Fake Aspire Nautilus tanks? Help PLEASE!

[bobbyk45248]

So I bought two Aspire Nautilus tanks with the dual coil atomizers from my local vape shop.

I've had nothing but problems with them since day one and paid $30 USD each.

First off, when I screw either of the two tanks onto my device, Innokin iTaste SVD, neither screw on straight. They end up clearly cockeyed/crooked with or without the beauty ring. They also register as 0 ohms when screwed down completely and won't work. I have to unscrew them to where they are almost flopping around on my device to get them to register the correct ohms and work at all. I then screwed them onto both my brother's and my mother's eGo cTwist batteries and they screw on crooked on both of their batteries as well, with exactly the same issue as my device as far as not working, except theirs aren't capable of displaying ohms!
I have IClear 30 tanks and a Kanger Protank 3 and all of these tanks screw on perfectly straight on all of our mods and batteries.
These are the first tanks to ever have any problem like this with them not screwing on straight and not working when fully screwed down.

Second off, the drip tip rubber ring began to tear after the first time I took the drip tip off, not completely but part of the ring that prevents juice from leaking from the tip tore off and continues to tear and get thinner and thinner each time I remove the drip tip for cleaning or to dab out flooded ejuice from below the drip tip.

Lastly, I find out there are scratch off serial authentication numbers on the back of each box so I scratch them both off and they both have the SAME EXACT SERIAL NUMBERS!

So I went to Aspire's website and found out the serial numbers have been checked/used 37 times already in bold red warning print!

Now I do know from reading Aspire's website that the first 30,000 produced did not come with any serial codes on the back (no sticker at all), but I couldn't find out ANYTHING about duplicate codes being issued, and I would hope that Aspire would NEVER issue repeat serial codes, especially since they have scratch off codes which can be checked for authenticity!

If these are "knock-offs" or fakes, they are the closest made replicas I have ever seen but I am new to the vaping scene (vaping over a month now), so that doesn't rule them out from being fake. They work like complete crap, flood way too often, constantly have me drinking ejuice, screw on cockeyed, and I have done nothing but wasted too much time trying to get these damn things to work correctly to no avail. Also, in the past 5 days, I have gone through 2 of the atomizers already!

Oh yea, and I watched some review videos with close ups of the instructions, and I can clearly tell the instructions that came with my tanks are an off color where it says Nautilus. Instead of being a bright grey as in every YouTube review I watched, my instructions are a very dull, dark grey. CLEARLY way off color, no doubt about it, BUT I guess they could be revised instructions POSSIBLY.

I still have my receipt and all original box, instructions, and packaging and plan on going back to the vape shop first thing Monday when they open to let them know I want to return these POS's! I am not going to accuse or point fingers, but will present the issues I have just told you all here on this post and see what they say. I think I am going to just print a copy of this post to make it easier to let them know what my issues are. I will be SO disappointed if I find out these are fakes and don't know if I will ever be able to trust this vape shop again if this is the case.

Can anyone please tell me what you know about possible fake Aspire Nautilus and what your personal thoughts are as to if these are fake or if there is a for sure way to know if I have bought fakes/knockoffs? Thanks so much for any help, everyone!

P.S. To the mods, I could not post to the tank issues forum topic so I am sorry and feel free to move it to the correct subtopic if you need to. My apologies.

 

[BackDoc]

If there are copies of evod clearos i wouldn't doubt someone in the peoples republic have reproduced a clone of the Pricey Nautilus , id bring them back,get your money and not look back....good luck

 

[BigCatDaddy]

Could be that the vape shop got duped into buying replicas. My local shop bought a fleet of Protank II's that were replicas. They weren't etched Kanger but looked pretty much the same. They had idfferent drip tips and the coils were god-awful. They gave me one for free and upon tearing into it, there were no o-rings inside. I had some o-rings and installed them and the tank works fine, chunked the coils.
I hope your shop does right by you and gives you your dough back or at least offers you some different tanks in exchange. Good luck and keep us posted.!!

 

[bobbyk45248]

Thank you both for the quick replies! I completely agree and hope to get at least a store credit at the very least to get some different tanks. I also bought a 5 pack of the replacement atomizers, and after a ton of research last night, I think that even the atomizers are knockoffs/fakes! Every picture I have found show the atomizers each individually packaged with a silver pop out type cover on the back of each one. The ones I got are all packaged in some cheap plastic and not individually packaged and no silver pop out cover on the backs!

I am trying to check the KangerTech Protank 3 serial but the damn authenticity checker has been down for two days straight

If I find out my Protank 3 is a fake, I'll be bringing a ton of stuff back to the vape shop! Thank God I always save every receipt and package for a year for everything I buy....

 

[jimbodaddy74]

Make sure to show them the discrepancy in the authentication website. I would give them the benefit of the doubt that they were unknowingly selling counterfeits as opposed to clones.

My local shop made an order for Protank 2's and when they came in, found very quickly that they were clones(different packaging, even though the tanks looked identical without the etching). They sold them off at cost instead of the hassle of returning them. I bought three of them and they work fine.

 

[Kollin6618]

Certainly weird. I have an SVD and use my Nautilus tank on it. I have yet to have an issue besides flooding it the first time I used it (I later read if you use the 2 smallest airflow settings and suck in too much it's easy to flood). Mine screws on just fine and reads properly. I'd definitely take them back because you shouldn't be having so many problems.

 

[bobbyk45248]

Just found out from Aspire themselves that the ones I bought are INDEED fakes! I have to take pictures of these before I return them so people know just how friggin real these damn things look! I will reply soon with the pics...

 

[MrPlink]

Dont own a Nautilus so I cant give you direct feedback BUT I can tell you EVERY eCig product out there has been pirated, cloned, knocked off etc etc

Some go so far as to even copy packaging (I have seen Kanger knockoff stuff that was about 99percent correct)

Sometimes the factory sells unbranded items to different companies to be sold under different names.

and in some cases the clones and copies are better than the original

Unfortunately you need to be a really savvy consumer in this market

 

[Katya]

Just found out from Aspire themselves that the ones I bought are INDEED fakes! I have to take pictures of these before I return them so people know just how friggin real these damn things look! I will reply soon with the pics...

Oh dear... That might explain at least some of the complaints about lousy QC of Aspire products.

Can't wait for the pictures. Good luck!

 

[Katya]

Dont own a Nautilus so I cant give you direct feedback BUT I can tell you EVERY eCig product out there has been pirated, cloned, knocked off etc etc

Not the ProVari.

Have no idea why, though.

 

[edyle]

So I bought two Aspire Nautilus tanks with the dual coil atomizers from my local vape shop.

I've had nothing but problems with them since day one and paid $30 USD each.

First off, when I screw either of the two tanks onto my device, Innokin iTaste SVD, neither screw on straight. They end up clearly cockeyed/crooked with or without the beauty ring. They also register as 0 ohms when screwed down completely and won't work. I have to unscrew them to where they are almost flopping around on my device to get them to register the correct ohms and work at all. I then screwed them onto both my brother's and my mother's eGo cTwist batteries and they screw on crooked on both of their batteries as well, with exactly the same issue as my device as far as not working, except theirs aren't capable of displaying ohms!
I have IClear 30 tanks and a Kanger Protank 3 and all of these tanks screw on perfectly straight on all of our mods and batteries.
These are the first tanks to ever have any problem like this with them not screwing on straight and not working when fully screwed down.

Second off, the drip tip rubber ring began to tear after the first time I took the drip tip off, not completely but part of the ring that prevents juice from leaking from the tip tore off and continues to tear and get thinner and thinner each time I remove the drip tip for cleaning or to dab out flooded ejuice from below the drip tip.

Lastly, I find out there are scratch off serial authentication numbers on the back of each box so I scratch them both off and they both have the SAME EXACT SERIAL NUMBERS!

So I went to Aspire's website and found out the serial numbers have been checked/used 37 times already in bold red warning print!

Now I do know from reading Aspire's website that the first 30,000 produced did not come with any serial codes on the back (no sticker at all), but I couldn't find out ANYTHING about duplicate codes being issued, and I would hope that Aspire would NEVER issue repeat serial codes, especially since they have scratch off codes which can be checked for authenticity!

If these are "knock-offs" or fakes, they are the closest made replicas I have ever seen but I am new to the vaping scene (vaping over a month now), so that doesn't rule them out from being fake. They work like complete crap, flood way too often, constantly have me drinking ejuice, screw on cockeyed, and I have done nothing but wasted too much time trying to get these damn things to work correctly to no avail. Also, in the past 5 days, I have gone through 2 of the atomizers already!

Oh yea, and I watched some review videos with close ups of the instructions, and I can clearly tell the instructions that came with my tanks are an off color where it says Nautilus. Instead of being a bright grey as in every YouTube review I watched, my instructions are a very dull, dark grey. CLEARLY way off color, no doubt about it, BUT I guess they could be revised instructions POSSIBLY.

I still have my receipt and all original box, instructions, and packaging and plan on going back to the vape shop first thing Monday when they open to let them know I want to return these POS's! I am not going to accuse or point fingers, but will present the issues I have just told you all here on this post and see what they say. I think I am going to just print a copy of this post to make it easier to let them know what my issues are. I will be SO disappointed if I find out these are fakes and don't know if I will ever be able to trust this vape shop again if this is the case.

Can anyone please tell me what you know about possible fake Aspire Nautilus and what your personal thoughts are as to if these are fake or if there is a for sure way to know if I have bought fakes/knockoffs? Thanks so much for any help, everyone!

P.S. To the mods, I could not post to the tank issues forum topic so I am sorry and feel free to move it to the correct subtopic if you need to. My apologies.

I find out there are scratch off serial authentication numbers on the back of each box so I scratch them both off and they both have the SAME EXACT SERIAL NUMBERS!

So I went to Aspire's website and found out the serial numbers have been checked/used 37 times already in bold red warning print!

There is no issue of Aspire issueing duplicate serial numbers; those tanks are NOT CLONES they are COUNTERFEIT.

Print out the webpage that shows

Aspire's website and found out the serial numbers have been checked/used 37 times already in bold red warning print!

And take that back to the store along with the tanks and the packaging that shows duplicate serial numbers.

Good thing its a b&m you got it from so you can take it back;
theres another thread this same night with somebody with the same problem with a kangertech aerotank he got off ebay; serial number was already used when he went to the website.


Whats the store you got it from?

 

[edyle]

Could be that the vape shop got duped into buying replicas. My local shop bought a fleet of Protank II's that were replicas. They weren't etched Kanger but looked pretty much the same. They had idfferent drip tips and the coils were god-awful. They gave me one for free and upon tearing into it, there were no o-rings inside. I had some o-rings and installed them and the tank works fine, chunked the coils.
I hope your shop does right by you and gives you your dough back or at least offers you some different tanks in exchange. Good luck and keep us posted.!!

Those are just knockoffs, not counterfiet.

The OPs issue really is a case of counterfiet.

 

[aikanae1]

Not the ProVari.

Have no idea why, though.

I think the Siegeli Zmax copied the Classic Provari look. Sig still changed things so it really wasn't a clone by today's standard. But when it first came out, a few people were upset that it looked so similiar.

 

[coalyard]

Oh dear... That might explain at least some of the complaints about lousy QC of Aspire products.

Can't wait for the pictures. Good luck!

Yeah, I was wondering what was up with all of the complaints myself. I haven't bought one myself, but I did get to check one out and vape one real early on. I am friends with the owner of a B&M and they were very happy with their initial testing they did before offering them in store.

I have taken a "wait and see" attitude with a lot of new equipment.

"You can recognize a pioneer by the arrows in his back."

 

[Katya]

I think the Siegeli Zmax copied the Classic Provari look. Sig still changed things so it really wasn't a clone by today's standard. But when it first came out, a few people were upset that it looked so similiar.

Well, it's a tube mod. And some earlier versions featured a tapered head with pips--which really upset the true Provari lovers. Can't have pips on anything but a ProVari.

Seriously, Sigelei (and Smoktech) didn't copy or clone the ProVari--as a matter of fact, they made an APV that has all kinds of cool features that ProVari doesn't, like dual 510/eGo connection, nice OLED display and variable power. And then they quickly introduced the flat head to accommodate new large tanks. Zmax is not a Provari clone by any stretch of imagination. I own both and can vouch for that.

 

[Katya]

Yeah, I was wondering what was up with all of the complaints myself. I haven't bought one myself, but I did get to check one out and vape one real early on. I am friends with the owner of a B&M and they were very happy with their initial testing they did before offering them in store.

I have taken a "wait and see" attitude with a lot of new equipment.

"You can recognize a pioneer by the arrows in his back."

Yeah... Nasty. I agree that cloning may be a questionable practice, but I wouldn't have a problem myself buying a good quality clone--as such, for less money, full disclosure. Counterfeiting is a crime, plain and simple.

 

[bobbyk45248]

Here are the links to all the pictures of one of the fake Aspire Nautilus tanks including all parts, box, and instructions. I also made a YouTube video letting people know.

YouTube Video
FAKE ASPIRE NAUTILUS TANKS ARE OUT! EXACT REPLICAS! BUYER BEWARE! - YouTube

Photos of fake Aspire Nautilus

 

[aikanae1]

Well chinese manufacturing is very different than what we might think it should be. Many large brands like Innokin and Kanger contract with several manufacturers to produce products. That's why subtle but functional variations can appear. If you go to Alibaba and look a product up, there's a list of factories producing it. They are "genuine" and they all have very similar addresses. Factories are rented out by the day or week based on demand. It's also not that unusual for a factory to knock off a few extras to sell on the side, ideally as unbranded, generics or OEM's. I guess chinese aren't as picky about branding - but essentially branding, not factory, is what we are buying with "genuine" products.

The other thing that can happen is products are purchased through alternate means; a distributor, under a different name and the minimum retail pricing agreement is avoided or "not for retail". Those are also genuine but not registered on the manufacturers site. Innokin and Kanger have sent out letters making claims those products are fake when in fact they are genuine, just unauthorized because the price was too low.

Clones are duplicates, inspired by a product but they aren't passed off as the same thing. I think some mods are up to the fifth generation of cloning. I think that's the chinese version of evolution. But a lot of us would have never had to chance to try out some products without them being cloned first. But cloning is not counterfeiting and a fact of life, at least until manufacturing is returned to the US and then there will be no more "cheap".

Counterfeit is an obvious and usually poor attempt to pass off something as the original, or fraud. It sounds like that's what you have if it's not functional and there's a very good chance your b&m was also duped. They get away with it because they look really good in the package. Sometimes our only protection is the reputation of the seller (esp with batteries) and if your b&m has been in the vaping business for any length of time, they are also aware of that. You did the right thing buying through a b&m. My hunch is they'll be as surprised as you.

 

[aikanae1]

Well, it's a tube mod. And some earlier versions featured a tapered head with pips--which really upset the true Provari lovers. Can't have pips on anything but a ProVari.

Seriously, Sigelei (and Smoktech) didn't copy or clone the ProVari--as a matter of fact, they made an APV that has all kinds of cool features that ProVari doesn't, like dual 510/eGo connection, nice OLED display and variable power. And then they quickly introduced the flat head to accommodate new large tanks. Zmax is not a Provari clone by any stretch of imagination. I own both and can vouch for that.

I own both too. Go back to Pbsurado or Todd's video reviews and they both are quite upset about it being a "clone". It's one of the first mass scale ones. Provari changed it's design after that. Idk if that was related though. By today's standards, it's not a clone. I just thought I'd point out that a couple (?) of years ago it was considered a clone. Times have changed.

 

[Stringplucker]

What you have is a fake...no doubt. The finish on the bottom of mine, which is the real deal, is smoother and better looking than what you have. Also, the larger part of the inner tube, when assembled, is shorter on mine than on yours. My original (I checked the number) sits a bit askew until tightened down...but not near as crooked as yours.

It's a fake, plain and simple. However...what do you expect from China? I don't think there is a single item made there that hasn't been faked after the contract on manufacturing was up.