Any Encounter Counterfeit Or Knock-Off Fishing Gear?

[tcbass]

I started a thread on here looking for the best places to find fishing equipment. People posted places like Ebay, Amazon, Tackle Warehouse, and others.

 

I had checked Amazon a few times this month for Abu Garcia Revo Rockets and found them for $299, just like they are everywhere else. Well, because someone said sometimes Amazon has great prices I looked them up again tonite and found them for $226 and $241 with free shipping. Both came from sellers with ratings over 98% and many sales. So I quickly ordered both.

 

However, it made me think if the price was so good, what's the chance of it being counterfeit or knock-offs?

 

I am also a archery hunter and have heard of counterfeit products such as Rage Broadheads which are only about $39 a pack and SD cards which are only $2-$20 each being counterfeited. So if someone's willing to counterfeit something so cheap, they could easily counterfeit a nearly $300 reel or other equipment.

 

 

 

So has anyone on here ever encountered counterfeit or knock-off fishing equipment?

 

 

 

[Tywithay]

I have yet to get anything knockoff and I buy from both amazon and eBay pretty regularly.

[*Hootie]

I buy stuff from American Legacy Fishing often. I always check with Amazon first because they also sell through them and at a lower than the in store price. A lot of reputable companies sell through Amazon.

Hootie

[0119]

There was a lot of counterfeit power pro going around a couple years ago.  The only way to tell was a tiny glitch in the print on the packaging.  You can search the archives at floridasportsman forum to find out about it.

 

A retailers called tackledirect has a bunch of videos on youtube.  The guy talking about new products has a big screen behind him with product data.  Often they seem to forget to block out the manufacturers mswp and the msrp.  When you see the shops price its enough to make you sick!  Maybe you lucked out and got the mswp.

[tcbass]

There was a lot of counterfeit power pro going around a couple years ago.  The only way to tell was a tiny glitch in the print on the packaging.  You can search the archives at floridasportsman forum to find out about it.

 

A retailers called tackledirect has a bunch of videos on youtube.  The guy talking about new products has a big screen behind him with product data.  Often they seem to forget to block out the manufacturers mswp and the msrp.  When you see the shops price its enough to make you sick!  Maybe you lucked out and got the mswp.

I know msrp is manufacturers suggested retail price, I googled mswp but came up with nothing. What is that?

[Preytorien]

I think with reputable retailers like Amazon, eBay, etc you're probably pretty safe. I know as an eBay fanatic, if I see the rating is high, I like to look at the low ratings to see why, and generally it's something like "my reel didn't get here in 2 days" or stuff like that. In the fast paced review-related world of online marketplace, having several customers knock your online shop for selling fakes is basically self-destructive as far as business is concerned.

Most knock offs and fakes are pretty easy to spot, especially when the product location ISN'T in the United States. I generally don't buy Amazon/eBay stuff out of the country (every once in a while Canada). Shipping just takes too darn long, and like you said....you never know. I also buy a lot of cycling parts online, and I have knowingly bought fakes of clothing from overseas that I just didn't feel like paying twice as much for a logo piece of clothing, but it's VERY apparent that it's a fake. The price gives it away.

 

But as for the OP......I've never encountered any, and from those sites, I really wouldn't expect to see it all that much without it being embarassingly obvious.

[Jason Penn]

i'm not sure in the fishing industry, but in the musical instrument industry, dealer cost is roughly half of what the list price is.  

 

if it's the same with tackle, you can figure a $300 reel might cost the dealer $150, and might cost the actual company $75.  for some reason, i kinda think it might be different with rods & reels though.  i think it might be the dealer pays more and the companies actually pay less.  i have no inside information, just making a comparison to how the mi industry has generally always been.

[coak]

Mswp=manu's suggested wholesale price?

[Grantman83]

I read about a bunch of fake tatsu when it first came out. It had a slightly yellow tinge to it which people on TT where mentioning.

I think it's great that jdm is stuff more readily available because it tends to cut down on stuff like this

[smalljaw67]

Amazon is funny, you aren't getting a counterfit reel so don't worry about that. What I find funny is you will often get 1 day sales with great prices but then they are gone, and another little quirk I found is if you look at a specific product while signed in to your account everyday , you'll begin seeing sale prices on that item. For a month I was looking at a new T.V., a 3D Smart T.V., everyday for a month I checked Amazon for prices and I was getting emails which I would open and check out the price, the trick is being signed in, and one day I get a price I couldn't turn down, $110 off the normal. The same deal with a Fenwick Elite Tech rod, my 3rd one I got shipped for $77.49 but you have to look while signed in.

[bigbill]

I ordered a bait casting reel that ended up costing me around $29 with shipping from China. In inspecting this reel I found out inside it looks no different than any other $50 / $100 reel.

I look for the spool having two ball bearings rather than one.

The Chinese reel has two ball bearings. Quality wise it looks similair to any bait caster I have seen that's under $100. The fit and finish looks great and the friction knob and brakes function well too. It's not our $140 to $300 bait casting reel.

But it works if your on a tight budget. How long will it last I'm not sure but the metal beveled cut drive gears and bearings look like quality. I think this manufacturer was used as a reel vendor for a name brand reel company and when there contract ended the vendor went out on his own. We're getting a better reel at a Chinese price.

Now everything from China isn't equal. It's still a buyer beaware. I've seen some low quality spinning reels come from China too. With these you need to disassemble them to check the fit of the moving parts to make sure there correct. One problem I found is the fitting of the parts in the bail swivel. There wasn't enough clearance in the moving parts. A file or sand paper fixed it. For the grandsons first spinning reel or a ice fishing reel it's perfect.

Some of there crankbaits are iffy too. Some of there other cranks look like the cabelas or bps brand. (Made in China)

Every fishing I have is manufactured in China.

Soon everything will be made in China. Sad but true.

[0119]

I know msrp is manufacturers suggested retail price, I googled mswp but came up with nothing. What is that?

 

That was my assumption.  For a Lexa spinning reel msrp was 129 and change its mswp was 88 bucks.