Arghh Matey, there’s Pirates about, and we’re not talking about the nautical variety either. I suppose that we shouldn’t be surprised that some unscrupulous types would manufacture flying discs and attempt to pass them off as genuine Hyperflite discs. Afterall, Hyperflite makes the best canine discs in the world and imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

Now, we don’t mind if people try and replicate our success, but we do have issues when folks brand cheap knock-off discs with Hyperflite logos. What bothers us the most is that the unsuspecting purchasers of these knockoff discs are paying a premium price for discs that are inferior in design and materials, not to mention potentially unsafe for their canines.

Fortunately, this problem is limited to only one country, though it’s a big one. Recently, we were alerted by one of our retailers in China, that certain pet retailers were selling cheap Hyperflite discs bearing our logo and corporate markings. Upon inspection of these discs, we were able to confirm that they were fakes. And, to make matters worse, these pirates went to extremes to conceal their treachery. They even have our website and corporate name embedded into the mold from which they produce their discs! Fortunately, there are some obvious ways to distinguish between quality treasure and cheap-bilge ballast that belongs in “Davey Jones’ Locker.”  The fake Hyperflite discs, like the pirate rapscallions that made them, appear to be suffering from some form of scurvy. Even though the fakes we inspected were brand new, they looked as if they had been keelhauled. To be more specific, the hot stamping job on the fakes was amateurish, and the discs themselves looked dull and dirty as if they had been soaked in a barrel of brine. On top of that, the fakes flat out stunk. They smelled (and we’re not exaggerating) like an oiled, Gulf-of-Mexico Pelican. Or, more accurately, they reeked as one would expect something to smell if dipped in creosote or roofing tar.

What’s the harm in all this? Well, when you purchase genuine Hyperflite discs, you can be sure that your discs were made in the U.S. from pet-safe, virgin polymer formulations. You don’t have to worry that harmful solvents, fillers, heavy metals, melamine, BPA, polycarbonate, medical waste, or other industrial contaminants are present  in your discs.

Before we “shiver your timbers” a bit too much, there is a simple way to protect your canine from such dangers — purchase your discs only from authorized Hyperflite retailers. Our retailers are listed on the Hyperflite website and if you purchase from a listed retailer, you can be confident that the discs you buy are safe for your canine buddies.

Fortunately, thus far, the fakes seem to be a problem only in China, where intellectual property and product safety are often relatively meaningless concepts. Rest assured, should anyone try and import fake Hyperflite discs to the U.S., Europe, or Japan, then the miserable shark bait will get no quarter from us. So, “avast there ye pirate swabs, the cat o’nine tails, and plank walking will be too good for you if we catch you messing with our canine mates.”  And, we mean it!