This could be bad.

[tippexx]

So what's new?

Just because we want the real thing we forget that for a lot of people possessions are about impression and they couldn't care less if the RayBans on their head, the Rolex on their wrist or the Cohiba in their mouth were fakes. As long as others believe these things are real ... job done.

For fakers the Holy Grail is to infiltrate the legitimate supply chain, money talks and there's always someone prepared to turn a blind eye, or with a few fake invoices and a couple of genuine master cases on top of a pile an unsuspecting retailer might be fooled. (It happened with wine and one of our main Supermarket chains).

If fakers have unlimited access to tobacco and people with the finger skills to roll cigars (no shortage of torcedors in China) then Craig's List is the least of our worries.

[santela]

As a rule made in China products have no quality. I avoid them even if I have to pay more.

You do realize Xikar cutters and DuPont lighters are all made in China now right? Not to mention the Apple products that are so popular right now.

[vinnyvega]

As I have been saying for years and years, many of us undoubtedly already have plenty of fakes in their collection without even knowing it. Even buying from trusted vendors is no guarantee, although it is better than buying from random sites and shops...

So you're saying buying from Rob is a crap shoot???

[saintsmokealot]

Could be? No this is bad!!!

[shlomo]

So you're saying buying from Rob is a crap shoot???

yes, exactly....

[Moogypug]

All I could hope for these days is to purchase from a diligent honest vendor and pray that it's real. Other than that, I feel everything is a crapshoot.

[jeremyk]

Wow those r impressive look like the real deal

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[helix]

I will have to disagree with you on that one. Currently China has thousands of factories for the same product. As a buyer you can choose from all different kind of qualities. If you want cheap you will get chep, if you want descent you can certainly get descent quality. Even if is made in China, lots of products get manufacuterd based on the "Main Factory/Retailer/Wholeseller" specifications. Hope you get what I am trying to say here. .

Thing is that corporate and individual GREED is what fuels low cost low quality production/manufacturing from China so shame on them.

[cigcars]

What?! Where do you live that p/o's are even allowed to supply their own items??? Thats absurd.

They buy and carry their own backup service weapons often. At least in my department you're only issued one pair of cuffs, you can try to ask for flexcuffs (plastic slip ties so to speak) for spares, but I've never heard of a complaint or official protest about enterprising folks getting even at their own expense additional equipment. It's done here in the States.

[shlomo]

They buy and carry their own backup service weapons often. At least in my department you're only issued one pair of cuffs, you can try to ask for flexcuffs (plastic slip ties so to speak) for spares, but I've never heard of a complaint or official protest about enterprising folks getting even at their own expense additional equipment. It's done here in the States.

Ok, but I would assume there must be guidelines as to what is acceptable and what is not.....?

[Habana Mike]

They buy and carry their own backup service weapons often. At least in my department you're only issued one pair of cuffs, you can try to ask for flexcuffs (plastic slip ties so to speak) for spares, but I've never heard of a complaint or official protest about enterprising folks getting even at their own expense additional equipment. It's done here in the States.

Ok, but I would assume there must be guidelines as to what is acceptable and what is not.....?

Like Made in USA?

Still wondering what cigcars and her friend were doing with the handcuffs when they had these problems. Someone sounds a little frustrated by the ordeal

[Habana Mike]

Our favorite purveyor of fake cigar boxes (and liquor bottles!) has just raised a ton of capital and awareness. Yikes!

(Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holding (BABA.N) priced its initial public offering at $68 a share, the top end of the expected range, raising $21.8 billion on Thursday, in the latest sign of strong investor appetite for the Chinese e-commerce juggernaut.

At that price, the IPO, one of the largest-ever, would give Alibaba a market valuation of $167.6 billion, surpassing American corporate icons from Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) to Boeing Co (BA.N). The offering also vaults it atop U.S. e-commerce rivals like Amazon (AMZN.O) and eBay (EBAY.O) and gives it more financial firepower to expand in the United States and other markets.

“I’d put them (Alibaba) in a class of Facebook and Google with the scale they have, growth prospects and profitability," said Scot Wingo, CEO of e-commerce software provider ChannelAdvisor. "There’s a scarcity value there.”

Based on the amount raised so far, Alibaba's IPO is the third-largest ever behind Agricultural Bank of China Ltd's (601288.SS) record $22.1 billion listing in 2010 and ICBC's (601398.SS) $22 billion flotation in 2006.

If underwriters exercise an option to sell more shares, as many expect, Alibaba's will surpass both Chinese lenders to become the largest-ever. Alibaba and certain other shareholders also granted underwriters a separate 30-day option to buy up to an additional 48 million shares.

Alibaba's revenue surged 46 percent in the April to June quarter on strong gains in its mobile business, with net income attributable to its shareholders nearly tripling to $1.99 billion, or 84 cents a share.

Ma, who founded the company in a one-bedroom apartment, will have a paper fortune worth some $14 billion, vaulting him into the ranks of tech billionaires like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. The deal is also expected to make millionaires out of a substantial chunk of the company's managers, software engineers and other staff.

[cigardude]

all the "knock off" products we have ever purchased from China through our company have been second rate (mostly stainless steel fittings, valves etc.). Once bit, twice shy....we have a policy now to never purchase from China.

[Philski]

A lot depends on supply chain, quality control and manufacturer management. There's a lot of quality stuff being made in China for Western firms, but it does involve a lot of effort to ensure you get what you want.

[Habana Mike]

Cracking down?

China’s SAIC attacks Alibaba over illegal business

Jan 28 2015, 02:23 ET | About: Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) | By: Yoel Minkoff, SA News Editor

The Chinese government accused Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) today of not paying enough attention to illegal business conducted on its platforms.SAIC officials said many products sold on the company's e-commerce websites infringed upon trademarks, were substandard, illegally imported or even endangered public security.Although a meeting over the issue was held in July, the report wasn’t published until now to avoid affecting Alibaba’s $25B IPO, the government said.