After a healthy amount of deliberation a decision has been made which will affect the discussion of counterfeit vaporizers here on fc.
It's important to make the distinction between vaporizers that were closely styled after existing models (sometimes referred to as "knockoffs") and outright counterfeits. There are a number of whip vapes out there that bear a striking resemblance to the Vaporbrothers vaporizer, however they are sold under different names and do not claim to be a Vaporbrothers product. Counterfeits are unauthorized and illegal copies built to be as indistinguishable from the original article as possible.
There are plenty of concerns surrounding counterfeits such as questionable safety, poor performance, lack of warranty/accountability, and especially consumer deception. For the legitimate vape companies, dealing with counterfeits means money going to lawyers, and time that can't be spent in R&D. In other words: higher prices and stifled innovation. These are all things that hurt the consumer and the industry.
As a site that strives to provide good information and help consumers make informed choices I think it would be foolish if we just wiped out all mention of counterfeit vapes. At the same time, there are undoubtedly people would like to buy counterfeit vaporizers and resell them as genuine articles, and it's likely that some threads here are helping them to do so. As much as I dislike limiting discussion I don't think it's feasible to maintain the threads are they are now without facilitating or even encouraging the proliferation of counterfeits and the damage that results.
This newly created section is intended to serve as a middle ground, providing information to help consumers identify counterfeit vaporizers and avoid being duped. Existing threads will be pruned to fit, and for the time being new posts will require approval before being publicly viewable. I'm sure there will be some questions about this change and you are welcome to ask in the Community Discussion section.
It's important to make the distinction between vaporizers that were closely styled after existing models (sometimes referred to as "knockoffs") and outright counterfeits. There are a number of whip vapes out there that bear a striking resemblance to the Vaporbrothers vaporizer, however they are sold under different names and do not claim to be a Vaporbrothers product. Counterfeits are unauthorized and illegal copies built to be as indistinguishable from the original article as possible.
There are plenty of concerns surrounding counterfeits such as questionable safety, poor performance, lack of warranty/accountability, and especially consumer deception. For the legitimate vape companies, dealing with counterfeits means money going to lawyers, and time that can't be spent in R&D. In other words: higher prices and stifled innovation. These are all things that hurt the consumer and the industry.
As a site that strives to provide good information and help consumers make informed choices I think it would be foolish if we just wiped out all mention of counterfeit vapes. At the same time, there are undoubtedly people would like to buy counterfeit vaporizers and resell them as genuine articles, and it's likely that some threads here are helping them to do so. As much as I dislike limiting discussion I don't think it's feasible to maintain the threads are they are now without facilitating or even encouraging the proliferation of counterfeits and the damage that results.
This newly created section is intended to serve as a middle ground, providing information to help consumers identify counterfeit vaporizers and avoid being duped. Existing threads will be pruned to fit, and for the time being new posts will require approval before being publicly viewable. I'm sure there will be some questions about this change and you are welcome to ask in the Community Discussion section.