Anybody have any problems with counterfeit tackle this year? I note that in the breakaway clip thread there was a mention of some knock-offs of the breakaway clips, so I wondered if there are any other things to look out for. I guess this thread is a correlary to the '06 gear review thread.

You figure that since the Chinese are busy making knockoffs of car parts, clothing, bags, shoes, everything under the sun, actually, then fishing tackle has to be fair game. Not to say that other countries aren't busy counterfeiting all inds of things, but really, the Chinese themselves used to say "Everything in China is fake except for your mother," and now they are saying that "Everything in China is fake except for fakers."

Myself personally, I bought a 300yrd spool of 20lb fireline this year that broke right in the middle of the line far too easily on first use. It happened when I was trying to unsnag a jig, and I thought, "hmmm," then a second time and I went "hmmm hmmm" and retired the spool. Looking back on it, the fireline was actually sticking out of the box a bit when I bought it... I didn't think about it much then, but after two easy breaks in a row on new fireline...:af:

Yea, there were some immo. Boga grips being sold. Garbage!:alien:

damn chinks, couldn't stick to fake gucci bags, they gotta mess with tackle

Not that the're marketed as "Aquaskinz" but take a look at the "new Bronco Bags about as knock off as it gets.

Not that the're marketed as "Aquaskinz" but take a look at the "new Bronco Bags about as knock off as it gets.

new Bronco Bags are great much lower in price. we have not added them to the site yet because we can't keep them in stock.

because if they can make a rocket ship go to outer space
and take out a satellite ....like they did TODAY!

then they can also make quality stuff too... :whackin:

I guess I am concerned because if the market for saltwater tackle becomes targeted for counterfeit goods, it is going to get a bit messy out there... also, its part of a broader concern I have. I know that counterfeiting has already seriously penetrated the automobile parts industry, causing accidents, breakdowns, etc., and who knows where else...:pop: ...but look out :err: seems like I am veering into the political here, but hey, I admit it! I got a bee in my bonnet about it.

Some things are better described as replicas rather than knock offs - because they are made on the same production line with the same stuff by the same people. You have to take care who you contract to do your outsourcing - because they will be the first ones to rip you off.
I get more sales calls from people in China than I do from people in New England - they are willing to replicate anything you send them, provide prototypes, and do short runs. It's a smarter move to concede the market and move on to something they can't do than it is to try and compete with them.

Some things are better described as replicas rather than knock offs - because they are made on the same production line with the same stuff by the same people. You have to take care who you contract to do your outsourcing - because they will be the first ones to rip you off.
I get more sales calls from people in China than I do from people in New England - they are willing to replicate anything you send them, provide prototypes, and do short runs. It's a smarter move to concede the market and move on to something they can't do than it is to try and compete with them.

I get emails too asking what I would like to reproduce for 10 cents on the dollar. But I won't get up on my soapbox other than to say "Why do we allow this to happen?"

I do think it is lacking of class for people to reproduce someone else's work & product. I think it is two flawed systems, one that allows and even encourages ripping off of intellectual property of others and one that does little to prevent it.... Also, how many businesses have chosen to save big coin and move production to overseas only to get ripped off - from Tech to Fishing, Cisco to Abu,

That is extremely interesting that the Chinese are peppering you with calls. And its true, there is nothing that they won't copy. Fake beer, fake cigarettes, fake food, there even was a case of them setting up a fake university with 20,000 students, who rioted when they learned that they had been studying for the priviledge to receive a fake diploma...incredible... the list goes on and on...

Thinking about tackle, I wonder whether the custom plug market has already been targeted? Perhaps it is too niche, but the competition in China is fierce and they will go for any small slice of the pie they can get, and they will fight over that slice until it is pulverized.

On the other hand people in the USA are beginnign to realize the cost of doing business in China is higher than it first appears. While the overall quality has improved; on commodity items it is still very low, most likely a result of there not being enough skilled labor.

For large manufacturers there is a significant cost associated with transportation, holding inventory because of delays in transportation, customs "brokers", quality issues and the cost associated with longer lead times.. Hopefully as we go forward we will see more manufacturing of higher end non-commodity items here in the USA. Some of the talking heads are now indicating that the move to China is slowing down..

It is strange that they are calling you about tackle. They see an opportunity in the fishing tackle business maybe because they can entice the greedy Americans with higher profit margins???

It is only a matter of time before we start seeing Habz, Tattooz tackle, Gibbz, sluggoz and maybe even other equipment such as Van Staall, Daywa or even Shymanno coming from China.

In my industry, reps from Huwaei duplicated the Cisco routers. Cisco took them to court and Cisco proved they were stealing technologies by causing router crashes using known software defects.

There were also other instances where the same reps were taking pictures at trade shows of other vendors equipment after the event closed for the evening.

But a question...how many of us or know people who use knock off golf clubs??

Hopefully as we go forward we will see more manufacturing of higher end non-commodity items here in the USA. Some of the talking heads are now indicating that the move to China is slowing down..

Why would we see it here in the US?
Honestly with the right supervision the Chinese make just as good a product as any American can. Its when you trust them and let them run off to do their own thing without advisors on site that they start cutting corners to turn out more product for you so they can make money.

Its too damn expensive to do any mass production here in the US anymore.

The factories like to run a secret 3rd shift.

I don't think the premier custom builders have much to worry about. They are catering to the high end of the market that is representative of where the best opportunity lies for small business today. The Pradco Pikies are 33% cheaper but not without a significant trade off in quality - other foreign wood suffers from similar lopsided quality issues.
But shops that employee low-skilled illegal aliens in this country do have something to worry about - because the craftsmanship level you get from an illegal from Central America is no different than that of from someone from China - and it shows.

In the sportfishing industry it's the products that are fabric based that are threatened the most - because replicating a garment is what the Chinese do best. And you don't have to match the quality exactly - if you can replicate 80% of the quality but do it for a 50% reduction in retail price - you'll win.

In the sportfishing industry it's the products that are fabric based that are threatened the most - because replicating a garment is what the Chinese do best. And you don't have to match the quality exactly - if you can replicate 80% of the quality but do it for a 50% reduction in retail price - you'll win.

The trick to getting around that is supplying all the materials, otherwise they cheap out.

You can't walk into the outerwear market with production in Japan without precutting the panels or providing the thread, otherwise you'll learn the life lesson that The North Face did. :usd:
Once they fixed their "issue" everything went back to normal.

Super SUPER high end outerwear is typically still made in Europe (Henri Lloyd/Musto), Canada (Arc'Teryx) or the US (Wild Things). The big difference being that you will pay a premium.
Helly Hansen foul weather gear: $200ish? Henri Lloyd: $500+ (Ocean Racer coat and pants will set you back over $1000)
The North Face: $200-300 Arc'Teryx: $200-700 Wild Things: $300+ (Arc'Teryx Sidewinder SV shell will hit you around $500)

The point being you can go with "ok" gear thats always just been "ok even when it was made in the US" or you pay the price and get real quality. (My father has had the same Ocean Racer coat for 10+ years and its still waterproof. Find me another coat that good.)

And then we can always compare the Shimano Calcutta and the Calcutta Conquest. $200ish vs $400ish
Is the Conquest a better reel? Yes. By far. But both are made in Japan with slightly different markets.
So what does THAT tell us? That we get the crap? I don't know. :D
(note: I fish both calcuttas and calcutta conquests... I like them both, they're both killer reels, I just like the Conquest more.)

We have companies that treat the consumer great but treat the retailer like crap.
Hidden problems with Deliveries, Product availability , Billing & Returns that you guys never see.
It’s a buyers market loaded with too much product. All the independent lure companies are being bought out. Rapala just bought out Luhr Jensen. Penn by K 2 . Some company’s simply fell behind did not update and did not listen to the consumer.
They could not compete in today’s market. The market changes and it’s survival of the fittest.

Believe it or not, K2 purchasing Penn may be a GOOD thing.

Last year had a work friend give me a $3 plastic swimmer looked like the classic 4-5" rebel....made in china

After just one cast I laughed, cut the line and sent it bye bye. Absolutely no wiggle to it at all........obviously copied but never test swam.

damn chinks, couldn't stick to fake gucci bags, they gotta mess with tackle are there chinks in your armor ?

are there chinks in your armor ?

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iam a pipe welder and do a lot of work in power plants and paper mills.when a component is installed into a pipe system a flange is welded to the pipe and the component is bolted to the flange.i heard today that china has banned the use of china made bolts in there power plants.because the bolts are junk and fail under the pressure.

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I kept catching counterfeit 40's...
damn things only weighed 25

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