UPDATE! Fake Garrett ProPointer

[Keppy]

They could be and should be but you have no proof otherwise that they are original unless your selling them yourself.

... Yes i am the one selling them .... Some of you people talk out of your a-- ..... and not know what you are talking about.......... If you think i am selling them but i am not ... You have better have proof before you make false statements .....or accuse some one of wrong doing.............. That garrett and the mine labs sure look real .... The only way to find out for sure is check the serial #'s with Garrett or Minelab or send one to them.... Like i said that company could be making them for the detector companies.......... And i would bet that some dealers in the US are selling them ....... Hell some one could make $25 or $30 .. on the pin pointer and make $1000.00 and up on the Minelab 5000.. buy one and put it on ebay like they did not like it or was getting out of metal detecting.......

 

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[CincinnatiKid]

Fake Garrett ProPointers

Thanks to all for the responses to this thread. Positive or negative, it gets read. I can assure all readers that the Garrett ProPointer I proclaim to be fake, is truly counterfeit. In starting this thread, I wanted to let others know that this is a real problem. Not get into a political or demographic debate. Yet, these "fakes" obviously stem from China. Come on people, we are actually dirt diggin' detectorists, that love what we do! We also want real Garrett products. If anyone disbelives what I state, please feel free to purchase from the info I've given. Peace

 

[gunsil]

Buy American is a rather archaic statement. I love my Minelab, my Stavr scoop, and my vintage Porsche (which isn't an expensive model). The American automobile industry faltered because the Europeans and then the Japanese made and make higher quality longer lasting products. All the fuel injection systems on modern American cars are European, and many parts are made overseas. There will only be peace when the world becomes one community, and why should anybody deny a good living to someone in another land who works hard to make a superior product. Yes, there are other countries who have people making counterfeit goods to sell to unsuspecting people, but there are also people here doing the same thing. Most people get burned by counterfeit goods because they think they are getting a great price. Well, it still holds true that one usually gets what one pays for. I am sorry the OP got burned, but how much was paid for the counterfeit?? If the deal sounds too good to be true, it usually is!! The buyer in this case merely needs to open a claim with ebay and get his money back. Often the buyer doesn't even have to return the bad item if it can be proven to be counterfeit. Peace to you too Bro.

 

[MickeyMaguire]

All the above being said... the Garrett Pro-Pointer is, arguably, the best pin-pointer out there. Yes, the Minelab is an excellent, although more expensive, alternative. Either of those two would be the ideal choice. I opted for the Garrett. I also have a BH and a Fisher (same thing). They both have the same range and the Fisher, for some reason, is louder than the BH version, but, they don't measure up to the Garrett.

Yes, you get what you pay for in most cases-- especially with commodity goods. Cinci... have you reported the counterfeit to eBay? Did you use PayPal? You can report it to them, too. I hope you get your money refunded.

 

[True_Metal]

Look, this is not rocket science and not too damn hard to figure out. The pin pointer being sold in that link is a COUNTERFEIT. It says mailed from CHINA air mail. Do not pay attention to the pic, as it is stolen too. You are not going to get a legit Garret from China for $49.99. China copies everything. Stop being stubborn and smell the coffee.

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

If a Garrett Pro-pointer is advertised below MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) , the dealer is in violation of his dealer Agreement. So if you see new ones advertised at low prices, they are either counterfeit or a dealer that is going out of business. The markup isn't that great, so if you see these prices coming from China, you will get what you pay for ;-) The counterfeit ones I've seen online seem to not have the pulsating tone that the Garrett's have.

You won't find a legitimate dealer carrying these or selling them shipped from China. It's illegal just like the fake Rolex's and Coach purses.

Wayne

Metal Detector Sales and Rentals | Fisher, Garrett, Minelab, Lesche and DetectorPro

 

[CincinnatiKid]

Thanks gunsil! Initially $90 was spent. Things have since subsided and all is well. The "fake" was also able to be kept, and is now an item of discussion. Peace

 

[boogeyman]

Simple solution! Get ahold of Garrett. Tell them you think you've got a fake from ------- They should be able to tell a fake from theirs and tell you what to look for in a fake, next ask them how much reward they're offering for catching the counterfeiters. If it is fake take it & the info & packaging to the cop shop and file a report with the fraud investigator. They can recover your money. The counterfeiters get busted Garrett doesn't lose revenue to the counterfeiters & you hopefully get a nice reward. Everyone wins!

 

[CincinnatiKid]

Thanks again boogeyman. Since starting this thread I now know how many counterfeit detectors are out there, sad to say. Garrett says they are well aware of the problem, but at this point, there's not much they can do? I hear Mlab is having same issues, as I'm sure other manufactures are. This is global.
As Garrett has received many prior fake ProPointers, they say they don't need this one? So, this "fake" will now be a local conversation piece and a "buyer beware" device. Peace

 

[boogeyman]

Thanks again boogeyman. Since starting this thread I now know how many counterfeit detectors are out there, sad to say. Garrett says they are well aware of the problem, but at this point, there's not much they can do? I hear Mlab is having same issues, as I'm sure other manufactures are. This is global.
As Garrett has received many prior fake ProPointers, they say they don't need this one? So, this "fake" will now be a local conversation piece and a "buyer beware" device. Peace

Well, if you want some return on your fake, put it out your table at the swap meet or garage sale for a good price, and tell em the rreason for the good price is you think it's a knockoff. At least you're honest. Or if you're gonna sell an old detector tell em for $XXX I'll throw in this knockoff. Real bummer for Garrett sorry to say.

 

[mineralized_miner]

One thing I will say (and may come under attack for), is that if the chinese knockoff companies make a garrett propointer knockoff that is waterproof, and comprable quality and depth then I wil... mayb... no. I probably wont be buying it. But I would debate about it if it lasted a long time and was waterproof. Then, the chinese knockoff company could make their own brand and corner the pinpointer market with a machine similar to the propointer but was waterproof and lasted a while. Then they could outsource to the japanese city of Usa and mark their products as made in Usa.

Just a somewhat comical idea, not to be taken seriously unless you want to.

 

[boogeyman]

Wouldn't have any issue with a COPY maybe tweeked a little to avoid copyright infringement, but not with Garrett's trade mark on it. Some of you other 55+ oldsters would remember a company that was doing that. One company would come out with a new machine with a new bell or whistle and this guy would release a very very close match a few months later.

 

[CincinnatiKid]

No return needed boogeyman. It will never be sold. I'm still angry at myself though. I was adamant in recommending the ProPointer to my "newbie" detecting friend. Although, he did go lookin' for a bargain on his own from an unknown seller. A lesson has certainly been learned the hard way. Thanks again, Peace

 

[mineralized_miner]

I'm not exactly 55+, about 35 years from that!

 

[CincinnatiKid]

Thanks mineralized_miner. I do understand what you say. Usually when knockoffs occur, they are at minimum, comparable to the original. Not in this case.
You hit the nail on its head when saying, "waterproof"! If ANY company will mass produce a general use waterproof Pinpointer, they will corner the market. I've stated this before and others refer me to the vibra probe, etc. I speak of a waterproof, general use, "land", pinpointer. I hunt in the rain, as I'm sure others do. Simply put, a rainproof/waterproof unit doesn't exist? Lets hope... Peace

 

[Marvin]

There's a little more to add to any conversation about "fakes" or "copies" coming from China or other Asian countries. The company I work for sells outdoor advertising products. All of the hardware in our industry comes from Asia, mostly China. I spend a lot of time not only on Alibaba (site linked above) but other more obscure import sites. I work with an importer to find suppliers for our material. It's been eye opening to say the least.
There are thousands of products that get "knocked off"; that is to say made to look and feel very similar to a popular product but there are noticeable differences.. There are also thousands of products that get "faked"; a fairly solid effort is made to make the product look and feel like the original in an attempt to fool people.
But there's a whole different type of product that gets produced and sold in Asia; we call them counterfeits where I work but they go by other names. I just saw a show refer to some as "Super Fakes". There are plenty of unscrupulous companies that end up with the production contract for popular items. Take the Garrett Pinpointer from this post as an example. The company has all the specs, all the parts and all the tool and die equipment to make the product obviously. They are also under contract not to share or reproduce the item no doubt. That however doesn't stop the company, or employees of the company, from running a production of exact pieces of the product and selling them elsewhere. You also notice when you start looking for items from the Asian suppliers that there might be dozens of companies selling the EXACT same item. These companies are usually owned by the same group or individual. Other times designs are "shared" between companies. Sometimes materials are substituted if there is a particularly difficult part to "loose" a few of during normal production but a lot of times the counterfeit may actually be the exact same item as the original. It's unlicensed and almost surely not subject to a quality check. It's also unscrupulous to knowingly purchase one of these items (just my opinion of course and not a comment on this thread or OP's friend).
A little off topic but there's kind of a middle ground between these counterfeits and authentic products in the camera world that illustrates this nicely. They are called "grey market" items. These are items knowingly produced on the same lines as the USA items and authorized for sale in the US but they don't go through an authorized importer and don't carry a warranty. Exact same items passing through the exact same process from beginning to end.
I say all that to say this: While there's been no proof that the Garrett is a fake, and it may be an exact replica, it probably didn't get sold to Garrett for resale.

 

[CincinnatiKid]

Wow! Thanks for the reply Marvin. Happy New Year!!
The Pinpointer in question is fake/counterfeit. As I can't physically show it to you, I suppose I have no proof?
Along the same line, yet a bit off topic, I recently acquired a lock blade knife made by the Frost Co. One side of the blade has the Frost trade mark and USA. The opposite side of blade says China!? That's insane. Does a USA stamp now mean "assembled" in the USA or "made" in the USA?
Like it or not, a fake/counterfeit invasion is underway. And costing the USA dearly.
Peace

 

[barrywk]

I know an overseas company that right now has the garrett hand held super scanner (security type),listed on their website for 43.50...garrets web site has it for 199.00

 

[luvsdux]

Has anyone actually tried one and if so, how well (or not) did it work?
luvsdux

 

[CincinnatiKid]

Thanks barrywk. Thanks luvsdux. Happy New Year.
The problem seems to be that we Must physically "try one", as luvsdux states, to believe a product is genuine. This type of uncertainty is sad for the individual buyer. Can we really trust Garrett, Procter n Gamble, Intel, Nike, Apple etc.
Peace