Fake ping G5's SCAM!!!!

["Richard"]

There was a seller on ebay selling a complete set of Ping G5 clubs. Driver, 3w, 5w, 3-pw, sw, leather staff bag, travel case. He spelt ping "png" and complete "compete" wrong so those who did find the auction would think.. wow no one else is going to find this, I'm going to get this really cheap. My friend showed me the auction and I told him to pass, its probably fake because the feedback is private, there are no pictures and a few other things that made me uneasy about the auction. So, he gets them yesterday and comes over to my house and says... I got them. He paid $800can and didn't bid against anyone since there were so many spelling mistakes, he was the only one clever enough to find the set. Anyway, its hilarious how fake the clubs are. The 5 wood is 20* instead of 18*. THere are no serial numbers on any of the clubs. I took the clubs to golftown to get a letter from the mgr saying they were fake (for his chargeback and refund). He wrote the letter after looking at the clubs for 2 seconds. The shape of heads were more oval than triangular! The 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 writting on every iron was filled with black ink while the real pings aren't filled with anything. The true temper stamp on the shafts... aren't stamps they are stickers!!!! The driver and woods are about 20cc smaller than they should be, the shafts say stiff but they are more like senior flex and finally the letters P N and G are falling off the bag. each iron is about 15gs lighter than the real thing. There is a difference of 1 inch between some clubs and some of the irons are only 1/4 inch apart. I could swear the loft of the 8 iron is less than the 7 iron

If it sounds to good to be true.. it probably is

[1972Apex]

Can you provide an Ebay auction number so we can check it out ?

["Richard"]

I've looked at past auctions and can't find it anywhere as he puchased them at the end of may and it won't show anything prior to june 4th when I do a search for G5. But I will take some pictures for you tonight when my friend gets here. Anything specific you would like to see on the clubs so you guys know what to avoid in the future

Edit: I'll ask him for an item number when he gets back and post the sellers name

[1972Apex]

If it was only the end of May the auction shold still available on Ebay for viewing. I'll wait for the auction number. I myself would really like to see the auction listing. Call me curious...

["Richard"]

Sure, I'll ask him for the item number for you. He is going to be back in 2 weeks (india). I've done what I can do, even got a letter from the store manager at golftown in toronto saying they are fakes. I'll suppose you'll want to see that as well? shall I scan it for you?

Here is the search I used, as you can see, I can't go back past june 2nd

[Kilroy]

There are tons of counterfeit items on ebay.

[Andy4Par]

If it was only the end of May the auction shold still available on Ebay for viewing. I'll wait for the auction number. I myself would really like to see the auction listing. Call me curious...

....more like skeptical.

["Richard"]

....more like skeptical.

Seriously... say what you mean and mean what you say

[1972Apex]

No, I mean I am curious. I'd like to see what the pics look like in the auction and who the seller is etc. I buy golf stuff online all the time and I like to know who the scammers are and see the different tricks they use.
I don't think scanning in the letter from the GolfTown manager would help me much in this case.

[Big Johnny69]

OK guys, let's keep it civil. Like someone said, ebay is full of clones and counterfeits so I have no doubt his friend probably picked up a set of fakes.

[1972Apex]

"So, he gets them yesterday and comes over to my house"

"But I will take some pictures for you tonight when my friend gets here"

"Edit: I'll ask him for an item number when he gets back and post the sellers name"

"He is going to be back in 2 weeks (india)."

Well travelled friend .

[Big Johnny69]

Seriously, hope he has a frequent flyer plan.

["Richard"]

Ok, ried you are a MOd, check my IP address. I'm at a friends house borrowing her camera as we speak. WIll have the pics uploaded by tonight. Starting working on that apology so I don't have to wait to long for it.

PS the friend I was waiting for to take the pics with.. isn't the same one who bought the clubs and is on his way to india

[Big Johnny69]

Why an apology? He just wanted to see pics of the fakes to know what to look for. And what relevance is the IP address? Just curious.

["Richard"]

"So, he gets them yesterday and comes over to my house"

"But I will take some pictures for you tonight when my friend gets here"

"Edit: I'll ask him for an item number when he gets back and post the sellers name"

"He is going to be back in 2 weeks (india)."

Well travelled friend .

hey geoff, just taking the time to pick out of pieces from posts looking for slip ups. I maybe wrong but I doubt I am. THe IP address? I went out of my way to my friends house to get her camera as the friend I first refered to didn't have her camera charged. Just a little bit more proof incase he needed it. I have the camera now, pics are taken. Will upload them, crop them and post them so you can see what fake clubs look like. This comment isn't directed at reid although he has called me a liar in the past but more at andy4par. Its pretty sad that I'm trying to warn people of fakes and tell them what to look for and you accuse me of making it up. Have your apology ready as well, thanks

[Big Johnny69]

None of Reid's comments were directed at you to question your truthfulness. I was confused as well when you mentioned your friend. Seemed like the same person, makes sense now though. Like Reid explained, he wants to be aware of scammers on ebay and wants to see the clubs to know what to look for. And as for Andy's comment, I addressed that with my reply.

I've seen many counterfeit clubs from ebay. I visit many other golf sites and have seen guys post the pics of the auctions. I have no doubt your friend bought clones/fakes/counterfeits (whatever you want to call them). I was actually in Chuck's about a week ago and saw a Taylor Made 580XD 5 wood for sale. When I inquired about it the manager said he should let me know it was a counterfeit club. They are getting more and more common, and if you could post the auction so all of us club hos who hunt on ebay will be aware of this seller and steer clear of them it would be greatly appreciated.

["Richard"]

I'll post the item number when i have it but in the mean time pics and the discription i provided will have to do

[Big Johnny69]

Awaiting the pics. I have to ask. If I'm not mistaken, did you not say the clubs had PNG on them instead of PING? If so, did your buddy not know they were fakes? Usually if someone is trying to sell an item as an original OEM they will label them with the same name. I've seen some Callaways that looked identical minus a few tell tale signs that only those in the industry would really be able to tell. Was your buddy maybe just looking for a real good deal?

And hey buddy, we're all friends here, no need to worry about anyone questioning you.

["Richard"]

Nah dude, the auction said PNG and had spelling mistakes in the title. Complete was spelt wrong. Lets just say the guys auction had more spelling mistakes than one of my posts. (actually I beleive the clubs are from china, I'll ask him where the box says they were shipped from when he gets back). Let me ask you a question. When you see an item that is for sale and you see that the guy doesn't take paypal but has great feedback.. you bid because you assume you will get it cheaper since most peope won't bid because there is no paypal. I've done that many times and I think I got a fantastic deal. MAYBE this guy spelled PING wrong (the do say PING, it was only the auction that said PNG) so when my friend saw that he jumped all over the acution thinking he would get it cheaper because hardly anyone would be bidding. Thats all I was trying to say. I've done the same, there is actually a program you can use... you type in key words like taylormade, ping, callaway and it will do a search on ebay for most common spelling mistakes of those words MINUS the correct spelling so the only way to find the item is to search for the wrong spelling... and I've gotten very expensive suits very cheap. Anyway, pics are coming. Just trying to figure out how to put them up without decreasing the size, quality ect. Maybe I'll upload them to a service and post the link?

["Richard"]

Ok, here are the pics. I wish I had taken a camera to golftown with me when I went to get the letter so I could show you guys the difference so if anyone has the G5's and has time, post some pics. Does anyone know, if you file a chargeback for fake merchandise, do you get the keep the item?



Dead give away is the cheap head covers




The travel case, I have no clue because I only have a hard case. No clue but it doesn't feel very sturdy and feels as if the stiching is about to come apart any minute



Here is the bag, not sure if you can see the letters alerady starting to come off the bag



Ok, Ping grips don't have ping written in gold. Its written in white.



This is supposed to be a 10.5* 460cc driver but its no more than 410cc from the looks of it. Also, if you look on the hossel, there is no serial number under the loft. THere is supposed to be!



There is no serial number on the back of this 8 iron either, there is supposed to be


The true temper stand... is a sticker on this shaft. I peeled part of it off for you and tried to get a picture of it. All the shafts are like that



The grips are G5's are no lamkins but rather.. golf pride grips. Also, the color code related to the drip size is not on the grip.




You can clearly see the 20* written on the back of the hossel here. Ping doesn't make 20* woods. The 5 wood is 18*, not 20*. If you zoom in on the picture you can actually see a big crack on the bottom of this club, which is strange since its never been hit or taken out of its wrapping




Although the shaft looks real, it says stiff and is hardly even a regular. I'm almost certain the shaft is fake as well.




I should have taken a pic of the 3 iron instead of the 8 iron, but this will do. The club is to oval shaped and less triangular than the real G5's. Also, the 8 written on the toe is filled in with black ink where the real clubs don't have anything filled in. Its just a number indent, no ink.





No serial number



You can sort of see the two ping metalic markers on the back of the club are off. They aren't glued down properly, they are the wrong shape, size and even color (wish I had a pic of the original).



Any finally, the letter. I'm hoping that with the letter my friend can get his money back and still keep the clubs. They'd make great starter set for someone like my cousin

[1972Apex]

You know thotho, all I asked for was an auction number so I could see the thread myself. It was a pretty simple request under the circumstances and one that is made hundreds of times on dozens of golf internet boards in response to similar posts. thotho yours is not the first post of this type to ever appear on the internet you know...
Anyway I got your PMed apology and it is accepted but not necessary . I'll look forward to the auction number.

[Chieflongtee]

I searched for completed listings and I can't go back past June the 4th.

[rezadue]

How come the pics are not showing up?

[dbleber]

Those are pretty good fakes! The average joe would be none the wiser and the bag actually looks really nice from the pics. The only thing that might screw your frien is the auction wording. I have had to do the chargeback thing and it is a long process and you have to document everything. Since the auction itself did not advertise PING clubs but PNG clubs, your friend might be SOL. As for keeping them, I wouldn't count on it. Part of the process is shipping the clubs back to the seller and you have to provide proof that this was done, so use a shipping service that the seller will have to sign for and that is fully trackable. Hopefully everything works out, good luck!

["Richard"]

For some reason the pics aren't showing up but here is the link

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slidesho...e&conn_speed=1

[Kilroy]

Since the auction itself did not advertise PING clubs but PNG clubs, your friend might be SOL.

Probably correct. I think the seller knew exactly what they were doing. They probably know about the software to find misspelled names and how people think it's a way to get the best price. It also covers the misrepresentation of the merchandise. They will likely get away with it too.

["Richard"]

Even though the clubs themselves clearly say ping? The bag as welll? Also, it was only the title (if I remember corectly) that had ping spelt wrong, the auction itself said PING.

[Kilroy]

No question they were misrepresented as Pings. Laws can be tricky and these people know the in's and outs of counterfieting. It's what they do. Really I have no idea, but mis-naming the auction is starting to look like part of the plan to me.

[Andy4Par]

ThoTho I owe you an apology. After seeing the pics I am a believer. Sorry I jumped on you about this tale, you just come up with so many zany stories relating to golf that I just thought this can't happen to one guy so much.

Again, I apologise.

["Richard"]

Andy4par, thanks. Much appreciated it. I have no clue why these things happen to me (although this didn't happen to me but rather a friend) but still, I guess I would be a little skeptical as well