Fakes Flood The Market

Millett scopes are a popular, quality item. As a result, some unscrupulous manufacturers and dealers are trying to pass off fakes as the real deal. Many of these counterfeit Millett scopes have been sold on Ebay. The sellers are working out of Hong Kong, Shanghai China, and other Asian countries.

Defective Fakes

In some cases, the scopes in question came from former suppliers of Millett who are based in China. The scopes coming from these suppliers were rejected and returned by the Millett people stateside because they were defective. In other cases, the counterfeits are simply copies of real Millett scopes.

In addition to the scopes with defects, some of these scopes being passed off to unwitting customers don't have the multi-coated lenses associated with Millett scopes. Some of the models sold as Millett scopes are complete inventions and have no true Millett counterpart. These fake lines also tend to have fewer features than do true Millett scopes. They are certainly not of the same fine quality associated with Millett scopes.

Millett scopes (when sold within the U.S.) are the only ones to receive Millett's lifetime warranty. Here's how to tell if a scope is a fake Millett or the real thing:

*Location of the manufacturer—the counterfeits are sold by companies in England, Shanghai, Hong Kong, or Asian countries

Low Prices

*Low price, high shipping costs—these are hallmarks of the Millett fakes. If they're shipped from Asia, you've got additional proof that you're being bilked.

*Type of warranty—exchanges and repairs are not the way of true Millet scope manufacturers. Real Millett warranties are handled only by sending the scope to the Huntington Beach, CA Millett Sights factory. There, the scopes are tested by computer and verified as true Millett scopes. All Millett scopes undergo computer-testing before they are shipped from the U.S. factory.

*Packaging—the fakes come in dull-colored boxes and may be missing warranty cards or instruction sheets. Sometimes the warranty card or instruction sheets are obvious copies on plain white paper. True Millett scopes come in an attractive box in a soft bag. The real deal comes with printed instructions and warranty card, and when shipped from the U.S. factory come shrink-wrapped and affixed to the outside of the box.

Serial Number

*Serial numbers—on true Millett scopes, the serial number is marked on the scope's turret. Some of the fakes have no serial numbers.