Do you also, perhaps, purchase counterfeit movies and dvds? So as to save having to pay a royalty to the artist? Buy merchandise that has ‘fallen off the back of a truck’ all in the interest of avoiding the luxury of paying a fair price?
A product, from the person who invented it, designed it, troubleshot it for over ten years of their life while they did not have much ‘luxury’ themselves, is not a luxury, and should be purchased from that person.
I have flow hive and in a local bee club. Another lady has joined and has purchased the chinese flow frames and our bee club /mens shed has made flow box setups for her. I suggested that the frames may not be food grade and she just laughed and couldnt care less. At this stage she hasnt got any bees yet so nothing is in operation . We had a local open day as part of a food fair day in town and I was there to talk to people about how flow works as mine is operational, so of course I couldnt take mine in. She had her dodgy flow frames and the mens shed had the boxes they have made so she was telling everyone about buying them on ebay etc. I was telling people I had original flow hive but I had to be careful what I said so she was spreading her news and she hasnt even used them as yet.Grr
The problem is that ‘Flow’ is being used as the generic name for the frames and if a copy fails in any way then it’s deemed that Flow frames are failures. A new generic name needs to be created for this type of frame so all frames aren’t all placed in the same basket.
considering that ‘Flow’ is a registered trademark- whenever one of the counterfeiters uses the term to sell their copies- they are actually infringing on the trademark. If this is proved in a hearing- then they would be liable for costs and damages to Flow. It’s important that Flow actively challenges these people to show a defense of the trade mark. Otherwise there is a risk the term can become generic. Escalator used to be a trademark- but became generic through common usage- on the other hand BandAid is often used as a generic term but is still a registered trademark and that’s why most other brands use the term ‘sticking plaster’. Johnson and Johnson have actively defended their TM for decades now. Failure to actively defend a trade mark can constitute ‘abandonment’ and acquiescence and can ultimately lead to a trade mark being declared invalid…
It’s a good point though: when an inventor creates a new product they are supposed to create two names for it- one generic and descriptive- the other the trade mark name- which s known as a ‘badge of origin’. A trademark indicates the source and quality of a product and must not be purely descriptive. A purely descriptive name cannot be trademarked…
So I’m looking at getting a few more flow frames and wondering if anyone has looked at this…
How are these selling for 20% of the official cost? Are these cheap knock offs?
Two reasons. First @Faroe will cry if you don’t… Second, Flow is the only place you can get genuine Flow frames from, if they are new. Actually, I think they do sell on Amazon too, but you have to be really careful. If they are especially cheap, they are not real.
Lots of stories about the fakes not working too - they seem to have faulty draining mechanisms at best, and at worst, they may be made of non-foodsafe plastic.
And… you get a lot of support here when you buy original gear that supports the community staying together. One of the best reasons in my opinion. Flow may be seen as expensive, but when you look at the quality going on in these knock offs and remember they are being manufactured in countries that not so long ago were caught poisoning milk for their own citizens, I think I would like to spend my money in an ethical country.
I personally refuse to buy stolen technology. The flow hives are superior in quality and service. Watch the reviews on YouTube and you will be happy you did.
although I’m perplexed why the US available products are cheaper than the Australian ones. For example 6 flow frames would be A$398 +shipping if bought from the US or A$389 +shipping from the Australian available stock.
I spotted my first fake flow hive today. Some people got me to remove bees out of their wall cavity to put into their flow hive. The bloke told me straight away, as soon as I looked at it that it was a fake. I didn’t look at the frames, however I had a look at the QX… Instead of metal or plastic, the wire parts are made from cane/bamboo. That was intriguing.
The bottom box looks pretty rough. The standard frames are very loose & only just sit on the ledge of the brood box. I could see how the owner went to a lot trouble getting the boxes to go together.
Our main focus was getting the bees out of the wall. I didn’t have time to look at the frames.
The bloke said “a flow hive cost about $2,000.00” … I replied, “about a thousand”…
Hi Jack, do mean the difference between the price of the genuine article to the fake? I’m inclined to agree with you.
Today was a real eye opener for them. They had no idea how much was involved. The lady admitted that she just wanted to turn the key & collect honey. They live not far away, so I’ll help them as much as I’m able.
They learned a lot today, they even got to see some SHB’s
It’ll be interesting if you help them- to see if the fake frames work. The friend I have who tried them had fake ones had absolute zero success after 8 months. Hive was booming but they never touched the frames at all.
I wonder how good the spacing is on that bamboo QX…
There is no substitute for research and comparing value for money. Even worth finding someone in the game when handing over that sort of money, I have bought a Chinese welder in the past, and it had a malfunction after about 3 hours of use. I assume they are not supposed to go off with a loud bang and instantly burst into flames. Three of us with the welder on top of a container, none of us used the ladder to get off the container!!!
Hi Jack, I had to look closely to see if I wasn’t seeing things. The bamboo wires are nice and straight & the spacing looks good. There’s quite a few support pars. I’ll be interested to see if the bees ever chew through them. I’m just thinking, it could be the same bamboo they make meat skewers from.
I googles bamboo queen excluder & found plenty of images of them. A lot in the shape of a follower board.
Second, Flow is the only place you can get genuine Flow frames from, if they are new. Actually, I think they do sell on Amazon too, but you have to be really careful. If they are especially cheap, they are not real.