Counterfeit Clubs on E-bay

[Biffster26]

I have just received a Cleveland HiBore XLS club that purchased on e-bay last week and guess what, it is a fake. A very good copy but fake none the less. I am disappointed in myself for not trusting my better judgement... I will likely end up chalking this up as a $200.00 lesson learned.

First off I have purchased stuff off of e-bay and this forum as well and have been very pleased with my purchases... Although I knew of the risk of problems on e-bay I really did not think it would happen to me. So I thought....

I bid on an item that said it was from Canada and the seller had a 98.9% rating for 30 transactions (the only negative was a shipping dispute). I won the item for $142.00 plus shipping. Upon winning the auction I paid for the item through paypal and provided my shipping information and awaited the sellers confirmation. All is well so I thought...

The next day I get an e-mail from the seller stating that he is having problems with his paypal account a could I please cancel my payment through paypal and pay his invoice using another payment service "PAYINGFUN".....This is where I went against my better judgement and have only myself to blame. I figured I was paying using my credit card and most likely will be coverd under my purchase protection plan if there is a problem so I went ahead and paid him and confirmed my shipping information (I will just monitor my Credit card to make sure all is fine) All is well so I thought....

The next next day I get confirmation that my payment was received and he provided me with my shipping tracking number..When I keyed in the tracking number my biggest fear was realized...The shipment was coming from China not Canada as I had thought.

I received the parcel today and it is definately a copy. I will be calling my credit card company tomorrow but I fear I will likely be out of luck. Anyhow I will have some nasty things to say on e-bay feedback but I will likely just chalk it up to bad judgement on my part and cut my losses. Good luck getting my wife to let me get the real thing in the near future as I think I just blew my budget on junk.

[The Saint]

That really sucks.. Sorry to hear that,

[dbleber]

Your CC company will do a charge back and send you some paperwork to fill out. You will have to send the club back with proof that you have done so. If you cannot ship it back because of the seller then you should document everything and you will get your money back and kee the club. That's what happend with me.

[kerisb]

My husband sent an email to Taylormade and they sent him a list of known sellers that are sending counterfiet stuff out. If I can I will post it here, for everyone to see and beware of.

[BG458]

Man I feel for you that real sucks. Can not type what I really want to say cause I would get kicked off the site.

[Mattchew]

when it comes to Cleveland stuff there is only a couple sellers I will deal with...there is just way to many copies out there! Sorry to hear....hope everything works out.

just bought an XLS off ebay...before I did I contacted the seller to send pics or proof of "Authentic Cleveland Product" sticker and serial #, really the only way to make sure!

[Golfbum]

Sorry to hear about your problems with that seller from eBay.

That is exactly why I will only buy my golf equipment from the local golf retailer. I'd rather pay a few bucks extra and know I have the real thing, not a fake.

You would be amazed at how many copies that come into the store for trades. I was working one day and a guy brought in a set of Callaway X20's. As soon as he set the bag down every employee knew they were fakes. He said "My wife bought these when she was in China"

When told they were fakes he was not shocked but you could see he was not happy either.

[leftylucas]

A lesson learned for sure. I have been on Ebay for years and through some luck and diligence I have never gotten burned. I have searched and found some legitimate OEM dealers and they are the only ones that I will buy that type of equipment from.

[buykrux]

when i saw this topic i thought hmm, i bet its a cleveland wedge
i was close
iv never seen these fakes up close but from what i have been told they are identical to the real things

[The Saint]

It would be helpful to know what sellers that you have had repeated success.

[Gropper]

for me the only people i buy from on ebay is 3balls golf.....by far the best!

[spackler]

for me the only people i buy from on ebay is 3balls golf.....by far the best!

Considering you buy 9 out of every 10 lefty nike clubs they sell, I'm sure they think you're the best too!

[Gropper]

Hey not fair..i havn't bought a club in over 3 months!

Considering you buy 9 out of every 10 lefty nike clubs they sell, I'm sure they think you're the best too!

[Mattchew]

for me the only people i buy from on ebay is 3balls golf.....by far the best!

I agree...have never had a problem with 3 balls!

[spackler]

Hey not fair..i havn't bought a club in over 3 months!

hmmmm, that must explain this headline I read in the Herald last month...


newspaper.jpg

[Gropper]

Very nice my friend!

hmmmm, that must explain this headline I read in the Herald last month...


Attachment 13684

[sharkhark]

I bid on a fti a couple mths ago on a cdn seller. When i won and was about to pay thru paypal, i got a msg from seller that due to a problem could i pay it alternatively to a different email thru paypal. He said he had a dispute with paypal.
I replied to him that since paypal is owned by ebay that meant in essence he had a problem technically with ebay indirectly, so i said he should fix his problems and let me know when corrected. He tried to insist that a completed auction is an obligation on my part to complete.
I of course ignored him, I was not going to make a mistake.
Sure enough, couple days later, i receive email notification from ebay that seller is removed, all listings not to be complete, now an unauthorized ebay seller etc.

[Biffster26]

I bid on a fti a couple mths ago on a cdn seller. When i won and was about to pay thru paypal, i got a msg from seller that due to a problem could i pay it alternatively to a different email thru paypal. He said he had a dispute with paypal.
I replied to him that since paypal is owned by ebay that meant in essence he had a problem technically with ebay indirectly, so i said he should fix his problems and let me know when corrected. He tried to insist that a completed auction is an obligation on my part to complete.
I of course ignored him, I was not going to make a mistake.
Sure enough, couple days later, i receive email notification from ebay that seller is removed, all listings not to be complete, now an unauthorized ebay seller etc.

Sounds like the same story with me. I thought about ignoring it but ingnored my instinct an went ahead....MY bad. Do you recall the guys email name.

[kerisb]

Ok I have gotten permission to post this on here. So here is the reply we got to an email to taylormade.Despite TaylorMade and the rest of the golf industry's efforts, sales of counterfeit and knock-off golf products to unsuspecting consumers continue to occur. Read more about the TaylorMade and the industry's efforts here.
This page contains information that may assist you in avoiding becoming another victim of a counterfeit seller.
This page also contains information that may assist you in determining whether you have been victimized by a counterfeit seller.

How can I be sure that I purchase authentic TaylorMade products?
Buy only from authorized TaylorMade dealers. For an authorized dealer near you, visit the retail locator.
I am looking at a set of clubs on eBay. How can I tell if they are authentic?
Does the deal sound too good to be true? If it does, it probably is.
Are multiple clubs are being sold together in one auction? Merchandise sold through auctions featuring 14 clubs and a bag often turns out to be counterfeit product. Also, metalwoods sold in groups, such as a driver together with fairway woods, often turn out to be counterfeit.
Look at where the goods are coming from. If the goods are being shipped from outside of the US – and particularly if the goods are being shipped from China or Hong Kong - there is an increased chance they are counterfeit.
Club heads sold as separate components have an exceptionally high incidence of turning out to be counterfeit. Authorized TaylorMade dealers do not sell TaylorMade club heads by themselves on eBay.
It may still be difficult to determine whether the goods the seller will send you are authentic. Sellers of counterfeit goods have resorted to tactics such as lying about the location of the goods and depicting pictures of authentic product while shipping goods that are counterfeit.
Your best bet – buy from an authorized TaylorMade dealer.
How can I tell if the clubs I just purchased are authentic?
You can compare your club against pictures posted on this website. If you notice differences in color, shape, markings or finish quality, you probably bought a fake.
You may also consider taking your club to your local authorized TaylorMade dealer to have the dealer inspect it.
Unfortunately, passing a visual inspection does not guarantee that the club is authentic. The only way to be sure is to purchase from authorized TaylorMade dealers.
I bid on what I thought were authentic TaylorMade clubs on eBay. I received them, and they appear to be fake! What should I do next?
Your best recourse will be against the seller. You should contact him or her immediately.
You should also notify eBay of the situation. Please refer to eBay’s policies and guidelines here. (Note: you will be leaving the TaylorMade website once you link to eBay).
If you paid via PayPal, you should contact PayPal to inquire about whether they may be able to help you get your money back. Please refer to PayPal’s policies and guidelines here. (Note: you will be leaving the TaylorMade website once you link to PayPal).
You may also consider contacting local law enforcement authorities.
Unfortunately, TaylorMade does not compensate purchasers of counterfeit product in any way. However, you can help others avoid the same trap you fell into. Report the seller here, and we'll add the seller ID to our list of suspected counterfeit sellers.
Who can I contact at TaylorMade for more information?
Contact us.

If you did not find the answer you were looking for, please email us with your question. In no event should you send your club to TaylorMade. If you do send us your club, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to send it back to you.
List of known counterfeit sellers:
This list of counterfeit sellers is not complete and only contains those sellers that were brought to our attention as having sold counterfeit products via eBay, however, many counterfeit sellers use different eBay identification names and also change their names frequently to avoid detection.

1nyx	instantauctions	stickongram	queen7625
5900mackie	jacksnappy	stickongram	simpsondevil
afpilot0503	jbrennanhunting	trendshopusa	biggolfbopper
albertfarinas	jivcy	uk.golfdiscount	j-man77
ape-king	jtbratko	underpardeals	Camco_m
Bargainland	jvsports	warrenvass119	Beihugaoerfu
birdies1236zal	lookingforegophers	zengolfclub	Strahlungpur
brinvince2	luckygolf1980	vanbeeker1	numberoneclubs
cassandrabuth	maasgarid	billyrye	discountgoodsuk123
Cheapld	mariopremiumgolf	alignment_pros1	gigolfsupply
Christopher Byrd	nachita44	?bmojado68?	cashgenerator
EDB57	NganChoiWong	Golf-village	braviax40
e-golf club	oneredchick	parnell_cats
egolf_6869	par3golfdeals	digitalgolf7545
emnash17	paullunn67	sporting*outdoors

[buykrux]

lets see pics of this fake cleveland

[Biffster26]

lets see pics of this fake cleveland

These are right from the ebay posting. I will also take my own this weekend and post.

[Biffster26]

more pics

[The Saint]

So what are the noticible differences between the fake and the real. The pics you posted look like the real thing.

[Biffster26]

So what are the noticible differences between the fake and the real. The pics you posted look like the real thing.

The noticeable differences are as follows:

The Authenticity seal on the toe is contantly an off white/yellow shade does not change in the light.

The Grip is a harder rubber and has that "dollar store tool" smell

The FPS on the toe of the face is screened on not etched

There is a bubble on the crown, most likely an internal weld coming through.

The XLS in mine is all yellow paint not a red S

The grey paint is darker than on clevelands website.

The shaft actually looks legit... Anyone know how you can really tell?

I am curious to see how it hits but want to wait before all is settled in case I have to return it.

Update: My credit card cannot do anything because they do not cover e-bay purchases unless it is an e-bay store. I have a complaint into the security department of e-bay re the counterfiet product but I fear I will be out of luck due to the fact I cancelled my paypal payment and paid through another "third party".... I will see what they have to say.

I have not contacted the seller yet or left a negative feedback as I want to see what is said from e-bay.

[spackler]

I have not contacted the seller yet or left a negative feedback as I want to see what is said from e-bay.

I wouldn't be shocked if the seller offered you your money back to maintain his feedback rating. It seems that happens a lot. Then the seller can sell your club to someone else without people knowing they sell fakes.

Also really surprised the credit card company won't do a chargeback.

[The Saint]

So who is the seller.

[Mattchew]

The noticeable differences are as follows:

The Authenticity seal on the toe is contantly an off white/yellow shade does not change in the light.

The Grip is a harder rubber and has that "dollar store tool" smell

The FPS on the toe of the face is screened on not etched

There is a bubble on the crown, most likely an internal weld coming through.

The XLS in mine is all yellow paint not a red S

The grey paint is darker than on clevelands website.

The shaft actually looks legit... Anyone know how you can really tell?

I am curious to see how it hits but want to wait before all is settled in case I have to return it.

Update: My credit card cannot do anything because they do not cover e-bay purchases unless it is an e-bay store. I have a complaint into the security department of e-bay re the counterfiet product but I fear I will be out of luck due to the fact I cancelled my paypal payment and paid through another "third party".... I will see what they have to say.

I have not contacted the seller yet or left a negative feedback as I want to see what is said from e-bay.

well..if this is not a type-o then your is a fake for sure..it should say FFP. also just from a few things on your list it sounds like a fake anyways...I am looking at mine and there are a few differences for sure. and yes mine is legit!

[Biffster26]

So who is the seller.

I was notified that e-bay has suspended his account during the investigation...I will wait and see what happens from here. I will let everyone know his info when I find out where I stand.

[Biffster26]

well..if this is not a type-o then your is a fake for sure..it should say FFP. also just from a few things on your list it sounds like a fake anyways...I am looking at mine and there are a few differences for sure. and yes mine is legit!

yes my typo it is FFP , screen printed not etched

[Mattchew]

yes my typo it is FFP , screen printed not etched

I figured as much.... all are etched, so a screen print is not good.

I was talking with customer service at cleveland today about a few things and this came up. they are doing everything they can to stop clubs like this being sold to unsuspecting people, also they told me that if anyone finds a fake to contact them asap.

I hope everything works out for you and this crap stops!