In 2022, the manufacturer of the famous Elf Bar line of disposable vapes worked with law enforcement agencies in China to identify sources of fake Elf Bars and shut those factories down. Through their combined efforts, more than 20 factories were shuttered, and over a million counterfeit Elf Bars were seized.
What does that mean for you? It means that you should be fairly concerned if you’re user of Elf Bars or any other popular disposable vape. It’s estimated that counterfeit goods comprise as much as 12.5 percent of China’s export trade, with a total value of $20-25 billion per year. Chinese authorities surely want to limit the production of fake products – but with over 15,000 factories in Shenzhen, it’s hard to know where to begin.
In short, the fact that a million fake Elf Bars have been seized this year probably means that millions of counterfeit devices may already be on store shelves around the world.
So, how concerned should you be about fake Elf Bars? Before you jump online and start looking for “Elf Bar near me,” here are the things that you need to know.
How Fake Elf Bars May Differ from Real Ones
The fact that a fake Elf Bar is still a functional vaping device doesn’t necessarily mean that it’ll give you exactly the same experience as a real Elf Bar or even that it’s actually safe to use. Since a factory that manufactures counterfeit devices doesn’t hold itself accountable to anyone, what’s inside the device could be almost literally anything. You have no idea what’s in the e-liquid, and you don’t know anything about the battery cell used in the device.
So, what does that mean for you as a user? There are actually several reasons why you should be very concerned about the possibility of a fake Elf Bar ending up in your hands.
What Do Fake Elf Bars Mean for You?
Buying a fake Elf Bar is a potential safety issue for you. That’s the main problem with counterfeit vaping products, and it’s something we’ll discuss in greater detail in a moment. For now, though, let’s assume that a fake Elf Bar is completely safe to use. Even if that’s the case, it’s entirely possible that the experience simply won’t be enjoyable. The flavor probably won’t be the same as it would be with a real Elf Bar, and it may not even taste good at all.
Another thing to keep in mind about fake Elf Bars is that if a manufacturer has no problem with stealing another company’s brand name and trademarks, that company probably also isn’t too concerned about making sure that the device actually delivers the number of puffs advertised on the package. A fake Elf Bar may not have the correct amount of e-liquid, and the battery may not have the correct capacity.
Next, let’s talk about safety. As we mentioned above, you don’t know anything about the e-liquid that’s in a fake Elf Bar. It could be basically the same as any other e-liquid, or it could be cut with cheap and potentially dangerous chemicals. You have no way of knowing.
Another serious safety issue with fake Elf Bars is that you don’t know anything about the battery in a counterfeit device. Reliable manufacturers should be using top-quality battery cells that are thoroughly tested and known to be reliable. A factory that manufactures fake disposable vapes, on the other hand, could be getting its battery cells from almost anywhere – including previously used devices. It’s even possible that the device’s manufacturer could be taking primary cells out of old disposable vapes and recharging them, which could make the batteries chemically unstable.
In short, there are many reasons why fake Elf Bars could be unsafe to use. It’s not likely that you’ll encounter any of the dangerous situations described above because there’s little incentive for a manufacturer of counterfeit devices to use unsafe components; disposable vapes that are completely safe to use are actually quite inexpensive to manufacture. Still, it should be plainly obvious that a manufacturer of counterfeit products isn’t concerned about the law – or your safety.
Some Disposable Vapes That Look Like Elf Bars Aren’t Fake
Have you seen some disposable vapes in your local vape shop that look an awful lot like Elf Bars – particularly the new 5,000-puff Elf Bar BC5000 – but have different brand names on them? If it’s a brand name you’ve heard of, there’s nothing to worry about. Recently, some other manufacturers of vaping devices have contracted with Elf Bar’s factories to produce similar devices under their own brand names. The fact that you can find a device that looks exactly like an Elf Bar BC5000 but has a completely different brand name on it only adds to the confusion if you’re worried about fake Elf Bars – but in this case, there’s no need to worry.
How to Ensure That You’re Not Buying Fake Elf Bars
Now that you have a better understanding of how important it is to be certain that you’re only buying real Elf Bars, how can you ensure that you’re not getting ripped off when it’s time to stock up on disposable vapes?
The most important thing to remember about buying Elf Bars is that you’re always most likely to get a legitimate product if you buy it from a vape shop. The Elf Bar website does have an area where you can enter a security code and confirm that the product you have is most likely legitimate, but security codes aren’t 100-percent reliable – counterfeiters are always finding ways to crack them. A vape shop will always get its products from distributors that only serve the vaping industry, and the distributors will always get their products from the original manufacturers. A good vape shop should always be able to guarantee that its products are legitimate.
Problems become much more likely when you shop for disposable vapes at other types of retailers such as convenience stores and gas stations. In those cases, the sellers are getting their Elf Bars from the same cut-rate electronics distributors that also offer charging cables, phone cases and disposable batteries – all of which might also be fake. If you want to make sure that you aren’t buying fake Elf Bars, those are exactly the types of retailers that you want to avoid.