More fake scopes out of China.......

[35 Whelen]

I reported last year on the Leupold Vx3 counterfits that were all over. The latest is now Vortex scopes. Had a gun in a few weeks ago that had a new Crossfire II on it and was very impressed. It compared optically to my Vx2 and about 1/2 price. Ordered one up for customers gun it came in and sec I took it out of its box I knew I had been had!!! Chinese knockoff.

 

[mjcmichigan]

Please report it! Leupold and Vortex will want those off the market.

Thanks for the heads up!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[35 Whelen]

Here are photos of a real one vs china garbage. One in rings on gun is genuine Vortex
Here is a fake...... No ser #
Here is a real Vortex has ser#

Buyers beware there are now probably thousands floating around.......big problem. Have reported seller to Ebay but they say they have got complaints of many bogus sellers.
Fast as they bar them they just register under a new name. Sad but true.

 

[cloverleaf]

Grrr... :roll: CL

 

[ethmoid1999]

Crap! Just got a 2x7 Vortex (?) don't remember name. Says made in China. Put in on an old Savage 99 300 and got it on at forty yards. At one hundred tried to move the scope. Couldn't even tell. About a six inch group. Bought this at Cabelas. Bet I don't have the receipt.

 

[Anonymous]

Just for discussion...aren't the legit Crossfire Vortex scopes already made in China?

 

[35 Whelen]

Hodgeman,
All the Votex scopes I am used to handling say made in Phillipines.......... however this newest Crossfire II; that is legit, is not marked, it very well may be produced in China?? as well. I am more accustomed with their Viper/ Diamondback lines.The knockoffs, are not even close to the same optical quality. However if there is any question the lack of a serial number on the
Bottom will confirm it. That was not the case with the Leupold Vx3s they all had a fake ser # the funny thing was it was the 'same number' on all of them........
The Chinese are very aware that the avg consumer just isnt that sharp and they are fairly cleaver at copying stuff.......,.,
The real Crossfire II Vortex scope is optically a Vx2 , it has the Vortex unconditional warrantee, it is a Stellar value at $ 150
The fake is more similar to a low end Simmons or Tasco that run $ 40/60.......
So folks should very careful with purchasing this model. You obviously would have no warantee or recourse here.
This fake came off Ebay, it was $40 cheaper than the legit
Ones sell for. Since I reported this to ebay the seller never
responded, and imeadiately took their site down........
That pretty much told the story, he had sold 147 of them .
E

 

[grry10]

"No, those aren’t knock-offs. The Crossfire II line has always been made in China, and the logo/insignia markings on them have changed throughout time, based on branding, marketing, or legal decisions, etc. Vortex very recently began serializing the Crossfire IIs. They never used to in the past."

"Therefore, you could see Crossfire IIs from different periods in time that are all legitimate Crossfire IIs, but look slightly different from each other. They have never changed, optically. They are all Vortex products and all covered by the same warranty. I have never seen one instance of the Crossfire IIs ever having been knocked off."

This information came from a friend at Vortex.

 

[35 Whelen]

Baloney........ The chink in the Armor is NOT where the legit Crossfires are produced......that is getting this thread sidetracked. You ask your " friend at vortex" if he thinks they' EVER 'put USA on the bottom of their scopes; as you can plainly see it the above photo. And if he tells you, that they did; then I am guessing he must be the janitor there.......
If you do not believe there are fakes, thats fine...........
We posted this to try to help others not make the same mistake we did...However to get on here as a self acclaimed expert on Vortex Scopes; when you obviously have never seen one of these fakes, that is VERY optically different: Is well............lame.
With your smirk post ,insinuating: that I have no idea what I am talking about, is RUDE, and uncalled for, on here.
But if it makes you feel better,or more important to get on here,with your vast knowledge of knockoffs,
I guess that may have made your day? After all that post of yours is based on the Supreme Optical knowledge source on the internet right.......??? "your buddy" at Vortex?????
Let me tell you something you DONT know::: If you ever held these 2 scopes in your hands at the same time; you would immediately know ALOT more than you did when you posted that garbage above.
This is a poor fake.......period.
Weather the real Crossfire II have always been produced in China is NOT really a factor, that this one I just recieved is a cheap fake. And that is NOT the root of this thread.....Fact is the real one; certainly was not EVER
produced in same building, where ever this fake was.........
You know there are probably many things in this world, that YOU have never seen; or even heard of........
A fake Vortex Scope, is very likely, just ONE of them.
You poke a bear with a sharp stick ....... Your apt to get an
instant response......

 

[35 Whelen]

The final out come with the scope was that Ebay steped in
and investigated the seller, and that seller has since been bared off Ebay! However: Ebay has no way of stoping them from simply poping back up under a different name.........
They did share that 13 other buyers, had basicly filed very similar complates against this same seller, pushing these
counterfeit Vortex Crossfire II scopes.
Ebay refunded all of us that knew the difference.......
I have since reordered another from Optics Planet and bingo: I received a legit one, that is fine!
So its buyer beware, but the numbers proved only 13 out of 147 could tell the difference................so bottom line is
the counterfeiters know their market; can build a fake that
Will fool 90% of American buyers, and can successfully get them imported into this country, and get them out into
the marketplace. They know their market. So if the price is closer to hundered than it is 150 then make darn sure you know your seller.
E

 

[bdbrown66]

I don't have a dog in this fight, but take a look at this site. This is a company down in Louisiana, and they are a legit seller. I just bought a Nikon scope from them, and it shipped from a well-known wholesaler. The pics that they show look exactly like the one you said was a knockoff. They don't have a pic of the bottom of the scope to see what's printed there, but otherwise it looks identical.

https://www.sportoptics.com/vortex-cros ... 31007.aspx

 

[Dr. Vette]

There are so many fake Zeiss scopes on eBay it isn't even funny. The obvious error is that the logo on them is a poor facsimile of the real Zeiss logo. Despite this, they seem to sell every day.

Just another example where we need to be cautious when buying scopes.

 

[bdbrown66]

Again, I have no dog in this fight. I do not own a Vortex scope, real or otherwise. However, my friend just had a new Crossfire II put on his rifle. He bought it at a local retailer who sells a lot of guns and other shooting gear, not from eBay. I'm sure it's a legit scope.

Having said that, I wasn't overly impressed when I looked thru it. It was OK, but for my eyes was not as good as my Nikon Prostaff scopes. Maybe they're just not as well made, or maybe the quality has slipped. Maybe this wasn't a knockoff, and instead was a "factory second" that didn't pass QC. It almost doesn't make sense to sell a knockoff of a scope that is already made in China and sells for $150 or so. Selling a cheap knockoff of a Leupold or another expensive scope makes a lot more sense to me.