I'll bet you're still kicken yourself
Yes, especially since my 18 year old daily driver is more fun to drive, especially in the snow...
Why Do People Knowingly Buy Clones?
- Thread starter Darryl Licht
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Yes, especially since my 18 year old daily driver is more fun to drive, especially in the snow...
The clone market appeared, thrived, and outgrew OEMs not just because of price.
You have to go back a few years. When most high end devices were not only expensive, but hard to purchase. You would have to wait months to get on a waiting list or for a vendor to have them in stock. And of course, when they became available they sold out in under 30 seconds. Some of these devices were being produced and sold overseas. So in order to purchase them you had to stay up well into the night and early morning hours, just to F5 and pray that you could get it in your shopping cart and checkout before you got the out of stock message.
Imagine ... staying up all night and F5'ing a website for an hour, only to find they are no longer available within 30 seconds of them coming into stock. Most of these devices were being sold in batches of 100 a less. Many people even formed the idea that OEMs were deliberately keeping production runs small and spread apart to both justify the high demand pricing and maintain hype over the product. Even worse, people began hording these devices in order to double or even triple their money on the secondary market.
And then came China ... with their "clones". And at first ... boy was it rough. The first batches of Chinese clones were eye brow raising. These devices used cheaper materials (often plated in chrome which actually HURT the performance of the device), had rough functioning parts, and certainly weren't 1:1 copies.
Still, people bought them because they couldn't F5 their way to the real deal. So they started threads and shared ideas on how these devices could be modified to be better and what would make these devices better to begin with. And something happened that maybe people didn't expect. China listened.
What seems like over night ... China suddenly began producing true 1:1 copies of devices people couldn't afford or simply could not grab in stock. Even crazier, some of the clones performed better and were improvements upon the original. They were cheap and China had hundreds if not thousands to sell ... no waiting needed.
The point here is people buy clones for several obvious reasons. But it's important to understand how things came to be, and perhaps how buying clones became acceptable in many peoples minds. In a fast growing and consuming market it was inevitable given the initial availability of many OEM devices. They simply refused or could not meet market demand. When that happened ... someone stepped in that could. So people did what people do best ... they consumed.
You have to go back a few years. When most high end devices were not only expensive, but hard to purchase. You would have to wait months to get on a waiting list or for a vendor to have them in stock. And of course, when they became available they sold out in under 30 seconds. Some of these devices were being produced and sold overseas. So in order to purchase them you had to stay up well into the night and early morning hours, just to F5 and pray that you could get it in your shopping cart and checkout before you got the out of stock message.
Imagine ... staying up all night and F5'ing a website for an hour, only to find they are no longer available within 30 seconds of them coming into stock. Most of these devices were being sold in batches of 100 a less. Many people even formed the idea that OEMs were deliberately keeping production runs small and spread apart to both justify the high demand pricing and maintain hype over the product. Even worse, people began hording these devices in order to double or even triple their money on the secondary market.
And then came China ... with their "clones". And at first ... boy was it rough. The first batches of Chinese clones were eye brow raising. These devices used cheaper materials (often plated in chrome which actually HURT the performance of the device), had rough functioning parts, and certainly weren't 1:1 copies.
Still, people bought them because they couldn't F5 their way to the real deal. So they started threads and shared ideas on how these devices could be modified to be better and what would make these devices better to begin with. And something happened that maybe people didn't expect. China listened.
What seems like over night ... China suddenly began producing true 1:1 copies of devices people couldn't afford or simply could not grab in stock. Even crazier, some of the clones performed better and were improvements upon the original. They were cheap and China had hundreds if not thousands to sell ... no waiting needed.
The point here is people buy clones for several obvious reasons. But it's important to understand how things came to be, and perhaps how buying clones became acceptable in many peoples minds. In a fast growing and consuming market it was inevitable given the initial availability of many OEM devices. They simply refused or could not meet market demand. When that happened ... someone stepped in that could. So people did what people do best ... they consumed.
ill buy authentic mods all day long because i think the price is worth the money. but when it comes to RDA's, there just is no justifying 100$+ for a tiny piece of steel with holes and screws in it to me.
No, I said $88 per PAY PERIOD -- that's twice a month, $176/mo -- which we could not afford, but somehow forced, mainly by buying less food.
Andria
EDIT: and I refuse on principle to pay more for something just because it has a certain logo. I buy my clothes at Walmart -- I buy store brands and off-brands, almost without exception. A KFL+ with a logo on it is not worth $75 more just because it has a logo -- it works just as well without.
All this back and forth chat is nothing more than a display of individual needs and budget. That said, thank goodness there are the original manufacturers who put out the initial investment for design, research, engineering, cost of quality, production and advertising. Had it not been for them the clones wouldn't exist. So for our long term benifits to the industry and the consumer as a whole the original manufacturers get all the credits as should be. Those that can support them for the good of the industry should do so, and those that can not so be it. Though I'm a firm believer that you get what you pay for, having paid above MSRP for a Kayfun V4, l may soon buy a clone of the same simply to have a back up. Where I do take issue with many of the fakes is using their trade marks; that is pure as simple deception! I will support a clone manufacturer using their name before supporting one who is attempting to cheat people and that is happening more and more. If people stop supporting their deceptive practices they might be honest about it and be up front about being a copy. It's not the guy paying $29 for clone of the original that bothers me so much as it's the guy paying $180 thinking he's getting the real deal. Something to consider when you buy from a counterfeiter.
OK, my mistake, as many ppl get paid weekly and you weren't clear on that pay period statement! You still have a savings of $176/month to spend.
I just bought an authentic Mutation X v3 for $25 which is known as being one of the best RDA's out right now. I see no need to spend that amount on a counterfeit for any reason. Is a counterfeit Mutation going to work any better? I highly doubt it would!
Nor would you be able to measure and prove in any lab that a clone works better than any authentic. Its IMO psychosomatic, you think because you spent less on the "same" product it works better!
If I understand correctly, Andria's "Kayfuns" are no-logo clones, not counterfeits. I suspect Andria has enough respect for the work of others that she would think twice before buying an actual counterfeit with the original designer's logos.
Funny
By Todays Standards, that was the Dark Ages. Not Quite Rubbing 2 Sticks together to make Vapor, but Close.
The fact that they aren't prevalent here proves that the system works..... Don't use the system, don't complain, pretty simple
Sent with one hand, the other is busy vaping.
Sent with one hand, the other is busy vaping.
yeah, the mutation X is actually one I bought because the price is reasonable. I actually bought some 10$ mutation clone first and it worked nice. So after I went and bought an authentic just to support them. I still mainly use my clones though, and like the user above you said, The thing that I hate about people cloning originals are the ones that also copy the branding/labeling. I try to stay away from branded clones, i just get cheap authentics or no logo clones.To be honest the design/research/engineering has never justified the cost of any atomizer I have seen over 100$ other than the Marquis RDA, the Marquis is the only one I ran into that I could justify spending that much money on tbh. All the rest just look like a variation of a steel tube with holes and screws in it to me, they bring nothing new to the table.
Yes, precisely. I would NOT buy counterfeits, anymore than I would traffic in counterfeit money. Clones and counterfeits are NOT the same thing. I knew I was buying TOBECOS from the get-go, and with the one I'm about to buy, that it was an EHPro, from the get-go. And the Magma clone I'll be getting tomorrow, I knew it was a Tobeco from the get-go, and that I'm very happy with my present Tobeco products. The clone I'm buying was $18.99, but since I'm happy with Tobecos, I'd probably even have paid a little more, if I could, because I know they make quality products. I have no such knowledge of whoever made the Magma originally.
As for someone telling me that I have "$176 savings per month"... guess you haven't noticed inflation (which tells me you have more money than you really need!). Used to be, if we bought $100 worth of groceries at Walmart, our buggy was completely full. Now, that same $100, and the buggy is less than half full. My husband hasn't had a raise in 3 yrs -- he makes just over $11/hr, and if he doesn't get his 7.5 hrs a week of OT -- like when there's some stupid holiday and all his hours are straight-time -- we don't make it -- my parents have to give us food. I had to quit smoking BECAUSE I COULDN'T AFFORD IT ANYMORE. Vaping is the ONLY means by which I've EVER been able to go without smoking. And pricey tanks are NOT the only equipment needed, to vape!
And I really do resent the hell out of anyone presuming to tell me what I can or can't afford -- I believe I'm a bit more acquainted with our household finances than you are.
Andria
The system costs too much to use sometimes, And there are ways around it. But you are right. If somebody steals your ideas, don't complain cause you could have bought protection from the Maf......Government
IMHO - Proves my point that there are plenty of GOOD if not GREAT attys out there at reasonable prices. The purchasing of clones merely serves to perpetuate the cycle!
An observation... According to your sig line your rocking a VS rDNA40, not exactly a budget mod @ a price of nearly $200!
So if budget is truly your reason for buying clone tanks and attys, why not a clone mod?
Hmmmm... if you hadn't quit smoking what would you be spending per month on cigs? <-- accounting for cig tax increases and inflation of course!
i never stated it was budget for me.
for me mods are the heart of the setup, it includes electronics and it is whats used to power the RDA. Customer service if the mod goes bad is also another thing, for my two mods I have I have received great customer service, quick emails and responses. I am just not attracted to the clone market of mods that require circuit boards and high craftmanship to be durable, with little to no customer service for those mods.
budget also isnt my reason for buying clone attys. The attys in my description are the ones I mainly use, the Cigreen X I bought a while back, and isnt exactly a clone or counterfeit, it was released only when the mutation X v1 was out, but had upgrades/changes over the v1 by indulgence like widebore topcap and better center posts. The Cigreen N23 is an original as well not a clone of another atty. The others I believe would be $90+ for authentic and I see nothing gamechanging or spectacular about them to put them in that price range. I was fairly new to RDA's as I just got my box mods and RDA's starting in december so I didnt want to drop 100$'s on RDA's. Theres no real groundbreaking design on these its just 3 post decks with a topcap and holes in it. Not worth me going back to pay 90$+ for the originals. Now if the S.O.D 5k was around 50$-60$, I would go back and buy the original, but S.O.D charges 80$ and ONTOP of that, it doesnt come with the 2 hole aircap, you have to buy that separate and a 2 hole topcap authentic from them is 25$ ALONE, which would make that atty a 105$ non adjustable airflow atomizer.
i mean cmon, i know its just a piece of stainless steel and I am going to pay for production/idea costs etc, but if its going to cost double or triple the cost of other authentics, make it actually worth that cost and make it stand out from the authentic that costs 1/2 what your putting your product out there for.
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That may be but I still think $150 for an "authentic" Mystic is too much. What if I don't like it? Go spend another $150?
Your earlier posts regarding lack of income and how tough it is to "get by" indicate otherwise!
Merely pointing out that your argument and equipment in your sig line are contradictory!
The same can be said for spending $800 on an iPhone; an LG or Samsung can be bought for $300. Not many would go to chinabuye for an iPhone 'clone.'
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