Hi all, My gf is in Taiwan. She will buy me a MP88 and MP99 racquets. I have heard too many horror stories about fake racquets in Asia. How do I know if there are real or fake? All I know is the price of each racquets: MP88 - USD102 MP99 - USD116 Does the price seem reasonable or too good to be true? All I can tell her is to inspect the craftmanship and make sure the logos/letters are printed very clearly (no smearing). What else can I check? Please help
price might not be the indicator. I mean it could be fake and they're selling it at retail. On many of the real ones if it's SP then obviously there will be an SP in the batch number, and also on the shaft of the racquets. There'll also be a PBSI logo on the cone. If you look at the colours, fake ones are quite bad in terms of replicating the origional Yonex racquts. So look for good, clean clolours. The serial number might also be a tell tale. if it's completely ugly, or covered it a silver Yonex sticker it will be fake for sure. The real yonex racques will have the serial numbers there uncovered by any sticker or whatever. I think that's the best way to tell. If it's an authorized Yonex retailer will also help. It might be better to buy from places that are known to sell authentic stuff. If you go to those places, judging from your prices, it should be a bout right FOR SP RACQUETS - if it's not SP it might be a bit too cheap, but you never know I guess...it's Taiwan. lol.. Good luck!
Quoted from lalanthier: The serial number might also be a tell tale. if it's completely ugly, or covered it a silver Yonex sticker it will be fake for sure. The real yonex racques will have the serial numbers there uncovered by any sticker or whatever. I have a mp 88 and the serial number(on the cone) is covered by the Sunrise sticker. I do not think this is fake, do you? Everything else is so "original". I think my mp88 is a real yonex mp 88. But then again, why is the serial number covered? I am very curious to know the truth. My mp 88 is the new version(blue). My old mp 88 broke so I bought a new one. I was also very skeptical when I saw that the serial number was covered by the Sunrise sticker at first, but I did not want to wait any longer being "racquetless", so I bought it. The serial number on the shaft can be clearly seen. Everything else is in order except that the serial number on the cone is covered by the Sunrise sticker. Could anyone advise me on this?
I think you are thinking too much. Sunrise probably didn't know where to put the sticker on , so they chose the cone area, which is the area for serial numbers, which is the area that normal people don't look at frequently. Trying to spot fakes is a good thing, but if people tend to think everything is fake unless you can prove it is genuine is just overkill. Guys, please relax. (No, I am not saying you should be careless, but not to think that everything that has a sticker on the cone is fake. I have many rackets from Taiwan that has stickers on the serial numbers area, and they are genuine. It's just something that Yonex didn't think it would be used to prove the racket is genuine. Please be fair and use your heads more, guys. )
Thanks for your feedback guys. I was told the store is a pretty reliable...many college students buy from it. I still can't believe the racquets are so cheap there. Here in the Bay Area, we pay higher racquet price + 8.25% Sales tax.
Assumed that you know bluejeff's website about how to spot an fake yonex. You should forward the link to your girlfriend and ask her to have a quick look. This would be a good "How to verify authentic Yonex 101". BTW, I don't think that the rackets sold in Taiwan with "SP" on them.
Those are good prices, and of course it's lower than the cost in the US. However, those prices are not the best price in Taiwan. (Dealer's invoice is still much much lower than that) Just to let you know the price is fine.
I looked through Bluejeff's website....that's how I come to the conclusion that checking the craftsmanship and logo is easier to identify a fake racquet. I don't know what "SP" is.
Those prices are including strings+labor. Just curious, Where in Taiwan sells the best price and quality racquets? in Hsin Chu?
It should, strings and labor are not expensive in Taiwan. No, not in Hsin Chu, but that's a good guess (You will not be able to get the best price unless you buy rackets like I do; I buy in dozen counts.)
I remember there was a thread listed out several reliable stores in TW, inputs are from bluejeff, reddog, huijun,etc. If ur gf went to the ones being listed, u should be fine. Serial # chart (from sticky thread "post your yonex serial #") is a handy tool to verify the serial #s.
I'm happy with the price that my gf is getting. I'll have her buy both the MP88 and MP99. I only have 1 broken racquect in so many yrs......I guess you just have to learn not to hit your partner's racquet j/k.
In my opinion, I would say the serial and batch numbers are the easiest spots. "SP" is one version of Yonex rackets for distributed around Southern Pacific countries. For instance, if you went to Singapore or Malaysia, you might get a racket of "SP" version. But the ones sold in Taiwan, they are not those of "SP" version. -SC
