All this fake BB Talk

[nmsrick]

.... has made me worried

so my sister and I wanted to make our Dad a new driver for Christmas so I watched and watched for a good deal on a regular flex BB. I finally found one from a seller on ebay that everyone here has heard of. The paint job looks good but I wanted experts to weigh in on the authenticity. Here are some pics.

I only ask because a few made comments about another BB that raised an eyebrow about this one. Thanks.

pulled the camera phone pics and tried to take better pics.

[marrigo]

Is there any laser inscribing on the butt end (may be faint)? Can you post a clear and up close pic of the Diamana oval. Is this an x5ct or g35t?

[nmsrick]

I don't see any etching.

[finalist]

no kidding. I ordered a Kai 'li through my club and I have [i]them[/i] worried the coming stick could be a fake due to all the posts here. I'm ready with pics for the day it arrives although I bet it's going to be real.

I'll be looking for laser etching, certain typography on the bar code sticker, hologram sticker, and a CPM check. At least they can ship it right back and I won't have any headaches of the internet return stuff.

[msfix13]

Here are some pics of BB's fresh from Mitsubishi. You'll have to draw your own conclusions, your pics don't cover enough of the label to tell.

[attachment=512085:BB3.jpg]
[attachment=512086:BB2.jpg]
[attachment=512087:BB1.jpg]
[attachment=512084:BB4.jpg]

[finalist]

ahhh.. and a picture of the shaft bag above. Thanks!

[nmsrick]

[quote name='marrigo' post='2139362' date='Dec 22 2009, 07:40 PM']Is there any laser inscribing on the butt end (may be faint)? Can you post a clear and up close pic of the Diamana oval. Is this an x5ct or g35t?[/quote]
x5ct

new pics up. thanks.

[arcticreaver]

so from the pics above i would say that if msfix13's pics are from real BB shafts, then nmsrick's shaft looks fake to me because the serial number sticker looks different. but i'm no expert.

[nmsrick]

[quote name='arcticreaver' post='2139478' date='Dec 22 2009, 08:56 PM']so from the pics above i would say that if msfix13's pics are from real BB shafts, then nmsrick's shaft looks fake to me because the serial number sticker looks different. but i'm no expert.[/quote]


that was kind of my thinking.

[prestiege]

im kinda glad i got the stock cobra grip on my 83S BB and not something they may of had that i would play for a year before changing. i really dont like the stock grip and will definatly be changing it. just not sure with what yet. when i do, i will definatly take pics to compare. same with WB

[arcticreaver]

[quote name='nmsrick' post='2139537' date='Dec 22 2009, 05:42 PM'][quote name='arcticreaver' post='2139478' date='Dec 22 2009, 08:56 PM']so from the pics above i would say that if msfix13's pics are from real BB shafts, then nmsrick's shaft looks fake to me because the serial number sticker looks different. but i'm no expert.[/quote]


that was kind of my thinking.
[/quote]

by any chance you can take your shaft to a local pro shop, who's got the shaft, and compare the two? since, it is a sticker so maybe it's just a different sticker the manufacture used.

[chickenpotpie]

Fake, sorry man. Seen that printed serial number several times. Real ones are etched. For some reason, they can fake the holograms, but not the etching. Go figure.

Just to confirm, please post a pic of the tip, looking at the cross-section of the tip (looking down the shaft from the tip end). There's another thing to check for there.

[cb_golfer]

[quote name='chickenpotpie' post='2139647' date='Dec 22 2009, 06:34 PM']Fake, sorry man. Seen that printed serial number several times. Real ones are etched. For some reason, they can fake the holograms, but not the etching. Go figure.[/quote]

The etching in high-end shafts are done using a computer controlled laser hence the serial numbers are unique - that ain't cheap. Easy to get/make hologram stickers.

[nmsrick]

[quote name='chickenpotpie' post='2139647' date='Dec 22 2009, 10:34 PM']Fake, sorry man. Seen that printed serial number several times. Real ones are etched. For some reason, they can fake the holograms, but not the etching. Go figure.

Just to confirm, please post a pic of the tip, looking at the cross-section of the tip (looking down the shaft from the tip end). There's another thing to check for there.[/quote]

[chickenpotpie]

A little hard to tell because of the flash, but does it look like the paint ran over on to the tip?

[jeffblais09]

it is beyond fake

[marrigo]

[quote name='chickenpotpie' post='2139647' date='Dec 22 2009, 09:34 PM']Fake, sorry man. Seen that printed serial number several times. Real ones are etched. For some reason, they can fake the holograms, but not the etching. Go figure.

Just to confirm, please post a pic of the tip, looking at the cross-section of the tip (looking down the shaft from the tip end). There's another thing to check for there.[/quote]

Shafts sent directly to OEMs have the painted serial number, but also usually have the laser etched also. Posted this in another thread but this pic below is a Blueboard sent to Taylor Made.
[attachment=512255:DSC01444.JPG]


Authentic Diamana's have a thin line visible in the dark oval between the blue and silver ovals. Below is a picture of a whiteboard to show what I'm talking about. This used to be a good way to spot fakes. Not sure if it still is, as apparently the counterfeiters are doing a better job on the paint.
[attachment=512256:DSC04063.JPG]

[nmsrick]

[quote name='marrigo' post='2140131' date='Dec 23 2009, 09:25 AM'][quote name='chickenpotpie' post='2139647' date='Dec 22 2009, 09:34 PM']Fake, sorry man. Seen that printed serial number several times. Real ones are etched. For some reason, they can fake the holograms, but not the etching. Go figure.

Just to confirm, please post a pic of the tip, looking at the cross-section of the tip (looking down the shaft from the tip end). There's another thing to check for there.[/quote]

Shafts sent directly to OEMs have the painted serial number, but also usually have the laser etched also. Posted this in another thread but this pic below is a Blueboard sent to Taylor Made.
[attachment=512255:DSC01444.JPG]


Authentic Diamana's have a thin line visible in the dark oval between the blue and silver ovals. Below is a picture of a whiteboard to show what I'm talking about. This used to be a good way to spot fakes. Not sure if it still is, as apparently the counterfeiters are doing a better job on the paint.
[attachment=512256:DSC04063.JPG]
[/quote]


Thanks for your help. Here is a better attempt at the pics. Is the laser etching just the rings around the shaft? Is this is it or is this too light?

[Qegurezi]

Do a pic of the Diamana label same as the WB above.

[marrigo]

No, the laser etching is like those shown in post #5 (actually those larger fonts look more like a silk screen to me) and/or like those below. Also attached a pic of a hologram sticker from my older whiteboard. I'm wondering if some of the confusion here may be due to older labels vs newer labels.

[attachment=512277:DSC04073.JPG]
[attachment=512276:DSC04072.JPG]
[attachment=512275:DSC04071.JPG]

[nmsrick]

[quote name='Qegurezi' post='2140195' date='Dec 23 2009, 10:03 AM']Do a pic of the Diamana label same as the WB above.[/quote]

when i hold the shaft up to good light there is a line in the dark just as the WB has above.

[marrigo]

[quote name='nmsrick' post='2140420' date='Dec 23 2009, 11:28 AM'][quote name='Qegurezi' post='2140195' date='Dec 23 2009, 10:03 AM']Do a pic of the Diamana label same as the WB above.[/quote]

when i hold the shaft up to good light there is a line in the dark just as the WB has above.
[/quote]

That's a very good sign.

[finalist]

[quote name='chickenpotpie' post='2140053' date='Dec 23 2009, 06:29 AM']A little hard to tell because of the flash, but [b]does it look like the paint ran over on to the tip?[/b][/quote]

Should the paint bleed over or not for a real Mitsubishi?
Can somebody post a face on view of the tip section of a real BB, WB, or kai li like the one waaay above, so we can compare? thanks

[nmsrick]

so here is the update.

I contacted the seller who was super nice. He gave me the name of the company he purchased from, who is authorized to sell BB's (even per the website). I gave them the info off of the club and he said it was authentic. Laser etching just started about 12 months ago. He said based of the lot # the shaft was older than that. He said that he was 100% confident it was legit.

[finalist]

that's good to know. Thanks for the fact checking. SO in the end checking CPM may be the only way to really know.

..and then one day the counterfeiters will have reproduced the CPMs too.

[dcrsx]

MRC has more than one manufacturing site (Japan and China). So its possible that the different plants have different equipment for serializing in different plants.

[chickenpotpie]

Hmm, seems like we've been talking about laser etching here for over a year, so not sure I believe that. Also, I have bought a fake here from an authorized seller, though he didn't market himself as such. How do I know he's an authorized seller? Because I ended up on his stores mailing list shortly after buying the fake shaft, and his store IS an authorized retailer (or at least that's what his website says). I suspect some guys take in old shafts and replace them with new, REAL ones, then turnaround and sell the fakes to unsuspecting clients.

On the painted tip, a fake will usually have paint runoff onto the tip. A real one will not.