I didn’t think people could actually get away with something like this … What a joke …
yeah that’s definatly rediculous!
make them in china and anything is possible… the standard rip off. copy somebody else hard work to make an easy buck . but they will claim to be different since it looks like you cannot change the cant.
boycott this, what a ripoff.
Take something good and make it worse. No cant angle inserts and fcs type tab only. Useless. YUK!
The guy who runs surfsource is notorious for stealing ideas and marketing them as his own. Now he’s taken it to a new level.
Here’s the email I just sent out.
You know, real proboxes are only marginally more expensive than the obvious copies you are selling, and they are a much better, more versatile, product. I’m sure the profit margin is better on the clones, but don’t forget that the core surfing/shaping community looks out for their own. And selling a product that is an obivious rip-off of probox’s (a surfer owned and operated company) box design and installation system isn’t going to make you any friends, or business.
Yes, the argument can be made that there is enough difference between the products that intellectual property rights aren’t being violated. If that helps you sleep at night, then fine. It is still an obvious uncreditied derivative to those who have eyes to see.
The word is already out on Swaylocks, which is (am I’m sure you know) the first stop for most aspiring shapers, and community for many current shapers, both pro and amateur. http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=278034
The surfing market is already flooded with knock-offs of good products, most made somewhere in Asia. While there might not be as much financial reward, the intangible rewards for supporting good american products made in the USA by surfers for surfers, the very same people who support your business, should more than make up for the difference in dollars.
Just some food for thought.
be careful folks…
Kokua mentioned awhile back that he thought proboxhawaii had sold out to a mainland company.
try and find the post first and confirm before jumping to conclusions
also doesn’t mean they did do private labelling as another option…
just check it out first
Howzit oneula, Yes Mitch and Robin sold the business to a mainland Co and now are reps for the Co. Aloha from Az,Kokua
Kokua, so what you are saying is these are same product as Probox? they just old out to these guys in Florida.? if so will they keep the name Probox? I see that surf source sell blanks… It’s been a while since bought a blank. $89.00 for 6’1". my goodness, 10 months ago that would have bought me 2 Clark 6’2" C’s and some money left over for a chile relleno burrito and a drink.
Ben
mffmmfffmff mmf fmff ungh Please excuse me whilst I remove my foot from my mouth.
See what happens when you go off half-cocked?
Quote:
be careful folks…
Kokua mentioned awhile back that he thought proboxhawaii had sold out to a mainland company.
try and find the post first and confirm before jumping to conclusions
also doesn’t mean they did do private labelling as another option…
just check it out first
I forwarded this information to the guys a ProBox, and they said they were rip offs of their design. Whether or not they are going to do something about it, who knows, but if they sold the rights to their company that opens up a new can of worms.
Howzit Shipman, They sold to a company in Ca. so if this is a Florida Company then they must be a ripoff copy.Aloha,Kokua
Slightly OT - any clue whether Probox is still accepting small qty. orders themselves?
-Samiam
There is nothing wrong, in a business, legal, sense, with a company copying another’s designs in this way UNLESS THE GUYS AT PROBOX GOT GOOD PATENT PROTECTION FOR THEIR WORK.
If you invent something useful and don’t get good protection you can almost expect stuff like this to happen. The guys at Surfsource are trying to make a buck the same way the guys at Canyon surfboards are making a buck using Channel Islands’ unprotected designs.
Samiam,
I just placed an order last Friday. It was just for the promo starter kit. They seem to have really good service so far.
Aloha All:
We [ProBox] have sold the company to a company in California, but are still very heavily involved, so it is more like a partnership than an outright sale. We are still responsbile for all of the design work and continue to be the distributors in Hawaii and to anyone that contacts us for orders.
We made this deal because it was a good fit and provided us with a chance to broaden the distribution of our system. In the very near future our system will start to become available from other distributors both physical and online, thereby better serving you our customers.
We never made a formal announcement about the transaction as the reality was that nothing changed! Mitch and I still continue to promote the system and are working on some great ideas for the future!
We are now starting to advertise in the mainstream media in order to raise consumer awareness. See the latest issue of The Surfer’s Path for the first ad!
As far as these knock-offs are concerned we have not licensed anything to them. They bought some boxes from us and then the next thing we knew they had this website with boxes that look suspiciously like ours on it. It never ceases to amaze me how unimaginative some people can be.
The worst thing about this is that this is really bad news for the consumer, because now they are going to be confused, because they will recognize the box from its shape and assume it has all fo the great adjustments ProBox has, only to find out that it is rip-off!
The reality is that their system has no adjustment, all you can do is remove the fins and it depends on FCS fins!
Our system is in the patent pending process and covers the insert technology and installation aspects of the system.
Our best defense against people like this is the response of the great people here on Swaylock’s, who recognize this for what it is! We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support and believe me we plan on continuing to support you in your board building efforts with our fin system.
We are still just surfers and surfboard builders who are trying our hardest to create a product that makes surfing more fun and interesting!
Mahalo for your support!
- Robin
Aloha Shipman:
This has nothing to do with ProBox!
We have not sold the company or the concept to them!
-Robin
Robin,
Thanks so much for clarifying the matter. It’s unfortunate that Surfsource thought they could make a quick buck copying your idea. I think they used to sell knock offs of FCS plugs too.
I ordered a set of plugs from you on Friday and they arrived this morning. Wonderful service and super quick too. I’m actually still waiting on the resin and cloth I ordered a week ago!
Thanks
Hey All,
-I Already reported them to the Better Business Bureau. I think that if more people report we can help put a stop to this. You might have to put the information of Surf Source, Inc. on there as they’re not registered with the better business bureau.
Cheers,
Rio