Why Do People Knowingly Buy Clones?
- Thread starter Darryl Licht
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So true.
No matter how you dress up your gimmicky "inventions", it's still just a flashlight.
This is one of my favorites:
Glas said:
I own both and know from my own experience that the argument about quality of authentic verses clone is BS, china is perfecting the art of mass production and they are getting items on the market much faster these days.
I'll use the Magma as the example, I own the authentic and the Infinite clone and side by side you can't tell the difference.
Often authentic manufacturers price themselves out of the market and they can't support the demand. People aren't cheap, they spend their money smarter these days. The K4 is another example, the EHPro kayfun lite vapes better then the original.
I don't believe that folks that buy clones could care less about keeping up with the jones (really the authentic fanatics). They don't want to be part of the "in" crowd. They want a good vape at a reasonable price.
It's funny that when someone posts about a clone in an authentic thread they get shown the door but there is no hesitation by these same people going over to the clone thread and pounding on the buyers in that thread. Why not show them the same respect and just don't post in a thread that doesn't concern them since they own the authentic.
Why would anyone care what another person does with their money. The whole topic is friggin childish!
I try to stay away from these threads because rarely are the threads balanced.
I'll use the Magma as the example, I own the authentic and the Infinite clone and side by side you can't tell the difference.
Often authentic manufacturers price themselves out of the market and they can't support the demand. People aren't cheap, they spend their money smarter these days. The K4 is another example, the EHPro kayfun lite vapes better then the original.
I don't believe that folks that buy clones could care less about keeping up with the jones (really the authentic fanatics). They don't want to be part of the "in" crowd. They want a good vape at a reasonable price.
It's funny that when someone posts about a clone in an authentic thread they get shown the door but there is no hesitation by these same people going over to the clone thread and pounding on the buyers in that thread. Why not show them the same respect and just don't post in a thread that doesn't concern them since they own the authentic.
Why would anyone care what another person does with their money. The whole topic is friggin childish!
I try to stay away from these threads because rarely are the threads balanced.
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Better to know you are buying a clone than to think you are getting authentic gear but unknowingly buying a clone.
I've been suspecting this for a while, but I lack nearly all of the knowledge to proclaim such an idea. Thanks for that.
So true.
No matter how you dress up your gimmicky "inventions", it's still just a flashlight.
This is one of my favorites:
The quote from Glas isn't exactly a new process, which I know is exactly your point. That's how things have been fit together forever. Try putting the IGV case onto an F-100 without dry icing it or throwing it in the freezer for half a day and then heating the fan frame. If it goes together without such steps, that fan case is shot and the engine is completely unsafe, IMO. If you don't speak jet engine, I'm speaking about how the very beginning of a fighter jet engine goes together.
I'm certain that this isn't exactly the only time this occurs in manufacturing and assembly. Think of all the pieces that require a press fit where it's impractical to press for whatever reason. It's not rocket science, batman. (Not you, drunkenbatman.)
---dog break--- Insert crazy train below. You've been warned.
Marketing speak and the American people's complete detachment from anything mechanical or manufacturing is exactly how we get bilked for so much fuss over very little. To take a ~30mm chunk of metal and press the start button does not require more than $100 of my money. Don't tell me that o-rings, grub screws and PEEK make up the balance either. It's not like we're wind tunnel testing these things. You need a positive, a negative, an insulator, terminals and in the process, don't forget a chamber. Bam, I just invented the atomizer. If you haven't figured out how to leverage a $400 used 3D printer to reduce your R&D/prototyping costs, then you're just bad and you should feel bad, lol. Really, if you're that, well, bad, perhaps your enterprise isn't deserving of the public's money. That's capitalism for you.
I knew I shouldn't have taken the dog outside while in the middle of a post, now I'm off on a different direction. Sorry folks, brevity and I know each other, but we're not close.
Isn't it Funny how 65 Posts of a Thread like this can be Summed Up in 3 Simple Words.
BTW - Speaking of Bucks. When does the Conversation turn to Should Sellers be Selling all these Clones?
We, as Vapers, can somewhat Distance Ourselves from Moral Conflicts by saying that we Need to Buy Clones to Not Smoke. But what about Sellers?
Do the Sellers of these Clones bare Any of the Burden of taking sales Away from an Genuine OEM? Because they are Just Selling Clones to Make a Buck. And aren't using them to Not Smoke.
I disagree a little with many that say it's ALL about the money.
It's also being able to access the products, from numerous sales points, web and B&M.
Price plays a part, but if you're jonesing for your nic fix, and you're 5,273 on the pre-sales list for the latest, greatest authentic mod, tank, RTA or RDA and the next release is not supposed to be released for 6 months.....not a good business practice.
I wonder how many vapers there would be in the world without clones, versus the number of actual non-smoking vapers there are....
ETA: it's one of the reasons I don't own a REO
It's also being able to access the products, from numerous sales points, web and B&M.
Price plays a part, but if you're jonesing for your nic fix, and you're 5,273 on the pre-sales list for the latest, greatest authentic mod, tank, RTA or RDA and the next release is not supposed to be released for 6 months.....not a good business practice.
I wonder how many vapers there would be in the world without clones, versus the number of actual non-smoking vapers there are....
ETA: it's one of the reasons I don't own a REO
There used to be when they were one of the hottest mods around, about 4 years ago, when I was interested.
I moved on and found what worked well for me, and never looked back.
Vaping for me is a replacement for my smoking habit.
I've spent my life working in the restaurant industry. Highly competitive, highly innovative, with almost no secrets what so ever. I don't give a flying .... who knows how I make my demi or roast a marrow bone, what goes into my house fermented hot sauces and kimchi, I give a flying .... that I do it better than they do. THAT is what people pay me for. To do it better, cheaper, faster, prettier, more interesting, something MORE than the next guy. In my industry we proudly discuss and display our secrets, techniques, innovations because we are relying on the fact we can do it better than someone else can. If they can do it better than me, or cheaper and as good (as in the case of a lot of these clones), then there isn't a thing I can do except accept it. As hard as it is to swallow, we live in the information age. The idea of "proprietary design" is dead; either give your customers a good reason to buy from you or accept that those who know how it really is won't buy your .....
I would buy a $45-60 dollar authentic over a $15-30 clone, even if the clone were as good or better, but I cannot justify buying a $100-200 authentic when the $15-30 clone is often just as good. While never a machinist, when I was welding on and off at 18 I worked with a local machine shop and have a fair, if not completely accurate, idea of what something like an atty would actually cost to produce. While I value paying for time, R&D, etc, the authentic RBA and mechanical mod market right now is complete and utter bull.... and price gouging. I never got an extra dime on my wage for staying up until 4am after a 8-18 hour shift dry testing recipes and dishes, half of which never saw the light of day, but you know what it did? It kept me in my job when others were stagnating, getting stale, or accepting they would spend all of their lives as just another line ......
Problem is you're thinking like a worker. When you own the business there's no one to pay your expenses but you and your products.
I don't buy clones. Period. If I want something, I wait until I'll can get it, or I look at the second hand market. All of the clone mods I have bought were garbage. The stingray clone I bought the button was junk, the nemesis I had was crap. The raijin rda shorted itself out on the screws and posts right out of the box. Its a hobby for me, so that is another reason I buy authentic. I also have no problems trying to sell them when the time comes I am done with it. Also if clones are perfectly ok, then why are there a lot of stipulations on selling them in the marketplace here on ECF? If it is a logo less clone, then fine. Yeah this is low technology really and might not be that expensive to make, but people pay the price for authentic items. Pre orders fill up. There are waiting lists. People wait for items to be released.
I guess the bottom line is clones work for some people and not for others. I don't push my views on others, and generally they respect mine.
I guess the bottom line is clones work for some people and not for others. I don't push my views on others, and generally they respect mine.
You summed up the problem pretty well.
If you are manufacturing a product for sale, there shouldn't be month long delays in delivering the product.
I disagree a little with many that say it's ALL about the money.
It's also being able to access the products, from numerous sales points, web and B&M.
Price plays a part, but if you're jonesing for your nic fix, and you're 5,273 on the pre-sales list for the latest, greatest authentic mod, tank, RTA or RDA and the next release is not supposed to be released for 6 months.....not a good business practice.
I wonder how many vapers there would be in the world without clones, versus the number of actual non-smoking vapers there are....
ETA: it's one of the reasons I don't own a REO
This is a good point; if I had not discovered kayfuns, and had tried to struggle along with the various kanger tanks all this time... would I still be a non-smoker? It's one of those questions that can't be answered, really, but I'd say the chances are maybe 50/50 at best. I also discovered cartotanks and I like those too (and I buy authentic on those; I can get Smok UDCT tanks at VaporKings for $6!), but without the excellence of flavor and TH and almost-total lack of fiddle factor from a kayfun... I just don't know if I could have stuck to it. The things just WORK, and work WELL -- once you advance along the learning curve enough to not only build coils for it, but wick them properly. Given how well I know they do work, at some point, I might actually buy some type of authentic Kayfun, though I might have to buy it used; I would already know that it's a good investment. And maybe that's the real benefit of clones, being able to try it out before you drop big bucks for something.
Andria
I can understand that.
USA made ZT 350
Chinese SMPL clone.
I tried to buy a real
SMPL, the price is not bad ....but could get no response from the Modder, who ran out of inventory and stopped answering emails.
That said, the ZT is flawlessly over built and ZT/Kai Industries has one of the best warranties and Customer service in the world.
You get what you pay for with a ZT.
If Modders were even close to the level of professionalism found in the high end knife biz we would all buy legit.
But no, we get amateurs playing games on Facebook.
To think an authentic SMPL, one of the simplest of all mech mods, commands almost the same price as a Spyderco Gayle Bradley, which is made of Crucible CPM M4 tool steel, and sharpens to a finer/tougher edge than just about any steel in existence, tends to put things in perspective for us knife dudes.
Well op, I gave early warning ............... and as usual the pizzing contest has hit full tilt.
___________________________________________________________________
I Was a Business Owner and after 25 yrs. finally gave up and moved on.
Sometimes you realize you just can't keep up. There is no shame in that. You still have to survive.
___________________________________________________________________
I Was a Business Owner and after 25 yrs. finally gave up and moved on.
Sometimes you realize you just can't keep up. There is no shame in that. You still have to survive.
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