Why pay well over $100 for a mech when a clone of it is a fraction of the price?

[Tanks]

Is it really worth 5-10x the money (some cases even more) to get an original vs the clone? is the GG really 14x better than the kts ($246 vs $17)? is the empire mod really 5x better than the k-100 ($129 vs $23)? Is the sentinel v3 really 10x better than its clone ($180 vs $17)? i know the materials and look are better and a lot of people have plenty of money to burn, but how does it all affect the vape experience? Is there something i am not seeing? The only thing that would make sense is if the clones were known to breakdown sooner, but i find that hard to believe as they are all mechanical. Someone please enlighten me. I don't want to hear any talk about the morality issue of buying clones however, as it does not affect me presently.

You partially answered your own question; see bold text. The materials cause a price increase and so do Labor wages (MUCH higher in USA than in China which causes final product to cost more as well).

Reasons for higher pricing of High-End Mechs vs. cheap price of Chinese knock-offs:

-Materials Used
-Labor Wages
-Research & Development
-Quality Control
-Customer Service
-Collect-ability (All of the most expensive MODs, mech and regulated, are limited production/hard-to-find MODs with less Supply than what's needed to meet demand (example, Zen products, iHybrid LE's, GG's, Chi Yiu's, etc.))

There may be a few more reasons but at the moment these are what I know of.

I personally prefer Original products. China is dominating the e-cig industry and I would rather not help them. I much prefer to vape my Zen 2 Carto Tank over any Chinese knock-off.

That being said, I have nothing against clones; I just prefer to buy quality devices. I do plan on buying a new product that Kamry is producing, but hasn't released yet (a Juggernaut clone).

 

[Tanks]

Ill say this. The clone may be dinkier but 90% of the time it performs just as well, if not better. Hence the popularity of the K100.

Lil Wayne is more popular than Marvin Gay; does that mean he performs better? No. I am willing to bet money that you have never used a high-end/top-of-the-line mech mod because, if you have, you would know there is a drastic difference in the consitency of the Power Level (cheap mech mods drop-off faster than high-end mechs because high-end mechs have the optimal materials and conditions to promote maximum current).

 

[pokerplayer]

Lets not forget all the engineering hours that went into making the original.

 

[ClippinWings]

clippin, i am between the Nzonic (absolutely sexy design), the ihybrid pure, and the noble1. but for pure mechanical mods, i think nzonic would be awesome as a first high-end mod for me. way down the road though.

it was my first high end ecig of any kind... SO HAPPY I didn't skimp and buy a clone... couldn't be happier with my NZonic

Looking to pick up a Pure next.

 

[Tripster]

The main reason for me to invest in the 2 mods from Super T Mfr, was not only to financially support Super T Mfr but to support their workers and their families. This is my main reason why I just can't commit to investing in other mod manufacturers, Super T Mfr is a Minnesota based manufacturer in which I feel obligated to not only support American Craftsmanship but Minnesotan Craftsmanship. I also did my homework on Super T Mfr ethics and the like, obviously they passed.

As long as I humanly can, my investment with Super T Mfr will stay committed.

 

[jasl90]

The main reason for me to invest in the 2 mods from Super T Mfr, was not only to financially support Super T Mfr but to support their workers and their families. This is my main reason why I just can't commit to investing in other mod manufacturers, Super T Mfr is a Minnesota based manufacturer in which I feel obligated to not only support American Craftsmanship but Minnesotan Craftsmanship. I also did my homework on Super T Mfr ethics and the like, obviously they passed.

As long as I humanly can, my investment with Super T Mfr will stay committed.

I bought Super-T's for far less altruistic reasons... They are bad ..., bulletproof, super conductive mods with a lifetime warantee and they are a joy to use. The fact that David is a great guy, running an an American business, who offers top notch customer support, is just icing on the cake.

 

[vaptamist]

I echo most of the statements here, but wanted to chime in and say that higher end mods typically retain their value very well. If you move on later and want something else, you can easily get most of your money back by selling it, worst case scenario. A lot of the higher end mods easily resell for more than your initial investment into it. I can buy a quality PV today, and a year from now decide to sell it and it's like I basically used it for free for those 12 months. You can buy a cheap china clone of something today, and in 3 months you'll be taking a 25-50% loss if you try to sell it.

I don't feel a lot of "risk" when I buy an expensive PV, as long as I choose wisely.

 

[Chuckq4yoo]

exactly. and its best because i'm usually a person that likes to keep 1 mod, especially if its high end. its going to be the only one i will use

 

[thevyrus]

vaptamist, chuck, excellent point you put in there. resell value is a big big plus for original works. and if you recoup your money (which i imagine you would, maybe even turn a profit if it becomes more rare), it is definitely worth it. you get to constantly swap out mods that way probably, either by selling and buying or trading. i guess i can always trade my clone for another clone too...

 

[st0nedpenguin]

Lil Wayne is more popular than Marvin Gay; does that mean he performs better? No. I am willing to bet money that you have never used a high-end/top-of-the-line mech mod because, if you have, you would know there is a drastic difference in the consitency of the Power Level (cheap mech mods drop-off faster than high-end mechs because high-end mechs have the optimal materials and conditions to promote maximum current).

I'm not entirely sure where this idea that a mechanical device experience consistency issues comes from. Conductivity doesn't magically change throughout the course of a vape just because they're cheaper.

My Sigelei 19 performs just as well as a 69.

 

[thevyrus]

this thread has simultaneously made me more eager to get my 3 clones delivered and more interested in researching which top-shelf original i should get when i come back from school. win, win

 

[RPadTV]

I like and use both. In most cases, the clones don't match up in terms of materials (often the contact points) and craftsmanship. There are some cases where clones come close to the real deal; while the EA Mod is certainly finer than the clone, the performance is very close. I definitely appreciate the workmanship and enjoy the collectable nature of my nice mechanicals, but if I'm going to be drinking then I much rather use a China clone.

 

[thevyrus]

lolll. is it tough to sand down the contact points? i see on the forums that that is one of, if not the only, modification that's done to improve the functioning of these clones (not necessarily to the level of the original). there could be other things to be done, i could be wrong, but performance, in my own definition, is simply: how effective the voltage is pushed from the battery through the center pin in the 510 connection to the atomizer- that's all.

 

[Larzis]

Not even gonna bite at the conductivity or "My Clone X hits as hard as my High end mod Y".... Whatever.

Now, funny thing I thought I would toss in here, saw that Kamry has issued a statement about Fasttech selling fake Kamry products. So a clone maker is ...... that someone has cloned them... Classic.

 

[thevyrus]

i didnt suggest clone would hit as hard. i even said it wouldnt necessarily improve the conductivity to the level of a high end. i was just asking what tricks and modifications can be done to improve conductivity on a clone. all i know is that people sand down the contacts

 

[Larzis]

i didnt suggest clone would hit as hard. i even said it wouldnt necessarily improve the conductivity to the level of a high end. i was just asking what tricks and modifications can be done to improve conductivity on a clone. all i know is that people sand down the contacts

Think it depends. What is the tube made of, and did they just plate it? Like I have seen mods claim Stainless Steel but if I look inside I can clearly see it is not all the same material. Other things to look at are.....

Springs
Contacts
Switch

As far as will it hit as hard as a high end mod? I suppose it could with enough work. And in some cases maybe harder. Hell you can get a 60 dollar MoneyPenny and while it is not a pretty thing it will conduct pretty darn well. Just remember when doing your comparisons to use the same battery at same voltage level, and the same atty at the same resistance.


SIDE NOTE: Yeah, gonna bag on Kamry again. I find it even better reading the cry of "They cloned our K100 clone!", then flipping to the product page called "The Kick by Kamry".

 

[thevyrus]

hahahaha, well i hope i am getting clones of clones now! gotta stick it to kamry!

right, springs contact and switch, those are the only parts that assist in sending the voltage up right? i think i'm just gonna try sanding the 3 pts of contact and not gonna bother with the switch and springs initially. hope i get lucky and am thoroughly satisfied. im kind of glad that i haven't tried high end mods yet, it could have ruined the moment when i first fire that switch on my clone.

 

[kuritaro9]

Not even gonna bite at the conductivity or "My Clone X hits as hard as my High end mod Y".... Whatever.

Now, funny thing I thought I would toss in here, saw that Kamry has issued a statement about Fasttech selling fake Kamry products. So a clone maker is ...... that someone has cloned them... Classic.

yeah, i got one of those K200's from FT and its complete garbage. the buttons rattle really bad, and each batt lasted exactly 5 puffs before they dropped to 1 bar, even though they still had a full charge (put them in the K100, and they worked fine) so, off it goes back to hong kong.

 

[Larzis]

I think that was my breaking point many months ago with the China mods... It got to be where I was having to search around to find out for sure that the mod I was getting was genuine and not a copy. Vivi Nova tanks were the worst, you have like Vision then you had like 50 other companies knocking them off and most of the time the heads were not compatible. Same thing with the Vamo as I recall.... Like 3 different companies making those.

 

[kuritaro9]

i think for next time, i may try harder to get a genuine product (if its a VV or VW device) whatever board they used in that K200 was just crap. but on a mech, im not the slightest bit worried about a clone or a clone of a clone. i tinker enough to where i can make it complete the circuit if its junk. or i could always turn a junk mech tube into a badass flashlight...haha