This is an actual product review copy and pasted from an auction site:

1.) The clubs felt heavy - probably a different swing weight.
2.) The serial number was only nine digits and Callaway uses ten.
3.) The serial number did not check out with Callaway (you can call them through their website and they are very helpful).
4.) The real fusions have a visible seam near the perimeter of the club face where the titanium face is plasma welded to the body. The fakes do not. This may not apply to wide sole fusions which are welded in a different location.
5.) The real fusions do not have numbering on the club face itself.
6.) The numbering on the sole of the clubface was a different font.
7.) The shaft logo reads "RCH System 75" instead of "RCH System 75i"
8.) The shaft logo was sloppy on some clubs.
9.) The shafts were not charcoal grey in color.
10.) The grips had a strong odor of rubber and were not of original quality.

Callaway use a laser bar code next to the serial number also.

Chemphysics,

I'm not sure how your tale equates to Callaway being "rotten", the 1st retailers you visitied maybe, but what actual input did Callaway have in the incident you described?

I have been a Callaway User for years and have to say their customer service is in my opinion second to none, their products are top notch and I cannot forsee myself usuing any other brand of irons in the forseeable future, I reallly cannot recommend Callaway enough, (although most of their irons are perhaps not the most beautiful), they certainly do work and perform as well, if not better than many of their competitiors.

I would suggest that you try not to let the bad experience you had with one retailer put you off when Callaway have little control over that aspect of your purchase.

One note only retail standard sets have serials on them, custom ordered ones dont...

If you want to send me a pic I'll give you a veridict, or post a link etc.

Simple - DON'T BUY OFF EBAY!! It's full of copies and fakes! If you want to be assured of the real deal then buy from an authorised account.

Pay peanuts....get fake monkeys!!!!!!

Unfortunately fakes are becoming better made, in that some fakes come with serial numbers, shaft labels, plastic rapping, etc. There is even a website where you can buy them. I've seen some Cleveland wedges and a Taylormade putter that to the average person would look legit for the most part. Ebay is an easy outlet for them, although there are some genuine bargains if you are careful. On Ebay I've also seen some fake Ping clubs and most recently some dodgy Callaway iron auctions, the photos look genuine enough but the price is way too good to be true (ie new X-20s £200).

The sponsor of this site is Neils Golf shop - who openly advertise custom made copies of the Callaway X20's - are you pessimists saying that these clubs are not good because they are copies and only retail for £200-00.  We all know that 80% of Callaways costs go into the marketing -so PAY PEANUTS - GET MONKEYS is rubbish - its you guys keep paying £300 plus for Callaway drivers who must be the mugs?

Generally there are differences between clone clubs and fake clubs. As I understand it Niels sell clones that look very similar to big name clubs.

From what I hear fakes are generally worse quality and use substandard materials. So something is more likely to go wrong with them. When they do, they will have no warranty. Today's Golfer magazine did an article a while ago where they showed you the construction of fake and genuine clubs by cutting some clubs in half.

Not all Callaways have serial numbers. My Fusions did not and I knew where  they came from plus the Fusions in the Pro shop (main Callaway agent) where I play do not have serial numbers.

 One of the ways of checking for fakes is to look at the bottom of the shaft in the hosel you should see that the shaft has been cut across in three directions to aid insertion, a lot of the copyists do not bother to do this.

I don't think the argument that the bigger manufacturers like Callaway, put such a vast sum in the pockets of tour pros without investing as much in R&D. In my opinion, whilst I admit you will pay a premium, their products are of excellent quality which I do not believe can be cloned cheaply. The fact that a product looks the same does not mean it will perform the same, it does not mean it has been made out of high quality materials to the same tollerances etc. The amount of time that must be put into perfectly balancing club heads in terms of weight distribution and material density must be considerable.

Personally, I really don't see the point of copy cat clubs. I don't believe they can perform that well at all and thus probably represent worse value for money, because their effort and costs have been put into cloning a club instead on making something that performs in the first place.

There are bargains out there to be had, I know from experience manufacturers like Benross offer excellent quality clubs at very reasonable prices, but I will not believe for one second, that a copy of a highly marketed club from a major manufacturer will perform anywhere near as well as that nor price equivelants from the likes of Benross, be them an out and out fake or a 'style' copy.

This is probably the most controversal post I've ever sent, and I'm sure it'll provoke response, but that's what I believe. As with most things in life, generally I think you get what you pay for.