Beware of Copycat Thermometers on Amazon and Beyond
At ThermoWorks, we’re dedicated to providing our customers with the highest-quality thermometers. Unfortunately, we’ve noticed an increasing number of knockoff products being sold on Amazon and in big box stores. These imitators are copying our product designs and deceiving our customers with confusingly similar-sounding brand names. ThermoThis or ThermoThat do NOT equal ThermoWorks. Imitation might be the greatest form of flattery, but in this case, it’s also a waste of your money. Nothing Works like ThermoWorks.
These knockoff products often appear similar to our genuine ThermoWorks thermometers but lack the lab-calibrated accuracy, commercial-grade durability, and reliability that our customers have come to trust. Buying copycat thermometers might appear to save money upfront, but they’ll definitely cost you in the long run—with frequent replacements and failures at critical moments in a cook. Using imitation products can also result in incorrect temperature readings, potentially compromising food safety and the quality of cooking results.
Here are some tips to ensure you’re purchasing a genuine ThermoWorks product:
- Buy Directly from ThermoWorks: The best way to guarantee you’re getting an authentic product is to purchase directly from our website, ThermoWorks.com.
- Verify Retailers: If buying from another retailer, ensure it’s an authorized ThermoWorks dealer. Besides our website, we only sell through a small number of specialty culinary stores around the country, so check your local brick-and-mortar kitchen or BBQ store. (If you have a favorite locally owned store in your area that doesn’t carry ThermoWorks products, have them contact us here.)
- Be Wary of Unusually Low Prices: If a deal seems too good to be true, and you didn’t find out about it from our website, it probably is. Copycat products are often sold at significantly lower prices. Likewise, if the price seems unreasonably high, that’s also likely an imitation product or a ThermoWorks instrument being re-sold by an unauthorized third party.
- Examine the Packaging: Genuine ThermoWorks products come in high-quality packaging. Look for any discrepancies or poor-quality printing that might indicate a fake product.
- Check the Warranty: Some people appear to be selling used ThermoWorks products online. Only genuine ThermoWorks products are covered by our world-class tech support and warranties. Purchasing from unauthorized sellers may result in products not being covered.
We value your trust and are committed to protecting our customers from fraud. If you have any concerns about the authenticity of your ThermoWorks thermometer, please contact our Customer Care team. They’re real people based right here in Utah—and they’re standing by to help.
We do things a little bit differently here
Nothing Works like ThermoWorks
We’re proud to be an American, family-owned company dedicated to creating industry leading, commercial quality products that last.
Precision is our special sauce. Our A2LA-accredited Calibration Laboratory ensures all of our products are accurate and reliable.
Have a question? Our friendly, knowledgeable Customer Care team, based right here in Utah, is ready to answer your call.
Our in-house Technical Support team is on standby to repair any product issues and mail your instruments right back.
I saw these imitations when I was shopping for my Thermapen. According to AmericasTest Kitchen Thermapen is the best, so I wanted to make sure I ordered the correct one.
Thank you so much for this information. It was very helpful to me.
I almost fell for this also. It’s a good thing ATK had the proper price!
I just reported this matter to Amazon. I copied your message along with an introduction paragraph explaining why I thought they needed to address this issue. I received a grammatically flawed response letter from someone in India who answers their emails. I am still awaiting a genuine reply that addresses the issue, not just an acknowledgement of my email. I will send another, or I will phone Amazon to make sure they understand what you have explained so clearly.
June,
Thank you so much for your efforts on our behalf! ThermoWorks is what it is today because of customers like you.
-Kim
Can someone explain the relation between thermoworks and eti ltd?
Both saying they are making the meters, and both selling the same?
neslekkim,
Please read about the relationship between the two companies in our blog post, “ThermoWorks and ETI Ltd.“.
We hope this will answer the questions you have.
Thank you,
-Kim
I can vouch for the ThermoWorks folks taking care of their customers. It is saddening that sites like amazon allow this to happen, but the “anything for a buck” mentality seems to be everywhere.
Thomas,
We really do value our customers here at ThermoWorks!
Thanks!
-Kim
I stand and applaud you for standing up and disclosing what is going on. Its hard for a consumer to know about this kind of deceit, the internet is so vast.
Thank you
Tim Tyson
Thank you for the info. A great help. Get those crooks out of AMERICA…..
This is the way a company should be run.I don’t have a thermometer yet but I’m saving for one. And I will buy it here.
kudos to you. great product. bought my second one just to get auto rotate and back-lighting. First one still working great after years of service except I had to replace the batteries once….what – no lifetime power source?
John,
We’ll see if we can develop an infinite wireless power source. 😉 The battery life of the Mk4 is double that of the Classic Thermapen. So glad to hear you’re enjoying both of them! They really are amazing devices, and keep on ticking!
Happy Cooking,
-Kim
I read the reviews about the ChefAlarm and checked the internet. I was surprised at the number of sites that offered a discount on your products. When I got to your site and read the WARNING, I realized they were knock-offs. I order a Chef Alarm from your special open box/ refeb. Thanks
Jack,
I’m so glad you were able to take advantage of our open box sale. I’m sure you’re going to LOVE your new ChefAlarm!
Happy Cooking,
-Kim
I’m glad I checked your website after seeing it on A TV cooking show review. Then I wanted one for my new hobby of bbq’n and cooking for large gatherings. I didn’t know why the prices fluctuated so much till I read your banner. I’m glad I did. I’ll be buying direct.
I bought a thermapen from King Arthur. I hope they are an authorized dealer!
Teresa,
Yes! King Arthur Flour is most certainly an authorized reseller.
Thank you,
-Kim
Wow. Such a shame that folks would practice such tactics even on Amazon. Ebay I can understand, but Amazon? I’m not surprised. I usually stay away from their Marketplace and it’s a good idea to only buy something that says on the product page either Fulfilled by Amazon or Ships and Sold by Amazon. It can be hard to validate sometimes, and I know Amazon and Google are constantly playing catch-up but they are aware. It’s nice to read a letter from a company warning it’s customers to these practices; You don’t see that from a lot of companies. I’ll be sure to tell anyone who is interested in thermometers for the kitchen or around the home to buy straight from Thermoworks and nowhere else.
I followed a reference from a cooking site to you. Always checkout Amazon for stuff as do others. I saw what you refer to in your website banner. You should make it louder. I had hit your site from original link, quickly perused, went to Amazon. Saw the unscrupulous resellers on Amazon you refer to. Read a bad review which was enough to return to you site. Then I noticed your banner and heeded your warning. Not sure many home shoppers would have done the above. I plan to purchase from you in the future. Great effort to make sure your customers get what they expect. You should get Amazon to offer your banner warning link from their site along with “authorized reseller” certification for your clients. Amazon reputation has been diminished for me by this experience.
Jeff may need to get his head out of the heavens and back to earth.
I have a Thermapen Classic which I’ve owned for many years. A friend of mine recently visited, observed me using it, and when she returned home decided to order one for herself. She just sent me an email asking if I really paid $149 for my Thermapen as that was the price on Amazon. I immediately checked it out on Amazon and she was right about the price. Then I went to the ThermoWorks website and saw the warning about Amazon, etal. I will be contacting Amazon to complain. Maybe if enough people protest Amazon will cooperate in policing these unauthorized resellers.
Thank you so much for the posted warning. I was shopping for timers, and doing the research on Amazon. The best one in my opinion was your big and loud timer, based on evals on Amazon. But the price seemed pretty outrageous…..well over double what you charge on your web site. So, I waited to see if the price would fall. It didn’t. Then stumbled across an internet ad from King Arthur, with a lower price about $5 over yours. Then I got concerned about trusting anyone, and finally went to your website, where I not only got a lower price, but a discount coupon that made it even lower. Lesson learned. Never again buy any of your products from anyone except you directly.
King Arthur is a authorized reseller as stated above
My Thermapen Classic arrived yesterday. I can’t wait to use it. I learned about it from the number one rated smoking meat site: http://www.smoking-meat.com/. I’m new to smoking meat so having a tool I know is calibrated and accurate is very important to keeping my family safe.
Our smoker is a simple device with a door-mounted thermometer but we had no way to test the internal temperature of the meat. We bought a digital, wireless, dual-probe thermometer (from a different manufacturer) so we could monitor the smoker’s air temperature as well as the temperature of the meat. (Both are critical when smoking food which is cooked at low temperatures.)
The smoker’s door-mounted themometer’s readings were 40 – 50 degrees lower than the digital wireless therometer. Because of the discrepancy, I searched for calibration information on the digital, wireless thermometer. I was dismayed to learn that their device claims to be accurate to plus/minus 4 degrees. Being 4 degrees low when smoking poultry could make us very sick!
My Thermapen gives me peace of mind as I smoke meat because I can accurately and quickly test its internal temperature . I wrote this narrative because Amazon, Walmart and others have not considered the ramifications of selling cheap knock-offs.
Thank you for letting us know.
I never buy from Amazon. I would rather buy directly from the manufacturer, even if it would cost more.
We used Thermapens at our catering kitchen, with our on-site grilling and hog roasting business and as gifts for many friends, relatives and employees. They are the best. They also have the best customer support. I recently bought the signals BBQ alarm thermometer and billows for my personal Green Egg and the combo is perfect. It all works as it should and when I had a question these guys answered the phone immediately (on a holiday!, which is when you smoke and grill big time) and the customer support gentleman had all the answers – right now! A good American company!
Thanks for the warning. And I just ordered the Mk4 to upgrade my Classic, that I’ve had for years. Nothing wrong with it, use it every day, several times a day.
Can’t wait to use the new one with all the new features.
I was writing down a couple of America’s test kitchens recipes and decided to pull the trigger on the new bling. I used their link, as I’ve done many times, and it sent me to Amazon as usual. When I got there, and saw no Thermoworks products, I remembered that when I ordered the Classic, I ordered it from you for the same reason. Nothing but nock offs on Amazon.
Why don’t you just be an amazon vendor and actually sell your products on amazon yourself? Plenty of other manufacturers do this.
We have lots of reasons, but mostly we want to know our customers (inasmuch as a company can) and have them know us. It’s about customer service. We want to build trust, not just hock product.
Thank you for posting such a detailed and informative warning. More naive consumers need to gain awareness of the proliferation of risky and fraudulent online seller activity. If an offer/price sounds too good to be true, there is a 100% probability that’s exactly what it is – a scam. On marketplace sites such as Amazon, eBay or social networks, anyone can be a Seller. Always think first before you click or tap to buy. Having worked for two international payment processors, I know a bit about fraud from both buyer and seller sides.
The ThermoWorks official web site is the place to go for these branded products. Register, get the promotional and informational emails, have the advantage of guarantees and excellent product support, buy with confidence. p.s. loving my new Thermapen One – I gifted my minty good MK4 to a friend with culinary inclinations.
I see my local Scheels has Thermoworks products. Are they retailers and come with the same warranty?
Yes!
We find that our customers are best served when we can interact with them directly. Those who choose ThermoWorks do so because they want the very best instruments and expect a comensorate level of dedicated, knowledgable employees who can answer their toughest questions. We want to complement our direct channel sales with select brick-and-mortar retail outlets that serve local customers as trusted and capable suppliers of specialty products who don’t generally do much in the virtual world. The few that do carry our products are generally local mainstays in their communities, carefully vetted and selected because they serve their local clientele that we might not otherwise come into contact with. They do so with a level of competence and passion that is required to properly represent our instruments which makes them a rare breed. Simply put, we don’t provide a list because those who carry our products do so specifically because they are already well-known in the communities they serve.
What about your wireless thermometer …. I bought that through a link to Amazon and what I thought was you guys????
We don’t sell anything on Amazon, and we don’t have a wireless thermometer on the market.
I buy a lot of things at Amazon…they have discounted prices and a great return policy. But so does Thermoworks. And their shipping is pretty darn fast, too. So I always buy directly from them, and the few times I needed customer service/tech support they’ve been fantastic. As a side-note, I just bought a Billows and it perform even better than Thermoworks said it would…
Thank you so much for the comment!
Amazon is the poster child for caveat emptor. Their website is rife with counterfeit, grey market, and outright fraudulent offerings. Sorry for your difficulties and love the three products I have.
I must say that I was deceived by Amazon. Thought I was buying a Thermoworks digital thermometer to use in candy making. After receiving it I realized it was not what I wanted so I called Thermoworks to see exactly what I needed. They were so helpful!!! Needless to say, I ordered a Thermopen one from them. It should arrive on Tuesday and I can’t wait to use it! Thank you Thermoworks (and ATK for their review).