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Chinese counterfeit

mike67

Monkey
Nov 15, 2001
201
5
California
On 60min. last night they did a segment on Chinese counterfeit opperations. They were making everything from calloway golf clubs, to Northface apparel, Nike, perscription drugs (viagra), and just about everything they could get their hands on to copy. The whole thing appeared to be a very acceptable way to make a living over there, and tolerated by the police. Bad news is that a ton of brand name counterfeit products were making their way back to the states, and to the rest of the world for us to purchase as the real deal.

Anyway, made me wonder if the counterfeiting practice found it's way to Taiwan as well, where many of the bike frames, and components are made?

This made me think about the $200.00 Northface jacket I bought this winter? :confused: If it was a fake I sure wouldn't know, and I guess it doesn't matter since they claimed the counterfeits are almost identical to the originals (sometimes). What does matter though, is where the money goes from purchasing a counterfeit product, and how it effects the real company.

The companies having their goods manufactured in China need to do a better job with security, and make sure that blue prints, and materials used, ect. don't get handed to the mom & pop shop around the corner. People visiting China have also been purchasing these so called "brand name" products, bringing them home and selling to unsuspecting buyers on ebay. A lot of these fake products have been discoverd when being brought in for a warrantee issue.

When I pay for a brand name it's usually an expensive high end product that I expect to last, or is it?

They portrayed the chinese people as brand name addicts, everything was all about the logo. Looked kind of funny, but it's the same thing over here.

For those who remember my post last week, I hope this is better contribution:D
 

LordOpie

MOTHER HEN
Oct 17, 2002
21,022
3
Denver
Originally posted by mike67
The companies having their goods manufactured in China need to do a better job with security...
haha, good point!

In fact, I don't feel nearly as bad about a company having it's products duplicated. They took jobs away from Americans overseas and having stuff duplicated is now just a cost of business for them.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
56,392
22,468
Sleazattle
Originally posted by LordOpie
haha, good point!

In fact, I don't feel nearly as bad about a company having it's products duplicated. They took jobs away from Americans overseas and having stuff duplicated is now just a cost of business for them.


3rd world labor, cheap but they steal.:p
 

HippieKai

Pretty Boy....That's right, BOY!
Oct 7, 2002
1,348
0
hippie-ville
first of all i must say that 60min is known to streatch the truth once in a while to overdramasize the situation.

But yeah, my mom goes to china a lot and me and my girlfriend have a collection on "rollex" and "guchi" wathces and backs that she got on the street for like $5 american.

But the NorthFace factory is over there and they do have authentic northface outlets with stuff for way cheep. Same with Niki i believe.


And as for all the "fakes" my mom brings home as jokes....well lets just say you would have to be VERY VERY thick to think they are the same as the originals.
 

RhinofromWA

Brevity R Us
Aug 16, 2001
4,622
0
Lynnwood, WA
Originally posted by Mag204
first of all i must say that 60min is known to streatch the truth once in a while to overdramasize the situation.

But yeah, my mom goes to china a lot and me and my girlfriend have a collection on "rollex" and "guchi" wathces and backs that she got on the street for like $5 american.

But the NorthFace factory is over there and they do have authentic northface outlets with stuff for way cheep. Same with Niki i believe.


And as for all the "fakes" my mom brings home as jokes....well lets just say you would have to be VERY VERY thick to think they are the same as the originals.
:( Dude the Rolex you gave me for X-mas wasn't real? :confused:


I should have never put out then.............

:rolleyes: :D
 

HippieKai

Pretty Boy....That's right, BOY!
Oct 7, 2002
1,348
0
hippie-ville
Originally posted by RhinofromWA
:( Dude the Rolex you gave me for X-mas wasn't real? :confused:


I should have never put out then.............

:rolleyes: :D
but it's all about the logo!!!!!



and you liked it:D :devil:
 

Tweek

I Love Cheap Beer!
Originally posted by Mag204
...

And as for all the "fakes" my mom brings home as jokes....well lets just say you would have to be VERY VERY thick to think they are the same as the originals.
There are a lot of bad copies, true, but the set of Callaway clubs had some of the top people at Callaway convinced (until they sawed the drivers in half).
 

I Are Baboon

Vagina man
Aug 6, 2001
32,818
10,991
MTB New England
Originally posted by LordOpie
In fact, I don't feel nearly as bad about a company having it's products duplicated. They took jobs away from Americans overseas and having stuff duplicated is now just a cost of business for them.
The products are replicated, not duplicated. Like Tweek said, when they sawed the fake Calloway club in half, it was assembled incorrectly and made of lower quality metal (in this case, steel instead of titanium). People that are duped into buying this stuff are being ripped off.

It just proves that you get what you pay for. If you think buying a set of Calloway clubs for $200 is an unbelieveable deal, that's probably because it is.

As far as bikes go, I bought American. :)
 

HippieKai

Pretty Boy....That's right, BOY!
Oct 7, 2002
1,348
0
hippie-ville
Originally posted by Tweek
There are a lot of bad copies, true, but the set of Callaway clubs had some of the top people at Callaway convinced (until they sawed the drivers in half).
wow!
but wouldn't the weight and feel be completely different?
 

ohio

The Fresno Kid
Nov 26, 2001
6,649
26
SF, CA
Some of the things are really GOOD fakes, because they aren't fakes. They're stuff made in the same factory, same mat'ls, same cuts that is snuck out the back and sold direct on the street, without paying any royalties back to the original company... this happens a TON with apparel (North Face, etc.). Problem is, there are also fake fakes, where the gore-tex isn't actually breathable... sucks if you get one of those.

It also happens quite often with Taiwanese bike mfgs. They are under agreement not to use American designs for anything but that contract, but in reality they have no problem producing extras during downtime and selling them out the back door. Most American companies have come to expect this and live with it because of the low manu costs... but they also expect that the stuff will never make it over here or to Europe.
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
Stolen Cars - The nerve! The pirates of Shanghai are knocking off entire motor vehicles.
Forbes Magazine ^ | January 29, 2004 | Joann Muller

Piracy is such a way of life in China that people are surprised when a movie, software package or handbag bought there is not ripped off. Now you can add, to the list of counterfeit goods, passenger cars. Months before General Motors began selling its $7,500 Chevrolet Spark in China in December, a $6,000 knockoff version, the Chery QQ, with the same grinning front end but missing some subtle details (like an airbag), was cruising Chinese streets. Even more galling: The manufacturer of the pirated version was partially owned by GM's Chinese business partner.

Counterfeiting--usually just of parts--is driving carmakers crazy in China. Replacement parts like oil filters, headlamps, batteries, brake pads, fan belts, windshields and spark plugs, packaged with fake logos, are turning up all over the world, including the U.S. The carmakers say safety is at issue. GM says it has come across brake linings made of wood chips and cardboard that could burst into flames with heavy use and coolant that can eat through a car's radiator in 48 hours. Also very much at stake: profit margins. Replacement parts are to car companies what popcorn is to movie theaters. It's how they pay the rent.

Ford Motor says counterfeiting costs it $2 billion a year in sales. Counterfeiters are using computer scanners to duplicate trademark labels and slap them on fake goods, says Ed C. Wetter, manager of Ford's global brand protection program. Ford recently raided a Chinese factory and turned up 7,000 sets of counterfeit brake pads destined for Egypt, each stamped with a replica of Ford's blue oval. A legitimate set of pads for a Ford Taurus would cost the equivalent of $47 in Egypt; the phony ones might go for $30.

Manufacturers are stepping up their countermeasures worldwide. GM says it is investigating something like 400 counterfeiting schemes and seized or destroyed $180 million worth of counterfeit goods. But counterfeiters just move and reopen elsewhere, says Philip F. Murtaugh, chairman of GM China. What about jail sentences? In Taiwan, says Ford's Wetter, those few offenders sentenced to prison can reduce their terms for $30 per day. Lawsuits? Often a waste of time. Toyota recently lost a closely watched case in China against a Chinese engine manufacturer whose brand logo was nearly identical to Toyota's.

"Accepting this kind of practice in China is condemning China to remain an underdeveloped country," fumes Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn.

Still, going after the bad guys is tricky, given that the bad guys are often tight with the government, and the government is a business partner you don't want to offend. GM's trouble with the fake Spark probably had its roots in Korea, shortly before GM and other investors bought the assets of bankrupt Daewoo Motors in October 2002. The Spark is a replica of the Daewoo Matiz. One of GM's co-investors in Daewoo is Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Shanghai Autoalso happened to own a 20% stake in SAIC-Chery Automobile Co., a fledgling government-sponsored company that began producing cars in 2001. It is possible that Daewoo insiders sold the design specifications for the Matiz to Chery engineers before the sale to GM was final.

GM executives did not storm off to court about the fake car. Instead, they are in a parley with Chinese government officials.
 

$tinkle

Expert on blowing
Feb 12, 2003
14,591
6
i really need to know - once & for all - what will be so bad in 10, 20, 30 years from now if we cut off china & their ilk.

Just completely severe trade ties. Will they come & kick our ass?

What do the "experts" say?
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
Originally posted by $tinkle
i really need to know - once & for all - what will be so bad in 10, 20, 30 years from now if we cut off china & their ilk.

Just completely severe trade ties. Will they come & kick our ass?

What do the "experts" say?
Ain't gonna happen for the same reason that GM will not do anything about Chi-Com counterfeit cars.... the Chi-Com market is potentially huge.