How to Spot a Counterfeit Product

One should always be aware and pay attention on the “too good to be true deals”.

They watch, they hate, then they copy

It should come as no surprise, that for as many companies making the high-quality and high-end vaporizers, there are loose copy-cats and cheap knock offs available posing as their legitimate competitors, hoping you- the consumer- will not notice. Knock-off products are nothing new on the market and almost look identical to the real thing, with a significantly lower price point, of cause. Due to the vaping industries fragility being new to mainstream there has been good and bad publicity. Are these drastically cheaper kits ideal for the budget tight vaper or are they far more hazardous?

Counterfeits: Why are they cheaper?

Counterfeit goods are often products made of poor-quality materials and substances that are not made with the same diligence as the authentic’ s are, it is not only the money that you might lose but since you inhale this product it poses a great risk to your health that is not tested and documented making the effects completely unknown.
Although there are many Con’s with cloned devices there are a couple of advantages such as the reason many of our household items are made in China is a result of cheap labour, highly affordable manufacturing process and low-cost materials. In essence these Chinese manufacturers are making the same product for almost half the cost, if not less.
Producers in China already have the appropriate machines since they make the product themselves. Ultimately many vapers favour cloned products mainly because of their affordability which is typically much more affordable than an original, another advantage to purchasing cloned vaping equipment would be that they sometimes offer more colour options, accessories or other features that the “authentic” product doesn’t offer.

Always ensure that the product has easy to identify manufacturing information on the label and that all the legal requirements are met, such as nicotine strength, warnings or any other legal hazard warnings such as:

ROHS — Restrictive of Hazardous Substances
PMTA — Remarked Tobacco Application

Disadvantages of using fake hardware:

-Usage of low-quality materials could break down easily
-Unreliable safety features and battery impurities that can lead to a fire or explosion
-Almost impossible to track manufacturer which means it is very difficult to recover any damages
-Counterfeit coils and poor-quality materials that cannot properly resist and regulate electric current and you end up inhaling vaporized metallic particles

Here are 6 signs that you might be using a knockoff vape:

1. The battery charges are not consistent.
2. The font used to display the logo is not identical to other products from the same brand
3. The price you paid was about 20 – 30% less than anyone else online.
4. The device becomes unusually hot when moderately using the device.
5. The coils do not thread on perfectly.
6. Sometimes the device already has defects out of the box.

Risks of using cloned E-Liquids:

New consumers to vaping may or may not know the difference, but they’re easily noticeable by their price point and consumers often opt for them unknowingly putting their health at great risk.
High doses of nicotine can result in unwanted stimulant effects such as Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)- Tachycardia (Unusually High Heart Rate)
tremors and even seizures.
Possible damage on your hardware that cloned e-juices pose, the cheaper made coils often burn faster and as the liquids are much thinner causing your atomizer to get clogged or heat intensely without any reason. If the e-liquid is in any-way corrosive it will damage your device if it is made out of plastic and not Pyrex glass or any kind of glass.

Nonetheless, it is always a good idea to purchase your goods from a trusted source and manufacturing company,
we here at Vape Africa take great pride in our authenticity, ensuring our products are of legal standards and meet the consumer’s needs.