Fake?
Replica? Copy?
Counterfeit?
Style? Look? Lookalike?
You know and i know these not-original parts are hitting the market faster than the donut franchise businesses. They are CHEAP, popular and they have high volume demand. Volume is a good word to tag along with profiteering.
Due to the fact that original parts are not giving any cheaper discounts or competing near with the not-original parts, a 10 bucks difference will make any consumer think before they buy. Everybody is being thrifty these days and definitely try their very best to get the "best" parts for their cars.
Japanese JDM parts has never been cheap. From a used old vtec controller to the latest racing camshafts, they are proud to stand tall in the market to make the world know their parts are super-duper high quality that comes from thorough quality checks and also years of research and development.
The thing is, if you are the ONLY brand in the world that sells a particular product, regardless of machine-made or hand-made, yeah throw your price. Cool. Respect. Ichiban. Wow.
I am not into marketing nor sales, but i think the new brands that came out couple of years ago prolly hit the market faster than the old hardcore brands. They want to SHARE the developments and contribute their expertise to the society by giving better products with a cheaper logical price. The process of trials and errors from the public responses made them grow faster. I dont have to tell you which brand, if you know the scene well and you'll know.
Let me go through each words with a lay-man terminology and understanding :
Fake : Similar design with the original brand with bad machined cut angles. Sadly, they use the original brand and prolly you wont get the packaging box.
Replica : A clone. Same design. No name. Cheaper price. Better used term, "local custom made".
Counterfeit : A mix of fake and replica, with nice packaging being put together with the original and being sold as the original.
Style/Look : A replica, using the same brand name but admitting its not an original but still sells at a very competitive price.
With the global mass industrialisation, everybody wants MASS output, FAST delivery and CHEAP prices. Everybody is looking at China and Taiwan for their mass production parts. Cheap labour and cheaper quality checks. Even these days all these new and un-known brands are willing to give warranties. When you have too many parts, swap is not an issue. It makes everybody happy. Even original parts are now made in China and Taiwan. Dont blame the brand companies, blame on the production costs, overhead costs and etc.
This "un-real" parts are going strong because :
- Not everyone is rich. With the economical crisis and bad exchange rates, dun blame this group of consumers. They are PART of the scene. Without them, everybody will driving a family wagon. You need a SCENE to have a reason to produce new parts. Demand and supply theory.
- They may not have expensive research facilities but they do maintain the copied design factor and keep the quality at almost at par to the original part. Almost there.
- Their parts can be used on the street and also track. If it breaks, buy again. Furthermore they are cheaper than the originals. Well, if you use "For Racing Use Onry" original parts on the street which makes you drive less and pay so much money, i think people would want to pay less and get the almost-same power with lesser tolerance products. They know the risk.
Those people that are really into serious racing would definitely seek high quality parts and they KNOW they have to spend for all these to gain that extra milliseconds during each race. There is no shortcut to winning. Engines that withstand longer on the track would definitely have more chances to win or at least complete the race.
It is your call. You can seek 2nd opinion if you plan to buy non-original parts. Yes, plenty of people have used them and even gave good reviews. Why? As most of them are pure street users and being used daily driven. Fake parts are not meant to be used for supersonic speed or used for space exploration. The risk is always there and lady luck better be on your side. If you plan to compete professionally, you might want to consider every dollar and cent in the bank.
Hopefully :
- The prices would go down on a fair amount for enthusiasts to try and feel the difference if they never had the opportunity to buy them before.
- Fake parts would stick to their own unknown names than using the original brands. I hate reading pure buyers getting conned big time hoping they bought the real ones.
- People respecting other people for what they want to buy. It is their choice and their money. If they dont know, educate them nicely. If they refuse or made their mind then its their own choices. There are no trophies on the streets.
There are people that buy all the good parts but do not appreciate the functionality of the parts as they rushed all in. And we all know, "for sale" sign is coming soon.
There are people that buy anything and everything as it makes them feel good inside them. Sounds like handbags for ladies. Ha ha.
Whatever it is, as long you know the risk, you know the tolerance level, you know the functionality and condition that it can go through, then its your call.
Whatever that makes you happy, buy.
Is that a lolex? Sorry, i mean Rolex?
