ANewSawyer
Addicted to ArboristSite
Not to be rude Windthrown but do you really want to help the fakers know what they did wrong?
Can you spot the fake MS361?
- Thread starter windthrown
- Start date
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There must be a reason why serial numbers were invented. I can usually call a dealer and tell them the serial number. They can then tell me if it's valid. Stihl used to have an 800 number that would offer the same validation info. Right now I can't dig it up, but maybe somebody else has it. Whoops! here it is:
1-800-610-6677
Seems like the fake saws would not be in their database. Sellers should always supply the serial number to the buyer or a potential buyer.
1-800-610-6677
Seems like the fake saws would not be in their database. Sellers should always supply the serial number to the buyer or a potential buyer.
I did contact him. I asked if the saw was new. He responded yes. I asked for the serial number and havent heard back. I sent another message and still no response.
You may have to tell him where the serial number is located. Many owners haven't a clue.
Stihlsmoking
ArboristSite Operative
They may all have the same serial number?
Terry Syd
Addicted to ArboristSite
I expect the crankcase is aluminium rather than magnesium, so can you tell any difference in weight between the fakes and a real 361?
I did explain where he could find the number!
JeffGu
Antagonist/Heckler
Maybe he's unfamiliar with the Cantonese, and is looking for a translator before he gets back to you... 
Conquistador3
Le Comte de Frou Frou
Very interesting topic.
Around here I've only seen counterfeit power generators (Honda and Yamaha). To be honest externally they look exactly like the original article but inside... let's just say there isn't a single part that even looks like the original.
Chainsaws are usually "cosmetic" clones, meaning they are manufactured to look exactly like the genuine article (to an untrained eye) but carry fantastic sounding names such as Arebos, Professional, Bavaria and the like.
I've seen Stihl clones, Echo clones, Solo clones (the most common), Husqvarna/Zenoah clones... even McCulloch clones. It would be just a matter of changing names to have a true counterfeit.
Intriguingly enough, regardless of physical appearance specs are invariably the same. It seems our good friends in Shenzen manufacture a small range of engines (25cc for pruning, 45cc for farm saws and 52 and 60cc for "forestry" saws) to which each "manufacturer" adds components.
These saws are cheap, and I mean real cheap: an eBay has been selling a "two pack" for over two years now. Two 52cc saws for 120€, shipped. They are Echo clones (down to the right shade of orange) but Echo won't even show you a saw for that money!
I have often been tempted to get one of these saws just to take it apart and have a good laugh but I throw away too much money already!
Around here I've only seen counterfeit power generators (Honda and Yamaha). To be honest externally they look exactly like the original article but inside... let's just say there isn't a single part that even looks like the original.
Chainsaws are usually "cosmetic" clones, meaning they are manufactured to look exactly like the genuine article (to an untrained eye) but carry fantastic sounding names such as Arebos, Professional, Bavaria and the like.
I've seen Stihl clones, Echo clones, Solo clones (the most common), Husqvarna/Zenoah clones... even McCulloch clones. It would be just a matter of changing names to have a true counterfeit.
Intriguingly enough, regardless of physical appearance specs are invariably the same. It seems our good friends in Shenzen manufacture a small range of engines (25cc for pruning, 45cc for farm saws and 52 and 60cc for "forestry" saws) to which each "manufacturer" adds components.
These saws are cheap, and I mean real cheap: an eBay has been selling a "two pack" for over two years now. Two 52cc saws for 120€, shipped. They are Echo clones (down to the right shade of orange) but Echo won't even show you a saw for that money!
I have often been tempted to get one of these saws just to take it apart and have a good laugh but I throw away too much money already!
All chainsaw manufacturers, like car makers do a little copying themselves. If one manufacturer comes up with something new, like vertical cylinder, eventually they all have vertical cylinders. They see what sells and adopt it as their own. I'll admit the Chinese go overboard on this however, our sawmakers came up with their own versions of new and improved, they didn't clone, they came close though.
windthrown
361 Junkie
That must be the last new 361 on any shelf in the US. I know a few people here on AS that would want to buy it for that price. Back when the 361 was phased out of US production, I bought out 2 dealers here of their last 361s to ship down under and to the EU. That was over 5 years ago though.
I'll double check that price, but I think this store was having trouble pricing a few things. Some items were over, and some were under. One of the local dealers also told me that they were no longer able to order a new MS361 from anyone--not even demonstrator units.
windthrown
361 Junkie
Well, that is a rather naïve view, IMO. For a reality check here, it is impossible to hide that saw's flaws. Also there is absolutely nothing I can do to stop the Chinese from making knock-off saws, computers, iPhones, or anything else. I seriously doubt that the people that made that knock-off 361 can speak or read a word of Engrish. Letter alone reads this foruming. My intents here is to be warnings people of faker craps being listed US on Craigslist for keepers these a-holes from making fastest monetary form peoples that doing not know any butter.
Do a Google search on China 361 chainsaws, and there should be several that pop up. Here is a pair for sale, for $650 shipped to the states (they look better than the knock-off for sale in the OP on this thread):
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/MS36...8-High-Quality-Bar-And-Chain/32432238771.html
It is not legal to import these saws from China or sell them here, but people do that anyway.
When I was working for a large computer (CAD design) company in the Silicon Valley we sold two systems to China. The company sales guys thought that they had struck gold and would get hundreds of follow-on orders. That never happened. I called the reps in Hong Kong that had a service call on the systems, and they said that the Chinese had torn one apart to see how they were built and they left the second one whole to use as a reference platform. They reverse-engineered the systems, and then mass-produced the computers in China. My bet was and still is that they used those CAD systems for designing knock-off equipment like this.
Its the way that China works... like it or not.
windthrown
361 Junkie
Gee, I wonder why?
windthrown
361 Junkie
They stopped making the 361 in Virgina Beach over 5 years ago when they started making the 362 there. They moved the production line to Brazil where they still make the 361 for the Latin American and African markets.
Seriously, I have had several guys here PM me looking for new 361s for anything around or under $800.
ANewSawyer
Addicted to ArboristSite
Well, I wouldn't expect the Chinese to speak engrish. It is Japanese language that has that problem not Chinese.
I googled this because I was not 100% sure. Looks like it depends on several factors, including dialect. It might happen to a Chinese person, it might not. Thanks, I learned something.
Now, back to the discussion of fakes and how to spot them.
I googled this because I was not 100% sure. Looks like it depends on several factors, including dialect. It might happen to a Chinese person, it might not. Thanks, I learned something.
Now, back to the discussion of fakes and how to spot them.
You can tell by looking on the tag on the cylinder cover that it isn't a Stihl. You certainly don't have to buy their stuff unless you want to. I would buy a good used saw before I would buy a new knock off..
I suppose it's possible that this new store is selling Stihl MS361 saws made in Brazil. Note that I said that the shroud mount machine screws have oversize heads on them. Nowadays I really do not know what to expect. Maybe the owner's manual is printed in Brazil with Spanish as the first language and English as the second language?
Im still talking with him but he won't get me the numbers or talk about them!
He may never be able to supply them. I doubt that serial number even exists unless he cannot speak English or read numbers.
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