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I recently purchased a Baofeng UV-82 from a seller that advertised it as an "...Upgrade 8W". There are a fair number of these on Ali Express.

Assuming it was a UV-82HP and the seller got the listing wrong, I ordered it anyways, but no, it really does say UV-82 8W on the back.

Radio model and power rating at the back

What's more is that the radio does indeed have 3 transmission power options (low, medium and high) in the settings, and when I spoke to a local seller and they say that they sell genuine 8W UV-82 radios that they import directly from Baofeng.

However, I've been unable to find any mention of this on the Baofeng website, and there aren't any genuine mentions of this online.

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    $\begingroup$ To get a completely genuine radio, you also have to buy the corresponding parts from Baofeng proton and Baofeng neutron companies. They were split apart as the result of some anti-trust lawsuits. $\endgroup$
    – Phil Frost - W8II
    Commented Mar 22, 2019 at 16:52

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Update: The seller tells me I contacted BaoFeng's US distributer that provided incorrect information and gave me the manufacturer's website, as well as credentials purporting to prove his legitimate seller status. As of this time, BaoFeng has not replied to my emails, but I will update my answer if they do.

BaoFeng support tells me that there is no such thing and that this radio is, in fact, counterfeit. Time for a refund request :)

Email conversation with Baofeng support

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    $\begingroup$ There are a ton of counterfeit BaoFengs on the market. If you want a legit one, either buy directly from BaoFeng (baofengtech.com if you're in the USA), or shop on Amazon and look for one that says, "Sold by BaoFeng Tech and Fulfilled by Amazon" next to the buy button. The ones sold by other sellers on Amazon are likely counterfeit. Many of the counterfeits are superficially identical to real BaoFeng models. Others, like this one, are clearly made up. $\endgroup$
    – mrog
    Commented Mar 21, 2019 at 16:01
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    $\begingroup$ Beware, that the seller might be trying to "run out the clock" -- cause you to spend so much time trying to verify if your radio is genuine that you run past the return window (if there ever was one), dispute process time limit, etc. I obvously don't know that this is the case, but sellers on eBay have done this -- some of them routinely -- in order to make the buyer the bad guy in the dispute system. $\endgroup$
    – Zeiss Ikon
    Commented Mar 22, 2019 at 19:21
  • $\begingroup$ @ZeissIkon I thought of that, so I just shot an email directly to the person listed on his credential as well. If he doesn't reply soon enough, I'll call him on the listed number. $\endgroup$
    – Amin Shah Gilani
    Commented Mar 22, 2019 at 19:28
  • $\begingroup$ A Google search for https://www.google.com/search?q=baofeng%20usa returns several websites, all of which claim to be "official". It could be that Baofeng has several domain names, but caveat emptor. $\endgroup$
    – Mike Waters
    Commented Mar 22, 2019 at 19:32
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    $\begingroup$ See this new question, What is the official Baofeng USA website?. $\endgroup$
    – Mike Waters
    Commented Mar 22, 2019 at 19:46

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