Reporting Clones

Only buy from reputable dealers. Problem solved.

EBay will never do the right thing.

clones are bad enough. Outright forgeries are a scourge on our hobby.
 
I’m don’t support clones/counterfeits.

When I try to look at the issue as impartial as I can, the negative aspects of clones outweighs the good. Here’s my outlook:

The good thing about clones seems to be that people are able to try or afford a knife without paying full price.

The bad things about clones would be the negative impact it has on the industry, theft of design and amount of money spent if you buy the real design after test driving. Even if the clone used the same materials and build quality, it would be able to be sold for less due to lack of R&D cost. This hurts knife companies who design a quality product and have a positive impact on knives.

Cheap meds would be similar to this. Due to the R&D costs, meds have a patent (currently of 20yrs) before generics are allowed. It makes things expensive. But covers the companies R&D cost (plus provides incentive).

As a selfish reason to not buy clones, you already know what you want. Buy a clone for however much, we’ll say $25. Now you’re excited enough to buy the real design, say $200. You’ve spent $225 total from test driving a clone. If you initially buy the original design from the original company, you’ve only spent $200. Sell the original online if you don’t like it, w/o much loss. A clone would be a less desirable, tougher sale.

To each their own!

tl;dr
 
skyhorse said:
Here we go again , another thread with people trying to justify buying counterfeits , clones and knock offs. Father I didn't steal it, all I did was buy it . :eek:
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Here we go again, another thread with people attacking the character and morals of others because of how they choose to spend their money...

Do we really have to pick up a stick and start looking for a horse again? Or, can we let this thread run it’s course without all the finger pointing and mud slinging from both sides?
 
If someone wants to buy a clone that's their choice.

I'm not here to lecture others, I know that I won't buy fakes and that's enough for me.

A fake won't be of same quality as the original, and I'd feel bad to know that I have something that's not original. Also you have no warranty or anything... you don't even know the build material.
 
I’d be interested to see all the broken clones and counterfeits that get returned to the real company.


The other negative of clones and counterfeits. It makes it harder to sell your original on the secondary market.
 
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eveled said:
I’d be interested to see all the broken clones and counterfeits that get returned to the real company.


The other negative of clones and counterfeits. It makes it harder to sell on the secondary market.
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That's why I keep box and receip of any knife I get.
 
It happens sometimes. A person buys an original and a clone then sells the clone with the original packaging.

Or even worse returns the clone for a refund.
 
eveled said:
It happens sometimes. A person buys an original and a clone then sells the clone with the original packaging.

Or even worse returns the clone for a refund.
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Yep. I would be pissed off if I bought that clone as the the real deal.

I tell people that they will never get the same satisfaction from a clone as the real thing. If I want a CRK, that is what I want. Not a copy. Emotionally, it just is not the same.
 
I think the thread is muddling 2 different things, counterfeits and clones. Counterfeits are marked with the logos etc of the victimized company to fool consumers into thinking they are buying a genuine brand name. Clones are knives that have the same (or very similar) design, shape, etc, but are not attempting to fool anyone regarding their brand. IMO the first is far more egregious. I would report the first if I thought it might do any good, but the latter is too much of a gray area for me to get involved in. In most cases, I can’t know if another company has a patent on the shape and design of a knife.
 
I recently spotted a clone of a RAT 1 folder. Asking price was $22.00. I think that is only about three bucks less than the real thing.
 
MassMatt said:
I think the thread is muddling 2 different things, counterfeits and clones. Counterfeits are marked with the logos etc of the victimized company to fool consumers into thinking they are buying a genuine brand name. Clones are knives that have the same (or very similar) design, shape, etc, but are not attempting to fool anyone regarding their brand. IMO the first is far more egregious...
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Thank you. So many people around here consider them the same thing. To me, that really clouds the issues.
 
sabre cat said:
Here we go again, another thread with people attacking the character and morals of others because of how they choose to spend their money...

Do we really have to pick up a stick and start looking for a horse again? Or, can we let this thread run it’s course without all the finger pointing and mud slinging from both sides?
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If you want to support counterfeits, go right ahead.
 
Back in the day, I used to spend about ten minutes reporting Cold Steel clones, nearly every time I went on Ebay (daily). I don't think it helped:D.
I don't buy clones, and counterfeits because they are flea market junk. As a member of the "knife community," I try let other community members know that I do not support sites/companies that clone, and counterfeit. We should point out that there are plenty of knives that are as cheap, better quality, and from reputable companies.
th


I saw this one at an online dealer recently. Super blatant clone!

th
th
 
skyhorse said:
If you want to support counterfeits, go right ahead.
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My comments above are not in support of counterfeits or clones.
If you interpret them as such, you are sadly mistaken.

But, if you want to believe that I am a fan of counterfeit products, knock yourself out. I have zero control over how you interpret my writings.
 
This thread is no different than the recent ones which have already been closed. Other than a more subtly worded OP. Popcorn any one?
 
Theft is theft

Recently I’ve had to deal with fake Trijicon RMR’s on even amazon

it’s terrible to order a $500 dollar red dot and have to worry if it’s real or not

also the amount of goods that are returned to retailers after some scum bag sticks the fake one back in the box is terrible
 
skyhorse said:
No legitimate retailer sells this crap . ;)
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You might have a point but, it would really depend upon how you define the word “legitimate.”

In my mind, an ethical retailer would not sell a clone. A legitimate dealer still might depending upon circumstances.
 
Handwrecker said:
I’m don’t support clones/counterfeits.

When I try to look at the issue as impartial as I can, the negative aspects of clones outweighs the good. Here’s my outlook:

The good thing about clones seems to be that people are able to try or afford a knife without paying full price.

The bad things about clones would be the negative impact it has on the industry, theft of design and amount of money spent if you buy the real design after test driving. Even if the clone used the same materials and build quality, it would be able to be sold for less due to lack of R&D cost. This hurts knife companies who design a quality product and have a positive impact on knives.

Cheap meds would be similar to this. Due to the R&D costs, meds have a patent (currently of 20yrs) before generics are allowed. It makes things expensive. But covers the companies R&D cost (plus provides incentive).

As a selfish reason to not buy clones, you already know what you want. Buy a clone for however much, we’ll say $25. Now you’re excited enough to buy the real design, say $200. You’ve spent $225 total from test driving a clone. If you initially buy the original design from the original company, you’ve only spent $200. Sell the original online if you don’t like it, w/o much loss. A clone would be a less desirable, tougher sale.

To each their own!

tl;dr
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Handwrecker - I think you are generally on the right track but I seriously disagree with your statement that, "People are able to try or afford a knife without paying full price." Crap is still crap no matter what the price. The buyer will never get or experience the satisfaction they would if they had purchased the real deal. I'm pretty sure they could have purchased a good, less expensive knife from a reputable dealer for the same price they paid to get the piece of crap they ended up with.

The problem is that POS, crap knives confuse the whole knife market. I have sold some folders that they buyers thought were fakes. I told them to return for refund, or better yet contact a good knife dealer or the manufacturer to confirm their opinion that the knife was a fake. I have only had one knife returned and I think that was because the buyer spent more on it than his significant other was willing to spend.

Like you say, to each his own!
 
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