Branded home gyms vs. Ali Express Equivalent

[RagingClue]

Has anyone purchased a setup on Ali Express? They seem to either be the direct suppliers for the branded equipment you see online (Major Lutie Fitness, Llero Fitness, French Fitness etc.) or direct knock offs with nearly identical specs. The prices are a fraction of what the branded guys charge but I have no experience buying from this site and what the import/broker fee's and shipping cost.

As an Example:


https://frenchfitness.com/french-fit...ym-system-new/

-compared to-

https://www.alibaba.com/product-deta...26641c7eR2x9ev

[Mech6]

Well they did knock off my functional trainer. Or they knocked off the italian company that knocked off my functional trainer. Gets confusing.

[radrd]

Do you really want to support people who make knock-off gym equipment?

[RagingClue]

Do you really want to support people who make knock-off gym equipment?

Not at all. My feeling is that there's probably only one manufacturer making these models and companies private label them, so I'd be buying the original not a knockoff.

[radrd]

Not at all. My feeling is that there's probably only one manufacturer making these models and companies private label them, so I'd be buying the original not a knockoff.

You're probably right that most items aren't knockoffs, but they are taking advantage of the challenges that come with enforcing patent laws globally. A company patents a product in the US and then has it manufactures in China. The manufacturer in China fulfills their obligation to the patent holder and continues selling the product on what is basically a gray market at a significant discount. Up to you if you want to support that behavior. I choose not to. I don't even really like buying stuff manufactured in China that is legitimately distributed, though I admit that I still do on occasion.

[RagingClue]

You're probably right that most items aren't knockoffs, but they are taking advantage of the challenges that come with enforcing patent laws globally. A company patents a product in the US and then has it manufactures in China. The manufacturer in China fulfills their obligation to the patent holder and continues selling the product on what is basically a gray market at a significant discount. Up to you if you want to support that behavior. I choose not to. I don't even really like buying stuff manufactured in China that is legitimately distributed, though I admit that I still do on occasion.

I hear you. I'd buy made in USA if that was even an option but it really isn't Rogue doesn't make a functional trainer and to my knowledge everything else is imported.

I'd never knowingly buy a rip off though. I play guitar and in the musical instrument world there are tons of knock offs that have fake logo's and everything. My perception here is that these racks aren't spec'd to one companies request but just labeled and sold under multiple brands, though I could be wrong.

All that said, I just purchased from Jacked Up Fitness (local to me, about an hour away). I got their power rack plus which I confirmed is Chinese made but the design is proprietary. It's not cheap but it has a lifetime warranty and being local I feel like I could more easily get ahold of them for support.

[radrd]

I hear you. I'd buy made in USA if that was even an option but it really isn't Rogue doesn't make a functional trainer and to my knowledge everything else is imported.

Off the top of my head, Prime and Legend offer made in USA functional trainers. Very expensive, of course.

[Mech6]

To be fair, Rogue has also ripped off a lot of designs in the past. They had a whole run of copying everything sorinex for a while. And sorinex itself has also had pretty shady business practices. You can't really win.

[William929]

Hi everyone