Counterfeit Archery Products: Are You Buying Them?

Does buying counterfeit archery products really hurt anybody? Here's a look at what you should consider before you make your next purchase.... Read more...

The post Counterfeit Archery Products: Are You Buying Them? appeared first on Bowhunting.com.

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Never. I insist on paying full price and sales tax at Cabela's.

 

I don't. But, honestly couldn't care less if somebody does.

 

I buy them and then sell them to the neighborhood children.

Lone Wolf Smone Wolf......This here is a Lone Wolf little Fellas.

 

That's a pretty unfortunately position to take. In my experience it seems to be the "out of sight, out of mind" mentality on this one. If you worked your tail off to dream up a new product idea, paid engineers to make it come to life, paid attorneys for patents and copyrights, paid people to market the product, paid more people to sell it and then distribute it and then someone from overseas came and blatantly ripped you off, violated all of your intellectual property, threatened your livelihood and the livelihood of those whom you employed either directly or indirectly you'd most likely feel different. But in so many cases we look at companies as just faceless beings that we don't care about - until it's one of us, or our family or friends. Then we care.

The real kicker is the long-term effects this has on an industry. Consumers stop buying products from the companies who created them and rely solely on knock-offs, which robs money out of those businesses. In turn they either go out of business or have no money left to create, market and sell new products. So innovation stagnates. Jobs are lost. Both at the higher level businesses that create the products and also at the down stream businesses - the sales & marketing groups, distributors, shops that rely on these product sales, and so on down the line.

 

Bowhunters are some of the cheapest SOB's in the world.

 

Does the 11% of proceeds from counterfeit manufacturers fund the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act?

 

Here’s the China knock off of Bowhunt or Die...




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I enjoy BHOD but its hard to compare to MXC.... But if so JZ would make a great Kenny blankenship. Which pro staff would be G. LaDouche though?

 

This might be a big of an exaggeration and you know it. I haven't seen a single shop close because of knock off rage broadheads, or knock off lighted nocks, or anything else and I'm willing to bet none ever will. I also doubt anyone will lose their job at a broadhead plant because of counterfeits. I'm not saying it's right. I'm just saying I don't care if someone buys the stuff.

 

Unfortunately that's the world we live in (out of sight out of mind mentality). It happens in just about every industry there is.

What products are we talking about specifically? I know there are knock off broadheads being sold on eBay and things like that, but I'm not really aware of other knock off products. Can you tell I don't buy much gear every year? If I need something I simply go to Cabelas or Archery Country.

 

Of course not. Counterfeiters don't pay US taxes.

 

So if it were your product and your company would you care then? How about someone you know personally? Say a friend or someone in your family.

And sure, while you may not outwardly see the effects of counterfeiting in the form of pro shops closing their doors you can bet this is having a major ripple effect throughout the archery industry. As the problem continues to get worse those ripples are only going to get bigger.

 

I understand the issues with counterfeit products. Here’s the main one that concerns me. If someone wants to purchase a pack of Rage broadheads, and they end up recieving knock offs with out knowing it, then the customer has been ripped off. If a person wants to buy Chinese knock offs, so be it. So if you were shopping on eBay for broadheads, would you really know?

 

I literally just snorted coffee out my nose...thanks, jerk!

 

Get over yourself. All products in all industries have a counterfeit element. As consumers, we get what we pay for. Some things are worth the price, and most aren't.

But it's our choice at the end of day.


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In most cases they aren't hard to spot - their are misspellings in the name, strange wording in the descriptions, being sold as a 6 or 12 pack when the real ones are sold in packs of 3, or the most common one is the price is substantially below what they're normally sold for. Sure, it's going to get harder to spot in the future but right now you can figure it out pretty easily.

 

Of course it's your choice. The choice between supporting the companies and people who design and innovate these products we all love so much, that pay taxes into the US economy and give back to conservation efforts - or the choice to support the Chinese counterfeiters who steal our ideas and our money.

There's plenty of ways to save a few dollars in life that don't involve hurting the people and businesses that fuel our industry. Don't want to pay $40 for three broadheads? Pick up a pack of Thunderheads and Muzzys for half the price, that will kill an animal every bit as dead. That purchase still helps support the companies who make the products and keeps money out of the counterfeit thieves.

 

Here's what I don't get. The Chinese are masters at copying products already available...I mean really brilliant. They can take virtually any consumer product and copy it nearly identically for less money. In most industries that isn't a problem. But the Chinese manufacturers i would bet don't even know the intended purpose of some of the products they knock off. They many times cut costs by using slightly inferior grades of metal etc. For a bow hunter, our equipment is important. What boggles my mind is this: There are guys out there that will spend $40,000 on a brand name hunting truck, $10,000 on an ATV for hunting, $1000+ for a bow, $1000 or more for cold weather/scent eliminating clothing, spend Thousands more on leases, fuel, tree stands, boots...the list goes on. But they are worried about saving a few bucks on broadheads...the ONE thing responsible for actually killing the animal. Why on earth would anyone take a chance on that? I would rank the quality of what's on the business end of my arrow pretty high on my list of things not to skimp on. Other things I will absolutely take advantage of a deal if I find one. I guess i just don't see $50 for broadheads as a big deal in the grand scheme of things considering what I spend on hunting in total, when their performance can literally make a difference in success or failure in the field. Something like a ground blind on the other hand....no one will convince me to ever spend more than $150 on a hub blind. Once they are brushed in they all look the same. If it keeps the rain off of me and is black inside, it serves its purpose. I own a lot of ground blinds I got on Amazon, and they work great.

 

I get where you're coming from on this but, in the case of counterfeit rage broadheads there has been literally countless reviews and comparisons done with the fake and real things. Time and time again its shown there is almost know difference at all except for maybe the sharpness of the blade. Which can be remedied with a quick swipe on a sharpener. Which is why people probably have a problem paying $50 for 3 broadheads when you can get a lifetime supply of knockoffs for $50. It probably costs Rage a few bucks to produce the 3 broadheads. So, why charge so much? Research and development costs? Please, they've been selling the same product for decades. There's very little innovation going into it anymore.