Fake cricket bats

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mas cambios

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Fake cricket bats

This has been taken from e-bay but may be worth a read if any of you are thinking of buying a bat from e-bay!

Genuine MRF cricket bat made from English willow for only £40.00 - does this sound familiar?

This guide has been written to help you form an educated opinion about the authenticity of cricket bats for sale on Ebay, if you want to know how to spot a potential fake cricket bat then read on!!!

Firstly let's start with a short lesson in economics - if you sell an item that was an unwanted gift or you bought the wrong size or type you would typically expect to sell the item for between half and threequarters of its original value. If, however, you were selling items to make a profit you would expect to make a decent profit on your investment and this is the first clue to the originality of a cricket bat, so ask yourself - if you bought a bat direct from the manufacturer at trade price, how much can you buy a top of the range cricket bat for?

The answer will vary, but to give you an idea, the Asian manufacturers which sell their bats cheaper than English and Australian manufacturers would normally sell their bats for the following approximate prices:

Top grade - £75.00 (MRF Genius Ltd Edition, BDM Dynamic Power Super, CA Plus, Puma Ballistic, BAS Blaster etc.)

Grade 1 - £65.00 (MRF Genius, Puma Stealth, BAS 444 etc.)

Grade 2 - £55.00 (MRF Blazer, Puma X-Bow, BAS Legend Gold etc.)

Grade 3 - £45.00 (MRF Bonzer, Puma Octane,

Grade 4 - £35.00 (MRF Cameo, BAS King Hitter

KASHMIR (or nurtured in India/Pakistan) - £7.00 (MRF Typhoon, BDM Dynadrive, CA Power etc.)

Add to these prices at least £5.00 per bat for shipping if bought in bulk - approx. £20.00 if a single order, and a further 17.5% V.A.T and you can't buy a genuine Top grade willow bat for less than £90.00, so how on earth can anyone sell a legitimate Top Grade willow cricket bat for less than this?????????? The simple answer, they can't, unless they're buying bats to sell at a loss there is only one logical explanation - a large proportion of bats sold on Ebay are fake, and it's not limited to Ebay either, look at a decent cricket website such as cricketdirect.co.uk and look at their MRF bats - look at the stickers and now do a google search on MRF cricket bats and go into some of the sites - their "MRF" bats and gear are massively out of date - ask yourself - why is this????? These are small e-retailers with only a few bats in stock - surely any new stock they buy will have the latest stickers or designs if they are genuine????

If you intend buying a bat from and English or Australian firm such as Gray Nicols, Slazenger, Gunn and Moore, Kookaburra or Woodworm etc. then the cost of these bats should be even higher as their trade prices will be higher than that of their Asian competitors. Secondly, there are many sellers based in India and Pakistan claiming to be selling genuine bats by English manufacturers - do a search on Gray Nicols - you'll see bats going for £40.00 which is not possible as their trade price would be 2 or 3 times times just to buy in the first place.

My next problem is the issue of willow - let's put this to bed once and for all!!!!!!!

English willow is grown in England in wet soil, with humid air and is the best quality willow you can buy - it is shipped to Asia to be made into bats and then sent back, hence the high price of English willow bats.

Kashmir willow is grown in poor soil, in dry conditions and is brittle and prone to cracking, it is made into bats in Asia and shipped cheaply in large quantities, hence it is cheap and can be bought at trade for £4.00 - £7.00.

There is no other type of willow available - so anyone claiming that their bats are English willow and then putting "nurtured in India" in brackets is just duping you - if it's nurtured (grown) in asia it's poor quality and should be avoided.

Finally one last thought - if you're serious about cricket go to your local cricket shop and buy a bat that you can pick up and hold and make sure it's the right size and weight for you and if you're in doubt as to its authenticity ask to see an invoice to prove it came from the manufactur, and if in doubt contact your local Trading Standards.

Just because someone has good feedback on Ebay doesn't mean they are selling genuine items - I know of several sellers who sell fake items - one of them has over 3000 feedbacks - and they all buy from the same manufacturer in Meerut, I can't say who they are on here, but they know who they are.........

One last warning - MRF bats have security holograms - this means nothing - i have a sheet of them in my kitchen draw - remember any item can be faked and it's not just bats - if they sell fake bats, the chances are they are selling fake pads and gloves etc.

If in doubt - don't buy - if it seems too good to be true it usually is.
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This applies to all on-line stores, not just e-bay.

To reiterate that final point: If in doubt - don't buy - if it seems too good to be true it usually is.
 
Re: Fake cricket bats

if it seems too good to be true it usually is.
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Real Hustle fan?

Just a note though, I have bought and used a fake bat and can say that they are not 100% awful. Sure, they crack easily, have the worst toes and anything other than on the middle leaves a small crack and goes no where; but the middle is usually quite good and the ball pings off it nicely - sadly, it makes a pinging noise too to which my teammates seem to laugh even when I hit the nicest of fours, oh well.

Out of ten, the fake MRF I used would get 4/10...but that is all off on a tangent.
 
Re: Fake cricket bats

I agree with what you say Manee but not everyone is willing to look on the bright side.

If you want a cheap net bat, or something to mess around with then it's the way to go; however, if you want a great bat for matches, go for an English willow bat from a reputable seller - if you can actually go and buy the bat in person.
 
Re: Fake cricket bats

i have been cheated. it was my first bat didnt knew much about them and ended up with a fake Slazenger.it broke while practicing in the nets after i tried a couple of aerial shots.
 
Re: Fake cricket bats

Sorry to hear that Mike, but that's the nature of some of the real cheap e-bay bats.

Some are very brittle and will last only a little while before breaking.

This is not to say that all Kashmir bats will do the same but it's best to play it safe and know whet you may be getting before you get stung.
 
Re: Fake cricket bats

How about we have a section on here dedicated to helping people spot fake bats?So if i guy wants sees a bat he wants on eBay he can come on here provide the link then we can see if it's genuine or not.Just a suggestion.
 
Re: Fake cricket bats

Dikon thats certainly worth a think from us Admins, but ofcourse, you could take the initiative and create one yourself. Maybe find a link as an example?
 
Re: Fake cricket bats

You can use this thread for that. If you are about to buy a bat and are suspicious about it then post about it in this thread.
 
Re: Fake cricket bats

I'll happily take a look and pass on what I think.

Just post the link and what you're thinking of buying and I'll give some feedback.
 
Re: Fake cricket bats

http://cgi.ebay.com/KOOKABURRA-KAHUNA-PUMA-CRICKET-BAT-BUY-1-GET-1-FREE_W0QQitemZ170154169889QQihZ007QQcategoryZ149282QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I'll use this as an example this is obviously fake one look at the stickers tells me this.I know many people that have been ripped off in the past maybe if we complain enough about them to eBay they will take more of the bats off the site.Personally i'd rather buy a custom made bat exact to my specs and then put some stickers on that way i know the bat maker has taken the care and time to ensure it will be good quality.
 
Re: Fake cricket bats

The actual wood is a bigger give away, the bat on the left has been badly bleached and the one on the right is stained slightly.

If I see those in a shop I'd run a mile. At best those bats should be wrapped in fabric and used as junior bats.

As you said the stickers are a big tell tale, they look poor and are obviously made by a low rent printer, not good at all.
 
Re: Fake cricket bats

Don't take my word for it but i'd say real.

Only Almost_Austwick would be able to give you a better idea, im not good at that sort of stuff to be totally honest. I reckon its real, as i said, lets hope A_A comes online, but he might be away, so you might just have to take a gamble.
 
Re: Fake cricket bats

I've been advised;

No-one can afford to sell a 240rrp bat for about 60 quid, the willow alone costs more than that.

I would say that although it may well be 'english willow' its more likely to be grade 3. I have a sneaking feeling that it may be an old bat with new stickers, but it's hard to tell without seeing it in the flesh.

The pictures are bad but I'd be suspicious of a bat with that much oil on it - looks over oiled, maybe to hide blemishes etc. In anycase, it would need a far bit of drying out to get it a reasonable state.
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Re: Fake cricket bats

its a fake.

"BRAND NEW CUSTOM MADE GRADE 1+ CRICKET BAT WITH SLAZENGER V389 STICKERS APPLIED."

"THE STICKERS ADDED ARE USED BY SUPERSTARS SUCH AS MICHAEL CLARKE"
 
Re: Fake cricket bats

Yep, the text is well written and even had me confused, but that is indeed written, so yeah, dont go near it. It might be a brilliant bit of wood, but with "applied," stickers, i wouldnt put money on it.

Good find Will.
 
Re: Fake cricket bats

Saw this the other day while searching for them stickers wood on that looks shocking and the stickers are not the original stickers what were on the bat.
 
Re: Fake cricket bats

If they had the bat on there for £150 then it's maybe worth a look but anything less than that being advertised as grade 1 English is fake.
 
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