rogcal Posted October 12, 2013 Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 We all know that there a literally thousands of counterfeit items available on Ebay, some of them cr*p and some of them very good and so when you get the chance to turn the tables on the counterfeiters as I did, it's only right that I share my story with you so you can legitimately take advantage of the Ebay system. In my case I purchased an LEDLenser T7 torch as a buy it now item for just under £29 from a supplier that showed it would be shipped from London. I noticed in the contact details that the seller was in fact based in China (the Chinese symbols were a dead give-away). When it arrived I compared it to the genuine article which I'd purchased a month previously from an approved LEDLenser dealer and it was immediately obvious it was a fake and to confirm it I sent I sent photos plus detailed description to LEDLenser in Germany who confirmed it as a fake. I then opened a case in the Ebay resolution centre which led to an exchange of messages between myself and the seller with myself consistently advising them it was counterfeit and this had been confirmed by LEDLenser. They offered a full refund once I had returned the item but under Ebay rules you don't have to return fake items on the understanding you will not resell them and oronly use them yourself. When the case has been open for 8 days you can escalate it and in my case Ebay automatically refunded my money to my PayPal account with no request made to return the item. OK, so you've got to take a gamble with the initial outlay you make to buy the item but the system favours you in the case of counterfeit items. As for the fake torch and despite it's lack of a well defined beam and some slightly iffy soldering in the battery compartment it's good enough to use as a powerful general purpose torch or even as a scope mounted torch for hunting quarry up to 150 metres away and should last for several years. Currently it's on my Beretta 301 and works great on bunnies I disturb when out for a stroll at night. Something for nothing can't be bad and when it means the bad guys lose out for a change it's even better! The only downside is that Ebay generally "pull" the item details from your purchase history so you can't leave any feedback to warn others that they will end up buying a fake product from this seller and you can draw you own conclusions as to why Ebay does this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snipers eye Posted October 12, 2013 Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 very interesting,thanks for the info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicykillgaz Posted October 12, 2013 Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 There's shed loads of fake bushnell scopes on eBay, plain turret caps and bushnell in big white writing down the side, usually in 3-9x56ir red/green Christmas tree type reticle. Really poor looking but I guess might be ok for air rifle. I got one but it didn't work as there was no horizontal adjustment. Guess its worth the risk if you get it for nowt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humperdingle Posted October 12, 2013 Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 Could you point out exactly what the physical differences are between fake and genuine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogcal Posted October 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 (edited) None, other than those imperceptible differences in assembly techniques, components and finish quality such as soldering, the LED module, stitching of the pouch, laser printing of the product name and serial number and the lens which gave a slightly less well defined beam than that achievable on the genuine T7. Judging by the vast amount of positive feedback for this particular seller, I would suggest that most buyers are not in a position to compare the counterfeit product with the genuine one and therefore are happy with their purchase which in turn creates a scenario where the producers of these fake items feel confident to continue doing so but at the same time undermining the financial stability of the genuine manufacturers. I'm not for one minute suggesting everyone on here follows my lead but to me my actions are legitimate and in my opinion morally sound and therefore I would also suggest actions that others could follow if they chose to! Edited October 12, 2013 by rogcal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humperdingle Posted October 12, 2013 Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 Would you be prepared to share the comparison photos and descriptions you sent to the company? I bought a P14 a while back and wouldn't mind having a look at the differences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itchy trigger Posted October 13, 2013 Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 bought an UltraFire WF501B of the bay, arrived this week, it was cheap, less than £4, but its a fake, machining quality is poor as is the paint finish and lettering, have bought one before using DaveG's link in his post, that is well finished, bought this one just as a general torch so not that bothered, just a heads up, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepasty Posted October 13, 2013 Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 to really stick it to them why not pass on the details for the seller here so that we can all get free torches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogcal Posted October 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 (edited) Humperdingle, I'd be happy to share them on an individual basis if you'd care to PM your email to me but I only took photos of the fake torch for the legal reps of LEDLenser to compare with their genuine product. As I said previously, the quality of the soldering in the battery holder was awful oh and I forgot to mention that the batteries supplied with the torch had no BB date on them which was suspicious in itself given that every battery I've purchased has a date stamped on it. When discussing this aspect with the LEDLenser lawyer he said the counterfeiters don't date their counterfeit batteries because they like to tell people who complain that "it's an older model", as they tried to allude to in my case by saying it was produced in 2010 and for them it's easier not to date stamp anything, so as to give them an option with what excuses they dole out to you when you complain. As for giving details of the seller on here that would be pointless as they close their account down (or Ebay do eventually) when they realise their luck is running out and as they have several other accounts running simultaneously they can carry on using them and at the same time set up a new one to make up for those that have been closed down. Incidentally , the LEDLenser lawyer sent me a long list together with dates of the various account names the counterfeiters had used over the last two years and which had eventually been closed down. Absolutely mind blowing how much of this is going on and there's very little the genuine manufacturers can do to stem it. Just trawl through the various sellers of LEDLenser torches on Ebay and look at the contact details and the ones that have Chinese characters showing are the ones that are likely to be at it plus of course the ridiculously low "buy it now" prices they are asking. If you end up getting one of these fake torches for just a few quid and are happy with it then fine but if you want it for free the option is there if you're prepared to spend a little time on dealing with the case on the Ebay resolution centre and stick to your assertions that it is counterfeit. It's a no brainer! Edited October 13, 2013 by rogcal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humperdingle Posted October 13, 2013 Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 Thanks, i'll PM you. I wouldn't know what a good or bad solder looks like... I just know mine look like silver sea urchins (!) I got stung on fleabay with a counterfeit Barbour jacket and followed the same course as you. Eventually got a refund but took a month and had to return the item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxus77 Posted October 13, 2013 Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 yep gerber knives and silver bars are two items i got for free in end after buying fakes, both of them got thrown in bin after paypal refunded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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