Why Do People Knowingly Buy Clones?

[zoiDman]

Here is something I posted about a Year Ago...

I worked with an Owner of a Company that made Very High End Knives. Extremely Tight Tolerances and the Highest End Materials. The Fit and Finish was Superb.

One day I go to his shop and he was packaging some of his Knives in White Boxes. And not the Normal Presentations Boxes.

I asked him what he was doing? Did he run out of the Good Boxes. Or was this just a Cost Cutting Measure. LOL. He told me he was making Knock-Offs. The same knife only with Less Workmanship and the Blade Material wasn't as good.

Said that he was tired of trying to Fight people Copying his products. That there was no Real Way to Stop It. So why not make his Own Knock-Offs and at least make Some Money of them?

Kinda an Interesting Twist when you think about it.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...03286-nitecore-intellicharger-blows-up-2.html

 

[DaveSignal]

I have both authentic devices and clones. A clone is more of chance, especially if it is new and there aren't many online reviews. But sometimes I am willing to take a chance. Some clones are really great, and $30 is low enough to take a chance if I know the vendor or manufacturer and have had good experiences before. I have gotten very good and finding high quality clones.

A few weeks ago I purchased a Samurai RDA clone. I found the clone at a vendor before I knew the authentic existed. I started searching for information, but couldn't find much available... all I knew was that I liked the design and needed to try it. So I searched for the authentic and found out it was $130 and saw 2 separate comments stating that the threading on the barrel and top caps was not very good. I decided that I would rather take a chance on the clone than a $130 authentic with bad threading. And I am glad that I did. The RDA is awesome. I built it with 4 coils at a low resistance. It doesn't get hot, the peek insulators are perfect, the threading is perfect everywhere, the flavor and vapor is over the top.

So I paid a lot less to get something that is high quality and confirmed to have better machining. Does this bother me? No. In fact, I am proud that I didn't spend $130 and still have a great vape.

 

[Darryl Licht]

Here is something I posted about a Year Ago...

I worked with an Owner of a Company that made Very High End Knives. Extremely Tight Tolerances and the Highest End Materials. The Fit and Finish was Superb.

One day I go to his shop and he was packaging some of his Knives in White Boxes. And not the Normal Presentations Boxes.

I asked him what he was doing? Did he run out of the Good Boxes. Or was this just a Cost Cutting Measure. LOL. He told me he was making Knock-Offs. The same knife only with Less Workmanship and the Blade Material wasn't as good.

Said that he was tired of trying to Fight people Copying his products. That there was no Real Way to Stop It. So why not make his Own Knock-Offs and at least make Some Money of them?

Kinda an Interesting Twist when you think about it.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...03286-nitecore-intellicharger-blows-up-2.html

An Oxymoron....

 

[TRoxx]

Now that was a Blast from the Past.

Yea...
I was just excersiing my algorythms....

 

[Bad Ninja]

Here is something I posted about a Year Ago...



http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...03286-nitecore-intellicharger-blows-up-2.html

Sounds like a small custom knife maker in a small one man shop if he "boxes up his own products" Also doesn't sound like a "high end knife" company.

Kai industries(kershaw, Zero Tolerance) and Spyderco are not mom-and-pop shops with the owner making and boxing goods.
They do business like it should be done. Honest, good customer service, and no games.
Again, modders should take a business course or at least have a basic understanding of how to run a retail business before hyping a non existent product in order to find their half thought out business plan.

"Enter the raffle to win a chance to buy this competition mod now! Super tiger copper, with less than zero voltage drop! Limited to 500 units! If you win you can preorder now on Facebook only for $300. Pay now and mods will shop in 3 months!"

 

[Strings]

I still point to Seecamp pistols as the perfect customer service model (in a small business)

The owner set up a forum for owners of his pistols. If an owner has a problem, Lewis Seecamp will address it, including giving out his personal cell number of that's what it takes to make things right.

Granted, a larger company can't really do that. But most vape gear companies aren't much bigger...

 

[thefleck]

Sounds like a small custom knife maker in a small one man shop if he "boxes up his own products" Also doesn't sound like a "high end knife" company.

As a self-proclaimed ninja I think you probably know that the best blade makers in the history of the world were all "mom n pop" blacksmiths! It's really not rocket science and doesn't take a whole lot of R&D.

I digress...

The clone argument to me is insane. The real question should be: "Why would anyone pay several hundred dollars for a glorified flashlight tube?". If you think about the purpose of copyright law, it seems to be about research and innovation. Take Tesla Motors, which has literally spent billions of dollars innovating. The mechanical mods and rebuildable tanks don't really seem to fit the category.

IMHO, the clones keep the "authentics" down to realistic pricing. The real reason people shell out so much $$$ for those things has nothing to do with copyright respect or ethics -- its like anything else -- you are paying for brand name recognition/satisfaction. If that justifies the money, go for it, but drop the pretentious clone-hate. It's no different than saying you shouldn't wear a non-Prada or non-Gucci T-shirt. If you can buy something for $30 that works and gets you to quit smoking, it's a good thing.

 

[Paul Williams]

I think the only reason people buy authentic is so they can look down on the people who have clones. Like the bmw driver that pulls up next to a Ford then starts showing off that his car costs twice as much. It also costs twice as much to repair.

I don't think I'll ever pay these stupid prices for a "authentic" metal tube with a thread and a switch. Sorry.

 

[zoiDman]

Sounds like a small custom knife maker in a small one man shop if he "boxes up his own products" Also doesn't sound like a "high end knife" company.

...

You would be Very Surprised if you knew Much about the High End Knife Market.

But I think you Missed the Entire Concept of the Post.

 

[graffiti]

Hey! I just had this conversation!

To put it simply, I'm willing to pay a premium for high quality and quick service. However, there are very few authentic manufacturers who are willing or able to provide the quick service part. So I sacrifice quality for low price and quick turn around.

I'm not letting you sit on my $100 for weeks to months while you make the product I just bought.

 

[BlueSnake]

The real question is why do people insist on asking these moronic questions?

 

[stevegmu]

I think the only reason people buy authentic is so they can look down on the people who have clones. Like the bmw driver that pulls up next to a Ford then starts showing off that his car costs twice as much. It also costs twice as much to repair.

I don't think I'll ever pay these stupid prices for a "authentic" metal tube with a thread and a switch. Sorry.

Living a utilitarian lifestyle isn't for me. I like nice things. I don't believe in supporting counterfeit items- no matter what the business. 'Clones' to me are like fake boobs; I don't like them and those who have them are trying to be something they are not. Can't afford a genuine mod get an eGo...

 

[USMCotaku]

Because there aren't any ego clones around ::::

Also..... If you can't afford an authentic you don't get to experience the fun of rebuilding, higher wattage vaping, etc..?
Sent with one hand, the other is busy vaping.

 

[Marc411]

Real boobs are definitely better but I'll buy a good clone.

 

[graffiti]

Oh, and since I noticed people talking about TV and movies, here's my thought on that.

I don't pirate movies, TV shows or games. Why? Because I have Netflix and Steam. I don't need to, because doing it legitimately is much less hassle with those two services.

I decided I'd give Super-T a try, since the prices are reasonable since they're going out of business. A week after I ordered, no communication at all. There's one line saying "give us time to ship, we're only two people."

No. I'm spending nearly $100 and I expect not to have to wait weeks to months (the time frame I was seeing) to get my product, especially after you charged my card. I'm currently trying to get refunded.

I'll bet, though, that if I ordered an ELA clone today, I'd have the product in my hand before I get a refund from Super-T.

 

[Strings]

I'll bet, though, that if I ordered an ELA clone today, I'd have the product in my hand before I get a refund from Super-T.

That would actually be an interesting experiment

 

[graffiti]

The sad thing is I wanted an authentic Super-T. But after making a purchase and not hearing anything for several days (even though my card hand been charged) I started researching. I'm seeing wait times anywhere from several weeks to several months. I probably wouldn't have minded waiting if they'd been up-front about lead times.

 

[Marc411]

Hey here's a thought.

This conversation is circular and pretty much a broken record, the two sides will never agree.

stevegmu mentioned fake boobs, that conversation would be more fun and productive especially with pictures. Lets shift this argument over to fake boobs verses real.

 

[Dusty_D]

Ahem..

 

[The Ocelot]

Ahem..