Friday, May 6, 2022

Fake or Replica? Or Maybe, Just Maybe the Real Thing?

 So as usual I was doing a quick search on Yahoo Auctions the other day. And found (and got) this.



The buy it now price was about the same for a normal R33 GT-R key at 5700 yen, so I was of course suspicious. Very suspicious.  The seller did not say it was real, but he also did not say it was a fake either. Although I think the fact it came in this felt bag is somewhat suspicious too. 

The title of the auction, translated from Japanese was "Nissan  Skyline GT-R R33 BCNR33 400R Limited production model Blank key Nismo old logo." 

Perhaps it is a replica - but if so, I would think that I would have come across others ones out there on Yahoo, because people usually make replicas to make money. The seller has only 40+ reviews (all 100% satisfaction) and he isn't selling anything else at the moment so... has anyone seen anything like this on any auction site?

Given the price, I thought it could just be a cheap fake as well. But the look, feel and weight of the key feels very real. Maybe it is a bit shinier than it should be, given that a real one would be about 25 years old.  

And again, if a fake why sell for less than 6000 yen, then, given that real ones are currently going for 600,000 yen? 

Any key experts out there? How much would it cost to make something like this, if you wanted to replicate the real thing?

For comparison with the genuine item - here is a photo I pulled off of Yahoo Auctions for a 400R that is suggested to be genuine (seller does not say "genuine" or "real" in the description).

From https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r351596032

The seller of this particular one is asking 600,000 yen! Says he got it from a relative who owned a 400R, but stops short of actually claiming it to be the real thing. Condition of his sale is No Claim, No Return. He also warns that there are fake keys on Yahoo Auction, the way to tell is that the tip that gets inserted is "rough" and so to be careful.

So... what do you guys think? Personally, genuine or not I would never spend 600,000 yen on a key, unless it came with the car. I am secretly hoping my seller was clueless and just trying to offload something he had got from someone, but even if it is a fake/replica I think it is very well done (looks like one of the legs of the R is thinner than the 600,000 yen one?) so I think I will take it to Nismo Omori next time I am there and see what they think.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hard to tell just from photos, have you tried cutting the key? If you see any porosity that would certainly make it a fake/replica. Personally I don't know that I care about having a genuine key, it just needs to not be cheap alibaba crap.

マット said...

I'm pretty sure Omori Factory will be able to supply 400R owners with a new 400R key if they request it.

VspecR said...

Just want to say I have spent the past 3 days reading your blogs from 2007 until now. Your build is absolutely astonishing true attention to detail. Enjoyed every bit of it. I hope to see more blog post!

Aki said...

Hey guys - well the guys at Omori Factory tell me it is not genuine, but are likewise puzzled by the pricing. And thanks VspecR! So happy to see that there are still people reading my old stuff all the way up to now! Yes, some new posts coming soon!!

Anonymous said...

It's entirely possible you got it from someone who is just trying to move inventory and is not really attuned to the market rate for these things. I wouldn't be surprised if their cost was say 1500 yen, so if they can sell it for 5700 yen it's still a decent margin.

Aki said...

Possible, yes, but meanwhile I look forward to a comparison with one I know is genuine!!!

Anonymous said...

Sorry to say but the key is replica/fake, I have seen at least 20-30 for sale on yahoo auctions over the past year.

Aki said...

at Anonymous - yeah I have started to see others - just saw another one the other day. One at a low price is a fluke, but when you start seeing others... thanks for the comment!