# Surefire SW02 clones on eBay - A public service announcement



## 880arm (Apr 1, 2013)

I don't know if it's OK to post this here but I would feel guilty if I didn't at least try to pass it along. Mods I apologize if this is inappropriate or in the wrong place.

There have been a LOT of Surefire SW02 clones showing up on eBay lately. They are being sold both individually and packaged with genuine Surefire lights. The seller is very careful with his wording and does not misrepresent them as Surefire products but anyone not reading the description carefully could draw the wrong conclusion. I contacted the seller and he replied very promptly and confirmed that the switches he is selling are not genuine SW02's.

When listed by themselves, the switches are usually pictured in front of a stack of Surefire A2L boxes and are described as "custom tailcap switch for Surefire 6P C2 Z2 C3" or something similar. 

When listed as a package with lights the description is usually something like "Real issue Surefire M961 9 volt system" followed by "Come with a rare custom tailcap . . . ."

At least one of the listings goes on to say the tailcap is not from Surefire but others leave its origin a little more ambiguous. For example in one listing he states that the tailcap comes as a gift and he has no idea what it is.

I'm not posting this to slam clones, in general, nor this seller. The subject of clones has been covered fully in other threads and for the most part, I can't say the seller has truly misrepresented anything other than maybe on one listing. However, he has taken every opportunity to present the switches in a way that could make some believe they are genuine. I would feel terrible if I didn't say anything and someone on this forum purchased one of the clones thinking it was the real thing.

If the mods allow this to remain and it is deemed acceptable, I can post a link to this seller's page. However, he shouldn't be hard to find if you frequently browse the Surefire listings on eBay.


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## JCD (Apr 1, 2013)

Is there an easy way to tell the clones/counterfeits apart from the real thing (aside from the picture background or auction description)?


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## rmteo (Apr 1, 2013)

I'd say the price is a sure giveaway. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.


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## Rat (Apr 2, 2013)

JCD said:


> Is there an easy way to tell the clones/counterfeits apart from the real thing (aside from the picture background or auction description)?




+1


Sadly he has been selling a few the one's he sold for $75 Buy it now have sold. If anybody purchased one you can claim its a fake with PayPal after all he did not tell you it was a fake SW02. I did this years ago with some fake LEDlenser lights. I got my money back and keeped the fakes.

The giveaway for me was his wording also not saying it was a Surefire tailcap plus the wording on his other tailcap listings like the Z48 listing *"its auction is for ONE real surefire issue tailcap"* The key word being real.

The problem is if people do not know that they have purchased a fake than could sell it at a later date as a real Surefire SW02. 

The rubber rim looked a little thinker but I do not know what the real difference is as I have never seen one in the flesh. It would be good to know if anybody knows. 
In the past fake stuff has not got the same quality HA finish.

cheers


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## JCD (Apr 2, 2013)

Rat said:


> The problem is if people do not know that they have purchased a fake than could sell it at a later date as a real Surefire SW02.



This is what I'm most concerned with.


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## HotWire (Apr 2, 2013)

I checked the auction site and found what looked like real sw02s. I found no clones. I have a few sw01s and a few sw02s. If you find a brand new one.... it's likely a clone. Mine all came from the marketplace or Surefire dealers.... back in the day. Fakes would look brand new with no scratches or dings. Mine all have marks--some better than others. The real prize is the sw01 in my opinion.


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## akula88 (Apr 2, 2013)

Please give us some additional heads up. I tried doing a search for 'Surefire tailcap' or 'surefire sw02' but nothing came up. Thanks for keeping us on our toes.


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## Silgt (Apr 2, 2013)

Search "Surefire tailcaps" should list out his auction.

I saw this yesterday and carefully read his wording...cheeky bugger I'll say. Problem is his fake SW02 has already went past $81.00 as of 24 hours ago. Have not bothered to check further as this is a seller I would avoid at all cost

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk 2


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## Rat (Apr 2, 2013)

HotWire said:


> I checked the auction site and found what looked like real sw02s. I found no clones. I have a few sw01s and a few sw02s. If you find a brand new one.... it's likely a clone. Mine all came from the marketplace or Surefire dealers.... back in the day. Fakes would look brand new with no scratches or dings. Mine all have marks--some better than others. The real prize is the sw01 in my opinion.




You could still purchase a new Surefire SW02 tailcap in mint condition so we need a better way to tell a fake from the real deal. There are many out there that people have never used. Let’s say I was to sell one of my SW02 tailcaps all mine are mint most sealed in the SF packs when I got them one still is. 

He has sold all the ones on their own they had no mention of not being Surefire so it was to fool people I am sure with very selective wording. He is still selling five lights with the tailcaps I did not check all his sales but the one I did he now states this about the switch *“additional "click-on" tailcap come with it as a GIFT. no idea what is it .Please don't ask...anyway good for "LEGO"and have fun”*
Ok under the right of not being ripped off I will link the seller sorry if I am doing something wrong http://www.ebay.com/sch/huilingye19...h=item3f23a6d54c&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

Looks like the springs in the fakes have a shiny look the Surefire SW02 are matte looking. 
Check this thread out here http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?315919-Surefire-SW02-clones&highlight=fake+sw02

A sale thread for fakes http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/sh...at-AA-18650-Surefire-P60-incan-All-30-or-less

cheers


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## 880arm (Apr 2, 2013)

rmteo said:


> I'd say the price is a sure giveaway. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.



The prices have been consistently lower than what "genuine" (or what I would perceive as genuine) SW02's have been selling for in the past which leads me to believe that most Surefire collectors have been passing on them. However, as mentioned before, several have sold for $75-80 which is more than what I would expect most people to knowingly pay for a clone. That makes me suspect that at least some people have bought them thinking they are the real thing. By my count, he as sold at least 14 of the fakes, either separately or with lights, over the past couple of weeks.

Like Rat mentioned, it does not take much of a stretch of the imagination to envision some of these fakes showing up in the Marketplace being sold by folks who believe they are the real article. In general, I don't have a problem with the concept of clones, particularly of discontinued or obsolete items, as long as there is some way to readily distinguish them from the real thing. The SW02's are a pretty special case because they are one of the few higher dollar Surefire parts that is not marked with the Surefire brand. Not that branding alone is enough to stop some counterfeiters but it is more of a disincentive because it is sure to draw attention.

The more I think about this the more it bothers me that I hesitated a day or two to start this thread. I have been frustrated with eBay in the past for their apparent unwillingness to take action against misleading listings so I sent an e-mail to Surefire this morning. I do not know whether there is anything they can do to influence eBay to remove this seller or if they are that interested in clones of discontinued products.


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## Mags (Apr 2, 2013)

Same seller has also listed a Surefire KL6 clone as well as supposedly genuine Z49s. Honestly the anodizing on the Z49 looks darker than the finish I have seen on other tailcaps. I would steer clear of him.


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## BIGLOU (Apr 2, 2013)

FYI I saw Rats links to the sellers eBay these look like they are made by a Chinese manufacturer by the name of FireKylin they make a fake/clone L5, an L6 Porky and a LX1 (which was never made by SF) I have a real and a clone SW02. I got the real one here brand new in package and a clone here a couple years ago. They are totally identical to each other to the naked eye the only difference is the switch like Rat pointed out. The clone one I have works great. Here is a link to the clone sales thread look at photo of clone switch and then compare to your "real one" and see the difference. BTW I dont know if these are still available and horizonseeker is a great guy to deal with. http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?241622-FS-Surefire-SW02-Clones-30-shipped


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## Silgt (Apr 3, 2013)

Gosh...now he is selling a fake L6...when will it end? :shakehead


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## Mags (Apr 3, 2013)

Honestly, the 1xAA LX2 model looks pretty cool. I'd grab it if it were maybe half the price...


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## akula88 (Apr 5, 2013)

This is really worrying. I also saw some weaponlights (with KX2 heads) being sold by the same seller. I have noted that weapon lights were also being cloned. I think this was an offshoot of the airsoft industry, where most (if not all) AR-15/rifles are being rampantly copied by PRChina manufacturers. Differentiating them from the the original / genuine takes a bit of scrutiny, and in this age of online sales -- then it becomes a hassle. _When will this end?_


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## 880arm (Apr 5, 2013)

akula88 said:


> This is really worrying. I also saw some weaponlights (with KX2 heads) being sold by the same seller. I have noted that weapon lights were also being cloned. I think this was an offshoot of the airsoft industry, where most (if not all) AR-15/rifles are being rampantly copied by PRChina manufacturers. Differentiating them from the the original / genuine takes a bit of scrutiny, and in this age of online sales -- then it becomes a hassle. _When will this end?_



It's really frustrating as well. I flagged several of his listings containing the bogus (as confirmed by the seller) SWO2's as fraudulent using eBay's reporting system but nothing has been done about them.


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## Mags (Apr 6, 2013)

I reported a number of his items as well like the fake l6 and weaponlights. Hes actually very careful with his wording and I wouldn't be surprised if Ebay doesnt catch it.


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## Rat (Apr 9, 2013)

Mags said:


> I reported a number of his items as well like the fake l6 and weaponlights. Hes actually very careful with his wording and I wouldn't be surprised if Ebay doesnt catch it.



Looks what he is trying to do today. Pass them off as Surefire weapon parts.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUREFIRE-WE...780?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f23d40f64


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## brucejiang (Apr 9, 2013)

By the way, please note, recently there are some clone SUREFIRE M300A on ebay with SN A03337, they even come with original surefire packaging and paperwork! Just note, if the M300A comes with A03337, probably a clone!


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## eg1977 (May 7, 2013)

I wouldn't be surprised if the ebayer seller has seen this thread.


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## chnzwh (May 8, 2013)

It appears that eBay seller is putting on another SW02 clone again.

Funny that he explicitly said he will not ship to China (in both English and Chinese), while he is a Chinese himself.


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## el_Pablo (May 8, 2013)

chnzwh said:


> It appears that eBay seller is putting on another SW02 clone again.
> 
> Funny that he explicitly said he will not ship to China (in both English and Chinese), while he is a Chinese himself.



Are you sure that he is chinese?


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## chnzwh (May 8, 2013)

el_Pablo said:


> Are you sure that he is chinese?




Yes, by judging from his name and his use of Chinese.


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## 880arm (May 8, 2013)

According to the listings, the products are located in New York . . . for what that's worth.


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## BillSWPA (May 9, 2013)

I see that the original poster has already notified Surefire, but I'll point out for anyone who does not know that counterfeits can be reported to Surefire through their website, here: http://www.surefire.com/report-counterfeits

Surefire has been known to monitor this forum, and on one occasion that I can recall contacted a member for details about counterfeits reported by that member. While I am not affiliated with Surefire and cannot say what they will do, I recall that this member was well taken care of by Surefire.

A few years ago, Ebay was sued by Tiffany's over the alleged sale of counterfeit Tiffany's goods on Ebay. The court opinion in that case described the significant procedures Ebay has in place for dealing with counterfeit goods. Their procedures do require intellectual property owners to police their own intellectual property and report suspected counterfeits to Ebay, However, taken as a whole, the procedures were significant enough so that Ebay was found not liable. If anyone from Surefire sees this, I encourage monitoring Ebay sales and contacting Ebay as appropriate.


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## TMedina (May 9, 2013)

It's also not hard to spot some of the fakes: "Made in China" is a pretty good indicator.


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## chnzwh (May 9, 2013)

TMedina said:


> It's also not hard to spot some of the fakes: "Made in China" is a pretty good indicator.



Well that's debatable:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?357749-Surefire-made-in-China

:nana:

PS: Is Rat seeing this?


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## 880arm (May 20, 2013)

eg1977 said:


> I wouldn't be surprised if the ebayer seller has seen this thread.



I would say he has. In one of his latest listings where he is selling a "20 years old still brand new in box,sw01 is nowhere to find today" he has included this message at the bottom of the listing . . .

_"Im a combat survive JOBLESS veteran, you think thats funny?? . . . . and please stop the BS on candlepower about me, please.Ialmost die my life for the great great country . . . ." _*(Edited for brevity)

*​I don't know his history or what his life experiences have been but I must say, there are only a few things I dislike more than a cheat. 1) someone who abuses or takes advantage of others who can't help themselves, 2) someone who falsely seeks sympathy from others, and 3) a thief.

This cat is going for the grand slam. :ironic:


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## marklanchafan (Jun 8, 2013)

I know that this seller is a chinese. He bought some fake/ clone from China and sell them on ebay to deceive. He also claimed that he was a navy in US. He buy and sell and raise the price in market. Is he a good veteran ?


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