Guide: How to Spot Counterfeit Yonex Rackets

Discussion in 'Identify Fake Racket (Price/Source/Serial/Photos a' started by epermana, Dec 13, 2008.

  1. CrimsonRain

    CrimsonRain Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2006
    Messages:
    109
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    Pharmacy Student
    Location:
    San Jose, CA, USA
    Badminton alley is 100% legit. I've been do their (small) store and bought things there. The stringer seems a little suspicious to me...theres nothing wrong with stringing at higher tensions, I mean, you shouldn't get a response like, "OMG REALLY? THAT TENSION IS SO HIGH.", after asking for 24lbs. I've done 26lbs (and MANY OTHER people have gone way above), and it is definitely not something to be contemplated about...maybe stringer was just afraid of breaking the frame, since yonex rackets don't warranty their rackets at high* tensions.
     
  2. Mario C socal

    Mario C socal Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2005
    Messages:
    15
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Covina, CA
    It is true, however, the higher the tension, the lower the power.

    I'm wondering if the older rackets follow the same guide lines for spotting a fake. I was never in any doubt, that my old Aerotus 65 was authentic, but I don't see any serial # on the shaft and the serial # is only a 5 digit number. I purchased this racket in the early 90's - probably '91, or '92. Despite being that old having been played with countless times, it's still in very good shape. All the graphics and lettering are still very clear and nice looking. My wife has this old racket that she bought in the Philippines and it was supposed to be a Yonex Ti8, but I thought it was curious, that her racket is only half as old as the Aerotus 65, but 95% or the graphics and writing is gone. You can still see some faded stuff on it, but nothing legible. That and the suspicious 3 digit "SP" serial number have me figuring it's a fake. I really think the Aerotus is authentic, though.
     
  3. rojov123

    rojov123 Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jun 10, 2009
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    Student
    Location:
    Canada
    So, if I find a racquet with the code 171109JP, which year is it made in? 2010 or 2000? And what do you mean by "serial numbers run consecutively.? Also, how do I check the racquet for genuiness from the number on the shaft?? Are the number from the cone, and the shaft related?.. Do reply... thanks..
     
  4. eptan

    eptan Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2010
    Messages:
    15
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Singapore
    Hi members,
    Can some kind souls enlighten me?
    In the weekend, I bought 1 pcs of AT700 Old Color, which I spotted and bought as these days it's rare to see a old color AT700 retailing in the shop. The retails shop which I bought from is definitely a legit shop in S'pore and the owner told me that this AT700 has no distribution code and these rackets are meant for player (which I guess national players). It also has the standard Singapore distributor's label covering the cone serial no.
    When I take a swing at the new racket (not played in the court yet), I could feel that it is more heavier than the IP one I got. Hope someone can give me a clue.

    Cheers,
    eptan
     
  5. faizyusof94

    faizyusof94 Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2011
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    still student
    Location:
    penang,bagan ajam
    can i make a video tutorial on this?..with the help n permission from the experts of course :)
     
    #45 faizyusof94, Apr 26, 2011
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2011
  6. yurimaster2010

    yurimaster2010 Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2010
    Messages:
    1,085
    Likes Received:
    2
    Occupation:
    Consultant
    Location:
    MY
    nowsdays nothings can be trust...even the yonex retailer is fake...!!
    i think its just need to overcome our emotion
    once u bought it then just use it and dont compare...focus on ur skill and game and of focus to master ur new racket.
    only god know if its fake or not....these ppl will be punish..
    for you to enjoy ur baddy...continue using it and seeing ur idol using the same racket as urs to motivate urself to improve ur game level...

    have fun in ur baddy and dont dance to the fakeness of ur racket u just bought...
    u will be much happy to enjoy ur baddy that way...
     
  7. LightSaber

    LightSaber Regular Member

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2011
    Messages:
    46
    Likes Received:
    7
    Occupation:
    Smasher
    Location:
    Malaysia
    agreed, but when we pay a lot for a racket, we must be expecting genuine racket as we pay with 'genuine' amount of money. somehow we must check the genuineness of our racket and take further action so the fake retailer wont cheating around freely, unchecked.

    plus, when we want to sell our used racket in the future, we know that we are selling genuine stuff (thus higher price we can get)..
     
    #47 LightSaber, May 17, 2011
    Last edited: May 17, 2011
  8. silentheart

    silentheart Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2004
    Messages:
    3,327
    Likes Received:
    34
    Location:
    USA
    When he said there is no distribution code. You need to ask to pill off the sticker to verify the cone code. If the racquet has SP painted on the shaft with any other distribution code. Then it has a problem. Even if it for national player, it has distribution code.
    Check if the racquet is 3U. You might be used to 4U already and feel the racquet is heavier. Or may be the string is different.
     
  9. sunny110

    sunny110 Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 25, 2011
    Messages:
    28
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    ch
    Many manufacturers will do very realistic fake, you say they can do not distinguish between these, then how to do it?
     
  10. CloudDevelic

    CloudDevelic New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2011
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Singapore
    Hi guys, I recently bought a ArmorTec 900 Power Lee Chong Wei model from datawan Pahlawan in malacca. I bought it at RM259 but after A while I noticed some very small dots of black paint on the bright orange finish near the built in T-joint. Serials are laser engraved but stickers are peeling off. There is also smell of paint near the head, particularly at the black paint finish.It also carry a SP code. It's a 3UG4, 19 to 24 lbs. I highly suspect this racket to be a fake, but still not quite sure as this is my first time paying that much for a racket. Someone please enlighten me!
     
  11. demolidor

    demolidor Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2003
    Messages:
    5,507
    Likes Received:
    127
    Location:
    @Hollanti
    Even that much, is still only half or less than half than the original price ...
     
  12. WoOZY

    WoOZY Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2010
    Messages:
    302
    Likes Received:
    3
    Location:
    Ottawa
    With my AT900PLC, there is no orange paint as far as I remember....
    The very top of the racquet head is white with blue paint "POWER" on the very top....

    As for the cone section, the white paint made it VERY difficult for me to read the manufacturing date on my CD coded racquet.

    Post your serial and the more experienced members will let you know...
     
  13. bashir3

    bashir3 New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2011
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    Engineer
    Location:
    Cheras, Malaysia
    AT900P for RM259 would either be a fake or the best deal ever. I have friends who travel from Penang to Pertama Complex, KL to get the best deal in Yonex Rackets. I went there last week and the list price on the racket was RM859. I would expect it to be between RM600-RM700 after discount. I bought my AT900P for RM480 there and this was back in Dec 2007 when the racket first came out. Average Yonex racket prices have sky rocket since then.
     
  14. allyjack110

    allyjack110 Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2010
    Messages:
    410
    Likes Received:
    3
    Occupation:
    University Graduate (History)
    Location:
    Scotland
    I have a similar misgiving regarding Yonex distribution codes, specifically 'CH'. Excuse my ignorance but I was under the impression there wasn’t actually a ‘CH’ code – not officially at least. Afterall, a lot the counterfeit models on eBay come with the ‘CH’ badge. Anyway, a guy at my club plays with a ‘CH’ Arcsaber 10, a bit unexpected since I'm from Scotland. Noticing, the ‘CH’ logo on the shaft I asked if I could try a few clears, expecting the racket to be an obvious fake. I’ve seen several fake Yonex rackets, an Arc 7 and NS 9900, and each one was a clear imitation of the original - an obvious fake. My friends suspect Arc 10 however, looks and feels like the genuine article. For example, all the things you are supposed to look out for i.e. the banana-shaped case, the misshaped ‘O’, the butt-cup and grommet pattern etc all checked out ok. Even the serial code, which is usually the tale-tale sign of a fake, appeared to be laser engraved. The paintjob too looked perfect. The only area that confused me slightly was the handle, which appeared to be the smaller G4 size instead of the ‘standard’ G3 sold here in the UK.
     
    #54 allyjack110, Aug 27, 2011
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2011
  15. leongwaipak

    leongwaipak Regular Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2008
    Messages:
    278
    Likes Received:
    2
    Occupation:
    Accountant
    Location:
    Adelaide, Australia
    I agree with John. APACS make some really reasonably price racquets which are clones of Yonex racquets models. They are still quite good and well worth the money. And you can be sure they are genuine as nobody clones APACS racquets because there is no high brand name markup as Yonex (and LiNing) racquets demand.

    I have a Voltric 70 which I paid A$180 for and an APACS lethal racquet which was less than a quarter of the price for my Voltric 70 racquet. I play equally well with both and can't tell much difference between the two.

    I'm not saying Yonex isn't a great racquet but if there is such a high demand and high prices for their racquets, there will always be unscrupulous manufacturers and suppliers who will make fakes and try to sell them as real ones.

    Just bypass these fake issues by buying full retail from an authorised/trusted dealer OR buy from another racquet clone brand like APACS and YangYang.

    BTW AJ Racket Mart in Puchong Selangor Malaysia has the best price for original Yonex stuff here. ;)
    Too bad they don't have an online store.
     
  16. kwun

    kwun Administrator

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2002
    Messages:
    41,043
    Likes Received:
    2,066
    Occupation:
    BC Janitor
    Location:
    Santa Clara, CA, USA
    there IS an official CH code. that's the distribution code for the China mainland market. it is a HUGE market as you can probably guess.

    the reason many fakes are CH coded is because most fakes are 1) made in China so they just copy what they can buy in the market. 2) sold in China so it is more genuine to have make them CH coded as well.
     
  17. kwun

    kwun Administrator

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2002
    Messages:
    41,043
    Likes Received:
    2,066
    Occupation:
    BC Janitor
    Location:
    Santa Clara, CA, USA
    one more thing about CH coded racket.

    we don't see them often as foreigners don't usually buy rackets from China. firstly because it is risky as there are so many fakes one, and secondly because the China import tariff, prices of Yonex rackets are actually more expensive in China then in other parts of SE Asia. most people just ended up buying from HK or Singapore or Taiwan as the prices there are cheaper.
     
  18. Avenger

    Avenger Regular Member

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2010
    Messages:
    538
    Likes Received:
    14
    Occupation:
    Student
    Location:
    Indonesia
    there is CH code and CH code has CH on the shaft (same as SP with SP on the shaft) I think only these two codes that has their code on the shaft
    maybe you can note their cone code and shaft serial and try to post it on the other thread if you still not convinced
     
  19. allyjack110

    allyjack110 Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2010
    Messages:
    410
    Likes Received:
    3
    Occupation:
    University Graduate (History)
    Location:
    Scotland
    The 'CH' was clearly printed on the lower part of the shaft, just above the cone. I didn't take note of the serial codes on the shaft and cone but they were definetely laser-engraved. I can't imagine that the counterfeiters are now using laser-etching technology to mark their rackets. Afterall, part of the reason why genuine Yonex rackets are so expensive is because the engraving process is actually very costly. I don't won't to alarm the guy needlessly because he's a nice person and a good player. But if his racket is indeed a fake then it is a very good fake.
     
  20. sorefoot

    sorefoot New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 18, 2011
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    Student
    Location:
    Malaysia

Share This Page