It seems to me that the most common way of determining wheher a yonex is fake or not is to look at the serial number: mainly whether it is lasered or silk screened. I've heard from a friend of a friend that many counterfeiters have recently (this year) gotten their hands on laser etching machinery. They are currently using it produce high-profit fakes right now, like computer chips and ram. No doubt they will move on to yonex racquets too, soon. I'm currently in China right now, and actively looking for fake yonex racquets. So far i've only seen fakes with silk screened serials, and identical to the real in all other respects. (so far as i could tell, since they asked me to leave after i stared at the fake for too long.) anyways keep in mind that a laser-ed serial number isn't absolute proof of authenticity anymore. (i've seen the fake ram myself and it shouldn't be hard to point the laser at a racquet instead of a chip.)
Well, It seems that Yonex can't get a way from his 'thief'. I am sure that the 'best fake' Yonex racket has already launched. So people, be carefull. To be sure you get a real one, go to the Yonex dealer.
Exactly, people should go to Yonex stores only. I would only go to Yonex dealers or stores with great reputations for now.
I bought a yonex NS8k (bar code 5431096 100352GR) from a guy who was selling it cos he had another. Laser number, design, everything is in shape and you can't say it's a fake. I also found out that there are more than one racket with that serial number. But the icing on the cake was today when I found an NS8k at Sport Experts today exactly like my racket, bearing the same serial and date codes! Any opinion guys?
The number on the cone is the Production Date + Distribution Code. Since rackets are produced in batches, they can share one same production date. But the number on the shaft is individual serial numbering, so NO 2 rackets share a same serial number.
yup, first hand experience shows that fake rackets can have engraved serial numbers. i bought an mp100 on ebay (i'm so stupid) and the serial number was just about the only thing right with it. so preformed the only sure fire method i know to make sure it was really fake, by finding the t-joint and sure enough it wasn't there.
can u explain what u mean by finding the T joint? i would luv to know how to identify a fake yonex too. thank
it was pretty drastic, it's probably a better idea not to do what i did. my resolve when finding it was 'ok, i'm not playing with it anyways because i'm confidant that it's fake' so i took a hatchet and cut through where the frame meets the shaft
and imagine the sight if it did have a t-joint... I'm not sure if this is true but i saw a club member knock/tap where the T-Joint would be on the racket.. he says that a fake would make a different sound compared to one with a T-Joint (which he had on hand)...he even had two cut up as a comparison.
Regardless whatever verification method, the well made fakes are harder and harder to be identified these days, especially if you don't have a real one (same model) right next to it, to do a head-to-head comparision. The safer approach is to shop from reputable stores/retailers. The price might not be that attractive than some "too good to be true" ebay deals, but you are paying what you get.
Or worst than that. You could get what you paid for, and what you paid for isn't what you are buying for. Then when you ask for a refund, ebay will send you round in circles, finally they will demand you get a proof from yonex that they didn't make your fake racket. When you present the proof, they will say ahhh the proof didn't arrive within the 10 day (including weekend days and public holidays) deadline that was set. The best thing to do is not buy from ebay, because sooner or later it's going to cost you a lot of money and hassle.
I'm just wondering how similar is the fake as compared to the real one in terms of look. Has anyone seen a fake which look exactly like the real one or at least very similar?
Fakes look close enough to the original to fool most people. They are also very easy to spot by the experienced eye - cheap grommets, bad logo at the t-joint, painted over serial (engraved through mould rather than by laser) on the cone, etc, etc. Fakes also perform differently. In the case of fake NS8k's used by a couple my fellow club members, the rackets were extra head heavy and had superior power to the real NS8k. The question arises that: would you want to be told you are using a fake if you were but didn't know you were ? Also if you see others using fakes that they believed to be non-fake, do you have the heart to tell them ? MY personal policy is not say a thing.