Fake Aspire Nautilus tanks? Help PLEASE!

[Katya]

I own both too.

Right! I forgot! How's yours doing, BTW?

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.

Yes, I remember.

Phil is now upset about Kanger's new Aerotank Mega because it has pips and ridges and is trying to look like a ProVari.

 

[Zamazam]

Ok, if the Nautilus coils are in a plastic bag rather than a foil/plastic sealed 5 pack (or 1 if snipped w a scissors), I would bet a steak dinner they are fakes. The same goes for the tanks, did the box have a holographic sticker above the upc and scratch off s/n that when viewed from a few angles says "Original Aspire" with stars in a semi circle below?

 

[Zamazam]

Right! I forgot! How's yours doing, BTW?



Yes, I remember.

Phil is now upset about Kanger's new Aerotank Mega because it has pips and ridges and is trying to look like a ProVari.

LOL, ain't that a gas! ...... off because something looks like the Holy Grail of APV's.

 

[edyle]

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.

Please do not highjack the thread to create yet another clone debate thread; you have not read the thread.
Either read the actual case and comment or not; this is an actual case of counterfiet not a clone debate thread.

 

[Katya]

Please do not highjack the thread to create yet another clone debate thread; you have not read the thread.
Either read the actual case and comment or not; this is an actual case of counterfiet not a clone debate thread.

Ahem...

Original post:

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.

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!

Sorry, but I think that Aikanae gave a very cogent reply to OP's question.

Carry on.

 

[edyle]

Ahem...

Original post:



Sorry, but I think that Aikanae gave a very cogent reply to OP's question.

Carry on.

No it doesn't; the central point from the OP is:

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!

 

[truthhurts]

A lot of nautilus clones are going around...

 

[daventura]

Ok, if the Nautilus coils are in a plastic bag rather than a foil/plastic sealed 5 pack (or 1 if snipped w a scissors), I would bet a steak dinner they are fakes. The same goes for the tanks, did the box have a holographic sticker above the upc and scratch off s/n that when viewed from a few angles says "Original Aspire" with stars in a semi circle below?

I ordered a Nautilus way back in March in a group buy.

There were many delays, but they finally got here and I got mine today.

It's a fake.

It has the holographic sticker on the back of the box.
It also has the security code right below it.
I went to aspireecig.com and checked the code.
The website said that that code had been checked 101 times already.
LOL.

I waited all that time to save some money.
They were $25 shipped.
Oh well.

I also ordered a 5 pack of coil heads, but they're legit.
They were $10 shipped.

The co-op company is going to do RMA's and issue refunds.

I was so excited about finally getting a Nautilus, after hearing all the rave reviews.

What a letdown.

 

[Katya]

No it doesn't; the central point from the OP is:

Please don't shout.

Whatever you think the central point is, anybody has a right to express their opinions--you and Aikanae. This is not your thread, and the OP has already received an answer to his question--several answers, actually. Other members have a right to exchange thoughts on the subject as they please without being admonished.

As of now, you're hijacking the thread and being way off topic.

If you have a problem with a fellow member's post, please report it to the moderators and let them sort it out.

 

[Katya]

I ordered a Nautilus way back in March in a group buy.

There were many delays, but they finally got here and I got mine today.

It's a fake.

It has the holographic sticker on the back of the box.
It also has the security code right below it.
I went to aspireecig.com and checked the code.
The website said that that code had been checked 101 times already.
LOL.

I waited all that time to save some money.
They were $25 shipped.
Oh well.

I also ordered a 5 pack of coil heads, but they're legit.
They were $10 shipped.

The co-op company is going to do RMA's and issue refunds.

I was so excited about finally getting a Nautilus, after hearing all the rave reviews.

What a letdown.

Wow. I'm so sorry... So you're getting a refund? Do you have to turn your Nautilus in? Are you getting a new one?

 

[Katya]

But is it aways right that nautilus come from aspire are the perfect one . May have problems too . what if some one copy it higher quality better workmanship lower price ? it is still the fake ?

Very good questions. I've read many reports about copies/clones/fakes/knockoffs actually working just as well or even better than the originals.

I have long suspected that many of them are made in the same factories, anyway.

It's a jungle out there!

 

[Katya]

Ok, if the Nautilus coils are in a plastic bag rather than a foil/plastic sealed 5 pack (or 1 if snipped w a scissors), I would bet a steak dinner they are fakes. The same goes for the tanks, did the box have a holographic sticker above the upc and scratch off s/n that when viewed from a few angles says "Original Aspire" with stars in a semi circle below?

Yeah, most of the time. But not always.

If you buy an Innokin battery from Fasttech, all those identifiers are missing, but you're getting a real deal.

 

[edyle]

But is it aways right that nautilus come from aspire are the perfect one . May have problems too . what if some one copy it higher quality better workmanship lower price ? it is still the fake ?

Of course a higher quality better workmanship lower price fake is still a fake. If you make a higher quality better workmanship lower price product then put your own BRAND NAME. So long as you mark the product with another company name, it is a FAKE/FRAUD/COUNTERFEIT.

 

[bobbyk45248]

Ok, if the Nautilus coils are in a plastic bag rather than a foil/plastic sealed 5 pack (or 1 if snipped w a scissors), I would bet a steak dinner they are fakes. The same goes for the tanks, did the box have a holographic sticker above the upc and scratch off s/n that when viewed from a few angles says "Original Aspire" with stars in a semi circle below?

Crazy thing is, they actually did! I went to the vape shop I bought them from yesterday and they scratched off all the codes on their stock and they were all the same. They admitted to getting duped, never had a blue until I brought it to their attention, and also worked out a deal for me and I exchanged it all and even got a bit of extra credit for the issue.

They were absolute fakes but some of the best fakes they had ever seen. They worked like absolute crap though. Flooded and flooded and coils were fake and burnt out one every other day.

 

[bobbyk45248]

Wow. I'm so sorry... So you're getting a refund? Do you have to turn your Nautilus in? Are you getting a new one?

Thanks for asking. I got a full refund plus $10 extra credit in exchange. I still wanted new tanks but I couldn't get the real Aspire Nautilus because they only had the fakes and thought they were the real deal. Even the atomizers were fakes.

So I exchanged everything no problem, had kept all receipts, and got a bunch of new stuff. I am perfectly happy, and still hope to get a real set of Aspire Nautilus tanks BUT I will be very careful and skeptical about buying them.

As I have said, these fakes weren't just knockoffs, they were almost complete friggin replicas!

Here are the two main factors that told me they were fake, since the box looks identical down to the plastic sleeve that comes on top of the box. Has holographic sticker and everything on box.

Serial number, when scratched off, will have been used several times. If you go to the website and it says anything other than "Congratulations, the product you have bought is original", you have gotten a fake.

The other big thing is if you check your Instruction Manual compared to others ones on reviews off YouTube, you will notice the color of the word "Nautilus" at the bottom is very faded and a different color.

As far as the unit itself, it will perform terribly, but visually, the differences are so minor, I couldn't really tell the fake from the real one!

 

[daventura]

Glad it all worked out for you.

I'm going to keep the legit coils and when I get the refund I'll just go buy one at a local B & M.

I plan to tell them that I want to check the security code before I even leave the store with the understanding that if it's a fake...no deal.

 

[Katya]

All's well that ends well. I'm happy for both of you!

And a lesson learned.

 

[daventura]

Found a deal online today.

$20 shipped.

I'd let you know where it was, but they're out of stock now.

 

[chrisbru]

Just to add to this... My brother works for a b&m and sold me a nautilus on Monday. He text me tonight to ask me to send him the serial number. It appears that legit distributers were gyped, and you can't really blame b&ms for that. So give them the benefit of the doubt, and they will probably help you out.

Edit: to be fair, my fake nautilus performs better than my real protanks. I really hope they let me keep the fake and give me a real one too

 

[edyle]

Just to add to this... My brother works for a b&m and sold me a nautilus on Monday. He text me tonight to ask me to send him the serial number. It appears that legit distributers were gyped, and you can't really blame b&ms for that. So give them the benefit of the doubt, and they will probably help you out.

Edit: to be fair, my fake nautilus performs better than my real protanks. I really hope they let me keep the fake and give me a real one too

So is your a fake too? What was the serial number? Maybe there are lurkers hanging around who have a nautilus with the same serial number as yours.

Of course the legit distributers were gyped: that's what counterfeiting is all about; when you go to a mom and pop store and you buy stuff and they give you a $50 bill change then later at the bank the bank teller looks 5 times at the $50 bill, gets a magnifying glass and eventually tells you its a counterfiet bill, it's not the mom and pop that's to blame, just as it's not you to blame - but of course you're the one that loses $50. The fraud has to be tracked backwards to the criminal source.