When I was a youngster my uncle and I built a toy town in the sandlot near the house. We used to play there with our toy trucks and road equipment. One day we were extremely agitated to discover our town had been taken over by a nest of bumble bees! They ran us off quite smartly. My uncle and I conspired how to rid ourselves of these unwanted guests and came up with an idea. The next day we stealthily approached with badminton rackets in hand. Soon as the bees swarmed out, the battle was on. We swatted away fiercely, killing many of them, somehow without getting stung. The bees relocated and we all got along after that.
That’s how I feel about the plethora of Pakistani knife makers swarming Ebay™ with copies of knives, advertised using my photos. I have written both the makers and Ebay™ about the impropriety of this, but it is useless. Ebay™ doesn’t care, why should they, they are getting paid. The overseas knife makers politely apologize and just keep on doing it. There are no copyrights or patents on Commando Knives that I know of. But the use of other people’s photos with the maker’s marks of other makers is at the very least disreputable activity. The problem is, most of the makers are producing fairly good quality knives for ridiculously low prices and they will sell.
To explore this burgeoning market I ordered a knife, clearly and inappropriately advertised, as a “Randall Guardian”. I entered an offer of under $100 dollars and “won” the knife. Communication from the seller was good and the shipping time was acceptable. The knife I received is of impeccable quality and identical to a Randall. Now, Randall lists this same knife for over $400. A third-party dealer will sell you one for over $600, if you don’t want to wait for Randall. Now who are the crooks here? Greed has driven the stampede to the black-market and I totally understand why people are buying the counterfeits.
Pakistan (previously part of India) has been a cutlery center for centuries. It is no wonder they can crank out good knives at such low costs. When I take my car for service the dealer charges me $150/hour! I don’t think the wages in India/Pakistan are comparable. Worker’s benefits? Seriously! Insurance and retirement? I think we all know why everything costs so much “Made in the USA” and so little coming from other countries. It comes down to what the market will bear. It’s the old supply and demand thing we learned about in high school. So the moral of this story is; I am going to stop trying to swat the proliferation of Pakistani knifemakers and get on with other more important things.
That’s how I feel about the plethora of Pakistani knife makers swarming Ebay™ with copies of knives, advertised using my photos. I have written both the makers and Ebay™ about the impropriety of this, but it is useless. Ebay™ doesn’t care, why should they, they are getting paid. The overseas knife makers politely apologize and just keep on doing it. There are no copyrights or patents on Commando Knives that I know of. But the use of other people’s photos with the maker’s marks of other makers is at the very least disreputable activity. The problem is, most of the makers are producing fairly good quality knives for ridiculously low prices and they will sell.
To explore this burgeoning market I ordered a knife, clearly and inappropriately advertised, as a “Randall Guardian”. I entered an offer of under $100 dollars and “won” the knife. Communication from the seller was good and the shipping time was acceptable. The knife I received is of impeccable quality and identical to a Randall. Now, Randall lists this same knife for over $400. A third-party dealer will sell you one for over $600, if you don’t want to wait for Randall. Now who are the crooks here? Greed has driven the stampede to the black-market and I totally understand why people are buying the counterfeits.
Pakistan (previously part of India) has been a cutlery center for centuries. It is no wonder they can crank out good knives at such low costs. When I take my car for service the dealer charges me $150/hour! I don’t think the wages in India/Pakistan are comparable. Worker’s benefits? Seriously! Insurance and retirement? I think we all know why everything costs so much “Made in the USA” and so little coming from other countries. It comes down to what the market will bear. It’s the old supply and demand thing we learned about in high school. So the moral of this story is; I am going to stop trying to swat the proliferation of Pakistani knifemakers and get on with other more important things.
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