Apparently knock-off products aren’t exclusive to over-priced jewelry and handbags. One Illinois hunter learned this the hard way, and his story makes you wonder how many hunters have been duped and didn’t know it.
Let’s face it: good hunting products can be pricey, and there are certainly some great deals to be had. You just need to consider who is offering the special because a good deal is one thing. Too good of a deal, however, can be plagued with consequence.
Casey Morgan of northern Illinois discovered this after shooting a doe using a broadhead he believed was from the reputable and widely-used brand, Rage. After all, that’s what the product description stated when he purchased a three-pack from a large, online generalist store. Imagine his surprise when he shot a deer with the broadhead and discovered it was a cheap knockoff of the original.
Morgan was unable to recover the doe, which as any hunter knows can be devastating, especially from an ethical standpoint. He was also sickened to discover the condition of the broadhead after shooting the doe. It was definitely not something he’d ever observed in several years of using Rage broadheads. The broadhead was mangled and bent beyond disbelief. Morgan conducted a bit of research, which ultimately led to the conclusion that he had purchased a counterfeit product.
The moral of this story is clear: Buyer beware! Perhaps even more important is to remember the ol’ adage, “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.”
Morgan learned an important lesson from his negative experience.
“For the sake of a suffering animal, don’t buy knock-off crap,” he said. “I feel like an idiot and should have known better.”
Rage Broadheads is one of several archery manufacturers who have been dealing with online bandits. The products are typically manufactured, packaged and even sold from overseas markets. Hence, there is little that can be done to stop the bandits — other than educating consumers to be sure they only buy from reputable retailers.
Rage offered its first warning in 2013 when it posted this on its Facebook page:
“To our loyal Rage® hunters and consumers – unfortunately, it has come to our attention that recently there have been a significant number of counterfeit Rage® products offered for sale on web sites such as Amazon.com, Ebay.com and Alibaba.com. Rage® does not have any authorized dealers on any of these sites and many products being offered on these sites are not authentic Rage® products. We are not responsible for any damages caused by any counterfeit Rage® product. To ensure that you get authentic high performance Rage® products we urge you to go to a major hunting products retailer and/or authorized dealer. We thank you and look forward to providing you the best performing broadheads on the market.”
