Today, we are going to discuss the top 3 reasons why we shouldn’t buy clones, and instead buy authentic gear. Everyone is guilty of seeing a tank or RDA in a store for 25% off the cost of the original online, and you probably decided to snag it. Even though many clone manufacturers have managed to pull off the perfect copy, there are a lot out there who cut corners and send out cheap knock offs that don’t even come close to the original. We aren’t going to look at this from the perspective of the manufacturer who put all their time, effort, and energy into making the product in the first place, but instead from the view-point of us, the customers.
The reason for this mini rant is simple, a cloned RTA that is being passed off as an authentic to those who don’t know better. Today I was going to do a name and shame review on that particular piece of junk, but decided that I should use the time instead to give you pointers that will make your vaping experience better, rather than being negative to a specific thing.
1. You Buy Cheap, You Buy Twice
You buy cheap, you may as well be flushing your money
You may save a few dollars right now, but there are many reasons why you may not be happy with your purchase. While some companies have managed to make good 1:1 clones, the majority have just used the name, and may have it looking similar. For the most part, you will be dealing with junky threads that don’t work, sub par materials, and something in your hand that may last for 5 minutes. The authentic may be more expensive, but in most cases the designers have taken the time to work out the kinks before you try to put it together on your desk. The sad thing about it is, as the prices of the authentic equipment are dropping like a brick down a well, the cheap knock offs aren’t much lower than the real ones.
My mother taught me when I was a child, if you spend the money properly now, you won’t have to go out and spend more money down the road, and you won’t be left with a bad taste in your throat.
2. You May End Up Hating Someone For No Reason
I hear it all the time when I am out and about. I hate “insert device X here” because it leaks, the threads are stripped or anyone of a thousand different reasons. You ask them if you can look at it just to see if you can do anything to help fix their issues, and then realize in 2 seconds that it isn’t even made by the company they are raging against. The worst part is explaining why it isn’t the fault of the company they are spewing vitriol towards as they bought a clone.
The following is from an actual conversation:
I watched videos about it on YouTube and then spent $13 to buy this thing from e-bay, what do you mean it’s not authentic…
If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is. You wouldn’t believe that you can buy an authentic Rolex for $25, so why fall into the trap of believing that you can get the latest RDA for 1/3rd of the manufacturers recommended sales price. The sad thing is, when you tell everyone you know how bad it was, you won’t tell them that it was a cheap fake. You will most likely blame it on the company who made the original and give them a bad name that they don’t deserve.
3. People Care About Their Own Children
A company who has invested in the product will be more likely to help if it goes wrong
Alright, you got your RTA home, started to build on it, and then you realized that the threads in the “easy to use top fill system” have been milled badly. If you bought the cheap imitation, I can guarantee that the company who made it hasn’t even put their information on the box. If you had bought the original, you would have access to the manufacturer, who nine times out of ten will help you fix the problem than suffer a dent to their reputation. If you want to ensure you are only buying the device/tank/RDA once, buy the one with a solid company to back it up.
In Conclusion
This isn’t about protecting manufacturers from people making products for less than they can afford to sell them, it’s about protecting your investment in your vaping future. I have known a number of people who gave up on vaping simply because of the fact that they kept buying dodgy gear. If they would have spent an extra couple of dollars, they could have saved themselves a lot of time, effort, and energy instead of trying to get junk to work.
Do your research and don’t get caught out by unscrupulous people. A few minutes of research into a product can tell you if you are going to get a solid product or a duff deal, it’s plain and simple. Just remember one thing, if a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is and you should walk away.
As always, enjoy your vaporizers and vape safe!
And when the original is $150+, with a 9 month waiting list that is be invitation only, and the clone is $21 and available for shipping (looking at you Ubertoot/Origennny/Squape)?
Clones are perfectly acceptable if you do your research. They’re not 25% less or even 1/3 less like you say. Great clones can be had for 1/4 the price of the original and often times they are produced in the same factory as the original. You can’t just buy any old clone, do your homework and you’ll be fine. Sometimes you can waste your money on an original that’s indistinguishable from a clone.
Thank you for pointing that out to me.. its amazing how much the message changes when you add an additional f.. should have been of not off the price. But you are right, there are clones out there that are high quality… if you do your homework.
Good point Dan. Thanks for the reply.