Originally Posted by
Zaskar
Since the Chinese don't give a $^@# about intellectual property, lots of the parts are exact copies of the expensive stuff. I bought two Ebay cages that turned out to be identical to $70 Look cages. They're clearly either exact copies, or they're made by the contract manufacturer who's making them for Look... and just making more and not labeling. All bets are off with Chinese manufacturers.
And when I say the Chinese don't give a $^@# about intellectual property...
Most likely excess stock, or just cages that were slightly out of spec (factory seconds) that couldn't be delivered to Look.
And while we'd all like to blame the Chinese, stuff like this has been happening for decades, if not centuries. Cheap distribution in the form of the internet only makes it more obvious. For example, the MIG 15 used engines that were initially developed by Rolls Royce, then reverse engineered and copied for mass production.
If Look really cared, they would have either built the cages in-house, or bought up all of the excess stock (including ones that failed inspection) at the end of the run and crushed them, just like that handbag manufacturer publicly did a few years ago. But it turns out they don't really care enough, and if you're a customer who doesn't care about branding or if the cage is "out of spec," then you'll find plenty of deals - not just with bikes, but anywhere.