Overpriced ARB CKMTP12 900 dollar portable Air compressor alternative

[HappyRed]

I’m down for a group buy.

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[Steven_B]

I was under the impression that this would be a clone (which Im fine with) but I think its actually just a rebranded one direct from china which really shocked me. And your thoughts might vary, but if ARB can charge 900 bucks for something and the factory where they have them built can sell them for 300 with shipping and still make a profit leads me to believe these things are incredibly overpriced from the get go. I understand this is capitalism, but to me it is a gross and egregious markup for something that probably cost them well under a 100 to make. And before anyone goes on a rant about how much time & money they spent into developing this than you're in for a surprise as they are actually using open patents from a defunct company that originally made these compressors. That last reason is truly the motivation for seeking out an alternative as ARB didnt actually do any real research or development for any of their compressors and they just slap their name on them and increase the price 10 fold. See below for pics of "HF" compressor and no sadly that doesnt stand for harbor freight......

Wow..where to begin.

First off, the ARB medium and twin compressor are made in ARB's factory in Australia, not China. Second off, I personally know the engineer (actually a Canadian living in Australia) who developed the medium and twin compressors in....you guessed it Australia. And a lot of ARB R&D and abuse testing was conducted over time before release. In fact. the twin compressor went through USA Military testing and passed and has been used in military and military contract vehicles around the world. If you know anything about these contracts, they are not allowed to use products made in China.

So, in reality, you do have a knockoff compressor in your possession.

 

[athous]

Wow..where to begin.

First off, the ARB medium and twin compressor are made in ARB's factory in Australia, not China. Second off, I personally know the engineer (actually a Canadian living in Australia) who developed the medium and twin compressors in....you guessed it Australia. And a lot of ARB R&D and abuse testing was conducted over time before release. In fact. the twin compressor went through USA Military testing and passed and has been used in military and military contract vehicles around the world. If you know anything about these contracts, they are not allowed to use products made in China.

So, in reality, you do have a knockoff compressor in your possession.

dont Want to get into a pissing match here but nearly all the ARB parts on this compressor are sourced from China. And from what I glean is that they do very little in the way of assembly in Australia. To have manufacturing facilities that could churn out all the different parts for this and truly any other arb product would be impossible given the sheer magnitude of materials and assembly. Australia also has strict environment laws in which even if they did have the ability they wouldn’t be able to produce it.

and like I stated before I went into this thinking it was a knockoff but was willing to take the gamble. When we began tearing it down it was incredibly apparent it was the same parts with the same manufacturer stamping. for Someone to make a knock off they are not going to carry about internal parts stamping that aren’t visible unless disassembled.

 

[Steven_B]

dont Want to get into a pissing match here but nearly all the ARB parts on this compressor are sourced from China. And from what I glean is that they do very little in the way of assembly in Australia. To have manufacturing facilities that could churn out all the different parts for this and truly any other arb product would be impossible given the sheer magnitude of materials and assembly. Australia also has strict environment laws in which even if they did have the ability they wouldn’t be able to produce it.

and like I stated before I went into this thinking it was a knockoff but was willing to take the gamble. When we began tearing it down it was incredibly apparent it was the same parts with the same manufacturer stamping. for Someone to make a knock off they are not going to carry about internal parts stamping that aren’t visible unless disassembled.

You are right, I don't want to get in a pissing match. But it pisses me off when bad information is spread on the internet and the gullible people get scammed. I mean you must know more than me, I only worked there for 17+ years.

Hopefully, the admins kill these threads because likely, ARB's legal department has already seen the posts. There was a batch of the same knockoff compressors that made it into the USA a few years ago and they were stopped due to ARB's IP.

 

[athous]

You are right, I don't want to get in a pissing match. But it pisses me off when bad information is spread on the internet and the gullible people get scammed. I mean you must know more than me, I only worked there for 17+ years.

Hopefully, the admins kill these threads because likely, ARB's legal department has already seen the posts. There was a batch of the same knockoff compressors that made it into the USA a few years ago and they were stopped due to ARB's IP.

Its a simple matter of cost, a product of this caliber does not warrant 900 dollars. To me that's price gouging and taking advantage of people in a niche market. ARB does have a patent on a Twin Motor Compressor, but the law has labeled it over reaching in a 2014 lawsuit between one of its patent trolls and a company that looks to be out of Holland. Their patent hasn't held up in 3 other suits brought on by them as well. ARB is free to blow as much hot air it wants in anyone's direction, however easily citing case law would give you carte blanc to build as many of these as you want and label them with anything that doesn't say ARB's name on it. As they have recently passed law in 2019 to monetize bad faith lawsuits, I don't see ARB even trying to go after anyone sans a scary legal letter as they would be on the hook for opposing attorneys cost if they were to lose.

On a personal note I dont like what ARB has become, they are a greedy selfish company, that is only interested in bleeding money from their base of users. The argument of "just dont buy it" doesnt work either as they are the 400lb gorilla in the room and use their legal muscle to intimidate anyone into building anything thats even remotely close to something they have. I can think of no more despicable of a company in the offroad world to be honest.

FYI just my .02

 

[BamaJeepTruck]

You are right, I don't want to get in a pissing match. But it pisses me off when bad information is spread on the internet and the gullible people get scammed. I mean you must know more than me, I only worked there for 17+ years.

Hopefully, the admins kill these threads because likely, ARB's legal department has already seen the posts. There was a batch of the same knockoff compressors that made it into the USA a few years ago and they were stopped due to ARB's IP.

I have no dog in this fight, but why would the admins delete the thread? Nowhere is anyone saying its an ARB branded product. Multiple times its been explained as a Chinese no name brand which we all know what that means. I don't think anyone is being scammed here. If a group of people want to buy one, are willing to take a chance why not just let them be?

 

[blau iii]

So is this group buy happening?

 

[calipoontappa]

So is this group buy happening?

Where’s the GB?

 

[microboby]

Group buy is happening and some started sending payment already . I can include anyone into the buy just DM to add you to the private chat . Original group buy got deleted because it got political and stuff .. if interested DM ASAP

 

[WhatExit?]

Those of you promoting, doing a group buy and buying knock-off products that these Chinese companies cannot legally sell directly in the US should be ashamed of themselves.

Imagine if your product Intellectual Property (IP) was stolen by the Chinese and being sold for less. Imagine if it was your company or the company you worked for and you lost your job because of it.

This forum's owners should not permit it to be used to facilitate knock-off product sales.

 

[athous]

Those of you promoting, doing a group buy and buying knock-off products that these Chinese companies cannot legally sell directly in the US should be ashamed of themselves.

Imagine if your product Intellectual Property (IP) was stolen by the Chinese and being sold for less. Imagine if it was your company or the company you worked for and you lost your job because of it.

This forum's owners should not permit it to be used to facilitate knock-off product sales.

Arb has tried on 3 occasions to file patent suits for this and similar products. They’ve lost all three times. You may see this as a loss but it’s actually a win. It creates competition and lowers prices for all of us. ARB charges unreasonable prices for their products and tries to strong arm companies into bending to their will. They are also patent trolls which are the bottom feeders of all industries. If you support unfair practices and a retail market monopoly than go ahead and continue to buy ARB products. Please don’t pass judgement on us who don’t believe in supporting that type of company though.

 

[j.o.y.ride]

If 'HF' were Harbor Freight I'd consider it but sadly no

 

[WhatExit?]

Arb has tried on 3 occasions to file patent suits for this and similar products. They’ve lost all three times. You may see this as a loss but it’s actually a win. It creates competition and lowers prices for all of us. ARB charges unreasonable prices for their products and tries to strong arm companies into bending to their will. They are also patent trolls which are the bottom feeders of all industries. If you support unfair practices and a retail market monopoly than go ahead and continue to buy ARB products. Please don’t pass judgement on us who don’t believe in supporting that type of company though.

There's a reason these Chinese companies can't sell knock-off products in countries like the US that have Intellectual Property protection laws. When you enable them to sell their products here you're bypassing LAWS designed to protect companies who do business the right and legal way.

You can argue this all you want but it appears you'll never understand it until you have your own company or design and market your own product. Until then you're defending unethical/unlawful behavior and helping these companies make money because you only care about saving a few $$$.

You may not like ARB and that's your right. But there are other alternatives out there that are legally sold in the US. Buy one of them

 

[BamaJeepTruck]

There's a reason these Chinese companies can't sell knock-off products in countries like the US that have Intellectual Property protection laws. When you enable them to sell their products here you're bypassing LAWS designed to protect companies who do business the right and legal way.

You can argue this all you want but it appears you'll never understand it until you have your own company or design and market your own product. Until then you're defending unethical/unlawful behavior and helping these companies make money because you only care about saving a few $$$.

You may not like ARB and that's your right. But there are other alternatives out there that are legally sold in the US. Buy one of them

I hope you don’t fall off that horse anytime soon. Looks pretty high up there.

 

[WhatExit?]

I hope you don’t fall off that horse anytime soon. Looks pretty high up there.

What do you do for a living? What company do you work for?

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