Hello,

Several months ago I had read a thread on this forum concerning the Racquet Doctor who is based out of Toronto. The topic at that time concerned whether he was selling fake racquets (several people at the time accused him of doing so). Eventually, he posted a very long reply in which he clearly stated that he is not selling fakes and that his products are genuine. Having believed his statements, I proceeded to contact him and arrange a time to see his racquet line. I ended up buying a Yonex Titanium badminton racquet from him. He assured me that his product was 100% genuine. I believed him and bought the racquet. Only now, several months later (after a 2-3 sessions of playing with the racquet), I have discovered that it is a total FAKE! How do I know this? First of all there is no serial number etched into the side of the shaft, secondly the grommets look as though someone cut them with a pair of scissors, the paint job is not close to as sharp as a REAL Yonex racquet, and finally, some of the paint is chipping off the racquet already (only played with it for a couple of hours - I'm a singles player, and it is shipping off the base of the shaft, where the handle meets the shaft).

I don't know how many others have been ripped off by this guy, but I thought that its about time to let others know of his ways.

File a lawsuit? Don't throw away yourracquet it's evidence! Is he the same guy from Ebay? Cause even his prices on Ebay are really high..

This is not related to the topic but I really want to know what a "GROMMET" is???

GROMMET: If you look to the interior of your frame, you will notice that your strings come out of these little black 'tube-like' structures; these are the grommets. On a real racket, I believe that these are specifically designed for each hole, and there is a certain level of craftmanship that you will notice with them when comparing them to a fake as I have seen. On the fake, the edges (right where the string is coming out) is all rough and uneven, and looks as though it was cut with a pair of scissors.

Hope that helps

I'd suggested you send the racquet to Yonex Canada & let them know about the details with the proof of purchase. Yonex should take some actions as this is going to affect their name. Their address is: 4405 1st Street SE., Bag 5500 Station A, Calgary, Ab T2G 2L2 Tel no: 403-243-0930 Fax no: 403-243-1022

You might get a free raquet too

Totally agree with Chris. I doubt that you will get anything free from Yonex, though. It is tough enough when you buy a faulty racquet from their own dealers! In part it is counterfeit goods that make Yonex stuff so expensive due to their legal actions.

Well if this guy (rckdtr.) sold me a fake one for an elevated price I would suggest to you that you arrange another visit with the dr. and see how his insurance coverage is..... well mabie not but I would make his life miserable ... Start with the better business bureau and build from there. You may even tell your story to local papers etc... Get creative , .... I would check with yonex and build from there. Player wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> Several months ago I had read a thread on this forum
> concerning the Racquet Doctor who is based out of Toronto.
> The topic at that time concerned whether he was selling fake
> racquets (several people at the time accused him of doing
> so). Eventually, he posted a very long reply in which he
> clearly stated that he is not selling fakes and that his
> products are genuine. Having believed his statements, I
> proceeded to contact him and arrange a time to see his
> racquet line. I ended up buying a Yonex Titanium badminton
> racquet from him. He assured me that his product was 100%
> genuine. I believed him and bought the racquet. Only now,
> several months later (after a 2-3 sessions of playing with
> the racquet), I have discovered that it is a total FAKE! How
> do I know this? First of all there is no serial number
> etched into the side of the shaft, secondly the grommets look
> as though someone cut them with a pair of scissors, the paint
> job is not close to as sharp as a REAL Yonex racquet, and
> finally, some of the paint is chipping off the racquet
> already (only played with it for a couple of hours - I'm a
> singles player, and it is shipping off the base of the shaft,
> where the handle meets the shaft).
>
> I don't know how many others have been ripped off by this
> guy, but I thought that its about time to let others know of
> his ways.

This is kind of old news - Ali Nemati, d/b/a/ The Racquet Doctor, went out of the badminton business in a huff last summer. If you do a search here and on the Equipment Forum, you can see dozens of posts on this topic. According to several of the posters here, Jennifer Lee, owner of Lee's Badminton in Toronto, bought several so-called Yonex racquets from Nemati, felt they were fakes, met with representatives of Yonex Canada and received confirmation that they were indeed counterfeit Yonex racquets. Shortly after that, Nemati posted here, claimed he was out of the badminton racquet business and cursed the BC regular who was one of the key figures in the controversy. Although Jennifer Lee had posted here several times in response to early Racquet Doctor posts, she never subsequently confirmed or denied this account about buying racquets from Nemati nor any meetings with Yonex to examine said racquets.

I wouldn't count on getting any response at all from Yonex Canada. After this all happened, I sent them an e-mail summarizing accurately what facts had been reported on this forum, asked Yonex Canada to confirm or deny whatever portion of those facts that it wished regarding The Racquet Doctor and asked them to provide some sort of guide for detecting fake or counterfeit Yonex racquets, aside from buying them new from an authorized dealer, even if they did not want to respond to the questions about the Racquet Doctor. No response. I re-sent that message several months later. Again, no one at Yonex Canada had the courtesy even to respond to my message.

It seems like there is now someone else using the moniker Racquet Doctor or something similar who runs auctions on E-bay. I do not think this person has anything to do with Ali Nemati and probably just chose that name in ignorance of Nemati's business.

Sorry if you ended up with a bum racquet. You should still try to contact Yonex Canada and see if you get a response, but I doubt you will. Good luck.

Brett: How did you find out Jennifer had bought a few racquet from RD & she'd contact with Yonex? I couldn't find those post!

Thanks!

I couldn't find it either!

Just a thought.

If Yonex Canada is so unresponsive.. then why don't you try contacting Yonex Japan.. or Yonex any other country for that matter..

Maybe you can create an internal pressure on Yonex Canada..

In any event, it seems pretty obvious to me that it is bad publicity for all of the Yonex dealers if questions from customers are just ignored...

and somebody somewhere in the Yonex organisation ought to be willing to do something about it..

Brett, please make sure you are telling us the truth with PROOF before you make any statement here.

1. I couldn't find anything that posted by Jennifer Lee, unless you know her
personally and knew that she is using a male name such as Shaun, Don or
anything (just an example, no offense)
2. I found the post that posted by Ali but I didn't see he "claimed he was out of the
badminton racquet business and cursed the BC regular who was one of the key
figures in the controversy"

Too much rumors spreading around just because of some people simply speak out what is in their mind without any proof.

Umm... Last time I checked, I had no breasts :) There is a particular reason why you cannot find the threads in question. This topic is closed and needs no further discussion.

This topic is not closed. Its just getting started. The man sells fakes and I have one right here to prove it.

ok, why don't you go and find out what you can do. Sue him or get a refund or get a replacement or whatever.
Then, only come back and tell us what is the truth out there, what can be done and what cannot be done.

According to what you used to define that it is a fake racquet, those issues can actually be determine right away before you bought the racquet but not few months later after you have used it. Perhaps you are the one who doesn't know how to take care of your own racquet.

If you still decide to buy a racquet from Ali after you have read all the discussions in this forum, you have to take your own risk.

Enough is enough, give me a break, man.

My only purpose in this whole fiasco is to make people aware that this individual is selling fake rackets. That is all, I am not asking what to do about it or anything. I've been ripped, and I'm just making others aware that this person is a lying in what he had posted several months ago about him selling real racquets. Do you understand that?

What you do not get is that this topic has been beaten to death. You are raising questions that have already been answered. Why recycle a dead horse? If you do a search, Kwun has strictly forbid any more discussion concerning this issue. If you have a beef with the "Racquet Doctor" take it up with him, don't come in here and bitch about it.

As for others, do a search on the Racquet Doctor if you want more information concerning this fiasco and releated issues.

Kwun, if you read this post, close this thread.

I think the original post was something about Lee's Badminton. Shawn was the original poster.

Ooops, that should be Shaun. He hasn't posted here in months so I forgot how to spell his name.

Brett, stop lighting up the fire again!
KWUN: PLEASE STOP THIS THREAD!

Clark, if that is truly your name (for all I know you could be Ali Nemati poking his slimy head back here - we caught him posting under several other pseudonyms, including "Louie," "Tony" and "Max" trying to defend his position), for you to question my accuracy and/or integrity is unfounded. You are either relatively new to this message board or are hiding your identity by posting under a new pseudonym. If you have a question about what happened here months before you first visited Badminton Central, use a bit of diligence in searching this and the Equipment Forum. Alternatively, you could ask me politely for verification. Don't accuse me of defamatory conduct or careless gossip simply because you lack the knowledge or are too lazy to find the threads to which I referred.

Here are some links:

The link in which Nemati claims his racquets are genuine and implies he gets them from Yonex-sponsored players:

<http://www.badmintonforum.com/forums/read.php?f=4&i=1585&t=1585>

Nemati, using the pseudonym "Louie" pretends he is a lawyer and berates and threatens Shaun in the following post:

<http://www.badmintonforum.com/forums/read.php?f=4&i=4139&t=3982>

If you use the "flat view" option for that thread, you will read messages in which others found he was posting with the same Hotmail e-mail address, arn47@hotmail.com (arn = Ali R. Nemati), under different pseudonyms.

Regarding Nemati cursing Shaun, it apparently happened in an e-mail from Nemati that Shaun quoted (so my memory after ten months was slightly off), rather than in a final closing message fired off by the departing "doctor:"

<http://www.badmintonforum.com/forums/read.php?f=4&i=4074&t=3982&v=f>

The two racquets that Jennifer Lee obtained from Nemati and provided to Yonex Canada are referenced here:

<http://www.badmintonforum.com/forums/read.php?f=4&i=3896&t=3660>

and here:

<http://www.badmintonforum.com/forums/read.php?f=4&i=4046&t=3982>

There are references to Nemati not selling badminton racquets anymore in the following links (first one by Don apparently contains a typo - he forgot to include the word "not"):

<http://www.badmintonforum.com/forums/read.php?f=4&i=7047&t=7047&v=t>

and

<http://www.badmintonforum.com/forums/read.php?f=4&i=3984&t=3982&v=t>


Kwun instituting a moratorium on the Racquet Doctor discussions:

<http://www.badmintonforum.com/forums/read.php?f=4&i=4147&t=4147&v=t>

You will note that I did not declare that all that was reported on this forum was 100% accurate, merely that I summarized what others reported and did so accurately. I e-mailed Yonex Canada to try to get to the bottom of this mess and confirm the truth about Ali Nemati, d/b/a The Racquet Doctor, but got no response. However, given that Nemati stopped selling badminton racquets shortly after the time that Shaun reported that Jennifer Lee sent some Nemati "Yonexes" to Yonex Canada and he stopped any further attempts to defend himself on this forum, it is a pretty sure bet that Nemati was selling counterfeit racquets, as accused. His dishonesty in his posts on this forum, particularly his use of multiple pseudonyms, also strongly suggests his guilt. Since these racquets did not have serial numbers on them, Yonex could not likely have traced them back to the original sponsored players - if they genuinely came from sponsored players selling their unused racquets and Nemati was seeking to protect his sources - the most likely explanation was that these racquets had never seen the inside of any Yonex manufacturing facility and Nemati didn't want to be caught with them. It was a believable story, though - Nemati had me fooled for a while. In fact, if you read enough posts, you will see I encouraged others not to post slander or speculation, and to be sure to try to work out problems with equipment vendors before posting complaints here.

Clark, your accusations caused me to waste over an hour and a half looking through the many scores (hundreds actually) of messages on this issue, just to prove that your doubts were baseless and I accurately summarized the Racquet Doctor fiasco last summer. I suggest that it is YOU who should be certain that you have proof to support your comments before you launch accusations against someone else. You owe me an apology.

Player, it appears that Ali Nemati is no longer currently selling badminton racquets, so this is a closed issue. Contact Nemati directly to work out any issues you have with him and good luck. If you have information that The Racquet Doctor may be resurrected and up to his old tricks, be very sure you do not post mere speculation here, but rather, you obtain provable facts and do not besmirch the reputation of any honest business operating with a similar name. Otherwise, as Don says, let's stop leaving our bootprints in this long-dead horse.

David or whoever you are, relax. I am not "lighting up the fire" - I am setting the record straight, so that we do not experience any more of the several hundreds of speculative posts on this issue.

Kwun, I think you will see that I was not trying to stir up new controversy here but provide an accurate summary that would settle this issue, hopefully once and for all. The links I posted will serve as a reference to any new people deciding to bring up the issue again in the future so that we can nip RD discussions in the bud. In any event, I don't think that there will be more than a few more posts on this thread, if any, so there should be no need to post warnings or delete messages.

It would be nice if we could get a detailed report from a genuine, knowledgeable Yonex employee telling us how to detect counterfeit Yonex racquets. Although Yonex's first thought might be merely to state that problems can be avoided by buying from Yonex authorized dealers only, surely they have to realize that there is a significant trade in second-hand racquets. Being able to verify as genuine an used Yonex racquet is certainly useful and while a racquet isn't an automobile, keeping a decent resale value in the future is a selling point for a new racquet today (obviously not the strongest selling point, though).

As far as I can remember, J. Lee posts here once only, not several times.
Secondly, Brett, you are probaly a nobody & that's why Yonex doesn't response to you. ( Just a joke, don't get serious with this.) Yonex never responses to me neither.
Thirdly, as far as I know, RD is no longer in business after being closed down by Yonex Canada.
Fourthly, case closed.

Actually, Ali Nemati still deals in tennis gear.

Brett and all.

i agree with everybody that this is a closed issue. AFAIK, RD isn't in business anymore. and if that's the case, why bother discussing it again? Player (i'd appreciate if you use your real name next time), sorry to hear that you got a fake racket. but since you read about the messages, you took the risk and unfortunately you got burned. but hopefully no one will be cheated by this guy again.

If you knew there's a problem with "fake" and still go ahead and buy one, it is NOT a rip off.

If it takes 2, 3 months for you to find out it actually was a "fake", it is NOT a misfortune.

I think all the replies to your original message were generous enough. Everybody is trying to help you out. The purpose of this board is to share information and we've all had enough from this topic.

Okay, for the last time (ie. David):

I did not knowingly buy a fake racket. I had read the posts on this website regarding the racket doctor, and was made aware that some people suspected him of selling fakes. I read his LONG reply to all the controversy, he really put himself out on the line, and if you read that one too, you too would think he is selling real rackets. I decided to go with him because his prices were phenomenally low. I was also previously aware of his widespread influence on the tennis world, and his certifications (this was another factor in my belief that people were just saying the wrong thing about the guy). Anyways, I went to his house, talked to him for quite a while, even brought up to whole issue about what people had posted and he flat out said that his rackets are real.

With all this in mind (ie. what I had just written), it would appear as though I have a real Yonex racket. Unfortuneately I don't. I only found this out when I was talking to someone who is also in the racket business, and showed me why it was a fake (don't question me on this - it is fake). Yeah I found out some time later, but how is that my fault? Thats right - it isn't. Anyways, like I said before, like I said again, and like I am saying now: My only purpose was to make people aware of this (by the way - I am not aware of any posts regarding this issue since April 2001 - since that was the last time I visited here). Thanks to the people who were nice enough to offer suggestions as to what to do, even though I did not ask for them to, and thats about it. Obviously some people just can't understand the take home message from all of this: I got sold a fake - and I'm just verifying and making people aware of the issue.