Pretty cheap. A clone?
http://www.3fvape.com/home/13698-au...paign=528Goon&utm_content=banner#.WKr1AzzEiaN
http://www.3fvape.com/home/13698-au...paign=528Goon&utm_content=banner#.WKr1AzzEiaN
Become a Patron!
Goon RDA from 3FVape
- Thread starter DX9
- Start date
That's a very expensive clone and a very cheap authentic, maybe they mean an authentic clone 
Got 2 goons one authentic and the other a clone and besides the logo being the wrong size on the clone I can't tell the difference between them.
That was a 10$ clone, I wouldn't pay 36$ for one.
That was a 10$ clone, I wouldn't pay 36$ for one.
It us an authentic 528 customs atty that is a clone of the Goon
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk
"If you find a product to be authentic then it's not a clone"
Yes kind of meaningless and stupid.
Yes kind of meaningless and stupid.
http://www.vaperoyalty.com/goon-rda-by-528-custom-vapes-stainless/
Authentic, US based store, $50. Well worth it.
Authentic, US based store, $50. Well worth it.
I had an Kennedy 22 clone and it was just as good authentic... My friend was pissed when he found out he paid 4× what I did
I would expect the Chinese vendors to carry authentic Chinese products, but not authentic American ones, there's just no profit in that.
If you see non Chinese authentic products in a Chinese site and at a big discount, it should make you suspicious, very suspicious.
If you see non Chinese authentic products in a Chinese site and at a big discount, it should make you suspicious, very suspicious.
Mikhail Naumov
VU Donator
Gold Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
ECF Refugee
Unlisted Vendor
If 528 Customs is saying the Goons aren't real, I believe them. I think they would know their own merchandise, it's possible someone lied to 3FVape and said they were authentics and may just be damned good clones. It's not 100% right to point all the blame at 3F, as we don't have the whole story, but if 528 says they aren't real I believe them.
The Goon kinda sucks anyway, the clamps love bending.
The Goon kinda sucks anyway, the clamps love bending.
If there was any way of verifying that the actual factory the makes the authentic Goons for 528 made these too then I wouldn't mind it even if it didn't have the Goon logo on it, but there isn't.
I don't know what site that is where the snapshot was taken, instagram, the actual 3fvape site or what. Is it possible that the post in the screen shot r055co supplied from '528_custom' isn't legit? Maybe it's a spoofed account made to look like them. Just like political tweets have been posted (and quoted) which were fake accounts. That says '528_custom', was '528_customS' with an S taken? Because that's the official name, 528 customs not custom. It would be interesting to see an official statement from 528 either on their official fb or website rather than just some post in a comments section.
Yep
There is no point in 528 ordering Goons from a Chinese factory and then sending them back to China, that would just drop the market value of it.
The only way these are authentic is if the factory that made them went behind 528's back and sold to someone local or if a few boxes of Goons fell of the back of a truck.
Chinese roads are dangerous, full of boxes.
The only way these are authentic is if the factory that made them went behind 528's back and sold to someone local or if a few boxes of Goons fell of the back of a truck.
Chinese roads are dangerous, full of boxes.
I don't believe they are 100% authentic...but!
What I can believe though, are many of the designers of RDAs etc utilizing China to make the item in question at a significant cost savings compared to most anyone else in the world...Further more, lets say for SaGs ( shits and giggles ) they are authentic...but 528 just couldn't pay them for the supply they made...So China sells off their "Authentic Goons" at nearly half the price of "Authentic Goons" to recoup and or make a little profit...this is were 528 could simply just say..."They are fake" it keeps their brand looking good...and keeps people buying from their retailers and at a greater profit margin.
Also, 3fvape isn't the mfg of the "Authentic Goon" just the wholesaler/reseller and any long time vaper who doesn't know who 3fvape is, is either straight up retarded or lying lol...
Plus look at their statement...Never did they say they don't mfg their RDA's in China...just they don't deal directly with 3fvape...Their mfg of the Goons on the other hand...they deal with 3fvape or so it seems.
Yeah I would also if 528 investigate further into it, and put the hammer down on their supply chain leak to 3fvape...
Just my thoughts on it...I still would only buy the Goon 2nd hand from a fine member here, or from a trusted US vendor.
What I can believe though, are many of the designers of RDAs etc utilizing China to make the item in question at a significant cost savings compared to most anyone else in the world...Further more, lets say for SaGs ( shits and giggles ) they are authentic...but 528 just couldn't pay them for the supply they made...So China sells off their "Authentic Goons" at nearly half the price of "Authentic Goons" to recoup and or make a little profit...this is were 528 could simply just say..."They are fake" it keeps their brand looking good...and keeps people buying from their retailers and at a greater profit margin.
Also, 3fvape isn't the mfg of the "Authentic Goon" just the wholesaler/reseller and any long time vaper who doesn't know who 3fvape is, is either straight up retarded or lying lol...
Plus look at their statement...Never did they say they don't mfg their RDA's in China...just they don't deal directly with 3fvape...Their mfg of the Goons on the other hand...they deal with 3fvape or so it seems.
Yeah I would also if 528 investigate further into it, and put the hammer down on their supply chain leak to 3fvape...
Just my thoughts on it...I still would only buy the Goon 2nd hand from a fine member here, or from a trusted US vendor.
Mikhail Naumov
VU Donator
Gold Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
ECF Refugee
Unlisted Vendor
I guarantee you this didn't happen, that's not how business works. 528 would've paid China for the shipment likely before they even began work on machining it, and 528 is selling the FUCK out of their products so they're not having money issues clearly.
BEST CASE SCENARIO these may be machined off of the original diameter print for the Goon LP, but I doubt it. The reality is, they're clones, nightshard made an epic point about them not going to turn around and ship it BACK to China where it came from and I know 528 isn't skimping out on payments, so the Goons ARE fake. Why? How? Those answers I don't have, but the question of "Are the Goons on 3FV authentic?' it's a confirmed no.
think they've hit the million mark or are really close to hitting that mark on sold Goons
SirRichardRear
AKA Anthony Vapes on Youtube
VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Reviewer
To be fair, they said they don't do business with 3f, doesn't mean that 3f couldn't have gotten them from somewhere else. Also i'm sure 528 knows about 3fvape. They claim they don't' know who they are but I'd be shocked of any US vape company that didn't know of at minimum 3fvape, fasttech, and gearbest.
If 3fvape could chime in on how they acquired them that would be awesome to know their side of it.
I can concede the notion that 528 couldn't fulfill an order...
I also never believed that 528 would order them then send them back, that in itself would be stupid.
The items 3fvape have could be just "B" stock that didn't make the cut, could actually be authentic I truly don't care either way outside of the possibility reasonable doubt..but I do believe that 528's supply chain could of easily sold a shit ton of them to 3fvape, albeit shady deal or what not... being both of them are in China and more than likely mfg'd in Shenzhen as its the mecca of many vape authentics and counterfeits, and an easy way to debunk it all is just simply saying they are fake.
The thing that makes be question it is simply their reply posted above...and again I don't give 2 shits regardless outside of the possibility of reasonable doubt; the line about they have no idea who they are...and the last line of looking further into it leads a person to think their supply chain may have a leak.
Its all a matter of what you believe...again, I wouldn't buy it.
I also never believed that 528 would order them then send them back, that in itself would be stupid.
The items 3fvape have could be just "B" stock that didn't make the cut, could actually be authentic I truly don't care either way outside of the possibility reasonable doubt..but I do believe that 528's supply chain could of easily sold a shit ton of them to 3fvape, albeit shady deal or what not... being both of them are in China and more than likely mfg'd in Shenzhen as its the mecca of many vape authentics and counterfeits, and an easy way to debunk it all is just simply saying they are fake.
The thing that makes be question it is simply their reply posted above...and again I don't give 2 shits regardless outside of the possibility of reasonable doubt; the line about they have no idea who they are...and the last line of looking further into it leads a person to think their supply chain may have a leak.
Its all a matter of what you believe...again, I wouldn't buy it.
SirRichardRear
AKA Anthony Vapes on Youtube
VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Reviewer
So yeah I just seen the response, not saying it's true or not but it is plausible. as far as i can tell the is the original goon. which has been out for a while meaning it's an older model. It's plausible that a distributor or authorized reseller (they didn't say manufacturer) had a large stock left they wanted to clear out and instead of putting them on clearance (maybe part of their deal is they can't sell it lower then a certain price to the public) they sold off their stock to another reseller at a cheap price to make room for newer items, Since 3f doesn't have an agreement with 528 they can sell whatever price they want. 528 got notified of it, figured We didn't sell to them so it must be fake. plus they would be upset at their product being undercut.
It's similar in the car industry, you'll see manufacturers junk new cars before offering a big discount on them so they hold value. same with diamonds too. they aren't even rare but 1 company owns a majority of the diamonds and purposely restrains supply to keep their value up. I don't blame either side if this is true. 528 wants to keep their value high of their item, and 3f vape saw an opportunity to flip merchandise. Remember the 2.50 crius plus sale? i'm sure many people purchased a ton of them and flipped them for 15-20 bucks easily. if someone had messaged OBS and asked they probably would have said we never sold it to that person, must be a fake. It's business as usual lol
It's similar in the car industry, you'll see manufacturers junk new cars before offering a big discount on them so they hold value. same with diamonds too. they aren't even rare but 1 company owns a majority of the diamonds and purposely restrains supply to keep their value up. I don't blame either side if this is true. 528 wants to keep their value high of their item, and 3f vape saw an opportunity to flip merchandise. Remember the 2.50 crius plus sale? i'm sure many people purchased a ton of them and flipped them for 15-20 bucks easily. if someone had messaged OBS and asked they probably would have said we never sold it to that person, must be a fake. It's business as usual lol
Mikhail Naumov
VU Donator
Gold Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
ECF Refugee
Unlisted Vendor
I don't know, if 528 says clone, it's a clone in my mind. For the price, if you like the Goon, go for it. I don't hate the fact that it's a clone or the fact 3F is selling it, buy what fits your personal narrative best. The middle ground between price and quality.
We don't know which specific factory makes the Goons for 528, but I bet all the Chinese suppliers do and give them offers they can't refuse.
SirRichardRear
AKA Anthony Vapes on Youtube
VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Reviewer
all I'm saying is that how do they know it's a clone? All they really said is we never heard of 3fvape (which i doubt is true) and they aren't an authorized seller (which is likely true) but it still doesn't mean that 3fvape didn't buy stock from an authorized seller.
it's like saying if you don't buy a BMW from a BMW dealership it must be a clone? or more likely the used car dealership purchased it at auction for cheap and then flipped it. we all know that when sites want to clear out stock they sell it dirt cheap. at cost and even sometimes less.
If that factory is selling authentic Goons directly to Chinese suppliers then 528 have no way of following the paper trail and prove they are doing so, the Chinese have no way to prove they are selling authentics and we have no way to prove they are either clones or authentic.
The only way to prove they are authentic is to buy directly from 528 or from one of their suppliers.
The only way to prove they are authentic is to buy directly from 528 or from one of their suppliers.
Last edited:
I bought one of these from a guy in Dubai for $21. That's a really good price for here. I knew it was a clone, no problem there. I like it a lot. Watching the video posted above, and other stuff I've looked at, they sure look the same to me. What is it that makes one so much better and expensive than the other? Is it the materials, the copper vs SS pin? The machining on mine is fine, no rough edges, fits together perfectly, I just don't see anything wrong with it. Are the originals, besides the ethical issue, really worth so much more than clones?
Yes most often there is a difference between the Authentic and Clones, aside from basic machining but the materials used. For example are the insulators plastic or Delrin/Peek? The the metal itself and quality of the metal. I own some clones, I use them to get a general idea before I drop the cash for the Authentic. In pretty much every instance where I have bought the Authentic it is of far superior quality over the Clone. Example I had the Velocity Clone then was able to get an Authentic, better build quality, materials and also a better Vape. The same goes with the Mose, the Clone was alright but the Authentic is awesome. For Mod's, I have the Anubis and out of curiosity got the Clone, not even close to the quality.
Now what I have found is that the Clones of Chinese authentics are pretty close, very hard to tell the difference. Example is the VCP Mod, the Clone is spot on. Also the VGod Trick Tank Pro, the Clone is almost spot on with only very minor downgrade in quality.
So general rule of thumb is Clones of Chinese gear is pretty close to the Authentic. Clones of US, Philippine and Europe not so much.
SirRichardRear
AKA Anthony Vapes on Youtube
VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Reviewer
just to play devils advocate here
does the goon come with a certificate of authenticity? (IDK since i only have a clone) and if so who prints them up?
Also they are all serial numbered right? so if the factory got an order from 528 for 500 goons. and then spun up 1000 of them instead, sold off serial number 1-500 to 528 and then serial number 501-1000 to another place, then 528 placed another order for 500 and they get 1001-1500 well you see where I'm going with this.
I guess it's like this, say I happen to derek jeter at a bar, and i ask for his autograph and he gives it to me. Now i know it's authentic, i take a picture with him and I'm happy, but in no way could I sell it off to a memorabilia shop because I have no proof of it being authentic. I know it is but valuewise i have no way to prove it. But ti's still the same signature as the proven authentic one's that he signed at paid signings.
With that said I did meet jumbo Elliot once, i have his signature on a piece of blank white paper LMAO. it's worth nothing because there is no proof but i know it's real and I'm happy to have it. I also have a shirt signed by about 15 jet players from going to their training camp and again not worth a penny but it's authentic. I do have a helmet signed by joe namath that is authentic and worth probably a few hundred bucks with the certificate.
Thanks for the informative reply, it's appreciated.
JuicyLucy
My name is Lucy and I am a squonkaholic
VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
ECF Refugee
VU Challenge Team
Member For 5 Years
Certificates are easily forged - there are strict protocols before such certificates are actually accepted by experts for objects of value, such as for signatures, paintings, etc.
Anyone accepting a certificate of authenticity for anything like a atomizer from China is likely in for a world of hurt at some point
SirRichardRear
AKA Anthony Vapes on Youtube
VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Reviewer
I understand that. the incubus clone i have came with a fake certificate of authenticity. I was just saying if it's the manufacturer that makes them and sends them to 528 customs then it's the same one. Unless 528 gets the shipments in from the manufacturer, makes their own certificate, and then chips them to suppliers.
Mikhail Naumov
VU Donator
Gold Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
ECF Refugee
Unlisted Vendor
528 said they themselves looked at these Goons and found them to NOT be authentic. This isn't just a situation of confusion, 528 says they've inspected these atomizers and did not find them to be one of THEIR OWN products. That screams clone.
What you're describing is extremely shady and would get a US company sued, so even if that was the case it isn't good news. That means China is shorting 528 on products and COUNTERFEITING THEM to sell behind their back. Just because it's the same factory making them, doesn't mean it isn't a counterfeit product when the factory does it in such a way. That's intellectual property theft, and I know the ENTIRE clone industry is that, but when you claim authentic and it turns out to be a clone, people are much less forgiving.
What you're describing is extremely shady and would get a US company sued, so even if that was the case it isn't good news. That means China is shorting 528 on products and COUNTERFEITING THEM to sell behind their back. Just because it's the same factory making them, doesn't mean it isn't a counterfeit product when the factory does it in such a way. That's intellectual property theft, and I know the ENTIRE clone industry is that, but when you claim authentic and it turns out to be a clone, people are much less forgiving.
SirRichardRear
AKA Anthony Vapes on Youtube
VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Reviewer
How did they look at them an inspect them? 1st they never heard of 3fvape and then they were able to inspect them in seconds? I highly doubt they did anything of the sort. they said we don't deal with 3f so they are fake.
and yes what i described would be highly illegal in the US, however china gives no fucks about copyright laws. they aren't bound to our laws and china is full of counterfeit copyrighted material.
Truth be told, there is no way for us to confirm if it's fake or not. Just taking 528 at their word when they have a vested interest in it being fake is not a reliable source. I don't think they are lying, I'm just saying their logic could be false since we don't have the whole story. I wish 3f would come out and say more but clearly they can't. which leads me to believe an authorized distributor of the goon sold their excess stock off to 3f vape on the cheap to clear up space and 528 was unaware of it
Mikhail Naumov
VU Donator
Gold Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
ECF Refugee
Unlisted Vendor
Okay, this is getting BIASED as hell now. It's simple, 528 doesn't fuck with China because China isn't known for selling pricey authentics. 528 hears about 3F and THEN inspects what is claimed to be THEIR OWN products from an order, finds them to be fake. They heard about 3F BEFORE they inspected the products.
It's fake. 528 says it's fake. It's fake, if Ford said a Mustang I just bought was fake, I wouldn't delude myself into thinking it's real. 528 designed an RDA, so you can BET all the little shit WE miss on stuff they see.
You can say that 528 is just jealous or such, but I I doubt that. I'm not a fan of the Goon or 528, not really. I am a fan of 3F, I use them a lot. I'm still on 528's side, you cannot tell me that you could take the time to design an RDA down to the fractions of a mm, specific diameters and tolerances, oh my. You engineer this thing, and yet you wouldn't be able to tell when one was your own or a copy? I can't buy that, nor can I buy the idea that 528 is pitching a fit and lying.
I'm not saying 3F knowingly bought clones and decided to peddle them as authentics, but those Goons are clones if 528 says they are. I cannot think of a single authorized Chinese seller of the Goon, so why would overflow stock be in China from 528? Factories ship out EVERY product they manufacture for a company too, so I don't see that either.
Last edited:
SirRichardRear
AKA Anthony Vapes on Youtube
VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Reviewer
Biased how? I have no clue what I would be biased about. I just want to make sure the right info is out there and we'll seemingly never know.
528 claimed they never heard of 3f vape in the same post hence the reason they deemed it to be fake. In their eyes here is a site, form china, where clones run wild, that they know aren't an authorized re seller hence it must be fake. I don't blame them for that logic but it doesn't mean it's false.
3F is usually pretty good about clearly listing authentic and fakes. they have tons of clones for the goon listed at 10-12 bucks so that fact this batch of them got listed as authentic for more money begs to at least ask for more info.
companies will say anything to protect their product. i remember a long time ago. like 15 years, i purchased a used 350z. I was looking at 2 of them, one of them was at a nissan dealership, the other at a used car dealership (non franchised) the sales guy at the nissan dealership gave me the same BS of "why would you buy a nissan at a non nissan dealership" didn't work then, doesn't work now. I got a better car, with less miles, for about 5k cheaper. Kept it for 8 years too before i sold it cause I'm old and have kids LMAO.
I'm sorry but blindly believing any company with such little explanation makes no sense to me. how exactly did 528 come to the idea that they were fakes. I can't see what bias I would have exactly. Do you think I own stock in 3fvape or something? LMAO
Mikhail Naumov
VU Donator
Gold Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
ECF Refugee
Unlisted Vendor
Irony. I'm out.
I wouldn't trust 528 to tell me water from rock, but the one thing I would take their word on is the authenticity of their own products. See the rest of my edited post above, I'm not wasting my time. You are not an authority on 528 Customs products. 3FVape is not an authority on 528 Customs products. VU is not an authority on 528 Customs products. I am not an authority on 528 Customs products. 528 Customs is the only authority on 528 Customs products.
I wouldn't trust 528 to tell me water from rock, but the one thing I would take their word on is the authenticity of their own products. See the rest of my edited post above, I'm not wasting my time. You are not an authority on 528 Customs products. 3FVape is not an authority on 528 Customs products. VU is not an authority on 528 Customs products. I am not an authority on 528 Customs products. 528 Customs is the only authority on 528 Customs products.
Who knows, with everything on the internet anymore there's more confusion than ever on things. I would agree, it seems suspect that 528 has no clue who 3fvape are. I'm a total fucking noob and I know who they are. Are we to believe that Busardo, Grimmgreen, riptrippers, suckmymod, djlsbvapes, smok, ijoy, augvape and on and on and on all know who 3fvape is and 528 are the only souls who missed the memo?
I can see the point that 528 'should' be the authority on their own products, does it mean then they're incapable of bending the truth a bit? Given they're the company behind the authentics and stand to be hurt in some way by clones or legit authentics being sold by back channels, they also have a vested interest which means they have a particular bias. They're not a 3rd party.
I also have no bias or horse in the race, I've never bought from 3fvape and never bought a 528 product either authentic or clone. Can't really speak to the quality of vape with a clone vs authentic, haven't had that much experience directly comparing one of each from the same atty. On the other hand there are people who claim to be wine connoisseurs and in blind tests they can't tell the difference between authentic high priced exquisite wine and boone's farm. Hell some experts can't even tell the difference between red and white wine when there's a little food coloring added to the white.
So long as one or the other (clone or auth) subjectively tastes better to someone or they get a good feeling or reap the rewards of the placebo effect doesn't really matter so long as they're happy with it.
I can see the point that 528 'should' be the authority on their own products, does it mean then they're incapable of bending the truth a bit? Given they're the company behind the authentics and stand to be hurt in some way by clones or legit authentics being sold by back channels, they also have a vested interest which means they have a particular bias. They're not a 3rd party.
I also have no bias or horse in the race, I've never bought from 3fvape and never bought a 528 product either authentic or clone. Can't really speak to the quality of vape with a clone vs authentic, haven't had that much experience directly comparing one of each from the same atty. On the other hand there are people who claim to be wine connoisseurs and in blind tests they can't tell the difference between authentic high priced exquisite wine and boone's farm. Hell some experts can't even tell the difference between red and white wine when there's a little food coloring added to the white.
So long as one or the other (clone or auth) subjectively tastes better to someone or they get a good feeling or reap the rewards of the placebo effect doesn't really matter so long as they're happy with it.
SirRichardRear
AKA Anthony Vapes on Youtube
VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Reviewer
Very well said
Mikhail Naumov
VU Donator
Gold Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
ECF Refugee
Unlisted Vendor
I hate to point out the obvious, but 528 saying they "have no idea who they are" could just as easily mean "We know the brand, but we have no relations with them or know any employees.", so after that the whole "this is sketchy guyz" argument falls apart.
3Fvape fucked up
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Those are my screenshots from my email I sent 528 and they are fucking everywhere lol
Yeah I found it on Reddit