I recently picked up a set of "new" A* GP Pro gloves off of eBay. When they came they had a tag attached to them that said "Skull Beanie", which is obviously the wrong Alpinestars tag. They look/feel/smell just like a set of brand new gloves, but I'm questioning now whether or not they are rip-offs or manufacturer's defects. The only noticeable thing that stands out as wrong is on the right pinky finger the "A" in "Alpinestars" starts at the top of the glove with the "S" being at the base. On all pictures I've seen of the gloves elsewhere this is reversed with the "A" being at the base of the hand. So....what do you guys think? 1) Are these rip-offs from some other company or manufacturer's defects made by Alpinestars? 2) If they are rip-offs is it worth returning them (I picked them up for $93 shipped) or is the quality really not that big of a difference to do that? Thanks for the help! The first photo is a stock one. The last 3 are pics of the actual gloves themselves that I bought.
My completely uneducated guess is that they are indeed seconds. They look good though, so I would be happy at that price. I use these gloves and would buy them again all day for that. That inverted print on the right glove pinkie finger would make them seconds, so if you can't find any other defects they are likely fine.
Could have been a Alpinestars rep's demo gloves. I've seen knock off's but they say Alpinestar not Alpinestars.
The other thing that stands out to me is that the word Pro on the heal of the palm should be in red not black. I just got off the phone with the head of Alpinestars in the US and there are some fake GP Pro's coming out of China. They are working with their legal team to get this stopped however BE VERY CAREFUL if you are not buying from a trusted seller.
If those are rip-offs they look damn good. I'm not saying it's ok that they ripped A-stars off, but the quality looks pretty good. I actually bought a pair of GP techs off of ebay a couple of years ago, makes me wonder if they are real or not. Mine came in what looked like a true alpinestars box that resembles a shoe box, how about yours?
Johnny, I have just got out my 2 pairs which are both genuine, and I find that the Alpinestars logo on the pinky is opposite on each hand, so your right hand one is correct, and the left hand one is wrong. On my black gloves the Pro in Gp Pro is in red on the palm, as stated previously. The blue ones have it in blue. From what I can see the palm reinforcement looks different to either of my pairs though. Different shape and can't see if it wraps around the thumb as much. Do you want to post a photo of them palm up, or I can post a photo or if you really want? I would say, on the little I have to go on, and bearing in mind the price, that these are knock offs.
I know on the Race Replica suits there are some subtle differewnces in the lettering, from year to year. I.E. the first generation blue suits the Alinestars logo on the back was white with black outline, the following year it was black with white outline. Just subtle differences here and there.
Well I made the decision yesterday to send the gloves back. The inside of the plastic guard that goes around your wrist had a piece of black material that had peeled away cuz the glue was no good and that was enough for me. For anyone thats curious the guy on eBay who I got them off of is named gakasheh. He normally has 3-4 gloves at a time on there and they are all of this same build/quality. They normally go for $115-$125 shipped (I just happen to get a pair when nobody else was watching them I guess). Considering Rider's Discount can hook u up with a deal for the REAL thing for not much more, I'd highly recommend shooting them a call instead of dealing with this guy on eBay who "got them from my friend's store" as he told me.
I have looked at the GP Pro gloves on eBay, but I'm wary of pulling the trigger. I have a pair of genuine GP Pros and I love them, but I don't want to buy one of the Hong Kong knockoffs and have them come apart if I crash.
