I think this whole "who manufactures Ego, Riva", (insert any brand name you like) debate comes down to the definition of the word manufacture. ie:-
man·u·fac·ture (mny-fkchr)
v. man·u·fac·tured, man·u·fac·tur·ing, man·u·fac·tures
v.tr.
1.
a. To make or process (a raw material) into a finished product, especially by means of a large-scale industrial operation.
Now it is obvious that no ecig supplier does this, they all assemble parts manufatured by other companies to produce their products, Reputable suppliers will have stringent specification and quality control criteria in place that the supplied parts will have to meet to be acceptable to them.
This leaves the marketplace wide open for other (shall we say less scrupulous people) to jump in with items made to less exacting standards offered at lower prices.
Bottom line is the ONLY way to be sure of getting an genuine item is to buy it from the original supplier. ie a joytech ego batt from joytech. even buying from an "approved" distributor may not always guarantee original parts.
So in conclusion if you bought your item or part at a bargain price you`ve very probably not bought an original.