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autolocksmiths
Let’s all buy some
rip-offs, some fakes,
some bogus goods...
Victor Southern of
Lockdecoders Ltd
understandably has strong
views on this issue that affects
just about everyone involved
in this industry. In this article
for The Locksmith journal, he
explains precisely why every
locksmith and indeed, the
whole UK industry should be
seriously concerned about
the impact of cheap, inferior,
fake copies sold with the
intention to deceive.
If you were to ask the average
British locksmith if he would like
to buy some fake or rip-off locks
he would be rather horrified.
He would probably ask: ‘Why
should I buy and resell cheap
inferior copies when I can sell
the good stuff of known quality
and sleep at night’?
No doubt you, the honest
locksmith, will know some
charlatans who will indeed
install the rubbish and you no
doubt view them with some
contempt. Quite rightly so,
because by doing so, they
are putting their customer’s
house, car or possessions at
unnecessary risk.
A bit further up the scale we
find the booming market for
72
THE NOV/DEC 2014 ISSUE
SPONSORED BY DAVENPORT BURGESS
fake and facsimile locksmith
equipment made in China.
There is an avalanche of it,
with many copies appearing
under different names, mostly
calculated to deceive. There
is virtually no original design
or research in our industry
coming out of China. They
rely upon copying, more
or less accurately. Some
manufacturing cost is also
saved by using cheaper
materials or cutting some
safety features. I spoke a few
weeks ago to a locksmith who
sincerely believed that he
could buy a Miracle A9 from
China for $1000 less than our
bare manufacturing cost at our
South Korean factory!
Those of us who are in
the field of development of
equipment will know how
staggeringly costly it is to do
original research and design.
That is not on the scale of
getting a new medical drug to
the market - but since most
of us are far smaller than ‘the
Big Pharma’ it is essential
,
that we can recover that cost
eventually. That has to be
done by collecting a bit back
from each machine or device
sold and that means that
hundreds of sales need to be
made. I know of three British
inventors who did their boots
simply trying to get a device
to the marketable stage .That
becomes ever more difficult
to achieve as the Chinese
leap on every new device
and start to deconstruct it.
I should add that we are
not the only industry that is
affected - it goes right through
the technology sphere. None
of us can afford the legal
protection that giants such
as General Motors or Pfizer
Pharmaceuticals can.
‘No hope of technical
back-up, spares or
resale value – let
alone finance’
There are further problems
when you buy these pirate
machines and those may
well directly affect you – the
working locksmith:
• You have no hope of getting
any sort of technical back-up.
• There will be no UK stock of
spares.
• There will be few, if any,
updates, so your equipment
gradually becomes almost
obsolete.
• Your real landed cost may
quite different to what you
thought it would be.
• No lease finance will be
available. Banks don’t
finance dross.
• There will be no resale value
worth talking about.
Quite often we hear from
people with these fakes
who want to buy dedicated
supplies, even spares from us.
They are startled to learn that
we have no intention at all of
assisting them.
Then there is the effect
on the industry as a whole.
Modern locksmiths are totally
dependent on being able
to cope with new security
technology. If the committed
developers stop investing
in new research and design,
then your entire liv [Z