We've launched the new forums! Read more here

I may have purchased a counterfeit Cobra Biocelll driver

SuperStroke
Update: My driver was purchased through EBAY from an online company called golfdirectnow.com They have nearly 12000 positive reviews against 67 neutral and 47 negative. I have to wait formy wife to get home to look for a serial number. My clubs are in the trunk of her car.
 
I've bought from them before. I wouldn't be concerned.
 
jere.01 said:
Update: My driver was purchased through EBAY from an online company called golfdirectnow.com They have nearly 12000 positive reviews against 67 neutral and 47 negative. I have to wait formy wife to get home to look for a serial number. My clubs are in the trunk of her car.
Click to expand...

I think you are good to go... if you are worried, check for a serial number and contact Cobra.
 
It just shows how much mark up there is on retail products. I think the counterfeiting issue is a little overblown. I bought a Taylormade Spider S putter for $100 off of eBay (retail price $199), and I have no doubts it is NOT a counterfeit. I would enjoy the club and not think twice about it.
 
I didn't get to watch the show, but I wanted to. I'm sure it'll be on a rerun so I'll catch it. The counterfeit problem goes beyond your original statement that the average person can't tell the difference. In many cases, the manufacturer can't tell the difference. there are posts in other threads where people have wondered about their clubs being counterfeit and calling the manufacturer and providing a serial number and the manufacturer wasn't able to provide them any feedback. In many cases, the materials and everything are just as good as original, but they don't have the expense of the research and design that went into making that club.

I'd say that if you are hitting it well, and you've verified that the company seems legit, don't lose any sleep over it.

Go Play!!
 
I took delivery of my new bio cell driver earlier today $151(€112) on ebay. Great deal.
 
Earlier this year, I thought I had a counterfeit Cobra Amp Cell driver. I two drivers with different shaft flexes as I was trying to figure out what flex to play. Had I had just one, I'd have never even been suspicious, but I had two and just happened to place them down next to one another. The shafts themselves were different lengths yet had the stock grips. One was about 3/4 an inch longer than the other -- outside of any manufacturing tolerance gap for a company like Cobra. I mean, people bang on Cobra, but if you see some of the paint jobs, you know their quality control is not going to be off 3/4 an inch.

I checked Cobra's website and got quite worried. Their website states that most models start with certain letters in the serial number. One of my two fell in that range (and it was also the one that measured to spec). The other one started with a completely different letter, and was the one that was too long against the specs. The serial number itself also looked completely different with respect to the engraving, and was in a slightly different spot. I was sure I had a fake.

I called up Cobra and they picked right up. The customer service guy was FANTASTIC. I snapped some fairly detailed pictures of the head, shaft, grip, etc., and sent them to him. He looked at it, and then double checked with someone else to get a second opinion. Both of them said it was "definitely one of theirs." Then they hit their parts database. It turns out the club I'd bought was actually a custom order from Cobra with the different shaft length. They pull the heads from the line, manually do the serial number, and apply a different serial number from a completely different run. He could actually track the entire thing including which retailer it was from, what state it was shipped to, etc..

Long story short, I was blown away by both the customer service as well as the understanding of their supply chain. Give Cobra a call. You might be pleasantly surprised. They really seemed to want to help and won major points with me.
 
Glad it was the real deal


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
JPR1959 said:
It just shows how much mark up there is on retail products. I think the counterfeiting issue is a little overblown.
Click to expand...
I do too. It is in the OEM's best interest to keep the specter of counterfeiting hanging over everyone's head because the consumer is then less inclined to just grab gear off of places like eBay and instead buy new gear. It's the same sort of deal why video game creators hate GameStop.
 
deuce said:
I do too. It is in the OEM's best interest to keep the specter of counterfeiting hanging over everyone's head because the consumer is then less inclined to just grab gear off of places like eBay and instead buy new gear. It's the same sort of deal why video game creators hate GameStop.
Click to expand...

If you've ever been to China, Hong Kong, etc., you will know that counterfeiting is extremely bad. If a company is making product in China, then they're going to deal with a significant number of counterfeits and black market goods.

I do think you have a point in that golf clubs may not be the most valuable target for counterfeiting just because of how rapidly they depreciate. The counterfeiter has to deal with the same distribution challenges that an OEM does, but don't have the global distribution mechanism. The product is only valuable for a very small window (see the Dick's announcement). If I'm a counterfeiter, I'd rather go after a pair of sneakers that will still be worth 85% of their price 18 months from now, as opposed to a golf club that is worth 33%.

I tend to think that most counterfeit clubs, particularly the ones that are "too good" are ones where components were stolen from the assembly line and then assembled. They get marked as defects or damaged, but actually walk out the back door. I have no proof of this outside of some work in a different industry related to counterfeiting (and one with far higher rewards).

I guess my point is this. Counterfeiting is real, but I'm not as concerned about it as others might be. If it is effectively discernible, then I think that's probably due to actually having real components. If it shows up and is obviously bad (which would impact performance), then it will be easy to spot.

Also, if you're buying from a reputable online seller, I think you're fine. I have no proof, but I think they're getting a lot of the gear directly from the OEMs.
 
With feedback like that you're probably fine, though the key to eBay feedback is to not just check the positive/negative/neutral numbers, but dive in and look at their previous items sold. Some sellers may have awesome feedback selling 10,000 pairs of socks, but also deal in a small # of golf clubs and rip people off while hiding behind those great looking numbers that have absolutely nothing to do with golf. Also make sure you pay attention to how the feedback is written(make sure its not robot talk) and look for repetitive usernames leaving feedback over and over.
 
I think you're far LESS likely to get a counterfit Cobra, Wilson Staff or Adams club than you would say a Titleist, Ping or Taylormade ... the big names are just more popular & those are the ones counterfitters target
 
jere.01 said:
Update: My driver was purchased through EBAY from an online company called golfdirectnow.com They have nearly 12000 positive reviews against 67 neutral and 47 negative. I have to wait formy wife to get home to look for a serial number. My clubs are in the trunk of her car.
Click to expand...

i have bought from them as we'll and never had a problem. You should be good.
 
A seller with that much positive feedback is very unlikely to be selling fakes.
 
Borss said:
A seller with that much positive feedback is very unlikely to be selling fakes.
Click to expand...

Not entirely true, if someone buys the counterfeit and sees the club and loves it and leaves positive feedback it there and I don't believe it can be removed or changed after that. Then after a month or so someone discovers it fake (most don't discover it either) they get in touch with the seller and call them out on it and seller issues a refund the buyer just leaves it alone after that. Never just take feedback as a factor, I would say the biggest factor is how long they have been a member. If they have been on ebay for so long I would think the manufacturers have looked into them.
 
jere.01 said:
Update: My driver was purchased through EBAY from an online company called golfdirectnow.com They have nearly 12000 positive reviews against 67 neutral and 47 negative. I have to wait formy wife to get home to look for a serial number. My clubs are in the trunk of her car.
Click to expand...

Same place I picked up my bio cell driver and 3 wood from. Both are registered with cobra. Hope that eases your mind some
 
Up date, I finally managed to locate the serial number on my driver and emailed Cobra customer service. This is their reply.

COBRA Golf Customer Service (Cobra Golf Customer Service)
Aug 06 12:28
Hi Jere,

Not to worry. That is an authentic serial number.
Enjoy Golf,
Cobra Puma Customer Support.

Thanks for the advice guys.
 
jere.01 said:
Up date, I finally managed to locate the serial number on my driver and emailed Cobra customer service. This is their reply.

COBRA Golf Customer Service (Cobra Golf Customer Service)
Aug 06 12:28
Hi Jere,

Not to worry. That is an authentic serial number.
Enjoy Golf,
Cobra Puma Customer Support.

Thanks for the advice guys.
Click to expand...

Good to hear! Enjoy your Cobra!
 
Glad it worked out for you Jere!
It's interesting reading through these 3 pages. Regardless of hitting it good or not, myself I'd want to know if it's counterfeit or not and I think that was his true intentions from the initial post. I think the price point only came into factor once his local pro said something..
Bottom line is $150 is $150. I want something legit and it doesn't matter what you pay.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top