Counterfeit Blades?

[Jerry-built Hustler]

However, I would be skeptical of the Atra blades you purchased from China, since in Asia it's called the Vector and the packaging looks nothing like the US/European carts you can buy at Wal-Mart. If the word "Atra" was anywhere on the package it was probably a fake.

I know the Vector is made for the Asian market, but does that mean Gillette isn't producing any branded Atra cartridges in China with the intention of exporting them to other markets? I'm not in denial about the possibility that my carts are fake, but I don't want to automatically assume they are just because of the country of manufacture. There is nothing unusual looking about the packaging - no misspellings, or anything else. Nothing about the package or the cartridges themselves arouses suspicion. They shave well and fit the razor (vintage 1977 Atra) perfectly - no looseness or wobbling, and the pivot has full range.

BTW, I checked the order. Amazon was the actual seller; it wasn't a third party selling via Amazon, if that makes any difference.

Here are some down-and-dirty pics:

 

[DonMac]

Amazon will do nothing about counterfeit Mach III cartridges. I launched a complaint years ago about someone selling Chinese counterfeits as legitimate but nothing ever came of it. That same seller is currently hawking the same counterfeits but at least now he discloses their country of manufacture. The package I bought went in the trashcan.

I still remember the oddly worded packaging. "Only for sales and countries of Europe."

I think maybe you misunderstand the nature of Amazon. They are a retailer, and nothing more. They are not an investigative or regulatory agency. The fact that they offer the 100% customer satisfaction guarantee with free return shipping, would seen to make purchasing through them relatively safe.

 

[DonMac]

I purchased some Atra Plus carts on Amazon. They're made in China, but aside from that, there is nothing unusual about the packaging or product. They shave quite well. I have some Sensor Excel carts I bought at Walmart, and they're made in Brazil. Some sell on Amazon, supposedly from Germany. I have some 7 O'Clock PII carts that were made in India, and of course I have some Silver Blue DE blades that were made in Russia. Is the country of manufacture an automatic sign of legitimacy or lack thereof? Is China a red flag, or are there some legit Gillette carts from China? This is all quite confusing.

I have some Wilkinson Sword blades manufactured in China, and they are outstanding.

 

[Eeyore]

I have some Wilkinson Sword blades manufactured in China, and they are outstanding.

China has a long history in manufacturing sharp things.

I believe Japanese swordsmiths even learned their craft from the Chinese.

 

[No1Up]

I'd like for a company in the U.S. To blatantly manufacture a popular China product to which the legal rights were not obtained, and little to no QC was used. Then knowing it might be a dangerous product, sell it in their country for pennies...

Not all China made products are bad, but how the people there rip off intellectual property rights and make profit from it makes me sick. There is no ethics in that. When spend extra on a high end blade, it's because we want that "high end" part.

 

[Eeyore]

Not all China made products are bad, but how the people there rip off intellectual property rights and make profit from it makes me sick. There is no ethics in that.

That's how the USA textile industry started as well in the eighteenth century, and how the Swiss got into watch making, among many other examples of "copycats".

I'm not saying that blatantly copying is great, but the Chinese are certainly not the first (and probably won't be the last).

 

[No1Up]

I would be venture to say they are the worst...

not sure what's worse, steeling the product design, or the product marketing.

 

[vanhooglesnort]

So what's the deal with the yellow Feather 5-packs? I got one tossed in with a razor I bought recently and it looks legit. I also can find multiple vendors selling them online, some with hundreds of good reviews. They can't all be counterfeit can they?

 

[DrAwkward]

That could be a red flag, since the five-blade packaging is completely different from that of the ten-blade. But since you already have the genuine article, at least you've got a basis for testing the other blades to see how they compare.

Ten:

...

My Feathers (in a 10 blade dispenser) look like the picture below. Notice that the red logo in the top left is a square, not a triangle, and it has only one feather, not two. I suspect my blades are real, but this variation in packaging is nonetheless puzzling.
Yellow 5 blade dispensers with the same square logo are for sale on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UFAL14Y?psc=1
Are some of these counterfeit? If so, which ones?

 

[vanhooglesnort]

My yellow 5 pack looks like your ten pack; rectangle with one feather. I think im going to assume they're real and decide not to care.

 

[mblakele]

My Feathers (in a 10 blade dispenser) look like the picture below. Notice that the red logo in the top left is a square, not a triangle, and it has only one feather, not two. I suspect my blades are real, but this variation in packaging is nonetheless puzzling.
Yellow 5 blade dispensers with the same square logo are for sale on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UFAL14Y?psc=1
Are some of these counterfeit? If so, which ones?

You already know about the logo, right? The two-feather triangle logo is older than the new "slug logo". That change happened 2011 or a bit earlier: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/244166-Fake-Feathers-or-do-they-have-a-new-logo and http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/277497-What-is-status-of-new-logo-Feathers for example. In those threads some gents thought the slug logo might be counterfeit, but you can see the same logo on the Feather web site, on black five packs for the Japanese market: http://www.feather.co.jp/jGeneral_Mens.htm.

Speaking of markets, Feather seems to sell their blades more cheaply in Thailand than in Japan or the USA. No doubt they would like those discounted blades to stay in Thailand, instead of undercutting other markets: parallel imports or "gray market". Sometimes when this sort of thing happens, the cry "counterfeit" is heard from authorized distributors or retailers. It makes sense from the point of view of an authorized distributor or retailer. These products are undercutting the official prices, and therefore they must be fakes. At the same times there really are some fakes out there: caveat emptor.

 

[Phenol]

Ethics in China, that's rich. The only Ethics in China are MONEY.

 

[Phenol]

I'd like for a company in the U.S. To blatantly manufacture a popular China product to which the legal rights were not obtained, and little to no QC was used. Then knowing it might be a dangerous product, sell it in their country for pennies...

Not all China made products are bad, but how the people there rip off intellectual property rights and make profit from it makes me sick. There is no ethics in that. When spend extra on a high end blade, it's because we want that "high end" part.

There are no ethics in China. Don't look for them. Hell the factory that makes blades probably sells QC rejects to the employees. It is all about the money.

 

[Tulkinghorn]

Here are my results from a test of shaving with one of the alleged Feather blades I ordered:

The good news: This blade felt as smooth as butter all over my face. With three passes, there was not a single cut, nick, weeper, or sign of irritation.

The bad news: That is because this blade is too dull to cut anything, let alone my beard hair. I'd be surprised to learn it cut a single hair. My sink basin was virtually whisker-free, while my face wasn't.

The verdict: I don't think these can possibly be real.

I took this picture to show the new blades I got compared to the ones from the surely genuine 10-pack I had. The genuine Feather is on the left. The only visual difference I can see at all is that the printing on the actual blade is just ever so slightly more bold than on the genuine Feather:

Editing to update: I now think perhaps the first blade was just a dud rather than fake. I tried shaving with another blade from the order, and it seemed fine. So maybe they are all real. I can't really say and am just more confused than ever.

 

[Phenol]

Counterfeit or just a bad batch of blades?

 

[mblakele]

Here are my results from a test of shaving with one of the alleged Feather blades I ordered:

The good news: This blade felt as smooth as butter all over my face. With three passes, there was not a single cut, nick, weeper, or sign of irritation.

The bad news: That is because this blade is too dull to cut anything, let alone my beard hair. I'd be surprised to learn it cut a single hair. My sink basin was virtually whisker-free, while my face wasn't.

The verdict: I don't think these can possibly be real.

I took this picture to show the new blades I got compared to the ones from the surely genuine 10-pack I had. The genuine Feather is on the left. The only visual difference I can see at all is that the printing on the actual blade is just ever so slightly more bold than on the genuine Feather

Too bad about that. Have you checked any other blades in the pack? Or other packs in the pillar?

If they are all dull, it seems like an ideal fake: perfect packaging, but why bother actually sharpening the blades?

Counterfeit or just a bad batch of blades?

Could be. Suppose Feather quality control is a time-consuming process, and the blades have already been packaged by the time QC rejects the batch. They should have been destroyed, but the truck ends up delivering them to the wrong address — accidentally, or accidentally on purpose.

 

[Eeyore]

There are no ethics in China. Don't look for them. Hell the factory that makes blades probably sells QC rejects to the employees. It is all about the money.

Money rules everywhere ... but we are getting a bit close to politics now, I fear

 

[Tulkinghorn]

Counterfeit or just a bad batch of blades?

I guess a bad batch or even just a single dud blade are possibilities here. I'm very new to DE shaving--I just started literally three weeks ago today. So I have no idea how common that might be. It seems like it would be something of a weird coincidence though if that turns out to be the case. Then again, as I've said, these sure do look like the real deal. The only difference I can see is the slightly bolder print on the blade.

Anyway, I will try shaving with a different blade from another pack and see if maybe it was just one dud blade. The one blade I tried sure didn't cut the mustard, or anything else.

 

[Greaserboi]

I appreciate the sympathy. Also appreciate you and the other posters in this tread for even bringing this issue to my attention. I had very similar thoughts to yours--it doesn't make sense to me that there would be much motivation to counterfeit such a cheap, somewhat niche product like DE blades. I was slightly suspicious at finding the Feathers for half what some sellers were charging, but dismissed it based on that reasoning plus the fact that I'm totally new to DE blade pricing and so don't know if such price differences are common.

BTW the ad for the ones I bought didn't specify that they were 5 packs, so I couldn't have figured it out from the ad.

And the plot thickens: on Amazon I just found another ad from the same seller for 5 packs in the black and grey packaging.

Oh well. For all I know the ones I got are actually real. I'll try shaving with one tomorrow, and I think I'll be able to tell. The genuine Feathers seemed so right for me from the very first shave. I tried 7 different other blades before Feather, and a couple came close but Feather just hit my sweet spot instantly.

Edited with update: I went ahead and opened one of the packs and examined one of the blades. The paper wrapping and blade itself look identical to the other ones to my eye. I'll shave test it tomorrow morning.

I find DE blades to be a niche in the U.S and some parts of Europe, but for most of the world, DE blades are still the most used.
In a place like india where most still shave with a DE, they can sell a counterfeit pack of 100 for 5 bucks cheaper, that 5 bucks is a LOT of money for most people in the world.

 

[Greaserboi]

And honestly, Amazon and eBay have become awash in bootleg products and I hardly ever find it worth my time to go on there. I'd rather just be on the safe side and pay 5 bucks more for the actual product for security.

Just stick to mainly buying off of actual online vendors from your country. Or amazon sellers that B&B users commend.