Scope buyers beware!!!

[Multidigits]

http://www.leupold.com/Counterfeit_2006_Sales.ppt (http://www.leupold.com/Counterfeit_2006_Sales.ppt)

[westkybanded]

Wild... They'll copy anything.

[C.L.Button]

For some reason I can't open that file ? What is the summary of it ? THANKS

[trust me]

I even went to the Leupold site and couldn't open the file.

[Multidigits]

Probably your internet settings???

[jeff-ward]

ive heard this a guy on ar 15 .com was going to buy one and ran the serial# and found it to be counterfit...
the seller had no idea..

[squirrelsniper]

The .ppt designation on the link is a PowerPoint file, so if your PC doesn't have PowerPoint, you won't be able to view it. Why Leupold decided to use that, when their internet tech team should know that most peoples' home PCs don't commonly have PowerPoint, is a mystery to me :rolleyes:

You can download a free PowerPoint viewer here... http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=428d5727-43ab-4f24-90b7-a94784af71a4&displaylang=en

This is a copy and paste from a post on SavageShooters which is a copy of the Leupold statement; but it doesn't give the visual aid the PowerPoint version does...
Beaverton, OR----Leupold is issuing a customer alert to purchasers of products, particularly via internet sales, in regards to bogus
Leupold products that are apparently being illegally imported from the People’s Republic of China. These products bear many of
the marks and trade dress of current Leupold & Stevens riflescopes making them very hard to distinguish externally from authentic
Leupold products.

In recent months, counterfeited Leupold Mark 4 riflescopes have begun to arrive with increasing regularity at the firm’s Beaverton,
Oregon headquarters for service. These products are not manufactured by Leupold and are not covered by the Leupold Full Life-
time Warrantee.

Leupold employs serial number tracking for all its riflescopes, so if a customer finds a scope that is suspect, he or she can simply
write down the serial number and call 1-800 LEUPOLD to confirm if it is indeed authentic.

In general, most of the scopes appear to originate from Hong Kong, (People’s Republic of China) and have “Leupold Mark 4” laser
engraved on the bottom of the turret in a silver etch, while the black ring on the objective is etched in white and does not include
the name “Leupold”. The scopes also do not bear the Leupold medallion, a mark all Leupold scopes will always possess. An
authentic Mark 4 riflescope will always be engraved black on black and have the name “Leupold” engraved on the black ring.

According to Andy York, Vice President of Marketing at Leupold, “It is a regrettable state of affairs that this theft of the Leupold
trademark, as well as patent infringement, is ongoing. We cannot express our anger and displeasure with the situation in strong
enough terms, and we will pursue any person or corporation caught in this crime to the fullest extent of the law—both domestic
and international. However, while our legal team fights this battle, we are taking proactive measures to warn our customers to
be extra vigilant when purchasing discounted Leupold optical products, particularly online. If a deal seems too good to be true,
it probably is.”

One other fact that Leupold failed to mention is that most (at least all that I've seen) of the fakes have same-digit serial numbers; such as 44444 or 99999 (most common).

[C.L.Button]

Thanks for the post squirrelsniper.