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Skateboarding => Shoes & Gear => Topic started by: chrisskates808 on February 02, 2021, 11:51:08 PM
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If you have used a fake pair, how were they? And how did you get tricked thinking they were authentic?
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If you have used a fake pair, how were they? And how did you get tricked thinking they were authentic?
Some kids I know bought some from ebay but were wondering why they were slow and not working like Bones Swiss bearings should.
They still had the box and I tracked where they bought them from and sure enough, there were a few simple signs (box was imperfectly copied) bearings had differences between the fakes and real ones I had, as well as the ride, and yes they might have seemed ok at first, they got slow fast.
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This might help too (not me, but looks about right):
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEGPCAOjB1e/
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bones swiss is probably the most successfully marketed skate related product ever. yeah theyre alright but that shits in your head player, reds will perform the same if you pop the shields. that being said just go behind the counter at zumiez and take the whole stack of swiss nobody there will notice.
unrelated but dont they make a new bearing called BIG BALLS or something, pretty dope name. also unrelated do they still sell those bullshit bones swiss ceramic shits? i remember seeing them years ago coated in dust at a shop for like like $120 who the hell is paying that much for bearings thats fucked
free max b
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god damn those look really good for fake. no clue if mine are fake or not now :( lol the one thing that does sort of stand out to me is that spacer in the middle im pretty sure mine looks legit and have always looked like that + thicker
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I got duped by some on Amazon a while ago and they were pretty horrible. I thought I bent an axle or something before I realized I got got. Didn’t really know there were counterfeits out there
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bones swiss is probably the most successfully marketed skate related product ever. yeah theyre alright but that shits in your head player, reds will perform the same if you pop the shields. that being said just go behind the counter at zumiez and take the whole stack of swiss nobody there will notice.
unrelated but dont they make a new bearing called BIG BALLS or something, pretty dope name. also unrelated do they still sell those bullshit bones swiss ceramic shits? i remember seeing them years ago coated in dust at a shop for like like $120 who the hell is paying that much for bearings thats fucked
free max b
nah bro i have 2 setups both with bones wheels the exact same size and its night and day how mcuh better the Swiss turns. every time someone steps on my board they are like holy shit this thing GOES buddy. 56mm bones with swiss you can def tell the difference.
you need big wheels to get the most out of them otherwise you just dont get enough momentum going unless you are flying
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This is a crime against humanity. When I was a young lad and poor (I'm just older and poor now), I always wanted some. My first taste was a used set my friend gave me, and even used, they were awesome. I really enjoy telling my wife when I am buying them because she always says "$60 for bearings?!?!?!" and then I can remind her that she "doesn't even time code - you wouldn't understand".
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bones swiss is probably the most successfully marketed skate related product ever. yeah theyre alright but that shits in your head player, reds will perform the same if you pop the shields. that being said just go behind the counter at zumiez and take the whole stack of swiss nobody there will notice.
unrelated but dont they make a new bearing called BIG BALLS or something, pretty dope name. also unrelated do they still sell those bullshit bones swiss ceramic shits? i remember seeing them years ago coated in dust at a shop for like like $120 who the hell is paying that much for bearings thats fucked
free max b
Reds are really good but if you properly take care of Swiss you can have them forever. I used to always get them and I wouldn't do any maintenance and they would last 5-6 years before getting slow.
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If you're not riding Swiss bearings you're a sucker. $60 makes you go faster, can't beat that. Amazon is awash in fake Swiss. I'm by no means a hardcore support-your-local guy, but just get the real ones from a real shop. There are almost never deals on them because they're basically the gold standard. I did get 3 or 4 sets a decade ago from a roller skate shop or something for cheap, but that rarely happens.
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bones swiss is probably the most successfully marketed skate related product ever. yeah theyre alright but that shits in your head player, reds will perform the same if you pop the shields. that being said just go behind the counter at zumiez and take the whole stack of swiss nobody there will notice.
No way. I have multiple setups with different bearings. Swiss outperform them. The require way less cleaning, and stay fast and smooth a lot long. Reds have locked up on me, and taking off the shields doesnt do anything except make the less smooth. I have had the same swiss bearings for probably 5 or 6 years now and they are still in damn good shape.
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Side note: has anyone tried the Bronson ceramics? They’re pretty close in price to regular Swiss. I know lots of people aren’t fans of Bronsons here, but if you can get a ceramic bearing that performs just as well as Swiss, for around the same price, then it would be worth it to me. And they come with a cleaning case, extra shields and washers. And no chance of getting fake ones.
With that being said, I really love my Swiss. Worth every penny
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I know Ali Express has fake formula fours for like 20$
Dont know anyone whos tried em though
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I know Ali Express has fake formula fours for like 20$
Dont know anyone whos tried em though
wtf fake spitfire wheels?! never buying shit on ali express
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fuck it ill skate some rep spitfires. throw some rep moma airforce ones in there too for $25
free max b
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Back in the nineties nothing better than bones swiss bearings. No idea what is good now but didn't have to worry about fakes back then either. Good old days.
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This might help too (not me, but looks about right):
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEGPCAOjB1e/
those fakes look so legit. even better than the originals
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This might help too (not me, but looks about right):
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEGPCAOjB1e/
If those x and check weren’t there, I couldn’t tel the which is real or fake.
those fakes look so legit. even better than the originals
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From 2017, but really they just hit the roof in 2020 with the shortages.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbvN9MRhdWX/
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I know Ali Express has fake formula fours for like 20$
Dont know anyone whos tried em though
wtf fake spitfire wheels?! never buying shit on ali express
I have a collection of fakes out of morbid curiosity for counterfeit skate stuff. The graphics, wheels dimensions and colors are off, though they are catching up and going with colored / unwashed variants to make it less obvious.
In terms of performance, they are round and roll, that's the best thing I can say about them. They are VERY sticky on all surfaces, including waxed ledges, so prepare to get pitched forward. Powerslides are a no go too.
Not forgetting other fakes like:
Baker, Girl, Chocolate, Toy Machine, Flip Decks
Independent, Venture Trucks
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I know Ali Express has fake formula fours for like 20$
Dont know anyone whos tried em though
wtf fake spitfire wheels?! never buying shit on ali express
I have a collection of fakes out of morbid curiosity for counterfeit skate stuff. The graphics, wheels dimensions and colors are off, though they are catching up and going with colored / unwashed variants to make it less obvious.
In terms of performance, they are round and roll, that's the best thing I can say about them. They are VERY sticky on all surfaces, including waxed ledges, so prepare to get pitched forward. Powerslides are a no go too.
Not forgetting other fakes like:
Baker, Girl, Chocolate, Toy Machine, Flip Decks
Independent, Venture Trucks
Time to start that "Help identify fake product" thread maybe???
At least if you start it you can always edit and add more to your first post.
No pressure! :)
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I bought some fakes and guess what? They sucked. Why would someone making selling fake bearings make them good? It was 8 Grade-Z bearings that probably cost $.50 wholesale, sold online for $25. You are *much* better off buying an authentic $25 bearing like Reds
Obviously some people will fake it, but look out for "Swiss" bearings that don't read "Made In Switzerland" on the package. One good way to get busted in customs is for an agent to open a crate from Szechuan and find a bunch of bearings claiming to be manufactured in another country, so a lot of the eBay and Amazon fakes just omit that wording from their packaging
But yeah, honestly you really can only buy Swiss from an authorized Bones Swiss dealer. If they're not on the list, they're either selling some weird grey-market shit (unlikely, but possible) or outright fakes (99.999% of the time)
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I almost forgot about this too (also not me but helpful):
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBQDMXOF45q/
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I found a set for $20 on Mercari a long time ago and chanced it. Definitely got fakes. They worked decent for a week then started locking up on me. My homie got a set of authentic ones from our local though and the same shit happened to his so I guess QC is hit and miss with the real stuff too
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If y’all got fakes and don’t want ‘em hell I’ll take ‘em. I figure even if they aren’t real Swiss they have to at least be as good as like a set of Mini Logo bearings or Spitfire cheapshots.
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I bought fake Reds off eBay once. They looked almost identical to the real deal. They sucked.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_0S1Ps4kCk&t=35s
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bones swiss is probably the most successfully marketed skate related product ever. yeah theyre alright but that shits in your head player, reds will perform the same if you pop the shields. that being said just go behind the counter at zumiez and take the whole stack of swiss nobody there will notice.
unrelated but dont they make a new bearing called BIG BALLS or something, pretty dope name. also unrelated do they still sell those bullshit bones swiss ceramic shits? i remember seeing them years ago coated in dust at a shop for like like $120 who the hell is paying that much for bearings thats fucked
free max b
I snatched literally 6 sets of bronson g2s like 4 years ago at the willowbrook mall while all fucked up on xanax and dope. I just switched out my last pair for some big balls. Bronsons get slow so fast and break easy as shit, never again.
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Oh sorry I thought this is the useless wooden toy banter. Must have clicked on shoes and gear by mistake. My bad
Shalom
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Ben Degros just poted a video on this if anyone's interested.
Like most Candians...he's a nice guy.
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bones swiss is probably the most successfully marketed skate related product ever. yeah theyre alright but that shits in your head player, reds will perform the same if you pop the shields. that being said just go behind the counter at zumiez and take the whole stack of swiss nobody there will notice.
unrelated but dont they make a new bearing called BIG BALLS or something, pretty dope name. also unrelated do they still sell those bullshit bones swiss ceramic shits? i remember seeing them years ago coated in dust at a shop for like like $120 who the hell is paying that much for bearings thats fucked
free max b
I snatched literally 6 sets of bronson g2s like 4 years ago at the willowbrook mall while all fucked up on xanax and dope. I just switched out my last pair for some big balls. Bronsons get slow so fast and break easy as shit, never again.
classic.
free max b
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I got bones swiss in 2015 and they're still rolling fast a little slower cause i never clean them, but they're the best bearings i ever got for sure.
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I bought a pair out of curiosity on Ali Express for 14$ CDN shipped to Canada. The quality of the counterfeiting is remarkable. They must have stepped up their game a bit, as the first insta post in the thread highlights a 1981 vs 1983 difference, and they corrected that; mine says 1981. Give away is the made in china sticker on the shrink wrap. but asides that it would have easily fooled me. I might give them a go, or give them away. I didn't really think they would be as bad as some previous posters have made them out to be. I wasn't expecting swiss quality, but figured they be as good as a generic shop bearing (mostly what I skated growing up)
Im currently actually running Chinese ceramic bearings now. I had previously run a real pair of swiss for a good 7-8-9 years and they were great, and still probably would run fine - got that swiss sound too, love it! The Chinese ones have been ok I guess, great at first but last year was my second season of using them and they were getting a little spotty - spead cream def helped a bit. Some local guy has been importing them and rebranded them under his brand. Bought a pair to support his venture.
That being said, I guess Ill splurge and buy a real pair of swiss. They aint cheap but worth it in the long run.
Here are a few photos of my fake set.
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more
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I bought some fakes off of Ebay. Didn't know any better.
I order direct from Powell so I know I'm getting the real deal.
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I bought a pair out of curiosity on Ali Express for 14$ CDN shipped to Canada. The quality of the counterfeiting is remarkable. They must have stepped up their game a bit, as the first insta post in the thread highlights a 1981 vs 1983 difference, and they corrected that; mine says 1981. Give away is the made in china sticker on the shrink wrap. but asides that it would have easily fooled me. I might give them a go, or give them away. I didn't really think they would be as bad as some previous posters have made them out to be. I wasn't expecting swiss quality, but figured they be as good as a generic shop bearing (mostly what I skated growing up)
Im currently actually running Chinese ceramic bearings now. I had previously run a real pair of swiss for a good 7-8-9 years and they were great, and still probably would run fine - got that swiss sound too, love it! The Chinese ones have been ok I guess, great at first but last year was my second season of using them and they were getting a little spotty - spead cream def helped a bit. Some local guy has been importing them and rebranded them under his brand. Bought a pair to support his venture.
That being said, I guess Ill splurge and buy a real pair of swiss. They aint cheap but worth it in the long run.
Here are a few photos of my fake set.
Skate them and see.
Now you already own them, they are worth testing out and giving them a good go just to see what they are like.
It is different if you were still yet to decide.
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I have swiss big balls right now, but I think I fucked em up the last time I cleaned em.
Got some really old swiss on my other set up. Thinking about getting some reds, or super reds to replace em. I'm even making more money right now, but can't really justify better bearings for the level of skating Im doing.
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I bought a pair out of curiosity on Ali Express for 14$ CDN shipped to Canada. The quality of the counterfeiting is remarkable. They must have stepped up their game a bit, as the first insta post in the thread highlights a 1981 vs 1983 difference, and they corrected that; mine says 1981. Give away is the made in china sticker on the shrink wrap. but asides that it would have easily fooled me. I might give them a go, or give them away. I didn't really think they would be as bad as some previous posters have made them out to be. I wasn't expecting swiss quality, but figured they be as good as a generic shop bearing (mostly what I skated growing up)
Im currently actually running Chinese ceramic bearings now. I had previously run a real pair of swiss for a good 7-8-9 years and they were great, and still probably would run fine - got that swiss sound too, love it! The Chinese ones have been ok I guess, great at first but last year was my second season of using them and they were getting a little spotty - spead cream def helped a bit. Some local guy has been importing them and rebranded them under his brand. Bought a pair to support his venture.
That being said, I guess Ill splurge and buy a real pair of swiss. They aint cheap but worth it in the long run.
Here are a few photos of my fake set.
Skate them and see.
Now you already own them, they are worth testing out and giving them a good go just to see what they are like.
It is different if you were still yet to decide.
Good point, might give em a go once the snow melts. I like to pair new bearing and wheels together, so it should be smooth for a bit.
Gimme a few months - there 2 feet of snow on the ground.
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I bought a pair out of curiosity on Ali Express for 14$ CDN shipped to Canada. The quality of the counterfeiting is remarkable. They must have stepped up their game a bit, as the first insta post in the thread highlights a 1981 vs 1983 difference, and they corrected that; mine says 1981. Give away is the made in china sticker on the shrink wrap. but asides that it would have easily fooled me. I might give them a go, or give them away. I didn't really think they would be as bad as some previous posters have made them out to be. I wasn't expecting swiss quality, but figured they be as good as a generic shop bearing (mostly what I skated growing up)
Im currently actually running Chinese ceramic bearings now. I had previously run a real pair of swiss for a good 7-8-9 years and they were great, and still probably would run fine - got that swiss sound too, love it! The Chinese ones have been ok I guess, great at first but last year was my second season of using them and they were getting a little spotty - spead cream def helped a bit. Some local guy has been importing them and rebranded them under his brand. Bought a pair to support his venture.
That being said, I guess Ill splurge and buy a real pair of swiss. They aint cheap but worth it in the long run.
Here are a few photos of my fake set.
If you’re gonna spend the money, consider getting Swiss 6 instead of normal Swiss. Swiss 6 are noticeably better in my experience and only like $10 more.
Swiss are still good, I’ve had a couple sets over the years but Swiss 6 are just better overall.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/BbvN9MRhdWX/?igshid=1byyypg55vp01
Looks like bones plans to be more proactive at protecting their brand.
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If y’all got fakes and don’t want ‘em hell I’ll take ‘em. I figure even if they aren’t real Swiss they have to at least be as good as like a set of Mini Logo bearings or Spitfire cheapshots.
My knock-off Swiss bearings were noticeably worse than authentic Reds. I am certain that they are the absolute lowest grade of cartridge bearing you can get. I mean, if someone wants to give you free bearings, whatever, cool, but don't think that they're trying to pass off a Mini Logo-quality bearing as a Swiss, because that is simply not the case
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D'oh! my bad @Mbrimson88. Clearly didn't read.
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If y’all got fakes and don’t want ‘em hell I’ll take ‘em. I figure even if they aren’t real Swiss they have to at least be as good as like a set of Mini Logo bearings or Spitfire cheapshots.
My knock-off Swiss bearings were noticeably worse than authentic Reds. I am certain that they are the absolute lowest grade of cartridge bearing you can get. I mean, if someone wants to give you free bearings, whatever, cool, but don't think that they're trying to pass off a Mini Logo-quality bearing as a Swiss, because that is simply not the case
I got fake swiss off amazon ~5 years ago and they were noticeably slower out of the box than brand new Reds.
I've been running the same set of Swiss on my main setup since 2013.
Just clean them at least once a year and they're good to go.
*edit- not read too good.
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The letter from Bones was from 2017, as per the previous page, but the good thing is more people are finding out about what is going on and are more knowledgeable and hopefully it will be easier to work out if they are fake or understand that the random guy selling all these great bearings at back door prices really is too good to be true.
They have been dealing with the counterfeit issue for longer than that, eg a good short info video from Bones in Jan 2016.
Bones Bearings Public Service Announcement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndoSXeyJbk8
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This might help too (not me, but looks about right):
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEGPCAOjB1e/
It's hilarious that they were so close, but blew it with the 1983 instead of 1981.
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This might help too (not me, but looks about right):
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEGPCAOjB1e/
This video is pretty old, the newer counterfeits corrected the dates, address and website. The package re-design should help but again its only a matter of time before counterfeiters pick up on these again.
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This might help too (not me, but looks about right):
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEGPCAOjB1e/
This video is pretty old, the newer counterfeits corrected the dates, address and website. The package re-design should help but again its only a matter of time before counterfeiters pick up on these again.
The original packs had 1983 on them, but that was one of the things they changed to try to make it easier to spot the fakes.
I have some old boxes from back when we first had them (and yes I keep everything) and it is interesting how much they have changed over the years, in so slight or small details, but they are only half a step ahead of the people who are copying them nowdays.
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Thought this was the best thread to revive.
Posted this in a more recent thread, but thought it could help other identify fakes with this article’s good photos of fakes vs real
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Got some bone Swiss for the first time ever, gamechanger. I’m about 6 months in and one of my wheels seized up. Cleaned my bearing with isopropyl alcohol and now three out of four are seizing up. I didn’t have speed cream or anything to put in em. Are they just fucked now or does this happen after cleaning them without using lube?
Sometimes cleaning them doesn't get everything out, or can remove the good stuff that keeps them rolling.
Quite simply there are options, but lube is 100% required, be it liquid as people have said, or dry grphite powder, but the two do not mix at all either.
WD40 is a cleaning agent too, so although it might work short term, it doesn't work long term for bearings. It does smell nice though.
I think people often can get confused about some things and what works or doesn't work, or even the fact that cleaning bearings will bring them back to rolling like new, but more often than not it can cause other issues, eg things not put back together correctly in some cases, damaged parts getting them apart and back together.
More than anything, if they have seized up and are not rolling, using something on them to get them rolling again (not just lube) is the main thing, so WD40 does help in that regard, but you can't just drop lube straight in them after that either, as the two work against each other.
It’s also entirely possible you have a set of FAKE Swiss.
:o ooooooooooo check this article out. Good picture of small details to check.
https://shredzshop.com/blogs/news/everything-about-bones-bearings
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most of what you need to know from the article:
(https://i.imgur.com/GK2pu8R.jpg)
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most of what you need to know from the article:
thanks that's way better, appreciate it.
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most of what you need to know from the article:
thanks that's way better, appreciate it.
Or consider:
- Box doesn't say Made in Switzerland
- Box says 1983 instead of 1981
- There's no URL but physical address instead.
- Font on bar code is not bold.
- Box color is closer to orange rather than red.
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most of what you need to know from the article:
thanks that's way better, appreciate it.
- Box doesn't say Made in Switzerland
- Box says 1983 instead of 1981
- There's no URL but physical address instead.
- Font on bar code is not bold.
- Box color is closer to orange rather than red.
The funniest thing to me is the oil smell.
The originals have a better smell to them too, like fine wine (oil) compared to the thinner more greasy smelling fake ones.
So weird, but that was my take on it too, cause until I put my glasses on I couldn't really see differences in the bearings themselves, although I could see differences in the packaging.
Also the fake bearings might start off rolling ok (not super great) but then it starts to go down hill way more quickly than even the cheapest whatever bearings you get in department store boards, which usually by that time people start to get bummed but the seller has already got away with the sale and is on to the next thing. Not always I know, but that is often how things were for some people I know who bought some of them and couldn't get their money back or anything.
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i also was curious and bought some fake ones from aliexpress for 10€ shipped years ago. still haven't tried them
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i also was curious and bought some fake ones from aliexpress for 10€ shipped years ago. still haven't tried them
Have you opened them and had a look at them?
It is funny when people think I am weird for saying they smell different, but they really did to me.
Maybe I have just opened too many packs of real Bones swiss over the years putting them in boards for myself and others.
Not a worry any which way.
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they are still sealed. i ordered them four years ago.
i'd be curious about the smell-test experiment too, too bad i only have bearings for the treatment group but not for the control group (i.e. real bones swiss)
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they are still sealed. i ordered them four years ago.
i'd be curious about the smell-test experiment too, too bad i only have bearings for the treatment group but not for the control group (i.e. real bones swiss)
Photos! Por favor.
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I think most of the good photos of the boxes have been deleted or the ebay listings removed now.
One seller posted very close up pics of the box, back of box, open pack, etc and could clearly see they were not the originals and they were a cheaper version, not even the better fake looking bearings, so I guess they didn't have a clue with any of it.
Others had posted pics from the Bones site of the original box and other info, but given they were a new ebay seller with only Bones bearings and half the RRP, I didn't even need to guess where they came from.