Ethics Question - Need Advice

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Cosmodragoon

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Hi everyone. This question regards Eafengrow. To the best of my knowledge, they are some kind of distributor for CH and maybe other brands. I understand that some people here have strong opinions because they deal in "clones". That isn't the issue here.

I was recently looking for an inexpensive gift for someone who really likes yellow gear. I saw the Eafengrow EF33 on Amazon. It was the right color and looked decent for a sub-$20 knife. So I ordered it. Of course, I checked it out when I got it. It was surprisingly nice at first glance. The action was smooth. It felt good in my hand. They actually bothered to chamfer the liners around the flipper tab. Just as I was feeling good about that, I got a little slice in my finger!

The bottom of the blade where it meets the choil protrudes into the chamfered area by the flipper tab when closed. I also noticed that they forgot to mill out the scales for the lanyard hole. This was not okay. So I returned the knife for a prompt refund and wrote a review with pictures. No big deal, right?

Well, I got a friendly email from Eafengrow a week or so later. They apologized in their best possible Engrish and seemed sincere. They literally said: "Although we checked each knife before shipment,it is inevitable that there will be negligence." They asked what they could do to make things right with me. They offered me 50% off on any other knife they offer. That was awesome. So I chose the CH3504, which is supposedly an original design and has a D2 blade.

Then, they asked me to delete my comments. That seems a little strange. My review for the EF33 is the only one with pictures on Amazon. I looked around on other sites and found that these are known issues with that knife and not a one-off that slipped through the cracks. I've never been asked to delete a review before... It seems like that would be a major public disservice in this case. No matter how polite they were or how much I like my new CH3504, should I report this to someone at Amazon?

Given all the experience here on Blade Forums, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
 
amazon vendors allow sellers to ask a buyer one time if they would possibly remove or alter a review.
They are however, forbidden to offer any sort of bribe in conjunction with asking to change or remove a review.
They could offer a discount or whatever they want to offer, and then later ask if you wouldnt mind changing your review.
They are not allowed to keep asking either.
That being said, the big A policies who they want and dont want to, its all arbitrary.
 
Don't delete your comments. They're pulling something shady. I'm always looking around to see what these kind of shit stains are up to and you wouldn't believe what I've seen. On a certain Chinese wholesaler who shall not be mentioned I founder a seller who had this image with all their listings, telling you not to upload pictures with reviews. Wouldn't want people to see they're actually pedaling bootlegs now, would we?

LdcwHM5.jpg




They even responded to a reviewer and must've deleted it or something. Boy, were they on that. Absolutely shameless.

Proi5J2.png
 
First off don't buy clones even if it's cheap. There are lots of cheap knives that are not clones.

Second they are very shady and have alot of bad quality control. Don't fix it. In fact post a link to this video that proves the steel is not what it is and the heat treatment is poor.


Avoid this company and other clones.
 
Personally, I wouldn't delete my comment, but that's just me. Amazon DOES allow them to ask, but they can't pester you.
 
Maybe they don't want it to look like they are selling locking blades so they don't want you to post your own pictures. Just passing by lol don't want to step in this thread, peace.
 
I would not delete the comment. What you said represented the truth as you saw it, and should be able to stand on its own. They want you to delete it to improve their sales and also to improve their Amazon feedback rating. For all you know, they have successfully done this numerous times in the past, and your decision to purchase the knife might have been influenced by other similar reviews. Your review should be a fair warning to future purchasers.
 
taking the whole clone company part out of it as that on it's own is a whole topic I dont feel like treading through.....

sounds, to me, like theyre trying to buy you to delete the comment. how you go is up to you. you could update they exchanged the faulty product and discounted it etc. while leaving the original comments as is. its factual and isnt allowing a buying your love routine. it's up to you how you handle it.

I get them wanting to fix bad reviews....but buying it vs. just doing it cause it's the right thing to do......... are very different things.

all that said I don't know this company.....I'm discussing more so the singular event than the clones and such and bad business or whatever might be applicable.......following?
 
I bought a powder mixer for protein powder on Amazon, and in the package they offered a sampler of protein powders if one would post a video review. I did so, and mentioned in my review that there had been a request to do so. The seller contacted me and offered an upgrade to my unit if I would remove the sentence about the video review.

I did - as I didn't think that really mattered, and the mixer is a very nice quality unit and well worth the money. Incidentally, the upgraded rechargeable unit they sent me for free is outstanding.

If I had been asked not to leave unfavorable feedback on a product that was deserving of said, I would certainly not abide. As a reviewer, you owe it to people who look at your review to be honest in my opinion.

best

mqqn
 
First off. BOTH those knives are clones. The first is a Shirogorov clone. The other a ZT clone.
Second. I would've learned my lesson after the first one came with such a dangerous flaw, and would avoid any other products from the company altogether.
Finally. These knives max out at about $20 retail, right? So is your honor and integrity only worth ten bucks? Because that is what you sold it for if you remove that feedback post.
 
It's a BRIBE , plain and simple . :mad::thumbsdown:

I would not only , not delete my review , I would add that the company attempted to bribe me !

What you do is your business , but I suspect you already know it's ethically wrong or you wouldn't even ask . o_O
 
Leave the comment. People need to know the good and the bad.
 
Thanks to everyone who posted so far. Yes, obviously, I know something is shady here. I started this thread to get a more complete picture from the knife community and a little help deciding if this was worth reporting to Amazon. My review will definitely stay up. At this point, I will be reporting the situation to Amazon. To address some specific comments:

lambertiana said:
... They want you to delete it to improve their sales and also to improve their Amazon feedback rating. For all you know, they have successfully done this numerous times in the past, and your decision to purchase the knife might have been influenced by other similar reviews...
Click to expand...

I had other stuff going on and just looked at the star breakdown for reviews when I bought the EF33. Doing after-the-fact research and seeing reviews elsewhere that mention exactly the issues that caused me to return the knife, I also have to wonder if the Amazon reviews have been shaped by this kind of activity. If so, at least I won't be a part of that trend.

NorthernSouthpaw said:
First off. BOTH those knives are clones. The first is a Shirogorov clone. The other a ZT clone.

Second. I would've learned my lesson after the first one came with such a dangerous flaw, and would avoid any other products from the company altogether...
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for letting me know. I wasn't even thinking about it when I bought the first one (under $20). I actually got the idea that the CH3504 was an original design from a video review on YouTube. It might have been LuvThemKnives but I'm not sure. The CH3504 is normally $35.

As far as the dangerous flaw, I did post another thread about that. I've noticed the specific issue of close blade-to-scale distance on a bunch of knives, including from more reputable companies like Kizer and Kershaw. Members here also reporting seeing this with more expensive knives. I gave them the benefit of the doubt and maybe I shouldn't have.

Mo2 said:
... they are very shady and have alot of bad quality control. Don't fix it. In fact post a link to this video that proves the steel is not what it is and the heat treatment is poor.

Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing this. That video shows Eafengrow lying about the steel in a lot of their personally branded knives. That definitely speaks to their overall reputation. However, it does not show the specific knife in question here (which is supposedly 9Cr18Mov). It also does not look at the more expensive CH-branded 3504. If anyone has a link to a steel test for the CH3504, I'd be interested to see it.

Overall, I feel like I stepped in it here. I'll certainly be more careful with future purchases. I hope my experiences will be helpful to others as well.
 
I've had a few CH and TwoSun knives tested. The AUS-8 and S35VN checked out ok, although the heat treat was a little lacking. The D2 was "D2" by a broader, global standard but not D2 as defined by ASTM for the US and Western Europe.

At the end of the day you made a couple of mistakes. You bought knives from a disreputable dealer (Eafengrow) through an avenue that makes it easy for these dealers to get products to market (Amazon). Also, you bought knives that looked cool without doing any homework on their origin.

The EF33 is definitely a clone of a Shirogorov F33...Eafengrow has the cajones to keep a similar model number. The CH3504 isn't a ZT clone; I'm not aware of any ZT models that look like that. To me it looks like a clone of the Kizer Ki401, the knife that got Kizer on the map and ultimately discredited Tim Britton's Tango.
View attachment 1076400
Even IF the 3504 is an "original" design, we've seen both CH and Eafengrow shamelessly offer clones. As others have said, there are far too many legit knife makers around at all price points. There's never any need to dip your toes in the muddy water of cloners. Try to buy your knives through legitimate knife dealers rather than a "global maketplace".

Yes, they offered you a bribe to retract criticism. If I were you, I'd return the second knife and tell them your review stands.
 
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I would not buy from such a company to start with. I have reasons not to buy Chinese made at all- but they are mainly political reasons. The remaining reason is the clone/counterfeiting issue. There are knives made in China for respectable knife companies sold under their brand names with good support. And there are Chinese knife companies that make good quality knives, but none in your $20 price range.
I think you should not remove your Amazon review. It helps other future potential buyers to make a decision. Which is what reviews are for.
However, your comment about their email's "Engrish" is a racially offensive comment. How good is your Chinese?
The correct thing to say is that their email was in English that was "poor, grammatically incorrect, difficult to understand, or even crappy".
When you mimic an ethnic group (like the recent "blackface" issues in the news) it is racist.
Just my view.
 
I would review my comments and alter them if I felt it appropriate. I would also add that the manufacturer tried to make things right with me (assuming that they actually did make things right). It's up to you.

The reviews can be very powerful with regards to marketing their products say on the big river site. This is especially true if there are few comments/reviews.
 
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