Dealing with Modders

[Jagerkeg]

Not sure where to post this.
So, I do a lot of review and recommendation in my area and today I got in contact with a certain French modder who was nothing but rude and disrespectful and refused to sell me anything because I had "used" a clone of his product. Is this acceptable? Should I stick to my guns or blow it off and just buy his junk somewhere else? this really just doesn't seem like good business to me.

 

[NCCTC]

Hmmm ....
My $0.02 is that it is acceptable, and a modder/designer/business owner has their choice.
He has his opinion. Not that your opinion of him is wrong; as you have yours as well.
If it were me, I'd let this fish go, and hopefully no one gets bashed either way. I do think
it's good that you've left the mod and maker name out of the post.

 

[Diver9543]

It seems as if the French modder has a lot to learn about customer service. As my mom use to tell me, "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." I think he missed a chance for a lot of sales. A simple, "Oh, if you tried a clone, well, if it was good for you then you will be really impressed and enjoy the real thing." But then that is just me. I think you did the right thing. Have a good day and keep on vaping.

 

[nyiddle]

In my opinion, that's unacceptable.

Mods are gonna get cloned, there's nothing anyone can do about that, and to get upset over the user (who isn't responsible for making the clone or anything) is totally ridiculous. Maybe if you said you were a vape shop and you were stocking the clones of his product but wanted to get some of the authentics, I'd understand his frustration/anger. That's a totally different story.

To get mad because you "tried" a clone of his device is totally up-his-own-.... Odds are, his authentic is $200+ but made out of materials/design/labor that could be under $100. He's just mad he can't get as good of a price on his labor/materials as China can, which in the end means he's mad because he's not making as much money "as he should".

I have a feeling I know what mod you're talking about.

Edit: Nevermind, just looked up the maker of the mod I was talking about. He's not French, but he is a real big jerk..

 

[Jagerkeg]

Yeah, hes a big time mod maker so I guess me asking to purchase his product to do a review of it since its new and not on the shelves yet was just too much for me to ask. It was actually really hard for me not to post his name and company since this seems to be his MO and yes he is mad to the point where he has gone to FT and other clone sites to write fake reviews and forum posts about the "dangers" of buying "counterfeits".

 

[realsis]

I would purchase something else entirely! It's not acceptable the way you were treated. FACT not everyone can afford authentics. I do understand why he could be upset HOWEVER he could have handled it more respectfully. Because of his behavior I wouldn't buy a THING from him. That's just me....you are the consumer and deserve respect. At the least he could have politely explained why his product was better than a clone (if it was better at all) but he chose to be rude. In my book, that behavior equals a no sale. Not from him or any where else regarding his product. I'd find a entirely different manufacture!..

 

[Alien Traveler]

Yeah, hes a big time mod maker so I guess me asking to purchase his product to do a review of it since its new and not on the shelves yet was just too much for me to ask. It was actually really hard for me not to post his name and company since this seems to be his MO and yes he is mad to the point where he has gone to FT and other clone sites to write fake reviews and forum posts about the "dangers" of buying "counterfeits".

I hope you did not ask for discount for a review? And I think he has right not sell items which are still "not on the shelves".

 

[stevegmu]

Interesting. You tell him you bought a counterfeit of his product, then get upset because he doesn't sell you a yet-to-be-released product, which you think is junk, anyway...

 

[Jagerkeg]

Nice extrapolation guys. No I did not ask for a discount and as for on the shelves I mean local area, I should be more specific. I'm not mad about the product at all, but more a lack of common decency. I'm not unreasonable and I know someone isn't going to just give a special break because I want to do a review. By the way I do believe that kind of activity is highly unethical.

 

[stevegmu]

Should I stick to my guns or blow it off and just buy his junk somewhere else?

Sound like the start of an unbiased review...

 

[Jagerkeg]

@stevegmu I'm acknowledging you because I did not buy one of the "counterfeits" and since you obviously can not either read or comprehend you shall be ignored for the rest of this thread. Thank you for not contributing.

 

[stevegmu]

@stevegmu I'm acknowledging you because I did not buy one of the "counterfeits" and since you obviously can not either read or comprehend you shall be ignored for the rest of this thread. Thank you for not contributing.

No wonder he didn't want you to review his product...

 

[Frenchfry1942]

I just leave when that happens. I don't get to much in to those situations, though.

 

[Jagerkeg]

No wonder he didn't want you to review his product...

If you aren't going to help the conversation then you don't need to be here. Inflammitory comments and jabs don't help anyone yet all of your comments are just that. Have a nice day.

 

[gelgoog]

go spent your money elsewhere

 

[gelgoog]

oh and who is this modder?

 

[stevegmu]

If you aren't going to help the conversation then you don't need to be here. Inflammitory comments and jabs don't help anyone yet all of your comments are just that. Have a nice day.

I did help the conversation. You are upset at a modder because he wouldn't send you a product. I posed very good reasons as to why that is the case...

Do you do reviews based on counterfeit copies of mods as if reviewing authentic mods?

 

[Jagerkeg]

I differ between authentic and clone, mostly because you cant judge one by the other. Ive had clones that were superior to authentics. I'm upset because a modder decided that it was ok to be rude for no reason. I could have easily just purchased one of his mods without talking to him but I like to know a bit about a company and the people running it. *unrelated* I had another encounter with the guys from Asmodus today, their customer service is great but I cant weigh in on their products. This thread is not about them.

 

[nyiddle]

Lol what the hell? This thread is devolving into bashing of the OP because -- somehow -- everyone is pulling these crazy interpretations of OP's posts.

It sounds like the modder was in the wrong. Being a mod-maker and having your work cloned doesn't give you the right to be a ..... It happens to literally every mod-maker ever, and while it's something to be concerned about, if a person has a truly good product at a reasonable price people will buy the authentic over the clone.

That said, I'd never pay 100$+ for an atomizer. If you wanted to be a stickler, you could say that every atomizer has been a clone of the previous one -- no design has been truly original. Even clones often have differences from their authentic counterparts -- some for the better and some for the worse.

Either way, the tone of this thread is really discouraging. Don't be rude, guys.

ETA:

Also, I've seen [rarely] mod-makers buy the clones of their mods/atties and then make a video or take pictures outlining the differences/benefits between buying the authentic over the clone. I think this is a much better way to run your business, rather than discouraging people to use your products if they've tried the clone.

 

[Jagerkeg]

Thank you nyiddle, that does sound like an excellent business practice and basically what I end up doing every now and then. I don't like to openly bash people but instead simply offer other products and attempt to avoid bad companies. After a bit of thought I'm going to recommend this guys clones simply because I get better customer service from Chinese factories and they have a 1:1 option. Pretty sure France imports a lot of metal from China but don't quote me on that, but my faith in material difference is pretty low.