Cheap ZED's on Alibaba.com

US$4500.00

My O My! How can this be a fake one, or I can see everyone buying their new machines from the USA.
surely theses machines haven't been out long enough to reverse engineer and copy. This must be an out the back door job.
so to me at least, this is where they should be priced anyway, I reckon.
ZED on Alibaba.com

What makes you think there the real deal and not a fake, it's easy to cut n paste a picture, it sure does not mean the one you buy from them would look like this and work like a genuine one, well it may work better.

As parts for these detectors are probably made on the cheap in other countries it would be of no surprise that counterfeit ones surface quite quickly after its release, once the plans are supplied to parts to manufacturers of components they can pretty much do as they like with them, maybe not produce them themselves but sell the plans on to other shifty makers.

I see also that there are other machines like the sdc2300 and so on for sale as well, all the more reason to buy from a dealer or if privately only if the seller can supply you purchase and warranty documents.

The saddest thing I have seen is people that buy dodgy machines are usually dodgy themselves, they don't throw them in the bin when they realise they are fake but the scumbags on sell them to other poor unsuspecting and inexperienced buyers who don't know what they are looking at, then they waste time trying to work the thing, and then probably on sell it again to recover their money and it goes on.

The other thing that happens is they also on sell parts off them, like coils that don't work as they should, have seen many coils and other parts for the 5000 etc. on Ebay that appear not quite right, but until you have it in your hand its pretty hard to tell the difference so you can be easily caught out.

au-fever

au-fever wrote:hard to tell the difference so you can be easily caught out.

I'm hearing ya, I'm just surprised how quick the Chinese are and it's a shame our consumers can't be protected against counterfeits (if thats what they are because if they are not, then the mark-up on the ML product sold in Oz made by the parent company is on the verge of taking the proverbial).

I wonder how long it will take for the other known brands to bring out their comparison machines with the same or buy the coil/signal technology from ML to produce Chinese machines too.

The average PT prospector would need find around 300 1g nuggets before the Zed pays for itself (that can be a lot of digging).

And they've probably got just a simple VLF board in em just like the fake 45/5's.
They can whack em out real quick coz they prob already had the 3030 shell molded
from rippin off the 3030, just add a dif logo and boom there we go.
No doubt some will be taken in by em just like the other fakes.
Buy from a registered ML dealership and ya got no worries.

Pete

None of the Minelab detectors are made in australia any more. They are all made in Asia. I have seen a gpx 5000 that was from China work just as well as a authentic one. Minelab did get hacked about 2 years ago and loose all there diagrams and programs to the Chinese. There was a documentary about it on four corners

I worked in China and looked at many of the fakes, Whites and Minelab, I'm no expert, but they were so fake they were almost laughable.
No, they don't work as well as an authentic one, not even close to the cheapest VLF most of us would buy for beach detecting with the kids.
Chinese will only make the first molds of these machines if there is an existing market, usually someone who has bought a container load.
That container load wouldn't be for their domestic market, so my guess is it either sent to Africa where it is easier to trick the locals, or a large black market group who then eBay them from outside.
So, who is the bigger crook, the producer or the end seller?
China is not as corrupt as it once was, and as free trade agreements, and more internation trade happens, patent laws (on general products) become more adhered to.
Check this out, some funny comments also, very funny.
https://youtu.be/f3Mx9INi6I0
GD

I'll stir the pot. I wonder if the chinese fakes work better

Bignuggs wrote:I'll stir the pot.  I wonder if the chinese fakes work better  

Hmmm not sure but they are $10,000 cheaper

au-fever

Check out the gold bar the bloke used the in the YouTube link I put up to test his Minelab.
I'll put 50 bucks on that being fake?

yes saw that too gold diver, looked dubious to say the least. note that the machine hardly murmured when it was passed over the coil at only a few inches. good machine that one. NOT!

This is a bit long winded but definitely worth the watch for a real inside view.