Bladeforums Supporting Clone Dealer

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craytab

craytab

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Edit as of 12/16/2020 10:15am: This is an edit to add the current response from admin, in order to inform new people coming into the discussion. It is my interpretation that the reason topomart is being allowed to stay is that the forum owner does not wish to evaluate what individual dealers sell on their websites, because that can be a slippery slope. While I agree with the idea behind that policy, in the real world implementation of not caring what a dealer sells, at all, it opens the door to what we are seeing here, which is a dealer that mostly sells clones directly from China. What is next? A flood of these dealers?

Looks like that if topomart does not advertise clones here on bladeforums, they will be allowed to stay. Voice your opinion. Keep the bickering out of this please.


Original post:
In this ongoing thread: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/aliexpress.1763824/ , I gave some advice that I had always thought was true here on bladeforums. In the past, I had thought we were against the selling of clones and counterfeits. It is, in fact, stated so in the rules.

Recently, a new dealer has joined our community that sells what most here would consider clones: @topomart

An example of a recent ad post here in our community:

tPTh4srh.jpg


In the various topomart ads there are blatant copies of mostly benchmades but I've also seen lion steel and pro-tech. No doubt there are more that I haven't seen, as a big brand they sell is ganzo, who is well known for copying just about every large popular manufacturer.

Now, I and others have asked why this dealer has been allowed to support our community in what appears to be in violation of the rules and against what most of us believe. Also worth noting, topomart sells clones of two of our biggest manufacturer members here: Benchmade & Spyderco.

No clear answer has been given on why topomart is still allowed to stick around. I get there have been some health concerns with Spark and he has other things that demand his attention. That said, this seems like a fairly simple call. Or have things changed? Can we no longer say that this forum is anti-clone? Should the rules be changed? Without answers to these questions, I'd like to bring the discussion out in the open. Is the fact that topomart still here the answer? I would appreciate a more clear response so I am not spreading misinformation about the forum's view on clones and clone dealers.

Spark Spark @KingMC @Boru13 @knarfeng
 
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Spark said:
We do not support the selling of clones, counterfiets or other theft of IP on this site, period. I'll be taking a look at this person's posts and if necessary will remove them from here.
Click to expand...
I agree 100% and this has been my understanding of this great forum. With that in mind, this dealer is still posting ads that link directly to his website that sells blatant copies directly from China. This is just as bad as all the well known cloner websites and Ebay, yet this guy is a supporting dealer of our community. He sells near exact copies of CRKs, not the SRM bullshit $8 version but the Land version that is an exact copy save for name and materials. Spyderco, Benchmade, and CRK are directly being ripped off by a supporting dealer.

I'm not sure what the delay is exactly. I get that life gets in the way but it has been over month. Please get this taken care of.
 
There are a lot of supporting vendors and manufacturers that add considerable value to Bladeforums...allowing Topomart to exist alongside them is a slap in the face:(
 
Hi folks,

I’ve been outspoken against the sale and manufacture of clone and homage knives. The vendor in question offers multiple knives that are stolen IP from Spyderco, Benchmade, KAI and others. This isn’t, to my understanding, ever been acceptable at Bade Forums. It’s not acceptable to me.

I understand that this may be a delicate and complicated subject. I also understand that the response from management needs to be measured and rational. I’m not advocating a boycott or a protest as the leaders of BF work through a solution. I urge all members to support management as they make this right.

Thanks for looking into this as you work to maintain the integrity of the Best Damn Knife Place on the Net!

“BDKPN” would look good on some T-shirts.

Please draw a deep line in the sand.
 
Bladeforums sure stopped private sellers, offering clones years ago. I remember people selling them here and it was shut down and put in the rules:

Fakes/Homages-
As fakes and homage items are a legal gray area and obviously hurt the hobby, no fake or homage items may be sold on the Exchange. Members may not knowingly sell unlicensed knockoffs or counterfeit versions of knives (or any other goods) based upon the designs of their legitimate owner, manufacturer or custom maker. Additionally, members may not sell any knife or item known or suspected to be other than as described in terms of its lineage and authenticity.
 
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