Originally Posted by genrec

Im all for it...i cannot stand copycay products. If one has to buy replicas they obviously cannot afford to be in the game......shame on companies for biting with no originality and shame on people for supporting these immitators. Buck up and buy the real deal or go home.

Rant over.

Originally Posted by PurgeIt

Regardless of whether or not the copycat product is good or bad, it's still a crime. Put yourself in the original manufacturer's shoes. You put in resources, time and effort into a designing a product. Then you spend more resources, time and effort in creating a brand. And even more resources, time and effort on marketing the product and distributing it. Then some a-hole copycat company makes a complete and utter copy of your product, calls it a "Type ___" kit and sells it for 1/2 the price. How would that make you feel? I recall not too long ago, a company posted pictures of the new Ings kit and was "feeling out" if anyone would be interested in buying copies. Come on now. That's shady *** business man.

Consumerism is one thing. Business ethics, copyright, intellectual property and adherence to the law are another ball of wax. Obviously, as consumers, you don't have to worry about it but at the end of the day, what you do as a consumer shapes what will happen tomorrow with manufacturers. If they invest, then they are entitled to and expect a return on that investment. If they don't see a return because of all these copycats, then they'll just stop investing altogether and move on.

Personally, I don't buy copycat products. Regardless of how minute or inconsequential a part may be, I still buy reputable branded products from reputable shops. No eBay (99% full of crap products), no Chinese made knock off BS. Even if it only gives me peace of mind knowing that I purchased a product with some thought behind it, I do it.

As for everyone else, it's your wallet. Spend as you will.

Originally Posted by smokey

don't get me wrong...if I spent time coming up with a product and then some one made the same product...a little bit different and then undersold me....sure I would be pissed....but at the same time.....isn't that what life is all about...find a product at the lowest cost. Home Depot and Lowes sell the same product but one place may be cheaper than the next. Someone came out with the design of the gas grill, but then other people made the same grill..but made it a little different and sold it for less. it's called life. And there are a bunch of members on here who would buy the same product for cheaper...it's all about the dollar.

It doens't make it right by any means.........but it's all about the dollar. my .02 cents

Originally Posted by Alchemist

Is it "competition" if you make a product and then someone makes a mold of that product, uses inferior materials and methods and sells them for 50% of what you do? Or is that stealing? If it's NOT stealing, then why can't I sell bootleg CDs out of the trunk of my car? I mean, it's the SAME CD, I just used a burnable that I bought at the store and copied the original (evne though it may or may not play 100% correctly). I'm selling it for $3 instead of $18. It's intellectual property and this IS an apples to apples comparison. the story changes only -slightly- if I go and re-record those songs myself and sell it as my own (inherently making changes such as my voice sounding different than the orignal guys voice). it's OK to do that but the originator of the property (music) can approach me for royalties or serve me with a cease-and-desist order. "Bittersweet Symphony" anyone (Rolling Stons sued for copyright infringement, band makes about 1% of sales)? How about "Ice Ice Baby"? (Queen sues for use of riff) Do you REALLY want to be the Vanilla Ice of body kits?

Didn't think so.

Originally Posted by smokey

don't get me wrong...if I spent time coming up with a product and then some one made the same product...a little bit different and then undersold me....sure I would be pissed....but at the same time.....isn't that what life is all about...find a product at the lowest cost. Home Depot and Lowes sell the same product but one place may be cheaper than the next. Someone came out with the design of the gas grill, but then other people made the same grill..but made it a little different and sold it for less. it's called life. And there are a bunch of members on here who would buy the same product for cheaper...it's all about the dollar.

It doens't make it right by any means.........but it's all about the dollar. my .02 cents

Originally Posted by evoviiiyou

It is only a crime if the originator company sees a fault in it and takes it to litigation and demands royalties from the copycat company. You would be surprised as to some of the "arrangements" that these "made", successful companies have with these tier 2 and tier 3 manufacturers.
Lets take a really successful company and lets call it "HKF" and they have been the bench mark for exhaust products from R&D to QC to marketing, PR, and advertising...HKF is the king shiz. HKF now has also designed special tooling and machines to customize their exhaust kits and components and now a company called "DTR" approaches HKF with a deal, that DTR will mass produce these machines(used for welding titanium) and sell them to manufacturers around the globe. Until this time no one else has this level of technology. HKF, sees this as an opportunity to sell 100,000 machines @ $50,000 USD each vs. $500 exhaust systems at 10 at a time to various distributors across the US.
If I am the CEO, this is a no brainer regardless, if in doing so I am taking market share away from my company, knowing that alot of my competitors will now have the proper machines to make as good or better exhaust parts than HKF so be it as now I can exit the game of biz with as much as I need to cherry pic any deal that I want. In a nut shell, it could be some of these larger companies are making money off these copy cats anyway! Again all competion is good for the consumer/me, you, and everyone. JMY2DOLLARS

Originally Posted by Alchemist

Is it "competition" if you make a product and then someone makes a mold of that product, uses inferior materials and methods and sells them for 50% of what you do? Or is that stealing? If it's NOT stealing, then why can't I sell bootleg CDs out of the trunk of my car? I mean, it's the SAME CD, I just used a burnable that I bought at the store and copied the original (evne though it may or may not play 100% correctly). I'm selling it for $3 instead of $18. It's intellectual property and this IS an apples to apples comparison. the story changes only -slightly- if I go and re-record those songs myself and sell it as my own (inherently making changes such as my voice sounding different than the orignal guys voice). it's OK to do that but the originator of the property (music) can approach me for royalties or serve me with a cease-and-desist order. "Bittersweet Symphony" anyone (Rolling Stones sued for copyright infringement on the violin section, band makes about 1% of sales on their only hit, but it was a top 10 single for a while)? How about "Ice Ice Baby"? (Queen sues for use of riff) Do you REALLY want to be the Vanilla Ice of body kits?

Didn't think so.

Originally Posted by PurgeIt

What does tooling have to do with the discussion at hand? This is about end product to the consumer. The mindset you describe doesn't apply to companies that have been around FAR before there was even a car scene in the States. The mindset you describe applies to the copycat companies that want to make the quick buck in a shortest amount of time possible.

Originally Posted by evoviiiyou

Counterfeit copies are great for the consumer and have some good to all involved! The copied company loses initial sales but gains a "high end" or "real" appeal from lots of people that have been burned by bad quality or poor fitting items. The copier company gains initial sales at first, but gets tagged as a "copy cat" or "design theif". This balance does not require legislation or enforcement, as the bad copy cats usually burn themselves out of buisiness. The companies that have a great copy with very high quality are what danger the originator biz., and hurt these great companies that have spent millions on R&D to bring a product to market just to have it duped and sometimes even improved. For us the consumer this is all good as we only bennefit from all types of competion from price to quality...in the end the consumer always wins! JMO

Originally Posted by evoviiiyou

Originally Posted by PurgeIt

Let's get back to reality here. If that was indeed the case, then why aren't copycat products "just as good" as the real deal? And most legit companies produce tooling inhouse so where does this whole theory go? Tooling to weld titanium? An argon gas chamber to prevent oxygen embrittlement when you heat and weld titanium? I would hardly call that "tooling." Give me one example of case where a legitimate company received kick backs from a copycat company to produce copies. Copycat products dilute brand equity. Anyone with 1/2 an education on marketing knows that. A real long term played in the industry wouldn't do that. Furthermore, I wonder what your motivation is in taking this position of advocate for the copycat industry. Are you truly speaking from a consumer's standpoint? Or are you speaking from a rep standpoint pushing your Jun BL exhausts?