comes from 3rd party right?  But if they don't ship it to you, amazon ships it?  So how do they have that product?  Did the seller sell it to them or have them keep it to ship for them?  That is my concern here.

My concern is when the price drop for this product occured few days in a row, the exact price of this pw7015l was pretty much the same as one of the 3rd parties.  Example when it was like 95 dollars plus 8 dollars tax so 103 dollars total, it was similar to many 3rd party sellers on amazon.  But it dropped to like 90 plus 7 tax.  Then like 85+7 tax.  Then suddenly like 82+6 tax.  And each time this happened... one specific 3rd party on amazon had the exact or off by 1-2 cents prices from amazon.com when these price drops happened.  So is this a coincidence or not?  Or is it maybe 3rd party dropped price, then amazon had to follow it so amazon would want buyer to buy from them as oppose to that 3rd party?  What concerns me is if that product came from that 3rd party.  Also that 3rd party seem to sell used and new pw7015l.  

Well how did amazon even get these pw7015l to sell then?  I mean if they buy it off dell, you lose money.  Retail is over 125 dollars on dell site plus tax.  When on sale, you could get it for 100 or 110 plus tax on dell site.  But on amazon, it was always in the low 100s which is cheaper than dell directly almost always.  Then i saw it was in the 80s plus tax so thats when i bought it.  But im concerned how does amazon make money this way?  They were selling it on their site plus tax for like 90 dollars total when dell directly is like 135 dollars.  Thats a 45 dollar diffference.

Now if the box was the same box as i got from dell last time and it came wrapped like a brand new iphone... i would not be concerned at all.  But there was no wrapping at all.  You say there shouldn't be any wrapping?  Im close to 100% the one i got from dell directly 6 months ago had wrapping on it.

HI there okay that make sense with frustration free packaging.  That makes sense.

But the box that this powerbank came in with is what concerns me.  I never seen this type of box before with the picture on it.  But when i checked amazon and ebay, i did see the same picture used on other hybrid adapters from dell.  But i could not find one picture of a pw7015l being sold with this picture on the box.

Would that concern you?  Imagine like you bought a logitech mouse and its the same mouse you always bought.  Say its a trackball mouse or those special mouse.  Then when you saw it came... the box the mouse came in and the picture of the packaging looks completely different than you normally see.  Would that concern you?  If the box was the same box that i got 6 months ago from dell... i wouldn't think much of it.  But it being in a box with a picture i never seen before just has me worried.

Well i did buy it from amazon... when i made the purchase... i made sure to buy it from amazon.com.  It is show as shipped from amazon services inc.  But is that 100 percent from amazon?  I assume it is... i received it so quickly.  But the main thing is where did amazon buy these powerbanks?  Because i never seen it in this box ever.  Also why would amazon sell it like 35 dollars cheaper than dell?  For some reason im thinking maybe this item was sold from a 3rd party to amazon to keep and then ship when someone buys it off amazon?  There was one seller on amazon.com that had the same exact price as amazon.com when there were like 3 different price drops.  And that seller seem to sell both used and new pw7015l.  

But based on this, would you say amazon did buy this item from dell?  Maybe in bulk?  But i cant imagine them doing this unless this was a long time ago... i never seen this box before until i searched google/ebay and did see this box but it was not with the pw7015l.  And when i read amazon has lot of counterfeits... possible this could be it?   Yea i got it off amazon b/c i thought okay wow cheap price... most importantly it was from amazon.com and not 3rd party.  But now im not sure if they bought it off 3rd party.  Or if they got counterfeit.  Does that make sense?

I mean i seen reviews from customers who buy usb flash drive from amazon and then complained these are fake usb sticks from amazon.  But of course not sure if they bought from 3rd party or not.

Jphughan,

are you telling me there has been counterfeits of this specific pw7015 power companion?

@quickguide01  I haven't heard of counterfeits of that specific product, but that doesn't really mean anything.  I don't exactly follow the counterfeit product world closely.  I really don't know what to tell you about the packaging beyond what I already have.  If I bought the product from a reputable seller and the packaging looked different, I wouldn't necessarily worry about it because yeah sometimes manufacturers change packaging or even the product itself without retailers updating the product images accordingly.  For example, I've bought USB chargers that plug into a car's power outlet where the manufacturer changed the color and/or style of the power LED indicator, so the product I got wasn't quite what was shown on Amazon.  But I contacted the vendor and they said that they had made the change and Amazon hadn't updated their images.  No worries.  On the other hand, if I had bought a product from some random third party that I didn't really know and the product wasn't quite what I expected, then I might be concerned -- but that's exactly why I personally don't buy electronics from random third parties.  I just don't want to deal with wondering if I received a genuine product or a counterfeit, the hassle of exchanging it even assuming I can prove it's a counterfeit, the question of whether a seller that sold me a counterfeit product would even process a return, etc.  I'd rather just pay more to get the right thing the first time and enjoy the peace of mind of not having to worry that I might have a counterfeit.  That would be especially true with something like a Power Companion, since that's a high capacity battery pack that can provide high wattage output.  Low quality power circuitry and/or battery cells in a product like that could create risks like the product frying your laptop, catching fire, exploding, etc.

One additional thought: Have you tried contacting the seller to ask about why the packaging is different just to see if they give you an explanation that sounds plausible?

Hi thanks for the response.  The seller was amazon.com services inc themselves...  It was not a 3rd party.

But i read online that its possible those products could be counterfeit etc.

If it was Amazon themselves rather than a third party on Amazon, then I personally wouldn't be concerned with different packaging.  I've bought many electronics through Amazon and have never had an issue, at least as far as I know.  Amazon is certainly in a better position to make sure they don't sell counterfeit goods themselves since they would know who they're buying their own inventory from.

yea it was from amazon but the box... i never seen it ever anywhere whether online or anything with this model.  I cant imagine they changed the box recently.  Also if you look at customer photos who bought this, one customer a while back posted the box i normally see etc.

Is there a way to find out from dell directly if this product is legit with the serial number?

@quickguide01   I'm sorry, I don't know what else to say at this point.  You could certainly ask Dell if there's something they can do to confirm the legitimacy of that product, but I wouldn't necessarily rely on the serial number.  A counterfeit could easily print a real serial number onto a label, after all.  And I can't speak to what Dell has done with packaging or what type of packaging you'd get if you ordered it again.  As for the note that it's for For Argentina Only, it's possible that Dell used the same box in multiple regions and only has that note stamped on some of them, i.e. not every Power Companion that ships in a box that looks like that will have that warning label.  But at this point I don't think I can contribute anything else of value, so I'm just going to wish you the best with your research and any decision about what to do with the Power Companion you received.

hey thanks for the response.  I did ask them if i give dell the serial number and if they told me its genuine, they say it has to be geunine.  But you say they could put a fake serial number right?  Because i thought that could definitely be possible.

Dell told me if i order it now from dell, it would have same packaging as i did when i ordered it months ago.  They said box did not change.  But based on this, would you say this product is most likely legit?

Also i notice on ebay... there are sellers selling the same box i have recently as i mentioned.  But why would they?  MY thoughts are they try to make money selling it higher price on ebay since they probably got it like 80-90 dollars maybe on amazon and try to arbitrage?  But the issue is ebay takes huge fees when selling so i dont know how they make any profit selling it if you know what i mean? Maybe they want to sell it to see if someone will buy it or if not, return it?  I thought maybe they saw weird packaging and thought okay i sell it to make profit since it sells on average 100 dollars and up on ebay even?