Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Leupold Chinese Counterfeit report

I’ll give $60!

I'll bet some folks would readily swap their wife for her twin sister, too, especially if she 'worked' better (at first blush anyway)!

Thanks so much for your kind offer, but I'm afraid I don't have any. IIRC, I have four mounted right now, and so far so good with all of those, though at least one went through a period of "uncertainty" before it decided to settle down and respond properly to my instructions. In fact I've yet to have any scope "fail" thus far other than being difficult in that way, but a good many others have had serious issues with multiple brands, not just individual specimens, and these are experienced, knowledgable users, not internet goobers. As a result, I regard all scopes as suspect until I'm pretty sure they're okay, then I still keep an eye on them. So now Leupold instead of being pretty much all I buy, is just one brand I consider. Being an uncritical fanboy can only lead to disappointment, but you go ahead.

How do they get passed customs?

Ha! You’d think they’d fake something good if they were going to the trouble.

The ones on eBay are coming from China and Hong Kong, probably via China Post, and delivered in the U.S. by USPS.

My friend ordered his via eBay and about 3 weeks later they arrived on his front steps.

This post was intended as a caution for people who might buy a used Leupold scope or a used rifle with a Leupold scope to look closely at them, as at least some of the fake Leupolds are very close/good copies. The counterfeiters went to a lot of effort to duplicate the boxes, box fillers, and scopes with, I assume, the intend to defraud the buyers. A knowledgeable shooting sports enthusiast might spot the difference sooner than later, but the average guy probably wouldn't and might pay a premium price for a less than premium product. I have over 100 Leupold scopes in service, so while not claiming to be an expert on them, I've been around them for over 40 years and without looking closely, or better yet calling Leupold and asking for a serial number confirmation, I would have been taken in by any of the 5 counterfeit 2-7x33s that I've seen, just as the local pawn broker was taken in by the counterfeit 3.5-10x40 that he traded into.

Bottom line is there are variety of counterfeit Leupold styles coming into the U.S., so a prudent buyer must be aware of them and guard himself accordingly.

Leupold's counterfeit phone # is 1-800-538-7653. If your looking at a scope for sale request the ser# then call Leupold to verify if it is authentic .

Probably in a garbage truck.

The Chinese models are probably better than the real one now, Leupold has went into the chitter onthe last 5 years.

This makes me think of the recent ‘Ridiculous price on 3Xi’s on ebay’ post in the classifieds. I hope everyone got a legitimate Leupold from that.

They were legit.

I bought an obvious counterift off ebay in January out of curiosity.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/12618362/1


This scope was $200 and ships from Hong Kong.

But I had to see what would happen.

Today is 18 days later and it was in my mail box.

I called Leupold Customer service and they said it was counterfeit and they want to know where I got it.

What was it about the photos of the scope and/or box that indicated to you it was an obvious counterfeit Leupold scope?

That box states duplex and mildot as the reticle. The model #170683 is for a vx3i (not VX III) CDS with the duplex. I don't think they even make that model with mildot

Shipped from Hong Kong in the ebay ad was what tipped me off.

Then there was the laughable negotiation for the refund on ebay that went up after Leupold said the serial number was bogus.

After a sour apartment building deal in 1990 in Seattle with Chinese nationals, I am once bitten, twice weary. But $200 I can afford as a joke.

Threads like this are the reason I buy from local stores.

Hello everyone! Counterfeits are a big issue these days, and unfortunately we and other manufacturers have encountered more and more examples lately. Unfortunately due to the variety of counterfeits out there (and the variety of scopes we at Leupold have made over the years), there is no single way to identify a counterfeit.

Your best protection against counterfeits is to purchase from established sporting goods retailers. We often see counterfeits from private eBay Sellers, Wish.com, ioffer.com, aliexpress.com, and Alibaba.com, as well as many other small websites that try to undersell retailers.

If you are purchasing a scope used or from a private seller and want to confirm its authenticity, please contact Leupold directly. The best way to confirm authenticity would be to email us at ProductSpecialistLeupold.com with a serial number, full description of the scope, and attached images of the whole scope. We track information on all counterfeits that we come across, and can typically ID a fake pretty easily.

That said, it’s a bit of an arms race. Counterfeiters are always trying make their fakes look more real. We’re seeing new fakes on a regular basis, so emailing us the above info also helps us keep on top of the issue.

Maybe the company outta buy some and reverse engineer em...
You all might come up with stronger erector and stronger spring ideas.

Something that will adjust per stated value and hold zero.
When the old man died and sonny boy took over with his bean counter,s advice.
Your company,s products went to schit.....

Toodles.....

Renegade, stop obsessing........

I'm good.....