SMV Magnet Rip Off Artist

doveblue3 · Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 6:20 am Post subject: SMV Magnet Rip Off Artist

Since Ollie, aka Barnabus, is too nice to say anything about this, then I will, because I think this is unacceptable.

This guy:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=310931
Email = [email protected]

is blatantly ripping off the SMV magnets that Ollie came up with for my bus 3 years ago and has sold to a number of people on the samba.

If you look at Ollie's original design (again from 3 years ago) here:

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

you can see that this dirtbag has completely copied it, even the shape, here:

now, if it isnt bad enough to totally rip off someones idea like that, these are also an inferior product. note how the original one is reflective? isnt that the point, so that AT NIGHT people can see that they are coming up behind you??? non-reflective = no good!

also, the fake ones look thinner and flimsier to me, but i dont have first hand knowledge of that, so that is based on what i see in the pictures.

further, the $15 price difference is simply the lower cost of poor quality materials, so its not like there is any true value there. price reflective vinyl and see what you come up with. this part of the whole thing is actually comical. its called "pulling the wool over your eyes".

lastly, because of this half assed sign man making cheap knock-offs, ollie has to worry that someone will see the crappy one and think he made it (you know since he came up with them and all) and then there will be a perception that this sorry one is representative of the quality of his work, which it is not. this is the worst part of the whole thing.

so, after all of this, the bottom line is: if you are buying an SMV magnet, "consider the source"!

YellowSplittie · Samba Member Joined: September 30, 2003 Posts: 1167

Maybe this should be in the Buyer/Seller Feedback Forum, too?

Skim · Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 7:28 am Post subject:

Damn thats generic!
Thats almost as bad as this

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derux · Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 7:54 am Post subject:

So when is Barnabus going to make more of these or are you going to let us all suffer with an inferior product at a highr price

2true · Samba Member Joined: December 13, 2004 Posts: 1218

UZI · Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 7:57 am Post subject:

if you can make something cheaper and better, than competiton is good.

cheaper and cheaper is no good for anyone. i own all the equipment to produce these magnets. i would only need to buy some material. honestly, it's not worth my time unless someone wanted to buy them in bulk and resell them.

material costs are as follows: (2) 10yd rolls of reflective vinyl (red and yellow, $266 ea.
(1) 30' of magnetic vinyl @ $4/foot $120

****edit, i missed the roll of black in my calculations, we'll call it not reflective, i don't know whether ollie uses it or not.

$652 in materials. i figure you can make 2 signs per yard of material. that's 20 signs (barring any mistakes) per lot of material. ollie, if he's lucky doubles his money with his labor. it probably takes 2 days to do the job. $40/hour for production only, shipping and handling time, answering emails, cost of people flaking not deducted.

this other guy is spending $120 for (2) 10yd rolls of vinyl plus $120 for the magetic mat'l. total cost for a production run is $240. you can weed the regular vinyl a helluva lot faster than the magnetic stuff. call it 8hours production time. total sale value of 20 piecesX $55 ea is $1100 minus the $240 for materials = $860 divided by 8 hours production time =$107.50 per hour, of course not including any mistakes, flakes, packing or shipping.

not bad for producing an inferior and ineffective product!
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Matt K. · Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 7:57 am Post subject:

He made the lettering black instead of red, maybe that will be one way to tell an original from the fake...............that does suck though.
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UZI · Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 8:00 am Post subject:

Barnabus · Samba Member Joined: April 27, 2004 Posts: 223

UZI-

You missed the white reflective vinyl too. The entire white background on mine is white reflective stuck over the magnetic vinyl.

I use standard black for the exclamation points. Black reflective reflects as white ( I have no idea how).

Reflective chews up cutters. Does not matter if they are carbide. Still chews em up.

The biggest PITA- have to assemble these dry. One touch and that is where the vinyl stays.

As you have guessed. They take a hella long time to produce.

Kris- thanks for the post. I have been reserved about saying anything about this as there aint a whole lot I can do about the other dude. The biggest thing that bothers me is the mistaken identity issue. I have gone to great lenghts to ensure eveone who buys from me that they are getting a quality product. Without the relective- - what is the point?

In future I am goint to do a better job advertising these. So far word of mouth has kept me pretty busy. I am also trying to keep a couple complete on the shelf.

I have one of each style on the shelf right now in case anyone is interested.

-Ollie

UZI · Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 8:24 am Post subject:

i forgot about how reflective material is so tough on blades. it's glass powder that makes the material reflective....and those blades are something like $30 a piece.

another reason i haven't produced them is out of respect for someone elses idea, let alone someone elses design.
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crofty · Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 8:31 am Post subject:

I had no idea materials were that expensive- I liked them but thought they were expensive. Now I know why.
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Barnabus · Samba Member Joined: April 27, 2004 Posts: 223

ronnie · Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 9:05 am Post subject:

I just wanted to take the opertunity to say that Ollie's work is top notch, and he stands behind his product. I was unhappy with one letter on my magnet and Ollie repaired it at no cost to me with no questions asked, and threw in a non-hippy bus magnet for my trouble.

Also, the sign being reflective really is what makes it. It's amazing just how bright it is when headlights shine on it. Much more noticeable at night than the tail lights on my 57, especially with the brighter lights on new cars everyone else is looking for.

DubStyle · Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 9:28 am Post subject:

I can't see any reason to buy a NON-reflective version at all. The main reason of use is the reflective material to be seen at night IMO. Keep up the good work Ollie I know where mine will come from when the need arises! Wink

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EverettB · Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 9:36 am Post subject:

Moved to Buyer & Seller Forum so it will come up in the seller's "feedback".
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crofty · Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 9:38 am Post subject:

DeluxeMike · Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 10:06 am Post subject:

I bought a magnet from Ollie.

It is TOP quality, and I give him props for a good Idea and a great
product.

I also have all the equipment to make these myself, but i would
never copy someone elses Idea like that, Its just not right.
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[email protected] · Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 10:13 am Post subject:

cheap copies are going to kill the VW Industry, PERIOD.

John
Aircooled.Net Inc.

rizzag · Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 3:59 pm Post subject:

i emailed the dude and told him i thought it was lame to rip someone off like that and he said that he invented them.... as the samba turns.
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UZI · Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 4:17 pm Post subject:


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