RDA Buying Authentic... Lack of quality

[mr.fabe]

Let me start this off by stating that I personally prefer buying authentic equipment. It doesn't matter what country the authentic is made in. I believe that the creator should be rewarded for their hard work in designing, machining, and bringing their goods to the public. The excellent quality I have always received when I purchase an authentic has been replicated many times over. I've come to expect attention to detail on every aspects of their product and I pay a premium for that privilege. From mods as a 4nine, GP Paps or tanks like svoemesto KFL+ / v4, or rda's like the 454, Derringer, Veritas, and Origen. I recently purchased an American Made product that was machined very well but had poor finishing for a final product. The RDA had burrs, tool marks, and a ding on the base. Absolutely sad when you pay a premium price and receive that kind of finish. I've contacted the manufacturer and failed to get any response. I was not looking for anything free. I just wanted to give them an opportunity to make things right. I have had clones with better machining.

Has anyone else experienced this sort of quality issues on any of the authentics you've purchased ?

 

[schatz]

Let me start this off by stating that I personally prefer buying authentic equipment. It doesn't matter what country the authentic is made in. I believe that the creator should be rewarded for their hard work in designing, machining, and bringing their goods to the public. The excellent quality I have always received when I purchase an authentic has been replicated many times over. I've come to expect attention to detail on every aspects of their product and I pay a premium for that privilege. From mods as a 4nine, GP Paps or tanks like Svoemesto KFL+ / v4, or RDA's like the 454, Derringer, Veritas, and Origen. I recently purchased an American Made product that was machined very well but had poor finishing for a final product. The RDA had burrs, tool marks, and a ding on the base. Absolutely sad when you pay a premium price and receive that kind of finish. I've contacted the manufacturer and failed to get any response. I was not looking for anything free. I just wanted to give them an opportunity to make things right. I have had clones with better machining.

Has anyone else experienced this sort of quality issues on any of the authentics you've purchased ?

Yes, tell me yours first.

 

[mr.fabe]

Yes, tell me yours first.

I did without mentioning names. This wasn't about bashing a particular company because of their complacent attitude or lack of customer service. I actually believe that they put profit ahead of customer service and because of that, they will have one less customer supporting their new offerings unless its a clone. If there is a need to know the company.... Who was the 35th President of the U.S.?

 

[WillyZee]

I've only seen lack of quality from clones and counterfeits ... authentics for me have been great.

 

[schatz]

I did without mentioning names. This wasn't about bashing a particular company because of their complacent attitude or lack of customer service. I actually believe that they put profit ahead of customer service and because of that, they will have one less customer supporting their new offerings unless its a clone. If there is a need to know the company.... Who was the 35th President of the U.S.?

I dont think I have heard of that one.I recently purchased several authentics over past year that were way better than the clone version from Fastec.Then I purchased a few from a mod maker, and at the same time I ordered the clone from Fastec.The clones got here in 9 days and were decent, a little diferent, not 1:1 but overall not bad.The authentics took 2 months to get here and were good, but had sharp edges and were not deburred as well as the clones were.So you just never know. I think for the money I will stick to the clones from now on,sad to say, but oh well.

 

[mr.fabe]

I dont think I have heard of that one.I recently purchased several authentics over past year that were way better than the clone version from Fastec.Then I purchased a few from a mod maker, and at the same time I ordered the clone from Fastec.The clones got here in 9 days and were decent, a little diferent, not 1:1 but overall not bad.The authentics took 2 months to get here and were good, but had sharp edges and were not deburred as well as the clones were.So you just never know. I think for the money I will stick to the clones from now on,sad to say, but oh well.

Good point on the wait time. I waited forever on a Hana mod and ended picking up a clone from FT. By the time the Hana was available, I was no longer interested in the Hana. My issue could have due to packaging (ziplock baggie) but I doubt it. Stainless steel is a pretty hard material to dent, bend, or drill.

 

[DaveSignal]

I had issues with the center post on a clone RDA, so then I bought the authentic and had the exact same issues with the same post. Damn.
I also have one different authentic with a spinning post.
And I have one authentic that required replacing o-rings out of the box because the fit was too loose.
And I have one authentic that the barrel fits so tight it requires pliers to get off sometimes.

But I do have a lot of RDAs, both authentic and clone. And I do usually have less issues with authentic devices. But, at least with a clone, its less of a big deal to have to fix something out of the box since I didn't pay as much money for it.

 

[EverPresentNoob]

I have clones of a few and one authentic. My authentic is to me, perfect. There was a couple scratches on the blue AFC ring, but once I emailed the manufacturer with my order number and a pic of the issue I got an email response that they were looking into my issue. two days later I got a box from them with a new AFC ring, rebuild kit, and a couple other things.

I snagged a clone for a good price of a tugboat... spinning center post. returned it for a new one, spinning centerpost. returned it again... finally got one that was good, but the finish was scratched up. when I contacted the seller I was told they had already exchanged it for me multiple times and that they were not going to do it again. so I asked for a refund and said I would send it back. I was told to keep it and they would refund half my money. Fine. Sadly that damn tugboat is one of my favorite RDA's.

Bought a clone mod of a fuhattan. wouldnt fire no matter what I did. contacted the seller and was told they were all tested before shipping so I must have done something to it. I could send it back and they would repair it but I would have to pay shipping both ways and pay for the repairs... I ended up losing my temper and ran it through a band saw about 10 times and then sent that back to them asking for them to repair it if they could. Funny, I never heard from them again.

al my other clones (3 mods and 4 attys) have been flawless and working like they are supposed to. so sometimes you get lucky, sometimes not so much.

 

[VictorViper]

It doesn't matter what country the authentic is made in. I believe that the creator should be rewarded for their hard work in designing, machining, and bringing their goods to the public.

I love this, and it's becoming a very relevant topic. Boutique machinists aren't going to get away with sloppy work. Especially with the likes of Wotofo, CoV and others proving you can have smart authentics with great machining for half their price or (much) less.

 

[Oberon75]

I have only bought two authentic American made attys so far and both have been top notch.

Sent from my HTC One M8 Harman/Kardon edition

 

[mr.fabe]

I love this, and it's becoming a very relevant topic. Boutique machinists aren't going to get away with sloppy work. Especially with the likes of Wotofo, CoV and others proving you can have smart authentics with great machining for half their price or (much) less.

Can you spot the fake in this picture ? One cost over $100 and the other $7

 

[mr.fabe]

I have only bought two authentic American made attys so far and both have been top notch.

Sent from my HTC One M8 Harman/Kardon edition

Yes. That's exactly what I expect when I buy an authentic.. American made or not.

 

[cheeseofvapes]

had 3 authentics with real ....ty finishing: VPRS Thundercloud Plus, Footoon Aqua V2, and the VLS Vector RDA.

thundercloud plus - had a lot of tiny burrs around all air hole drillings. i used a file to clean all the edges. took an hour to clean it up.
aqua v2 - had thick/sharp burrs around the juice holes. no way i could do it myself. emailed footoon and he sent me replacement parts. awesome customer service.
vector rda - had incomplete lazer etching, and air holes were not drilled cleanly; imperfect circles, burrs, etc. emailed VLS and they sent me a full replacement w/ shipping label to return defect. awesome customer service.

so not all authentics are 100% but the fact that you can contact them directly for issues is what matters most. didnt spend on a dime on replacements either.

my norbert Origen Dipper V3 though... best fit and finish i've ever seen. everything is finished and sanded smooth. didnt even come in a nice box like other "high end" atties. i dont even care about a nice box.

i find that companies that focus more on their marketing hype will tend to fall short on quality bc they're rushing to get their orders out instead on quality.

 

[herb]

I have some authentic's and some clones, problem for me is i drop stuff too much even when i know i'm being careful, very depressing actually.

If i buy a clone i always do tons of research and only buy from the clone manufacturers who are known to put out excellent stuff , never been disappointed with either type.

I am very OCD about stuff like that though, i actually go over everything with a fine tooth comb and try to find something wrong with it , if i find something i get others opinions and they all say "what are you talking about , i don't see anything " .

 

[mr.fabe]

so not all authentics are 100% but the fact that you can contact them directly for issues is what matters most. didnt spend on a dime on replacements either.

my norbert Origen Dipper V3 though... best fit and finish i've ever seen. everything is finished and sanded smooth. didnt even come in a nice box like other "high end" atties. i dont even care about a nice box.

i find that companies that focus more on their marketing hype will tend to fall short on quality bc they're rushing to get their orders out instead on quality.

I agree that sometimes, things may 'slip through the cracks', however, once you let the manufacturer know in a nice way, you give them an opportunity to clean up the workmanship. I did contact the machinist and did not receive any replies. No accountability or pride in one's work. Sad but true.

+1 on the Origen v3.. just received mine in foam wrap.. awesome machine work, attention to detail. That's why I personally prefer Norbert's atties. The first one I bought of his design was the v1. The v2 and v3 are authentics. Guess which one broke? .. the clone.

 

[mr.fabe]

I have some authentic's and some clones, problem for me is i drop stuff too much even when i know i'm being careful, very depressing actually.

If i buy a clone i always do tons of research and only buy from the clone manufacturers who are known to put out excellent stuff , never been disappointed with either type.

I am very OCD about stuff like that though, i actually go over everything with a fine tooth comb and try to find something wrong with it , if i find something i get others opinions and they all say "what are you talking about , i don't see anything " .

We all sometimes drop things but when there is little damage you can do to stainless steel that sandpaper can't fix

 

[herb]

We all sometimes drop things but when there is little damage you can do to stainless steel that sandpaper can't fix

Trust me, i drop everything constantly , even when i am kayaking , i accidentally drop and leave more crap in the water than a torpedoed battleship.

 

[mr.fabe]

Trust me, i drop everything constantly , even when i am kayaking , i accidentally drop and leave more crap in the water than a torpedoed battleship.

[Censored]

 

[Monotremata]

I dont think I have heard of that one.I recently purchased several authentics over past year that were way better than the clone version from Fastec.Then I purchased a few from a mod maker, and at the same time I ordered the clone from Fastec.The clones got here in 9 days and were decent, a little diferent, not 1:1 but overall not bad.The authentics took 2 months to get here and were good, but had sharp edges and were not deburred as well as the clones were.So you just never know. I think for the money I will stick to the clones from now on,sad to say, but oh well.

Well Fasttech isnt exactly known for being top notch in the quality department.. Most of the time you dont even know where those clones come from, where if you pick a reputable clone brand like Wotofo, Tobeco, EHPro, and especially Infinite/SXK theyre a step or two and sometimes three above anything Fasttech rolls out. In some cases, theyve even surpased the authentic in terms of quality and functionality. And lately Wotofo seems to be really on the ball putting out their own authentic stuff at like 1/3 of the price of most other companies. Ive never bought anything from FT, because you just dont know the source of most of their products. I dont care how cheap it is, Ill pay a few bucks more and order it from someplace here and not have to wait a month to get it.

 

[schatz]

Well Fasttech isnt exactly known for being top notch in the quality department.. Most of the time you dont even know where those clones come from, where if you pick a reputable clone brand like Wotofo, Tobeco, EHPro, and especially Infinite/SXK theyre a step or two and sometimes three above anything Fasttech rolls out. In some cases, theyve even surpased the authentic in terms of quality and functionality. And lately Wotofo seems to be really on the ball putting out their own authentic stuff at like 1/3 of the price of most other companies. Ive never bought anything from FT, because you just dont know the source of most of their products. I dont care how cheap it is, Ill pay a few bucks more and order it from someplace here and not have to wait a month to get it.

I agree with you as far as most of the time they dont name the clone manufacturer,and sometimes they can be hit or miss.I usually only buy when the product has lots of good reviews,lists the manuf,or recommended by somebody here.If I do buy a clone from Fastec I usually will not buy the cheapest one they list in that style,I did that when I first started ordering from them, and they were pretty bad.My last order acouple of weeks ago arrived in 8 days,I ordered a named brand clone and an unamed clone of the same item,by the recommendation of a couple of peeps here on a certain thread,and they were both really good.Actually, the unamed one was machined a little better and deburred more.Where are you buying from locally that can compete with Fastec,I would definitely like to give them a shot.I like to buy in America, but I like everyone else, like to keep as much money in my pocket when possible.And I dont mind the long shipping times,at my age you learn patience.