Pfaff 335 clone sold as a genuine Pfaff

[vanessaFrance]

Hello everyone,

 

I bought what I thought was a used genuine Pfaff 335 from a reseller based in Marseille, France, only to figure out months later that the machine was actually a typical TW3-P335 made to look like a Pfaff : fake serial number plate, fake Pfaff lettering... Looking closely, one can even read the word "Typical" on a plastic cover, which obviously couldn't be completely erased.

I am about to confront the seller and try to obtain compensation, but before I do so I'd like to pick the brains of the esteemed members of this forum :

1) is there a way to identify beyond doubt a genuine Pfaff sewing machine ? The serial number plate on mine is a fake one, so it would have to be something that can't be altered, like a marking on the machine's body. Pfaff boasts they put a counterfeit-proof sticker on their machines, but as you could expect there is no such sticker on mine.

2) reciprocally, is there a way to identify beyond doubt a Typical sewing machine ? The plastic cover bearing the erased "Typical" word can be easily removed, so again I was hoping for something more solid, like an engraving on the machine body, or a particular feature that would be Typical's signature

3) How good (or bad) exactly are Typical sewing machines ? At first I thought they were just low quality "copycats", but having searched the forums on this website, it seems they are pretty decent. That won't change anything to the fact I've been cheated on badly, but at least I'll know the extent of the scam...

 

I'm not sure whether there are French members on this site, but if you happen to be in France and looking at buying a professional sewing machine for a reseller in Marseille, feel free to send me a PM.

 

Cheers,

 

Vanessa

[marronne]

Hello Vanessa

Sorry to hear about this - I can only imagine how you feel!.  I'm in France (based in Orne, Normandy).  I'm into the vintage bourrellier and sellier leather machines but should I come across anyone looking for a more modern one, I'll tell them to watch out!  There is an English leatherworker chap in Brittany I think, who is also on this forum but his username escapes me for the moment.

I shall follow your post, it would be interesting to hear about the distributor's reaction/response.

[chrisash]

Did you buy it as new or secondhand, if secondand the retailer may not be aware or responsible for the forgery, they may have just brought in good faith, but still responsible i guess

Have you checked the serial number with Pfaff

Images may help identifying it

Sorry to hear the bad news, it must be a great disappointment to have found out after the happiness of first acquiring it

Edited July 31, 2019 by chrisash
speelling mistook

[kgg]

51 minutes ago, marronne said:

Sorry to hear about this - I can only imagine how you feel!. 

I totally agree. For the rest of us could you post a couple of pictures highlighting what you are seeing. It could be of great value for anyone in the market for a  similar machine.

1 hour ago, vanessaFrance said:

That won't change anything to the fact I've been cheated on badly, but at least I'll know the extent of the scam...

The deception my go even deeper. The reseller my have been also duped. If a clone sells for $100 and a brand name sells for $300 some not so good people will try to dupe people.

kgg

[Constabulary]

Most likely these machine all come from the same factory in China (Pfaff, Mauser, Typical, Global... and so forth) just with a badge of the specific "Name owner". Pfaff no longer produces these machines in Germany - if that matters. So quality wise I doubt there is a big difference between the "Names" ( I do not say manufactures).

Some pictures would be nice.

Edited July 31, 2019 by Constabulary

[vanessaFrance]

55 minutes ago, chrisash said:

Did you buy it as new or secondhand, if secondand the retailer may not be aware or responsible for the forgery, they may have just brought in good faith, but still responsible i guess

Have you checked the serial number with Pfaff

Images may help identifying it

Sorry to hear the bad news, it must be a great disappointment to have found out after the happiness of first acquiring it

I bought it as as second hand, however the retailer also runs a repair shop, so I think it is safe to assume he's had enough sewing machines in his hands to tell one brand from another... And as you rightly point out, under French law at least, he is responsible.

The serial number format does not match Pfaff's for the 335, so I didn't even care to call them. I'll post pictures in a forthcoming message

[vanessaFrance]

Here you go...

 

The first picture is actually the plastic cover on the left of the machine. I had trouble finding the right angle, but if you look closely you'll see the letters "ICAL"... The picture doesn't show the other letters, but looking closely at the cover one can easily read "Typical". The second picture is the serial number plate, which I figure is Typical's original plate : part of the model name was erased (probably the letters "PW3"), and "PFAFF" was added in big red letters just above. You can even see that the paint on the machine body was scratched when the plate was removed. It may look plain to see, but I can assure you that unless all those details are pointed out to you, they're hard to spot. Other than that, as you can see from the two remaining pictures, the machine resembles a LOT the actual Pfaff 335.

It even came with a user manual which I found out to be for the Typical clone (it's available online), with the pages showing the actual brand name removed. Pretty elaborate, isn't it ?

I read somewhere that Pfaff has their sewing machine made in China, but whether they are made in the same factory as the other brands (as assumed by Constabulary) remains uncertain to me. If anyone can substantiate that hypothesis, I'd be interested...

We went to the police earlier today : they suggested that we confront the reseller and file a complaint if he refuses to admit and compensate us. I'm in the process of gathering evidence, hoping it will be compelling enough that the guy has no choice but to acknowledge the machine is a fake, and compensate me.

Falling victim to such a fraud is definitely not the best way to start your own leatherwork business...

[chrisash]

If you look close at the Pfaff name the outside paint is over the p and also the last f, which makes me think its been repainted and the scrapped the pain off the letters

Very strange and a bit of a bodge job on the label plate

Edited July 31, 2019 by chrisash

[jimi]

Sorry to hear that vanessa, if it is any help, on the older 335´s they have pfaff and the p/n stamped on the feet, needle plate, feed dog and some other parts. With your machine being the newer type i would think they would not have changed these parts for wear. 

[jimi]