Was at a sale today and looked at a corded 3/8 drill labeled Makita but it just did not look right. Color and feel of the plastic was off. Case was not right, there was no specification plate on it that would tell me amperage model number etc. At the same sale they had a Makita hammer drill, this looked more like a real Makita. Labeled made in the usa but with a light weight cord that was marked as being a electric company I never heard of. Both of these items where new the corded drill looked real suspscious and the hammer drill was questionable. Any body seen what they would say where fakes or knock offs of Makita products.
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yes loads and loads.
here in the UK you get irish guys that drive around in vans stopping at all the job sites and trying to sell these really cheap makita/dewalt drills, routers, chopsaws etc....
at first glance they look like the real thing but the colour is usually a bit off and the stickers are all the same serial no. etc....
from what i have seen they last no more than a week then they crap out.
don't touch them with your worst enemys'. a real waste of money.
although the dewalt stuff might have been real as it normally only lasts a week anyhow LOL!!!!
I remember reading about knock-off tools, so they seem to be out there. Was this a real tool store? If it seems too good to be true...buyer beware!
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
It was at a yard sale. They had a bunch of tools, a number of used drills. The used stuff looked ok from the point it was actually from the manufacturer. The two new items where the suspect Makita drills. While I was real tempted on the hammer drill the cord was too light weight for a drill that size. That is what made me suspicious about that item. The 3/8 corded drill just did not look right from the get go.
Edited 6/27/2004 9:57 am ET by PD
There was a piece in FHB one or two issues back, in Cross Section, about just this problem. Yes, they're out there.
Andy
Arguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
Andy,
Usually, I read FHB cover to cover. Don't know how I missed that one. If you remember the text being more than a 2 line blurb, any easy way for you to let us here know where to find it without flippin' through a hundred some pages?
Jon
lemme try that again..
This may help
Fake outs: counterfeit tools are showing up on U.S. jobsites - Pro WatchProsales, Feb, 2004 by Katy Tomasulo
Think that bargain-priced drill you're holding is the real deal? You may want to look again.
On November 13, the Power Tool Institute (PTI) issued a warning that tool counterfeiting--a practice that began in Europe. is now starting to occur in the United States. According to PTI, people impersonating sales representatives of major power tool makers are selling power tools--including Bosch, Hilti, DeWalt, Makita, and Milwaukee brands--at low prices under the ruse that they are samples from trade shows. Unfortunately, buyers often don't realize they are counterfeit until it's too late. PTI warns that fakes can be of poor quality and possibly dangerous since they are not tested or approved, despite sometimes having UL stickers.
"Counterfeit products pose a serious threat to the safety of its users and the jobsite," says Steve Richman, president and general manager for Bosch. "Users can usually identify a counterfeit tool by its outside appearance. Often times the tools are lower quality and claim to be Underwriters Laboratories (UL) or Canadian Standards Associations (CSA) compliant, when in actuality they are not."
PTI is informing consumers that the best way to avoid being scammed is to buy tools only from reputable retailers and distributors, Suspicious activity should be reported to local authorities and to the manufacturer being falsely represented. PTI lists manufacturer contact information an its Web site, http://www.powertoolinstitute.com.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Hanley-Wood, Inc.COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Sphere,
Thanks, See you had to post that twice.
Jon
Resized it
Jon
Jon
I seen it to, there was a picture of the "label" that being one of the tell-tale signs.
I think it may have been 3 or 4 issues back, have to see if I can find it.
It was specifically referring to the Makita though.
Doug
Doug,
Makes be wonder if that DW 1/2" #972 drill I bought a couple years back was a fake. Seemed real enough except for the poor quality, compared to the original 972 I bought...and that the batteries died real fast.
Here's a high rez pic (sorry, only way to get the detail) Upper left is the new one. Interesting the the serial # is 5 digits vs. the old is 6. BTW. Both purchased through Tool Crib, the latter after Amazon bought them out.
Jon
I doubt that 2nd one is counterfiet.
But it is a type 6 and the first one type 2.
That means a (or in this case several) redesigns along the way. And I am guessing that they restart SN with each type.
I have seen this several times.
The PC buscuit joiner was orginally found to use a DW patent so it was modified so that is did not and was given a new type number. I think since them they modified it again to get the same functionality back without interferring with the DW patent (or else they licensed it) and it has another type number. Not sure of later or not.
And when the Delta bench top moticer was moved from Twain to China these where a number of complainst with soft screws and other problems and they appeared identical except that they had a different type number.
It was definitely this year, and definitely in Cross Section. I'll email Brian and ask him.
AndyArguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
It was in issue 161.
Brian P.
"It was in issue 161."
Brian,
Thanks, I'll see if I can dig it up,....assuming my wife hasn't hidden it LOL.
Jon
Andy,
Just an FWIW. Given the nature of how business is "done" in China, it is not that uncommon for a vendor in the U.S. to have tooling and or components made there, and have the vendor (in China) make duplicate toolings off the supplied designs for themselves, or have the CAD data be shared/sold (illegally?) to others.
It's like the wild west there, anything goes.
Jon
I think it was in the march issue.
Ron
yes they are out there and I was burned by one.
I bought a new "Makita" 18 volt drill with battaries and charger, no case, said brand new nver used.
I emialed the person and they told me that they were selling for the mom , the dad passed away,
I got it at a good price, I thought,, with shiopping I qapid about 100 less then the kit in the store. It was on e-bay with a seller who had high marks
took weeks to get shipped to me, finally was able to contact the person by phone, apologized because of the funeral and all that stuff
Witnin a month the clutch went out. I blamed it on the new guy, figured well at least I have two new battaries and a charger.
Few days later wnet to order the clutch. thats when I found out I had a fake, serial numbers were not to the model
but if it wasnt for the serial number problem, none fo us could tell the difference
went back to contact person I got it from, long gone
well at least I have the battaries.
within two months charger and battarie are targets for hammer throwing contests during breaks
last power tool I get from a independent person, sight unseen
live and learn