Spotting a Fake Swaro Scope

[PhillyB]

Hi all.
There is a BNIB Swaro compact STC for sale near me for a reasonably good price and I am in the market.

I have always had less quality optics, so it wouldn’t take much to look better than what I am familiar with.

Is there a way I can spot a fake? Are there fake scopes out there?

I am excited to improve my glass game, but want to be careful before I drop some cash.

Thanks for any help.

 

[atmat]

Simplest thing is ask for serial number and verify current owner with Swaro if registered.

 

[fmyth]

MidwayUSA has the ATC 56 HD for $1896 right now. https://ads.midwayusa.com/product/1...3SuRX9X1dL1z7acjpiP7B_dmgi-0M4CCcollnbJXWHoDc

 

[atmat]

MidwayUSA has the ATC 56 HD for $1896 right now. https://ads.midwayusa.com/product/1...3SuRX9X1dL1z7acjpiP7B_dmgi-0M4CCcollnbJXWHoDc

What a good price. Super tempted haha

 

[PhillyB]

MidwayUSA has the ATC 56 HD for $1896 right now. https://ads.midwayusa.com/product/1...3SuRX9X1dL1z7acjpiP7B_dmgi-0M4CCcollnbJXWHoDc

Weird. It shows $2,699 for me

 

[fmyth]

Weird. It shows $2,699 for me

There was 1 remaining when I posted. Guess it sold before you clicked.

 

[fmyth]

Weird. It shows $2,699 for me

I'd call them tomorrow and see if they will honor the price.

 

[RockAndSage]

It's pretty hard to get screwed on high-end glass if you buy new, from an authorized dealer - the peace of mind of that few hundred dollars of increased cost over "used LNIB" is worth the price at that level if you can't examine the optic in person first.

 

[Laelkhunter]

7 month old post but I always wondered about calling Swaro with the serial number to confirm it's legit. If the person who makes the scope and passes it off as a genuine optic copies the serial # off of a legit optic the person calling Swaro will be giving them a genuine serial # even though it is on a fake one. Of course Swaro is going to say it is a good serial # but they are only confirming that the serial # was actually placed on one of their optics. Without them inspecting the actual optic, they can't confirm it's genuine, so you are really still taking a chance buying used.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

7 month old post but I always wondered about calling Swaro with the serial number to confirm it's legit. If the person who makes the scope and passes it off as a genuine optic copies the serial # off of a legit optic the person calling Swaro will be giving them a genuine serial # even though it is on a fake one. Of course Swaro is going to say it is a good serial # but they are only confirming that the serial # was actually placed on one of their optics. Without them inspecting the actual optic, they can't confirm it's genuine, so you are really still taking a chance buying used.

"ask for serial number and verify current owner with Swaro if registered."

In the prior advice take note of the bold part. My swaro stuff is registered and the used item I have bought was registered (and serviced/refreshed by swaro prior to the sale), the used owner has to actually release ownership with swaro for it to transfer to you. If the registered name matches the seller (esp. if they ever went in for cleaning/service) then its another layer of verification.

That said yes everything is a risk.

 

[SikaSeeker]

There is no such thing as fake swarovski spotters, never heard of any at least. Fairly easy to tell from fit and finish. There are zeiss rifle scopes I have seen being fakes, but rifle scopes are less of a niche item.

Fake rolexes exist because theres a massive potential market, some of the "clones" now cost a fair bit but they are v hard to tell apart unless you know a little.

 

[betelgeuse]

Maybe look through it !

 

[NRA4LIFE]

A good way to tell is if Swarovski is spelled 中文学习

 

[Bubblehide]

There are tons of Trijicon fakes, especially the RMR. At this point in time, I'd presume most high end optics have fakes being made and sold as authentic.

 

[SikaSeeker]

thats because a mass market exists. High end binoculars and spotters are a fairly niche item, the cost to make a convincing fake wouldn't be worth it. I know a zeiss tech who has never heard of a zeiss bino fake; even old porros.

There was strong speculation at a time but it emerged zeiss Jena simply subcontracted out a factory in Japan to be sold in discount stores. There was huge demand for them at the time.