Well, my Nanospeed is here, and I'm already dubious, as it was only £40 and I was expecting a used one; this one looks brand new. It's NOT from eBay, I should stress. The date code is plausible, but I can't comment on the serial. Both are engraved. The cone weight/grip sticker says max tension is 22lbs. The red on the decals doesn't seem "red" enough to my eyes (though I don't own another NS9k to compare. The "O" in Yonex on the grips seems a bit odd to me (wrong font or sth), and there's no sticker UNDER the grip with the barcode on. Finally, the strung balance point is 300. The stringing pattern is correct for a NS9k. Pics below of the interesting areas. If this is fake I'll forward any responses to the seller and demand a refund - he tells he he has sold five of these. I know his mobile number, address and email address, so these will be broadcast as well. Many thanks in advance to all respondants.
I've just examined the nose of the racket and seen that it has the Muscle Power "bumps" in between the grommets in the correct places; there's also an extra cross at the bottom. I've also taken a comparison photo with a genuine Yonex buttcap.
A Nanospeed 9000 manufactured in June 2006 for the US market should have a serial number close to 622xxxx. Your racquet is a slightly later make (July 2006) with the serial number 627xxxx. I'm no good at spotting fakes from pictures. But it seems you are on safe ground. You would do better to wait for leehsim to pronounce judgement
well, best thing to do is to actually swing it around a bit. i mean, if its a real NS9000X, is will feel really really stiff, noticeable even during casual stringing around. well, that happens for me , anyway.
Fake racquets nowadays can look extremely realistic. I can't tell from the picture as the lighting makes the racquet look too bright. But you indicated that the max. tension for the racquet is 22lbs from the sticker, where it should be 24lbs.
Hi Mark A, Based on the given photos, it seems to me you got a pretty good fake. First off the cone doesn't seem right. The two I owned here, JP and AS version seems to have 4x obvious facet. Whilst the picture shown doesn't. Secondly, the YY logo on the butt cap doesn't look right either. They are too lengthy ,too 'fat' and too close to each other. The famous yonex green seems too bland and flat too. As for the serial number laser engraving, the '5','6','2' and '0' they doesn't look like the YONEX trade mark numbering pattern either. They also seems too bright as well. By the way, can you show the close up on the other side of the 4or 8 o'clock of the frame? Or you can simply check if it got the "Samurai" jap kanji on the sliver grey colour stripe. One last thing, (try to avoid) removed the original grip to see if there a sticker with bar code and #U# and colour scheme coding on the wooden handle. That's the traditonal bar code pasted on every Yonex racquet. and also check if there a little philips screw near the cone area. By the by, my inital feeling teling me that it seems fake enough to me. But then, I might be wrong. Best regards, Albert
Albert, I was immediately suspicious, but I knew that if it IS fake, it's a very good one. I took the old grip off (one of the first things I did) and there was no sign of any black sticker with the bar code on. The butt cap, while bumpy, was slightly different to the one on my real Arc 10 (darker green and YY logo was slightly wobbly). The cone I can't really comment on, as I am used to Armortec and Arcsaber CSC cones, but the pearlescent colouring seemed correct. I'm waiting for leehsim's verdict on the serials (I've pm'ed him/her), but tbh I'm getting set to get my money back and go for a Victor BS or a Bab X-F Essential...
The original ad is here: http://manchester.gumtree.com/manchester/91/37968491.html As you can see, it says "used", so I thought £40 sounded plausible for the year ('06) - I asked for the serial numbers before it was posted, but obviously I couldn't see the racket personally. If I do end up trying to return it I have plenty of ammo - his bank account details, phone number, email address... Hopefully this will "persuade" him to do the right thing.
Hopefully, you have been worrying too much after all. The numbering indicates you have a genuine racquet
Well, now it's got interesting (props to leehsim for his indulgence): leehsim's response does beg the question: why all the "discrepencies"?
Fake!!! Well folks, it's all over. I took the racket to my friend John's house as he has a real one from a Yonex A.D. in UK. Side by side pics below. There are other differences (such as the size of the font of the ELASTIC Ti decal), but I couldn't impose on John too much (he was babysitting). Now launching refund proceedings - if he tries any funny business his details will be broadcast to all and sundry. Many thanks to all eagle-eyed responders. M.
Good job in finding one to compare~ That's a really good fake as you can barely spot the difference only if you have 1 legitimate to compare side by side.
Yes, it's a later one but still an '06. Comparing mine to John's the differences really became obvious (differently sized decals, colouring, slight asymmetry, even the numbering in the serial and cone was different), but the clinchers for me were the buttcap, the lack of barcode sticker under the grip and, of course, the fact that the advert said "used" and I got a new one, and the presence of the extra cross despite clearly being factory strung (I don't think YY would ever make that kind of mistake). Still, the seller is apparently complying with my refund request, so it may only cost me postage back to him.
It would appear the saga is over: the seller has returned my payment (and before I posted the racket, too). He's either been ripped off himself or is hoping to get away at least breaking even. This really was a convincing counterfeit, but not when stacked up against the genuine article. Another lesson in not relying solely on serial numbers and cone codes - but for John's intervention I might have already strung it up to 30 lbs and broke it by now. Many thanks again to all who chipped in. (Mods, let me know if you want the thread locked.)
Good thing you paid so much attention . The *insert number* do look too round, the *insert number* might be off too. Are they engraved? Guess it still holds true in a way to only buy 2nd hand ones in your own countrycode on sites like that. Is what I told someone in the numbers check thread who bought a fake on a dutch classifieds website ... (edited out which numbers in case this reaches the crafters )
Nope!! Coding wasnt confirmed however the details of the racket which indicated counterfeit gave it away. ============================================== In general, one does not necessarily need a racket side by side to a genuine one to determine its authenticity. The reason is, if you know what the genuine one looks like, you can determine it within an instant.
