Vortex optics - FAKE!

[Wooly57]

I thought I would leave a little post here for people to read through after a bit of a disappointing experience for both myself and a friend on this forum. 
 

We recently both purchased Vortex optics from the same seller on this forum ( I will not mention a name and explain why later ). Both the vortex crossfire and vortex Viper were both advertised as genuine and new, both for reasonable prices for what they were advertised at. The seller had great feedback, even a moderator or two had purchased from the seller and left positive feedback.
 

the seller was not robitic and did not seem to be a scammer in any way. A deal was made for both optics and both of us WERE (past tense) very happy.
 

After both being excited we started looking and the optics on different load outs and noticed some odd things with the sights. We had a good communication with Vortex optics in USA and they looked through the adverts and the some of the sellers other adverts and suspected that they were both fake for various reasons.
 

Words were spoken with the seller and a refund was sent for the crossfire but suggested that the viper opmod looked a great condition.
 

the items arrived and vortex was contacted confirmed both were fake.
 

I had previously purchased a spitfire from a genuine seller on here and it came with everything, very good condition for used and confirmed it was real. 
 

the crossfire for people to help identify this in the future -

arrived sealed in the box, all protective covering, user manuals etc

- the paint is hard to describe but has a slight shein to it, the original is more matte coloured.

 - the dust covers for adjustment has writing and arrows internally( original does not and confirmed) the cog shaped part of the adjuster was not as prominent as the fake aswell.  

- the writing under the riser on the bottom of the optic was a different font for the serial number

- the battery tray had some minor differences with the circuit board numbers also being different, solder joints were not as clean.
-  clarity was not as clear either As suspected 

 

All in all, even vortex said it was a very good copy but they could still tell very quickly. 
 

Viper opmod identify 

 

First thing I noticed was that there was no seal on the box! There was no manual in it either and finally the rmr rail wasn’t included in the slot in the centre of the box, however it was mentioned it didn’t with the sale. 

No protective wrapping on any components, tools or battery 

 

advertised as new but the bolts had obvious signs of wear and tear 

- OPMOD only comes in FDE - this was all black 
- Viper plasti/rubber cover had no markings on it all - a genuine gas vortex logo engraved 

- OPMOD is written on the side of the Viper - this one did not have that either 

- blue tint when looking through the optic 

- writing was slightly off on the font 

- lower cover doesn’t line up perfectly with the alignment dowels at the front 

- I removed lower plate to access battery and seal had been squashed on the one corner, battery was fitted and had finger print marks on it 

- vortex confirmed to be fake for the above but also the circuit board was different to what they use, I didn’t have one to compare with 
 

please see attached photos if your interested in seeing if yours may have been miss-sold or scammed. 
 

I am not saying that this seller is a scammer or running his name through the mud, he could be genuine, he could be a really nice person and this was all a mistake but my trust in them is shattered and I wouldn’t ever purchase from them again, I would also advise that others be weary when buying a vortex!
 

I have left their name out of this for respect of the fact he ended up letting us keep both optics for £30 total. I have print screens off all our conversations and emails from Vortex optics. My friend who is on this forum also has screen shots of all of his conversations. 
 

HOWEVER… THE SELLER IS STILL ADVERTISING BOTH PRODUCTS ON HERE, EBAY AND USED AIRSOFT… LISTING HAS BEEN CHANGED TO REPLICAS ON HERE BUT SAME PRICE 
 

PLEASE BE CAREFUL ALL !! 

 

 

Edited October 30 by Wooly57
Spelling mistake

[Rogerborg]

On 30/10/2024 at 23:05, Wooly57 said:

I will not mention a name and explain why later

 

Literally tl;dr

[Cr0-Magnon]

Bought an optic on here which was advertised as genuine, checked with Vortex and they say its fake. The seller has more of the same and has since changed their ad to include the word "replica"

 

Surely you have a watertight case for "not as described" through Paypal?

[Tackle]

He's also amended his ebay listing's to show they're "high quality replicas".

Question is, how pissed are you, did you pay anything like the real steel price ?, is the quality poor ?.

If your answering yes to either of those questions then you should definitely be initiating a paypal dispute.

If it's no then your umbrage is down to the fact that you thought you were getting the genuine article, possibly at a very competitive price ?, & didn't, still grounds for a dispute if you want to.

 

Don't get me wrong, no one should be claiming kits the real deal if it's not, that's extremely naughty to say the least, buuutt some people have always been happy buying fakes if the quality is good & the price is right, whatever the product.

My comments are as a member, not as a mod, I will double check the rules & if necessary take action against the seller.

[Wooly57]

This post was to make people weary of the fact then when you buy, make sure you do your due diligence really. 
 

I have been contacted by someone who has purchased by the same seller and advised they check with vortex. 
 

I ended up getting both sights very for an extremely cheap price, a price that cost less than the cheapest for one RMR on Amazon, the copies are good, but that’s what they are! Not genuine, fakes. 
 

if they are advertised as replicas, fake etc that’s absolutely fine and let’s be honest a lot of the time we have all bought a fake eotech or a fake vortex uh1 but when it’s being advertised as genuine and have been told multiple times and now to multiple people that it’s genuine… it should not be allowed personally. Sale of counterfeit goods act….

 

Im not disgruntled by it now its been resolved and I have 2 very cheap fake sights(which I will replace when they break with genuine) but if the seller wants to carry on advertising them as genuine then more fool him in my opinion, it will be found out, negative feedback and reports to moderators from multiple sources I guess will start flooding out. 

 

Stay sharp is all I’m trying to say to avoid the seller having to refund and the buyer being very disgruntled 🙌🏼

3 hours ago, Cr0-Magnon said:

Bought an optic on here which was advertised as genuine, checked with Vortex and they say its fake. The seller has more of the same and has since changed their ad to include the word "replica"

 

Surely you have a watertight case for "not as described" through Paypal?

I would yes but as mentioned, I’m happy with the partial refund I received just wanted to make others aware of the situation so they don’t fall trap to it 

[Kieran91]

I've purchased off the same seller and turns out after them telling me it was genuine its not and was sold under false impression.