Anyone Bought Fake Gear?

[Foxholer]

Triggered from another thread.....

Has anyone bought gear, particularly from Ebay or similar, thinking it was genuine, only to find out/be informed that it was Fake?

No shame involved - except perhaps if from one of the obviously Chinese websites!

 

[In_The_Rough]

Not bought it but seen it first hand at college. We had an industry expert come in to give a lecture and he gave us a load of clubs and some were genuine and some were fake and we had to try an identify which was which and it was almost impossible to tell on most of them. It was only after when he let us hit some balls with them that it became obvious. He says there will be people up and down the uk with fake clubs in their bag that they have no idea are fakes. Was a real eye opener and very interesting indeed. It was funny to see everyone afterwards getting their equipment out of their bags to show him for analysis.

 

[Andy]

Aye DVD's.

 

[GB72]

My playing partner bought a set of fake TM irons online. Thing is that they had actually used a real TM serial number on them and it was only the TM rep who happened to be in the pro shop one day who could identify them as fake (I think the serial number was issued to the Asian market and would have looked slightly different if the clubs were real but imported).

Last time I was in the pro shop (which is weeks ago now) it seems like someone else at the club has done exactly the same thing.

This is why I only buy from certain places that I can trust.

 

[Foxholer]

Should have also included confirmed examples of colleagues/mates who have been victims too - rather than simply a suggestion.

I have heard of a couple, and seen a few candidates. But not as many as I would expect from the some comments on here and elsewhere.

 

[drawboy]

Yes, I bought some fake Golf Pride Multi Compound grips. They looked ok when I got them but when I fitted one it was obvious they were different. Firstly the colour bled from the grip when it came into contact with the solvent and once on and compered to a genuine one I still had on it was markedly different in both thickness and design. Buyer beware on Ebay. As always check for 100% feedback from lots of buyers and now there are lots of pros on the bay offering good prices so if possible deal with them.

 

[cookelad]

Got 5 dozen pro-v's off ebay a couple of years back about bidding got up to about £115 so it looked like a good deal as soon as they arrived it was obvious, in hand the touch of the balls was off (more like a Donnay), the "aim" was skewed and the writing that is the Titleist logo was too thin, all in all not a good forgery but they guy selling them said he was using them and couldn't tell the difference (lies damn lies I tells ya!) but he took them back - not really surprising considering the fuss I'd kicked up with ebay/paypal - and he still left me positive feedback!

 

[Foxholer]

Buyer beware on Ebay. As always check for 100% feedback from lots of buyers and now there are lots of pros on the bay offering good prices so if possible deal with them.

Certainly Buyer Beware! Feedback not so reliable in this case imo. Feedback may have been posted before fake noticed. and if Transaction is cancelled, any (chance for) feedback disappears!

 

[Hacker Khan]

No golf equipment as far as I am aware, only some plastic trees once from someone Oxford way.

 

[Imurg]

Back when the new rules came in for Drivers I had a non-conforming one so it had to be replaced.
I found a Cally FT 3 on the Bay, bid for it and won.
When it came it was obviously not a genuine FT3, more lime a non-conforming ERC made up to look like one.
Got PayPal, Ebay, Callaway and even Steve Otto, the equipment Guy at the R&A involved.
The biggest giveaway were the words "non-conforming after (insert date)" etched into the hosel on the opposite side from the serial number.
Got my cash back after a couple of weeks.

 

[el marko]

Was desperate for an RBZ driver when they came out but didnt have the cash. Ended up buying one from a cheap website. Soon realised it was a chinese website. Club never came but my money was refunded!

Felt like an idiot as i build websites for a living so should have known but i just really wanted that driver!

 

[USER1999]

No, but I've seen fake vokeys on sale in Chinese shops for about 8 quid, and rbz drivers for around 20.

 

[pokerjoke]

I bought some fake irons off ebay.
Burner XD irons.
All the paint peeled off the shafts,however used them for 2 years
and my handicap went from 22 to 14 so not so bad.

 

[Hacker Khan]

No, but I've seen fake vokeys on sale in Chinese shops for about 8 quid, and rbz drivers for around 20.

You been to the Silk Market in Beijing? You can kit yourself out with a new set of clubs, iron, clothes, waterproofs for about £100. And the strange thing is I did see people buying the clubs.

 

[moogie]

Yes,

I bought a Taylormade R7 460 driver for a mate years ago ( off ebay )
All looked fine , but I could tell instantly by the shaft graphics it was a ''wrong un''
Sent back , Refunded

Another mate bought a TM Superquad ( ebay ) I told him it was a fake straight away , daft thing was he only saved about £20 off best local price , he tried to adjust the head and it wouldnt even screw back together
Sent back , Refunded

I bought a Cleveland 588 black wedge years ago for a mate , fake , wrong shaft/grip/ferrule
Also a Cleveland 900 Black wedge , the paint infill was really poor , wet your finger , rub , the infill came off.....!!

Taylormade drivers , Cleveland wedges , Odyssey putters , were some of the most copied items a while back
You also had to watch out for sellers trying to sell full 14 club sets

 

[DAVEYBOY]

The worse thing is that some fakes are very good and there are probably many in the bags of fellow forumers :mmm:

 

[patricks148]

Ive a mate that has an Odyssey 2 ball putter. one of the round ball markers fell out so he took it into a pro shop in inverness and asked them to get a new insert. Anyway a couple of weeks later the shops pro came back and said " bad news its not a real Odyssey, you need to speak to who ever you bought it from"

Why do you think i brounght it back here in the first place, says my mate... a very embarrassed and Redfaced Pro

 

[Slab]

I've said before that providing I knew I was buying a fake and at a price that reflects that its fake then why not give it a go (there's already examples in this thread where clubs were reasonably serviceable)

Its the 'fake sold as genuine' stuff that would really annoy me

 

[Mary]

I bought an Odyssey putter via E-Bay, all was fine until the face insert came lose a couple of years down the line. Took it into the Pro shop and they couldn't tell whether or not it was a fake, so phoned the serial number through to find out. It was a fake, but I'd had a couple of years good use and the buying price was not extortionate. I switched to a 2-ball putter and, passed the fake onto somebody else (foc) and they fixed the insert back in, and loved it!

 

[DCB]

I remember going into a wee shop in the South side of Glasgow that had 'copies' of all the then current clubs offerings. The names were all very similar but not exactly like the original manufacturers spelling. Place lasted for a few months before it suddenly disappeared. One of the boys I worked with bought a copy of a Callaway driving iron that was in his bag for a fair while.