Duragrouch

I beg to differ; For a fake maker in a country that honors IP and takes action, viable. But China produces immense amount of fakes, everything from "Coach" bags to other premium goods. China doesn't prosecute, they have zero incentive to do so, it's bringing in money (in the same way Russia and other countries don't go after computer-malware-blackmail actors) and the genuine part makers are not interested in going after the customers, it gains them nothing. I read an article a couple months back, IIRC, China is not even respecting IP on big wind turbines, they buy a few, reverse-engineer it down to the last bolt, then build them in quantity. I saw this decades ago, copies of the Ithaca model 37 shotgun for $200 retail, lots of other stuff. Yeah, chains seem cheap enough they wouldn't do it, but we're talking about a country that can produce a nice-looking click-stop torque wrench, 1/4", 3/8", 1/2" drive, all selling for $10 each *retail* (on sale) at Harbor Freight. Copies of Pelican-style cases there too at 1/3 the cost. Only thing to change is the KMC or other letter embossing in the die stage when the material is still in the flat before blanking them out, that's an easy and cheap change. And the packaging and product detail proof (like no chamfer) has been mentioned above; Those can't be just a random few; If one fake is found, they are making a lot of them. Further, China is so obsessed with producing anything and everything, with strong government support, I would not doubt if they do some things at break-even, just to get the initial experience with the product, for greater profit later. They didn't buy top level Sukhoi fighters from Russia, they built them in China under license (J-11, J-15, J-16). Yeah that's going to work out well for Russia in the long run. Not. Now they designed the more advanced J-20 themselves. Japan demanded the same for an F-16 variant. When Boeing willingly outsourced the 787 wing to Japan, the engineers said, if you have them make the wing, you're giving away the store. Sorry the rant. I know we're just talking about bike chains. But there is ample evidence of China copying everything, and in many cases others foolishly gave them the knowledge to do so, for higher profits than domestically sourced goods. Following the 2008 crash, China was able to purchase some US makers of advanced technology for cheap, I saw it happen. Delphi Automotive (for their advanced Magneride damper technology), Cirrus Aircraft (for composite manufacturing technology), et al. Shame on us for letting it happen.