Dear BC friends, lately I was getting interested in trying some different strings and decided to give the Yonex BG-85 a try. So I started to look around and doing my homework (research), how they feel like and where I can get these strings. At the moment, as I looked at some serveral official Yonex websites and different ebay offers, I found something irritating about the yonex string packaging. There are many different packagings for the same string, so I assume that one of these may be fakes. So my question is, does anyone heard of fake strings so far and how to distinguish between genuine and fake? So far I only found one thread about fake strings but with no particular information in that. 1st Picture: Original Japan Packaging 2nd Picture: Found on Ebay, please pay attention to that symbol in the left down corner 3rd Picture: Very common on Ebay, pay attention to that SP symbol in the left down corner. BG85 comes only in white in Japan. Do you guys think, that one of them might be a fake and what do to these "labels" mean, might they have different quality ? Nowdays it is not easy to buy genuine products *sigh*
All original SP strings sold in Singapore should have the Yonex-Sunrise Hologram sticker. I don't think the counterfeiters would bother to fake the hologram for a low cost item like string (vs racquet).
The packaging for BG-85 that we have here is similar to the third picture. Yes, there is an SP symbol in the lower left corner. I believe it is genuine and the SP symbol is not a sign of fake string. And like Storkbill mentioned, there is a Sunrise hologram sticker at the back side of the packaging (unfortunately the Sunrise hologram sticker is only attached to Yonex products with SP distribution area).
2nd Picture Bottom Left Corner 'CH' with Yonex Logo. Based on my past dealings (with confirmation) this ugly logo has always been associated with fake yonex products of inferrior quality. 8man P.S. please do not let this (2nd picture product) confuse you with Market Distribution Code (e.g. SP, CN, JP, UK, ETC). Fake products have no realm for discussion of this matter. Do not even think to associate this fake product with any Distribution / quality debate (which has been 'banned' long ago).
Thank you so much for your inputs. I already thought that the second one looks very suspicious but I found a 4th picture by bluejeff (I hope you are not angry showing your picture) Notice the light blue color at the top ? But if you guys say that there is nothing to worry with the SP Version then I will go with it
Now for the real test-if I were to tell you that racquet A with the first picture string is fake and racquet B with the second picture string is the real one, would you really be able to tell them apart after playing with both racquets? If you can't or if you think the second racquet plays better, then something is not quite right!
Well I think I wouldn't be able to do that. But what if someone sells you some BG85 strings which is known for "high repulsion and clear sound" and in fact these are some fake BG85 strings with characteristics of a BG-65 or other complete opposite characteristics, then will you feel difference ? I dont meant to offend anyone here but I just dont want to buy some really fake 85 strings which will let me later at testing assume :" naaaah...85er strings are shitty strings, dont know why it is praised so much at BC." If the SP logo just stands for the distribution code like raquets then it it is fine !
i am sure both are real string , left is new stuff ,right is old packaging , during these few years I bought over 100pack of bg 65 and bg85 from Hong Kong at emmy and my badminton store, the old pack got white yellow and darck paper inside, now it is all black with sticker sunrise outside!! MING
i bet you guys i can go and photograph some real packaging and have the blue look as light as the 2nd photo. the CH yonex logo on the corner in place of the SP doesn't mean its fake or anything. from what i hear, its simply distribution or production labelling. i have some packaging of bg85 with that logo, and i can assure you, its real. i'm more inclined to think whoever took the picture was just real bad with the lighting. or their computer's color reproduction is horrible.
Don't worry, I knew people will be confused about the packaging when Yonex changed it years ago. That picture is there for historical uses in case anyone is confused about new and old packaging. As for the fake strings, Yes, they do exist. Sometimes fake strings are harder to spot than fake rackets as it is very easier to copy the string packaging than rackets. Majority of fake strings are in CH codes as it is mainly distributed in China. So, if you are buying CH coded strings, make sure your supplier is an authorized Yonex dealer or there might be cases that the strings could be fake. (Personally, I wouldn't buy any CH strings from individual sellers)
