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Originally posted by Sunnyside_up!
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Just because a product is made in China does NOT make it a fake. China is the production house for the world and I am pretty sure that even Alpinestars have a factory or production centre there. You need to judge if the product is a 'replica/fake' or an original made in China.
Sounds tougher than it really is. Most fakes are of two types -
- The first is an outright fake - a low quality product which is simply "labelled" with the popular brand name. Thankfully these are the most common and an informed buyer can simply check the official company ( in this case, Alpinestars) website to see if the model in question is listed or even exists. If it's not, it's probably a fake.
- The second and more difficult to spot are the copies of an original design. That is the fake product has been made to resemble the original product. If it is, then you will have to look very carefully at the product to judge the build quality, materials used and also workmanship. Normally even a well made fake will not stand extremely close scrutiny and I would rely heavily on my intuition as well to make an educated assessment of whether it's an original product or not. Thankfully, extremely well made fakes are not too common in my experience.
Here's a sobering thought - The problem with fake products based on the original design is that they may 'look' good but will not have the standards required to perform their function. So in effect, gullible buyers - in this case our fellow bikers - go out and spend their money on products that will not actually perform what they are meant to do.
The sad thing is that this con-job perpetrated on us is is made easier for the cheats by our herd mentality of 'paisa vasool'. We are so pre-occupied with always getting the lowest price for something that we casually toss our common sense to the winds.
Sounds tougher than it really is. Most fakes are of two types -
- The first is an outright fake - a low quality product which is simply "labelled" with the popular brand name. Thankfully these are the most common and an informed buyer can simply check the official company ( in this case, Alpinestars) website to see if the model in question is listed or even exists. If it's not, it's probably a fake.
- The second and more difficult to spot are the copies of an original design. That is the fake product has been made to resemble the original product. If it is, then you will have to look very carefully at the product to judge the build quality, materials used and also workmanship. Normally even a well made fake will not stand extremely close scrutiny and I would rely heavily on my intuition as well to make an educated assessment of whether it's an original product or not. Thankfully, extremely well made fakes are not too common in my experience.
Here's a sobering thought - The problem with fake products based on the original design is that they may 'look' good but will not have the standards required to perform their function. So in effect, gullible buyers - in this case our fellow bikers - go out and spend their money on products that will not actually perform what they are meant to do.
The sad thing is that this con-job perpetrated on us is is made easier for the cheats by our herd mentality of 'paisa vasool'. We are so pre-occupied with always getting the lowest price for something that we casually toss our common sense to the winds.
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