R11 FCT Sleeve Adapter: Fakes

After the original R9 FCT sleeve (1st generation), it's been pretty difficult to tell (genuine or fakes), as these people who makes them sleeves puts in extra effort to perfect them. Fake FCT sleeves that are reproduced by counterfeiters are no longer straight bore; they are now able to adjust. So its not as easy to tell them apart anymore.
You may get a sleeve that is not straight bore and you go "oh I bought the real deal". THINK TWICE

Just a couple of weeks back my friend Nick was asking me: "Why are there china sellers on eBay selling the R11 FCT sleeves at rock bottom price? They can't be real can they?"
I replied "I am not 100% sure if its the real deal, but hey, this guy is selling over 130pcs in less than a month....compared to my pathetic 1 a day. However, I can't compete with the china sellers' prices. It would be below cost for me"
Nick was puzzled and decided to do some digging on his own. Obviously, his sales are equally as affected as mine.

My friend Nick decided to buy a sleeve from a china seller; to have a look.
When he received it, he told me there were differences. He then shipped the 'china guy' sleeve to me.
Kudos to Nick for the effort.

The first thing I looked out for were the basics:
Number printed above (production number)   CHECK
Slanted and not a straight bore sleeve             CHECK
Ok, so at first look, its decent. A casual person would be happy with this purchase.

I looked deeper into it. The differences I see are very fine. You'd need a seasoned eye to look out for it. Which proves the improvement of counterfeit technology and equipment. LOL

To look out for these: (click on pictures to enlarge)

1) The fonts were different

 Fonts are slightly different, the line is slightly thicker on the china guy sleeve

2) The color on the china guy sleeve is chili red; the real sleeve is like a glossy red
3) The china guy sleeve is slightly longer
4) The base depth line on the china guy sleeve is longer

As above, you can see that the real sleeve has more 'slant' compared to that of the china guy's

The slant determines the adjustments of the club

5) The lines on the teeth are more significant on the real sleeve and seems more 'natural and consistent

6) The top part of the FCT sleeve where it forms a curves:

The real one is deeper; china guy's sleeve is quite shallow and not as deep 

The real FCT sleeve forms a curve nicely downwards; china guy's is flat straight

 You can see that on the top part of the Real FCT sleeve where it curves, it curves downwards too; the china guy's sleeve curved surface is flat

7) I measured the depth of the sleeve (How deep your shaft goes into the sleeve)

Real sleeve: 6.957 inch

China Guy: 7.031 inch

Hope this is helpful as the old guides to spotting fake FCT sleeves from the 1st generation R9 series are no longer helpful with spotting them for the R11. The fakes are so nicely done now.

So china folks selling them at rock bottom price? Think again...and again. Unless you don't mind that 2 degrees become 1 degree. LOL!

Shoutout to Nick; thanks for your initiative on this

*After consulting a few friends, they told me that the china guy's sleeves are counterfeits.
Part of the mould of the sleeves were stolen and they tried to do their own copies. That is why although their sleeves has slant, it is minimal and not 100% accurate

An encouraging email I've received

click to enlarge

Received an encouraging email a few days ago; made my day
Although I have long forgotten about the golfwrx saga (LOL), it's nice to get such emails from time to time.

Some people are more outspoken, some prefer to keep it anonymous (I'd understand)....such emails are most welcomed and certainly makes my day. Especially so because I seem to be on a bad streak lately...stars not aligning well? HAHA

Weird copy R11 ferrule

Check this out......why is it that when people try to copy something, even as small a matter as a ferrule, they can't get it right?
LOL!

2011 Taylormade R11 FCT Sleeves

Final complete versions of the Taylormade R11 FCT sleeves with ferrule

there's another hybrid sleeve for the Rescue '11 club... will write about that another day


Pictures (left = .350) (right = TP .335)

 Number '3' on .350 and number '7' on TP .335

Titleist 910 Surefit shaft sleeves: Getting it right this time

i realize my camera sucks

Hah! Always knew this day would come - sooner rather than later

I also learnt today that there are actually many versions of these sleeves that Titleist made, just like Taylormade. There are sleeves with different adjustability and there's even tour sleeves! I believe the sleeves for the Drivers and fairway woods are different too, and sources told me that theres .335  .350 and .370. Interesting!

CONTACT ME for info if you need any.

Taylormade R11 - FCT Sleeves

Pictures are up! On sale on ebay now!

Adjusts lie and loft

No longer adjusts face angle as we now have the ASP plates to work on that aspect

Ebay item number: 150531245694

*Please take note that for the R11 FCT sleeves, there will be right handed and left handed sleeves

Final released version of R11 sleeves here

R11 FCT sleeves

The R11 FCT sleeves for now I know, are available in 3 options:
.335
.350
Hybrid .370


So, it means there will be a new hybrid coming too! YEAH! Im a hybrid fanatic.

R11 uses new FCT sleeves

Oh my God!

The R11 will feature another kind of FCT sleeve again!

Taylormade fans are complaining already...

Its just a ferrule, chill out!

Interesting, a buyer asked me, if the ferrules I were selling for the 2010 FCT sleeves were meant for a .335 or a .350?

I replied 'it fits both', as I have personally tested it out.

Came a reply that another vendor mentioned mine was just an OEM.

Laugh Out Loud!

Who is this 'other vendor'? It leads me to wonder...

well, the truth is yes, there are 2 sizes, but I took a .335 and tested it on a .350, it fits perfectly, so what gives? The Minimum Quantity for me to bring these in is 2000pcs.....I'd rather order 2000pcs of a size, rather than to commit 4000pcs for 2 sizes, you know?

Anyway seriously, its just a piece of plastic so chill. (but make sure it does not break when u squeeze it....cos only a genuine one can withstand the pressure...only then you will judge for yourself if mine is an OEM or a real deal)

Chao!

2010 Taylormade Supertri FCT sleeves (Fakes, refurbished vs Genuine)

So, I wrote articles to spot fake FCT sleeves for the older FCT sleeves. Now that there's a newer more sophisticated FCT sleeve for the 2010 Supertri, the fakes are out.
Well, I have in my hands a fake and a refurbished. After taking some time to compare, I've made some findings....we shall compare the Fakes, Refurbished versus the Genuines.

By 'refurbished' ....let me explain what I mean. These are the FCT sleeves that are made of the same mould taken from the Taylormade factory. They are produced outside with that same mould. These FCT sleeves are better than the fakes, because they are adjustable....BUT are they done up to the exact specs? We would not know for sure, as long as the words (L, R, N, NU) are printed slightly off...even 0.01 degrees off, the angles that we play on our drivers will all be messed up some way or another. Some people may not mind....the Refurbished sleeves are much cheaper than the Genuine ones....but then some people are selling refurbished sleeves as genuines, and people buy them without knowing, afterall they look so similar. Pictures says a thousand words:

(Do not worry if you find the pictures too small. At the end of this page I will put up a link where you can view the big pictures)


So, we will be comparing 3 kinds of 2010 FCT sleeves here:
1) Genuine - 100% Taylormade (same as those installed on your Taylormade clubs)
2) Refurbished (made from the same mould, adjustable but may not be accurate)
3) Fakes (just replicas, not adjustable at all. Straight bore all the way)

We can see from the above picture, the 3 kinds of sleeves. Refurbished and genuine sleeves have tilt (which means they're adjustable)....the fake one is kinda straight. Also notice the very obvious difference in teeth groove on the fake (boxed in yellow)

Putting the refurbished and genuine sleeve side by side, its hard to tell any difference right?

Well I had the 2 in my hands and when I looked at it, the refurbished sleeve is one tone slightly brighter. However, this difference in color is NOT easy to tell. It really is very very close!

I noticed that on the refurbished sleeve, the line goes down way more than the genuine. Again, very close! Another picture below:

The fake sleeve are easy to tell by the teeth groove, also the hole for the screw to lock is red (for the fake). Pictured below:

I think this would be my pick for 'how to easily tell refurbished from genuines'. On the black part where the R, L, N, NU words are, you should see horizontal fine lines across....almost like fine laser machine prints. I looked through the refurbished one under the magnifying glass...it does not have it.

I notice that the paint tend to 'spill over' near the screw hole too.

Another look at the difference in length of the lines. Left is genuine, right is refurbished.

The R is different (font)...very close again. The gap for the genuine one is much smaller.

So, refurbished sleeves are adjustable, and 99.9% of buyers will not be able to tell them apart. Well the question is, how accurate are they made? Like I said, as long as the L, R, N and NU are printed slightly off, even 0.01 degrees off.....it changes everything.

I hope this helps.

Some may ask why on earth do I spend time doing this? Well, the answer is simple. I get questions everyday from buyers comparing me with other sellers on eBay. They say that my price is expensive - compared to the rest out there. People need to know you get what you pay for. Well especially now, when there is such a thing as 'refurbished sleeves'...well I am not sure if refurbished is the right word.....my vocab book is not working right now....haha, 5AM and I am writing this....brain freeze. If you guys can think of the right word, let me know.

Oh by the way, I only sell genuine sleeves. I am in no way tempted to go the refurbished route, although I can make more profits. LOL. Its hard to build a reputation, and harder to keep it clean. I won't risk it.

LINK to enjoy bigger pictures:

(click on these small pictures to enlarge. It will take you to photobucket website to view the pictures. Over there, you can click on the picture again for extra zoom)

2010 Taylormade R9 Supertri FCT Sleeves & Ferrules

So I've been selling the 2010 R9 Supertri FCT sleeves for almost 2 months now...I have been receiving a lot of emails from buyers telling me that the FCT sleeves I sell looks weird, or is different from the ones fixed on the supertri driver in retail stores. Some even mentioned that my sleeves were fake.

Well, fret not, my FCT sleeves are 100% genuine (as usual) LOL. The part that makes it look weird for you guys, is the ferrules.

The 2010 FCT sleeves are much more hollow at the black part, thats how the FCT sleeve is. What you see in retail stores, is the ferrules covering over the FCT sleeves. It makes it look like a piece of FCT sleeve itself, causing you guys to be confused.

Do not worry for I have the ferrules. I must say in advance, they are not cheap. These are not easy to get at all, and are so limited....in fact I have more FCT sleeves than ferrules, and I know, its ridiculous right? Come on, its just a piece of plastic ferrule! Its just another way of Taylormade controlling the market. I will probably be listing them on eBay sold together with a FCT sleeve......(for now).

Until I can get a lot more of these, then I will sell them separately. As of now, these are scarce!

Cheers!

*** Additional info on these ferrules here:

http://iheartburner.blogspot.com/2010/03/deeper-look-into-r9-supertri-ferrules.html