Counterfeit Stick Sellers on SLS

 

I know most of us on here 1. Use pro stock sticks 2. Can tell the difference between real and counterfeit sticks, but I wanted to post this list for newer users/lurkers as well. Feel free to add more fake stick peddlers as they pop up. If you have been ripped off by a fake stick, please post it here. 

 

These sticks are imported from China in bulk and are much worse in quality and durability than their authentic counterparts. Bauer and CCM both have minimum advertised price (MAP) regulations that do not allow ANYONE to sell brand new sticks for lower than the $360 MSRP. The fact that these sellers are selling these sticks for $200 or less is clear evidence that these are not legitimate sticks. You can easily tell by the uneven blade weaves, misprinted graphics, and cheap prices that these are 100% counterfeit. These are not pro stock sticks, just knockoffs of retail models. I have been in the industry for many years and know for a fact that Bauer and CCM would never allow their sticks to be sold this cheaply. They would not even sell sticks to hockey store employees and partners for that low of a price. If a deal is too good to be true, it probably is!

 

The following users are selling counterfeit sticks:

 

https://sidelineswap...ker/MrStickDeal

https://sidelineswap.com/locker/Hops4

https://sidelineswap...er/GrabYourTwig

https://sidelineswap...ker/TwigCentral

https://sidelineswap...r/HockeyGear360

https://sidelineswap...ocker/CnCHockey

https://sidelineswap...ocker/CashDeals

https://sidelineswap...ocker/TwigDeals

https://sidelineswap...er/maxxmartinn7

https://sidelineswap...Hockeyamateur92

https://sidelineswap...prohockeysalesq

https://sidelineswap...mmhockeyguy1511

https://sidelineswap...er/hockeydenzen

https://sidelineswap...ker/TwoToneTats

https://sidelineswap.com/locker/Carzy

https://sidelineswap...r/StickWizard23

https://sidelineswap.com/locker/ZooX90

https://sidelineswap.../locker/Vedmedv

https://sidelineswap...er/Dangler47051

https://sidelineswap...ocker/CCThockey

https://sidelineswap...cker/StickHaven

https://sidelineswap...r/Hockeytwigz30

https://sidelineswap...ocker/Bakhtov27

https://sidelineswap.com/locker/Dava71

https://sidelineswap.../locker/KuchMVP

https://sidelineswap.../locker/Rider16

https://sidelineswap...ker/owenmartinn

https://sidelineswap.../Northcountry87

https://sidelineswap...er/hockeyboyluv

https://sidelineswap...er/Dangler96717

https://sidelineswap.com/locker/TAD012

https://sidelineswap...locker/dhauser5

https://sidelineswap...JacksHockeyShop

https://sidelineswap...cker/GearGuy555

https://sidelineswap...r/stick_pick_up

https://sidelineswap...Hockey_is_Worl1

https://sidelineswap...er/ErickBachtle

https://sidelineswap...r/Hockeytwigz30

https://sidelineswap...VancouverHockey

https://sidelineswap.com/locker/Fman95

https://sidelineswap...r/ToasterChaser

https://sidelineswap.../locker/Doner66

https://sidelineswap.com/locker/Jwesty

https://sidelineswap...ker/Dave_Miller

https://sidelineswap.com/locker/Fman95

https://sidelineswap...ker/Codyoneil26

https://sidelineswap...locker/Gilakila

https://sidelineswap...er/Dangler26160

https://sidelineswap...ocker/QQuinn883

https://sidelineswap.../locker/jnmayer

https://sidelineswap...ker/Nickciccone

https://sidelineswap...cker/hockey2721

https://sidelineswap.../StammerBigHead

https://sidelineswap.../StickSwapper45

https://sidelineswap...er/Dangler61949

 

Counterfeit stick sellers that have been permanently banned:

 

https://sidelineswap...ocker/CLEMShady

https://sidelineswap...locker/lawdog23

https://sidelineswap...verythingHockey

https://sidelineswap.../Hockeygearplus

ProTwig

Twigs_GoalieGear

Matthew846488

CameronEvans2

SlapShotSnipes

Tophockeytwigs

Mikelac

liebs

hockeystickman88

TheTwigGuy

MUSA_HOCKEY

originalsticks

TwizzySticks

Connerkaluzny12

KYCHockey

Cobin22

Jeremy_17

maxyaks

Yea you’d have to be nuts to buy a retail stick on SLS at this point. Have these guys ventured into protective and skates as well? A lot of them sell stuff other than sticks for way below retail it seems.

I have yet to see any fake skates, but wouldn't be surprised to see them pop up in the future. I think faking skates would be much more difficult than simple carbon fiber sticks. I have seen a few threads on ModSquad about fake gloves.

I fell victim to one of these guys.  Here are some photos that should hopefully help anyone identify a phony stick.

When I got this Proto R, I kind of suspected it right away because the performance on-ice felt pretty dull and nothing like a $300 retail stick.

 

• In all photos, the authentic Proto R is on the left, and the fake is on the right.  You'll see that the blade weave is very uneven on the fake one.
• The warranty stickers have a slightly different font.
• When the stick is held to the light, the hologram graphics have a different shine to them.  The authentic has many more colors, where the fake has more of a gold hue.
• The graphics on the spine of the stick are gapped much wider on the authentic stick.

 

 

 

 

 

SLS is unbanning bigger accounts that were previously banned. Who cares if customers get ripped off when you're making ~15% in seller fees on every transaction? MrStickDeal is especially bad since he has a PRO account and is featured on the front page. He was banned, but unbanned shortly after. 

Don't forget the extra 3% bump fees and the PRO+ subscriptions

The amount of counterfeit stick sellers has absolutely blown up over the last few weeks. They pop up faster than I can even list them here. SLS has unbanned nearly every single account that was previously banned. They respond to complaints that they "take counterfeits seriously" yet refuse to ban these fake stick peddlers. All the seller has to say is make up BS fabricated "proof" about the origin of their sticks and they are automatically cleared of any wrongdoing by SLS. 

 

Excuses I've heard:

 

1. Team stock from Europe/China/wherever

2. Factory seconds from Bauer and CCM

3. Overstock from the SPHL/Federal league

4. Demo sticks from a pro shop that closed

5. "My buddy works for Bauer/CCM and gets them for cheap"

 

SLS is actively covering everything up. They 1. Got my reviews on TrustPilot removed. 2. Blocked me on Instagram when I tagged them in my post. They are complicit in the counterfeit stick trade because it makes them a ton of money! For every $200 fake stick sold, SLS makes $30+ in seller fees, $60+ for two-packs. With multiple big accounts selling dozens of fake sticks a day, SLS is making an absolute killing on these fake sticks sales. Unfortunately, this is a battle that honest sellers cannot win.

 

UPDATE: Response from SLS: Brand representatives reach out to us regarding counterfeit sticks on the site regularly. When those official reports come in, we ensure we remove any users violating our guidelines. So far, many of the sellers flagged here have been able to prove legitimacy of their sticks so we haven't removed them entirely. This is obvious BS. These sellers have obviously fabricated "proof" because no authorized seller on earth is allowed to sell these sticks for under $200. Not one. Also, I've noticed that a majority of these sellers are located in Ontario. I believe there is some sort of connection between these Ontario sellers, a "fake stick ring" of some sort. They are most likely importing these sticks in bulk and working together to sell them on SLS and FB marketplace. I also believe they have connections to someone at SLS that takes care of them. 

 

These sellers are not getting banned and the only ones that are were banned for taking sales off the platform. Every single seller I've been reporting has not been banned. I have given SLS mountains of evidence, including 1. Side by side pictures of authentic vs. counterfeit sticks, including the pictures in this thread 2. Detailed outlines of Bauer and CCM's MAP policies 3. Emails directly from Bauer and CCM proving that these sticks are counterfeit. Unfortunately, SLS will not budge and these accounts continue to stay up.