[JERRY2KONE]

It has been a great read all around for me. I love seeing comparisons whether they are direct comptitors or rip off artists or whatever. Doing your reseach properly so you invest wisely is always the way of the true enthusiast. If you are on a very weak budget then purchaing an asian clone is probably your best bet, but these situations always end up costing you more money over the long haul because of more frequent failures and paying for shipping back and forth to the manufacturer. I can see how using the clones might be a better idea if you are somewhere in Asia, but dealing with a warranty issue if you do not speak the language is just not worth the hassle for anyone regardless where you buy from. If they can talk directly to you and have no problem helping you with a problem then it wouldn't really matter how far away they are from your location.

As it has been stated purchasing any product from a company that is working from the copy-cat perspective will always be behind no matter what they do, because they are trying to take an originally designed product and not only trying to copy it, but also trying to do it cheaper using lower grade materials, and substandard labor to compete with a company that can out do you every singe time out of the gate. If the original designer is really serious and competitive with its business they are contantly updating and improving that product, which the copy-cat does not have access to until it arrives on the open market. So it is a matter of simple economics. If you want the latest and greatest product on the market, then you have to pay a little bit more for it. If you do not have any concern about whether the product is the best or a piece of crap, then you will buy the cheapest copy on the market.

A good comparison on a 1:1 scale would be like China or whoever buying a Corvette. Copying every detail as close to the letter that they are capable of, except reducing the material quality and using untrained, unskilled labor to save money, and get it onto the open market at half the price. Sure the poor will buy it every time just to be able to save money and be able to say they are driving a Corvette, but from a safety standpoint you are litterally putting your life into the hands of a company who stole the design in the first place and has no interest in protecting its reputation while you are driving a substandard poor quality automobile that will more than likely kill you.

Yes we are only talking about R/C right? It is no different than anything else in this world that revolves around what your financial capabilities are. We all have to live within our means. If you are in the poverty range for income, then of course go buy the clones. 99% of the time the clones will live a shorter life and end up wasting your money. That is the simple truth when it comes to any kind of copy cating scenario. You will also buy and defend your purcahse of a Rolladex watch for $300 just because it looks like a $50K Rolex. The arguement is solid in your economical logic because that is what you can aford to work with, but the maker is a thief no matter how you slice it.

Oh and making conjecture is kind of silly when you do not have any facts to back it up in relation to saying that one country copies other countries products. Show us one. The VCR's were vertually all made in Asia, no matter what name was put on them. So please prove your point...