They say imitation is the highest form of a compliment, but they never mention the headache it causes. In all industries there are Innovators…. and well also Copycats; the people who like to profit on the blood sweat and tears of others. I guess its just part of business right? NO, it should not be.

In this industry there are many companies that have brought new styles and innovations together along with competition to constantly improve electronic cigarettes. Just Aspire alone has been able to set the industry standard for a great MTL tank by creating the original Nautilus. As a result, consumers enjoy a great product, and other up and coming companies can use similar templates to make great variation to different likings.

Here at Aspire Vape Co we are constantly putting funds into research, and trying to use the information we receive from forums, social media, and emails to here out complaints so we can do our best to minimize any inconvenience. We have heard it all, from leaks to vacuum lock, to odd shaped parts. After we collect information we then we go back to manufacturing department to give feedback.

However not all problems are solved in the “lab” or through quality control. We have recently received a pattern of complaints about the Cleito/Cleito Exo/Cleito 120 and other products of ours. When we checked the SKU along with other authentication measures, we were able to find out that they were in fact fakes.

As of recently a new investigation has taken place, we are piecing the puzzle together with the help of the community to locate which distributor(s) are responsible.

So how do fakes get into the market?

Aspire works with different partners such as us (Aspire Vape Co) who accommodate different countries, each with slightly different roles. However when a partner sells to other distributors, a corrupt distributor may use an authentic to produce many thousand fake ones, then the fake batches get mixed with real ones that eventually flood into retail stores.

The problem can be hard to locate because for every 10 real tanks for example 1 will be a fake one. Then when a retail shop sells 10 tanks to different consumers, only one comes back with issues. Eventually retail shops deny it and claiming that the user damaged the product because the other 9 he/she sold never had issues.

What’s in it for the corrupt distributor? Why sell fakes?

By blending a small portion of fakes in with real ones, a corrupt distributor can drop the price per tank by a small portion. However when a retail shop buys large amounts of product, a small portion saved on each piece will add up to become a big amount of money.

Aside from the extra profit, the corrupt distributor also saves money by being able to sell products quickly at an attractive price. Therefore they are able liquidate Inventory to money to avoid having cash tied into inventory for long periods of time.

How does this affect YOU?

Aside from receiving a bad product, the consumer is also pushed away from trying other great products that we can offer because they had a bad experience with said product. Another down side is that since a small portion is fakes, vapeshops won’t take the consumer seriously when they experience or report an issue to the retailer. Lastly they will spread the word about their bad experience and ultimately another consumer will shy away from ever giving that product a chance. It becomes a lose- lose situation for everyone

It is also important to note that this issue is beyond just Aspire, all the big companies are experiencing this, from Smok to Kangertech to the next big ecig company. If you are experiencing a faulty product try to verify it with the appropriate company. The distributors that do this are not just targeting Aspire, they are after money and there are a lot of other companies out there that sell just as many vape products as we do.

Bummer right? Well this is how you can help us fight and shine the light on these corrupt distributors!

There are 3 points of information on every one of our products and 1 source of verification on our website.

As an example I will use a Cleito EXO packaging paper as an example.

In this image you will see a Bar code with the SKU numbers underneath it. Underneath that You will find a scratch bar. In this example the box has been scratched and reveals a 20 digit Product ID number.

This number can be submitted on our website https://aspirevapeco.com/check-authenticity/

After the search is submitted you will be told if it is a fake or not, but more importantly it will tell you how many times that ID number has been searched, and that is very important. Since corrupt distributors will buy an authentic one to reproduce fake ones, often times the search result will say authentic, but it will also bring up multiple searches on the ID number.

If this is the case we want you to take pictures of your packaging including an additional SKU number which is called the “Distributors SKU” it is often smaller and will be underneath the package as you will see below.

Email us at marketing@aspirevapeco.com .

Include the following.

Overall product and packaging

Bar code/SKU

Product ID number

Distributor SKU

Where you bought it.

With this information we can pin down the distribution that this product was given to then we can eventually find out who made a fake version. We will also use the location of where it was bought so we can ask which distributor they purchased it from.

With the help of the community we can put an end to this, I want to thank everyone that has gone to our website and submitted the ID number. This is not just an issue in our company, but it is an issue industry wide. As a vape community we can come together to ensure the best experience for everyone. No one deserves to pay premium price for a fake product. Thank you.