I remember there was a story up on here where a girl died after someone smashed with a crappy racquet and it broke, the top half of the head hit her in the face. Fakes shouldn't be trusted (despite apparent quality or "OEM manufacturer") or used, in my opinion, although I think this particular event was caused by an old clubbie that had been knocked about too much.
Having just been burnt by a fake 900P, I can relate some tips: See if there's an authorized Yonex dealer near you. If so, they should be your first port of call. The very best thing to do is to ask the seller for the racket's serial number and corroborate it with Yonex themselves! Be suspicious if the price is more than 20% less than the Yonex RRP. If possible, obtain a version of your chosen racket that you are CERTAIN is genuine and compare it to your prospective buy (look and feel). The second-to-last number on the cone code should be consistent with the year in which the racket was made; according to my 900P's cone, it was made in 2000 (before the Armortec line even existed, I think). Also, look very closely at the fonts of the shaft and cone codes - they should be identical (my shaft code had a "3" was different to a "3" that appeared on the cone). Finally, check all the stickers/decals (this should be easy, as Yonex enjoys slapping them everywhere) and paint job. Blurred/less-than-sharp and/or raised lettering is a dead give away, as are smooth transitions between different paint colours - colour boundaries should be nice and sharp. Take care!
I just want to point out that sales do happen some time. Here are examples. http://www.badminton.net/cart/produ...id=28&osCsid=e98a4b7ed4a265d3be982298afa7e178 http://www.badminton.net/cart/produ...id=44&osCsid=e98a4b7ed4a265d3be982298afa7e178 http://www.badmintonalley.com/Yonex_Muscle_Power_99_p/racket-yonex-mp99.htm http://www.badmintonalley.com/Yonex_Armortec_500_p/racket-yonex-at500.htm
I believe this would be a fake NS9000X Would anyone like to verify its fakeness? A friend bought it from someone at work for about $USD60. Appears as though he got ripped off. Some things to note: - Bad paint job - Weird looking serial number - Slightly raised YY logo at T junction - Off-looking green end cap logo - Bad grommets - Positioning of the "TYPE X" lettering - Cover doesn't look quite right - Anything else?
No idea what the difference is, other then the performance, but i have a yonex and it is quite a good racquet to use.
Sorry to dissapoint. Reasons why it's fake: 1. Shaft code is in wrong format. Should be seven numerical digits, unique to that individual racket. 2. Paintjob on the head (at 3:00/9:00) and the characters on the handlecap (JAPAN) are lousy. 3. The letters in the name "YONEX" are too fat. On a real Yonex, the "O" should look more like a "0" 4. And of course, you obviously paid to much for this racket. The NS9000X should be at least (and usually more) $200
http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59910 i had this same problem like a week ago when i was scared i bought a NS9ks for 100 canadian dollars so i took alot of pics..
Most likely fake because; Gold sticker is not legitimate. Code should be engraved on the cone, not painted on it.
