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Replica Taktik cases on ebay?
- Thread starter itzAstonish
- Start date
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Late to the thread, but wanted to thank everyone for testing the replica cases. I was going to go with a genuine strike, but decided to go with a replica plastic case. I found one on aliexpress for 31 dollars and I was able to pick the colors of the plastic, rubber middle piece and the aluminum headphone port cover. Went all blacked out so it should look somewhat like a Taktik Black Ops case. I came very close to getting the metal version from the vendor Terry8000 recommended, but I did not like the look of the white Lunatik branding on the case. Hope my screw posts are solid when the case arrives. I'll let you all know how the case is when it arrives. I assume the Chinese sellers are all getting product from the same source.
Holding up really good. Still looks new. I tested with my keys on the back part of the glass on my plastic case and no scratching so is say its pretty hardy. Of course watch out for sand tho its got quartz in it and that will scratch anything but for standard metal objects I think it's more than safe
Thanks to the YouTube review by terry8000 I decided to purchase one from the same seller. I bought the silver metal to go with my white iPhone 5. Purchased last night so it'll be a while before I get it.
I bought a black plastic Taktik Extreme 5 directly from Lunatik. It was a nice case, looks awesome, but I didn't really like the way it felt in my hand. Especially for $143 (the cost after taxes and shipping). Decided the same day to return it.
When I installed the case I cleaned everything really well. Within hours I had a really bad rainbow effect on the Gorilla Glass, took up half the screen and was so bad I could see it with the phone on. I have an Otterbox Defender so I'm kind of used but I did not expect it with the Gorilla Glass. And this was way worse than anything I've seen on my OB. I don't mind popping the case off of my Otterbox once a week or so to clean it but I'm not going to undo and redo 6 screws to clean my case every time I have a rainbow on the screen. Plus, when I did go to clean it the second time I noticed some of the screws had already loosened quite a bit.
Also, that company is a mess. One bumble after another. Their customer service is unresponsive. When I decided to return my case I had to send 3 mails over the course of a week before I got a response. Wouldn't have been a huge deal if they had a 30 day return policy but it's only 10. Lots of people are having customer service issues with them. I don't mind paying a premium price (which this DEFINITELY is), but I expect PREMIUM SERVICE in return. They make some beautiful products but I will not buy from them until I start seeing happy customers on Facebook and Kickstarter. Hopefully they'll learn before it's too late.
A couple of other things that rubbed me the wrong way. The instructions on how to open the case are INSIDE the sealed case. Durr. Plus, backers (which I'm not) are paying $25 more for the case than people who didn't back the product. Kind of sucks for them.
So I'll give this one a shot. For half the price and getting metal instead of plastic I can overlook the few flaws in the case itself. The experience w/ Lunatik is really what turned me off to the whole thing. Really looking forward to this new case. Will put up a review once I have it.
I bought a black plastic Taktik Extreme 5 directly from Lunatik. It was a nice case, looks awesome, but I didn't really like the way it felt in my hand. Especially for $143 (the cost after taxes and shipping). Decided the same day to return it.
When I installed the case I cleaned everything really well. Within hours I had a really bad rainbow effect on the Gorilla Glass, took up half the screen and was so bad I could see it with the phone on. I have an Otterbox Defender so I'm kind of used but I did not expect it with the Gorilla Glass. And this was way worse than anything I've seen on my OB. I don't mind popping the case off of my Otterbox once a week or so to clean it but I'm not going to undo and redo 6 screws to clean my case every time I have a rainbow on the screen. Plus, when I did go to clean it the second time I noticed some of the screws had already loosened quite a bit.
Also, that company is a mess. One bumble after another. Their customer service is unresponsive. When I decided to return my case I had to send 3 mails over the course of a week before I got a response. Wouldn't have been a huge deal if they had a 30 day return policy but it's only 10. Lots of people are having customer service issues with them. I don't mind paying a premium price (which this DEFINITELY is), but I expect PREMIUM SERVICE in return. They make some beautiful products but I will not buy from them until I start seeing happy customers on Facebook and Kickstarter. Hopefully they'll learn before it's too late.
A couple of other things that rubbed me the wrong way. The instructions on how to open the case are INSIDE the sealed case. Durr. Plus, backers (which I'm not) are paying $25 more for the case than people who didn't back the product. Kind of sucks for them.
So I'll give this one a shot. For half the price and getting metal instead of plastic I can overlook the few flaws in the case itself. The experience w/ Lunatik is really what turned me off to the whole thing. Really looking forward to this new case. Will put up a review once I have it.
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Terry... Did you end up punching the holes in front of the ear speaker or did it come like that? I can't see the holes in some of the pics but it could be lighting...
https://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=398481&d=1361408708
If you did punch them, how did you do it?
https://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=398481&d=1361408708
If you did punch them, how did you do it?
Glad my review was helpful to your decision 
As far as the earpiece are, no I didn't put any holes in it, I can hear fine so for me it's not a concern and provides an extra layer of dust protection, but I would just see how it performs for you and if its bothersome start by making some pinholes and then if it still seems too soft just peel the tape off. A lot of people on here have no issue but a few feel it sounds better with no tape. So it seems to be an individual taste thing.
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If you got it from iPhonecase2011 it seems he's consistent around 7-12 days for Canada and USA barring the unforeseen, but looking forward to hearing your impressions when you get it!
As far as the earpiece are, no I didn't put any holes in it, I can hear fine so for me it's not a concern and provides an extra layer of dust protection, but I would just see how it performs for you and if its bothersome start by making some pinholes and then if it still seems too soft just peel the tape off. A lot of people on here have no issue but a few feel it sounds better with no tape. So it seems to be an individual taste thing.----------
If you got it from iPhonecase2011 it seems he's consistent around 7-12 days for Canada and USA barring the unforeseen, but looking forward to hearing your impressions when you get it!
Have you read the thread? I would usually agree but people here have the case and can vouch for the quality. For half the cost and metal instead of plastic I'll trust the reviews in this thread more than I trust the company that makes the originals. I bought the original and it wasn't a great experience.
Thanks
Glad it helped----------
Hey lanestew, whether to deal with him directly or not is gonna have to be a judgement call you make. I can say I dealt with him outside of ebay for a small amount of money while getting the replacement aluminum bezels from him and he was true to his word. But be aware that you may not have ebay buyer protection if dealing directly and if that concerns you then that may be an issue. There may be paypal standalone protection, i would look into that if I were you. All I can say is iphonecase2011 has been honest and straight forward so far so I think I can say for all the people on here that dealt with him he has a good track record, but as always theres a first time for everything and its a risk. But then I guess buying from anyone online is a risk no matter who they are. For me losing $70 isn't gonna ruin me so it would be worth the risk, and everything turned out fine for me. Hopefully that helps a bit. Anyone else on here who has dealt with iphonecase2011 have any advice, feel free to chime in.
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just reading your post again lanestew and im thinking maybe he was forced to remove it from ebay due to it being a knockoff. If thats the case then thats a valid issue and I wouldnt think it would be any problem completing the transaction outside ebay. But again, its gotta be your peace of mind at the end of the day.
Yeah, according to Lunatik's Facebook and Kickstarter pages they've been working with eBay to remove knock-off products. From what they said it's next to impossible, eBay cancels the sellers account but then the seller just opens another account under another name.
Though in this case it seems as though eBay may just be pulling the infringing product or giving sellers the option to pull it and keep their account.
The guy has a lot of positive feedback. Maybe check to see if he has any intention of re-listing the product at all. Or maybe see if he can put up a basic listing w/ a BIN so that you can go buy it right away. Going through eBay would obviously be better / safer. If not, and it were me, I'd probably feel ok dealing with him direct. If you're not comfortable with the possibility you'll lose that money then you'll have to make that call yourself. Or maybe wait until a few more reviews roll in and see if it's worth taking the chance.
Though in this case it seems as though eBay may just be pulling the infringing product or giving sellers the option to pull it and keep their account.
The guy has a lot of positive feedback. Maybe check to see if he has any intention of re-listing the product at all. Or maybe see if he can put up a basic listing w/ a BIN so that you can go buy it right away. Going through eBay would obviously be better / safer. If not, and it were me, I'd probably feel ok dealing with him direct. If you're not comfortable with the possibility you'll lose that money then you'll have to make that call yourself. Or maybe wait until a few more reviews roll in and see if it's worth taking the chance.
Can't vouch for the quality or sellers but there are a few black metal cases listed right now.
There's also this yellow one which looks pretty sweet, I'm thinking about getting it...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vogue-Lunat...988060?pt=PDA_Accessories&hash=item3ccf999a9c
Alright so the new middle part I got did not fix the issue i had with the mute/volume switch
I messaged iphonecase2011 and he refunded me
Overall this case is awesome and the mute/volume switch is not a deal breaker..just a tiny annoyance and the real ones have the same issue
I messaged iphonecase2011 and he refunded me
Overall this case is awesome and the mute/volume switch is not a deal breaker..just a tiny annoyance and the real ones have the same issue
sry to hear that. But ya I didnt think it would address the issue, like you said and as I mentioned earlier, it is a problem with the design whether real or fake. iphonecase2011 is a great guy to deal with though eh. Glad he gave you a refund even after shows great customer service which is key. soo much better than the run around people are getting from the actual company. They should hire this guy for their CEO lol.
