Counterfeit Clubs

[cajuntexan00]

So I’ve recently been shopping clubs on eBay.  Got a great condition used Cleveland LW and purchased a new ping putter as a favor for my father. Both seemed like reasonably good deals and were purchased from golf stores that at least appeared to be in the USA.

I was reading the Ping website about the high numbers of counterfeit clubs out there.  Has anyone heard of problems with this before?  Can you really trust anything on eBay?

[GaijinGolfer]

You can trust Ebay if you buy from a reputable seller such as 3balls.  Ive also noticed quite a lot of Ebay sellers that are selling clubs super cheap but are located in China.  I always stay away from those sellers because the shipping can be expensive and is a huge hassle (I once bought a Mizuno JDM putter cover on Ebay and it took almost a month for it to be shipped) and if the seller is in China, chances are the club is a fake.

[B-Con]

There are some reputable sellers on eBay. RockBottomGolf, for example, puts a lot of their clearance items on eBay as well as their website. If you search this forum for eBay, you'll find a few other threads were specific reputable accounts were mentioned. In general, if they have 5K+ good ratings, they're probably legit. Counterfeiters tend to use accounts with only a few dozen positive ratings and then sell counterfeits until they get shut down. Someone who's doing brisk online golf business is unlikely to intentionally sell you a counterfeit. If you're in doubt, see if the account has a website associated with it. Some of the eBay accounts are run by golf companies (like RockBottomGolf) who can be confirmed separately to be legit.

[NuclearMike]

Rock Bottom Golf is a good source for clubs at good prices.  I've never had a bad experience with them.  I agree with B-Con that the higher number of ratings will normally indicate a reputable seller.  I bought a counterfeit Nickent hybrid from an online vendor (not through eBay) that I thought was reputable.  They may not have realized that they were selling fakes until I told them about it.  Unfortunately for their other clients they continue to sell the fake club that I bought.  The hybrid I purchased from them is supposed to have a titanium crown and yet magnets will stick to the one they sent me.  When I asked them to check their others (to see if they had a genuine one to sell to me) they admitted that magnets stuck to all of the same club remaining in their inventory and yet they are still selling them on their website.

[Fozcycle]

Golfetail is another reputable seller of clubs.

I have had multiple purchases from them with no issues at all.

[WilsonWedgeMan]

Originally Posted by NuclearMike

Rock Bottom Golf is a good source for clubs at good prices.  I've never had a bad experience with them.

same here.....

[jldavis73]

Rock Bottom Golf is good.

If you're looking for new, try DiscountDansGolf.com.  Purchased my irons and C130 bag from them.  Great to deal with!

[StuM]

I saw a few posts about potential fake clubs but not sure if this belonged in any of them.  Apparently a pretty large cache of counterfeits recently confiscated in China.  Also below is a link to a site on potential ways to spot fakes.  I've never purchased on-line, instead buy at local stores.  Hopefully the fakes are not making it into the stores I go to.

 

Busted: Nearly 10,000 counterfeit golf clubs seized in China

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A golf equipment raid in China nabs nearly 10,000 pieces of illegal clubs and components.

 

 

https://www.keepgolfreal.com/spotting-the-fake

 

 

[Typhoon92]

The way I look at it is if the deal is too goood to be true, and it’s coming from China… it’s a fake.

A friend of mine bought a Scotty fake for $100.  He actually thinks it’s real…. He knows nothing at all about fake clubs… has no idea there is such a thing.  I just go with it, he’s happy so why burst his bubble.

Like him, I think most people wouldn’t even know if there was a difference in performance.

[Double Mocha Man]

10 minutes ago, Typhoon92 said:

The way I look at it is if the deal is too goood to be true, and it’s coming from China… it’s a fake.

A friend of mine bought a Scotty fake for $100.  He actually thinks it’s real…. He knows nothing at all about fake clubs… has no idea there is such a thing.  I just go with it, he’s happy so why burst his bubble.

Like him, I think most people wouldn’t even know if there was a difference in performance.

I would think a fake putter, performance wise, would be less noticeable than wedges, irons and drivers.

[Typhoon92]

54 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

I would think a fake putter, performance wise, would be less noticeable than wedges, irons and drivers.

I think only a pretty good and knowledgeable golfer could tell the difference.  Most people hit so many bad shots… and the clubs have nothing to do with it.

[bwdial]

I took a flier on a set of clubs on Facebook Marketplace.  I could see some Ping G410s in the picture with a hodgepodge of other clubs for $40.  They were fake.  They feel like 💩 , even when well struck.  Silver lining though, I have used them to make a training aid by cutting a hole in the grip and jamming an alignment stick down the shaft.  It's helping me get into the proper positions.

[RayG]

Happens to the best of them... Not sure If anyone is familiar with SAS golf...