Lucky Craft

[Jonny]

I'm seeing a lot of these lures "timing out" on ebay for $0.01. In other words if you bid 1 cent you'd get it... plus the $10 (U.S.) shipping. Not much more than a big Rapala... and about the same if you figure no tax.

 

You have to have Paypal to buy, which costs you nothing - all you have to do is set up an account.

 

This one is a 5" lure... just an example...

[Bondar]

i just bought a Quantum TE20PTI-B spinning reel 2009 for 104.25 on ebay

not from that seller but there are still some deals to be had on ebay if you look

WOOOOOO

Edited July 14, 2009 by Wiser

[Jonny]

Gotta love ebay, W.

 

I just bought one of those Lucky Craft lures - total cost $11.88 CAD. We'll see how it works out.

 

This one --- 128 mm (5")...

[mbac31]

If you bought from this gut. You got ripped. He has been popping up every so often under different names. They are fakes. I have reported him several times as well as a few guys from the Tackletour site.

[Jonny]

If you bought from this gut. You got ripped. He has been popping up every so often under different names. They are fakes. I have reported him several times as well as a few guys from the Tackletour site.

 

OK, thanks for the heads-up, Smallie. We'll see how it turns out. I'll post the results here.

 

Over several years I've bought 100's of items on ebay, some of them worth up to $500, and only got ripped off once on a $20 Macfarlane NFL player figure (from Montreal). Had to get my money back from VISA on that one. The feedback system and ebay's own policing seem to work pretty well.

 

On one of those too-good-to-be-true deals, official Reebok NFL jerseys from China ($30-$35), I decided to take a chance and ordered a Troy Polamalu. When it came it was perfect - all the official tags and logos, sewn on numbers and name, etc. My son (who is the real collector) and I each bought several more jerseys before the source dried up.

Edited July 14, 2009 by Jocko

[Jonny]

OK, I got the lure today.

 

The ad said the seller's location is Tokyo, but the lure was sent from California by US Post.

 

Here's what the lure looks like on the Lucky Craft site...

 

 

And here are three shots of the lure I received... one of them backlit so you can see the internals...

 

 

 

 

I can't find a picture of a "real" Lucky Craft Pointer that shows the bottom of the lure. Does anyone know if it says "Lucky Craft" on the bottom? Mine only says "Pointer SP". If it's an imitation, it looks well-crafted.

 

What do you guys think?

[TC1OZ]

hummm, looking at Google it doesn't seem that any of the Lucky Craft Pointer's have any writing on them what so ever....

 

 

What was the packaging like? or was it just wrapped in some bubble wrap?

[Jonny]

Here's an ad identical to the one I bought from...

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fishing-Lure-Lucky-cra...93%3A1|294%3A50

 

Note that it says:

 

This is a out of package factory refurbished item.

Refurbished item = Retail package damaged during shipment.

( the lure itself is perfectly fine ).

 

The lure was in a plastic bag inside the shipping envelope.

 

Now this seller has hundreds of Lucky Craft ads all saying the same thing, so obviously the "original packaging" was never there in the first place. But if it's a knock-off, it looks like a good one... or maybe simply production that never went through the packaging process? I really don't know.

[mbac31]

Thats a real pointer. Great deal on that one. Have to be carefull on some of them. Mine all say the same on the bottom. Some older ones say Pointer but hard to find. Yours is a real one. Rattles are in the right place.

[pike slayer]

i seen those on ebay last night before i seen this post. i was gonna bid till i seen the $10 shipping costs but i guess its still a good deal at $11. lots of great deals on ebay, keep the fishing deals on the down low i dont need more competition then i got already haha!

[Jonny]

Thats a real pointer. Great deal on that one. Have to be carefull on some of them. Mine all say the same on the bottom. Some older ones say Pointer but hard to find. Yours is a real one. Rattles are in the right place.

 

Good to know, thanks! You know, in the picture from Lucky Craft, it shows an oval split ring where you tie on, and this one has the oval split ring too. That was something I thought a knock-off probably wouldn't have.

 

i seen those on ebay last night before i seen this post. i was gonna bid till i seen the $10 shipping costs but i guess its still a good deal at $11.

 

You watch for the auctions ending that nobody has bid on... lots for this seller (hootcrazed) who posts many lures... and you get them for $0.01 each plus 9.99 shipping each. No combined shipping, so the seller is making his money on the shipping charge. Based on other things I've bought I would say his shipping cost is maybe $2 - $3.

 

The lure came from "Yamada Taro" in Fremont, CA., actually in a UPS padded worldwide express bag, though sent by US Post.

 

At the exchange rate when I bid on it, mine came to 11.88 CAD.

 

I don't know what they sell for if you can find them in Canada, but on U.S. sites I've seen them for sale for about $15 US, so maybe about $18 CAD here?

[CLofchik]

 

That guys baits are knockoffs, but good knockoffs. See the folded over lead tape he uses for weight, on a real Lucky Craft that's brass.

 

Different bait, but see the colour differance.

 

[Cudz]

looks pretty good. EVen if it isn't legit I think it might be worth $11 if it catches a few good fish.

I have 6 lucky craft lures and have managed to catch 2 perch with them so far in 2 years. And I do still try them qutie regularly.

Edited July 25, 2009 by Cudz

[singingdog]

Knockoff, but probably a decent jerkbait. If you look, you can find them for that price right in Ontario, get an original, and not have the hassle of Ebay....but, the hunt is fun. As all things internet, if it looks too good to be true....

[Jonny]

That guys baits are knockoffs, but good knockoffs. See the folded over lead tape he uses for weight, on a real Lucky Craft that's brass. Different bait, but see the colour differance.

 

I see that difference, yes!

 

There must be a LOT of people who don't recognize the difference. I went back through 2000 feedbacks for the last month (this guy sells a TON of "Lucky Craft") and I only found one buyer who calls them fakes... all the negatives here are left by the same buyer...

 

 

He bought a bunch at the same time.

 

A couple of other negative feedbacks had to do with other issues, not authenticity, and some complained about lack of combined shipping, which I explained above (that's easy to figure out if you're a frequent user of ebay like I am).

 

I don't know yet whether this one I bought will float or suspend (it should suspend- I'll let you know)

 

Look at the staggering number of sales...

 

 

Somehow this guy "hootcrazed" has access to the products from a production line, maybe even an actual production line that produces for Lucky Craft, that uses slightly different components for a different market (maybe Asian?) I can't help but think that the Lucky Craft Co. should have been able to shut him down unless there's some other complication involved.

Edited July 25, 2009 by Jocko

[CLofchik]

It's not that hard to set up an injection moulding machine and copy products, the money on high end baits come from finishes, tuning & using quality components. That doesn't look like near enough lead to weight it right, I'm going to guess you just paid $12 for a dollar store floating minnow.

[Cudz]

It's not that hard to set up an injection moulding machine and copy products, the money on high end baits come from finishes, tuning & using quality components. That doesn't look like near enough lead to weight it right, I'm going to guess you just paid $12 for a dollar store floating minnow.

The hooks look to be good quality. Like I said, if it catches fish it is worth it.

[Jonny]

Knockoff, but probably a decent jerkbait. If you look, you can find them for that price right in Ontario, get an original, and not have the hassle of Ebay....but, the hunt is fun. As all things internet, if it looks too good to be true....

 

Well maybe you can get them for $12 here, but seeing as it's supposed to be a premium lure, and even large Rapala's cost in the neighbourhood of $10, you might have to look hard. BPS sells large Pointers for $17 - $20. ($19 - $22 tax in.) Cabela's doesn't sell Lucky Craft, neither does LeBaron, Canadian Tire or Walmart. Small outlets (tackle shops) would probably charge more than BPS?

 

The hunt is fun, yes. I've enjoyed ebay for about 10 years now for a large variety of things.

 

"As all things internet, if it looks too good to be true...." ... I gave one example above (the NFL jerseys) that were an absolute steal. I've gotten a lot of other products (new or like new) for way below what they were worth new in a store. And the other big thing about ebay is that you can find (and buy!) things that you can't find anywhere else.

 

This lure, in my experience, is an exception. But I am also a careful buyer and check things out thoroughly before buying, especially if they are big ticket items.

[Jonny]

It's not that hard to set up an injection moulding machine and copy products, the money on high end baits come from finishes, tuning & using quality components. That doesn't look like near enough lead to weight it right

 

I'm guessing that setting up a production line simply to sell on ebay would be a losing proposition. There has to be a bigger market, though I don't know where you'd find it.

 

You are right about the weight, though I don't know how you would gauge that simply by eye, looking at the weight and the metal balls inside. I tried it in a bucket of rain-water. If I push it under, about a foot deep, it will slowly rise and then float.

 

I'm going to guess you just paid $12 for a dollar store floating minnow

 

We do that all the time with Made-in-China Rapalas, right?

 

I bought this one on a whim, just because there was some discussion on this board about Lucky Craft lures, and it has provided a good bit of education. I am sure it can be as good at catching fish as some of my Rapalas, Rebels, etc. You can bet I'm going to try it out.

 

I'd love to find out (but probably never will) how and where this lure was actually produced, and why Lucky Craft Co. hasn't filed suit. If it was good enough to fool Smalliefisher (in photos anyway), and he's an owner of a number of Lucky Craft lures, plus the fact that they're being sold under the Lucky Craft name, you would think Lucky Craft Co. would jump on it.

Edited July 25, 2009 by Jocko

[Jonny]

Here are a couple of links with more background...

 

http://www.ctfishtalk.com/fake-luckycraft-...ebay-t1552.html

 

http://www.tackletour.net/TTForums/viewtop...=14&t=40079

[CLofchik]

Cabela's doesn't sell Lucky Craft....

 

They have them on sale for less than $10, heh should check to see if they have lead tape for weight

[Jonny]

I did a search on Cabelas.ca and got "0 results".

 

Price depends on size from what I see elsewhere. The smaller ones are quite a bit cheaper than the bigger ones.

[johnnyb]

This has turned into a super interesting thread...I would've been fooled...although I might have read the feedback comments after seeing the price. With a couple tuning adjustments you should be able to make it suspend. Little stickers you can add...marketed at one time as SuspenDots.

[Jonny]

This has turned into a super interesting thread...I would've been fooled...although I might have read the feedback comments after seeing the price. With a couple tuning adjustments you should be able to make it suspend. Little stickers you can add...marketed at one time as SuspenDots.

 

I did read the feedback comments before bidding. I browsed through 26 pages and 2000 feedbacks on the lures this guy sells and only found one buyer who called them fakes (the feedbacks I posted above). Everybody else was happy. An overwhelming positive feedback usually means you can bid and buy confidently. I guess a LOT of people have been fooled.

 

Thanks for the tip on re-weighting the lure. I'll look around for that product (or similar).

[BillM]

I would have sensed scam as soon as he wouldn't combine shipping. Doesn't that tell you how he's making his money?