Canada fake golf clubs caution ontario / quebec

First off, I am not writing this article to deter buyes from making golf club purchases from proven sellers situated in the Province of Ontario or Quebec. On the other hand, I've noticed and confirmed that many new sellers listing their location as Ontario and Quebec, are in fact, selling knock off clubs on another very well known auction site.

If you are like me, you have probably noticed an increased amount of new sellers surfacing on auction sites selling top of the line name brand golf equipment at silly low prices. I've been watching the golf club section for about months now. I've gone out of my way to question several suspicious sellers and am now reporting my findings to you so that you can use the information to help you make an informed decision regarding your next purchase of golf clubs.

Over the past 3 months, I have located and identified over 10 unique seller id's selling Callaway and Taylor Made golf clubs at unheard of low prices, all of which are being advertised as new items. Anyhow, of all the sellers examined, all but one listed the provinces of Ontario or Quebec as their home based location. Others listed their location as a different country all together (usually Somewhere in Asia or the United Kingdom.

Typical auctions you will see posted would be for top line drivers, fairwaywoods, or iron sets starting a price below cost or with very low buy it now prices. ALL used template photos.

Most of the sellers had low to zero feedback ratings. Others had actually conducted a few sales to buyers who seemed happy but commented on how long the shipping times took. A hand few of the sellers seemed to artificially build their feedback scores from making several small purchases and many were from private auctions so you could not examine the auction details.

I spent weeks attempting to contact these sellers. These are my findings:

All emails went unanswered except from three of the sellers who advised the following:

Seller 1 - would not answer any of the questions pertaining to authenticity and made it clear that no returns would be excepted what so ever.

Seller 2 - advised that they did not know the origin of the clubs and could not guarantee authenticity. They advised to buy at my own risk and that they too would not accept any return of products.

Seller 3 - who deserves thumbs up, was the only honest seller of the bunch. They disclosed that the clubs were not authentic but rather the best knock offs on the market. They would not accept returns b/c the clubs would be supplied from some other party. (probably drop shipped from China)

The key issues : The clubs are not on hand and not one seller could provide photos of the actual item. Not one seller was willing to accept returns. (then don't guarantee 100% satisfaction).

ALL THE AUCTIONS REPRESENT THE ITEMS AS IF THEY ARE AUTHENTIC AND NONE OF THEM DISCLOSE THAT THEY ARE KNOCK OFFS. THAT ALONE IS FALSE PRETENSE WHICH IS A CRIMINAL CODE OFFENCE.

It still amazes me that Canadians would fall into this trap when more and more sellers are being convicted criminally by the courts for fraud. The big manufacturing companies are not stupid and definately not lazy. They have deep pockets and are agressively going after these types of sellers aggressively what ever the cost. SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT IF YOU ARE GOING TO SELL CLUBS KNOWING THAT THEY ARE FAKES.

I fell victim to the fake golf club dropshipping scheme a couple of years ago:

I purchased a name brand item and quickly realized that I had been duped. I contacted the seller and advised that the item sent was not authentic and that I wanted to return the item for refund. The seller advised me that they could not accept the return because it was shipped from a company located in China. The seller gave me the mailing address and advised that they would refund me the amount after receiving their refund from the company in China. To top it off, I had to return it at my own cost. I was stuck pondering over my options. It was going to cost me $$$ to ship back and there was no guarantee on the refund. I decided that it was cheaper to keep the item and take the loss.

It still amazes me how many people see these auctions and think to themselves "What a deal!"

Yah, it's a deal alright......come on! You might as well save your money, go the local walmart and pick up a 29.99 driver then take it home and stamp Callaway or Taylor Made on it. You'll be getting the same quality, saving $, and only having to wait 2 mins in the checkout line rather than weeks and weeks.

This article is written without any prejudice.....To protect myself and others, I refrained from identifying the sellers and exact locations. If I could, I would.

The Million dollar question...........How do we stop these items from appearing on online auction sites? BEEF UP SECURITY AND STOP BEING A NAIVE BUYER!

Save your hard earned cash.

Start reporting to on any item received that isn't authentic! You can now report directly to the manufacuting companies through their websites or through you local authorities

Let's put a stop to this. If there's no demand, there's no market for fake clubs.

Cheers