Geez, I thought I was going to do some light Sunday morning reading with my coffee..
Here's some thoughts.. I'll try to be objective.
1. A lot of people were unhappy with the way that Mako came into the Spearfishing Market. Certainly they took a lot of other people's hard work and put their label on it. Certainly they rocked the boat by then undercutting the market which they could afford to do because they did not need to spend huge amounts on Original Product Development, Certainly some of their product is produced in China/PR China even though they advertise differently. Certainly, they have pissed off a lot of people who have been working hard in this industry for the past 2O years. And, certainly they continue to rebrand items that are copies of other people's hard work to this day.
2. I know that Mako have also made some big steps in good directions over the past year. They have resourced their Gun Barrel manufacturing out of Asia. They have made strides towards improving the Quality of their products, for example their new line of Wetsuits. They have teamed up with some of the best American Speargun Building minds and created some truly awesome original items, ie Enclosed Track, new Hybrid, etc. These are steps they do deserve credit for. They are steps in the right direction. For me, they did start off in very muddy water.. but I do see them making some steps in good directions. Also, it needs to be said that within every comment about Mako Spearguns there is always a mention of Customer Service being top notch, infact one of the things Mako has done is to set the standard for Customer Service from a Full range Online business in this market. Lastly, I have seen Mako use their popularity to benefit countless auctions, event sponsorships, and good causes. They are not the evil empire.. Dano seems like a real hard worker and a good guy to me though I have never met him. My guess is that he's in the office 7 days a week and is thinking about Spearfishing, Spearguns, Equipment, Design and Product Development when ever he is awake.
3. Most all other full range Spearfishing companies also rebrand items which may be copies of other people's hard work. Many of these companies also source these items in Asia. I can look on the Pursuit Website and see a glaring example. The Pursuit Low Volume Mask which is a great mask. It doesn't come from the Chinese distributor, and I'm not going to name the source, but this is an exact copy of a mask from a major Diving company and I'm guessing that this Major Dive company put forth a lot of resources in time, money, work, for it's product developers and designers to make this Mask originally.. Then it was blatanly copied exactly by another company and offered for rebranding.. I've wrestled with this exact question many times. Here's a Great Mask. There's no way I can afford to develop one on my own, I have the option to re-brand this and offer a great product to my customers.. Many times I've wanted to call foul on others, but couldn't justify it because at the time, my own company used one small item that was similar looking on the outside to that of another company.. we sourced this from an open manufacturer. I reasoned that until this changed about my own company, and we were 1OO% original, that I was in no position to call foul on anyone. Some items involve expensive moulds.. Masks, and especially Fins, Euro Gun Handles, Muzzles, Knives and Sheaths, and even some of the most progressive and established companies will rebrand these items.
I think what you are really referring to here and what makes you legitimately upset is that there is a big difference between adding one or two items which are good items which have been sourced from an open manufacturer, and creating your entire companies' starting range by sourcing items which were developed previously specifically for other companies, and then the Manufacturer decided to partner up with a local company to act as a front for these goods and sell them out.
These are issues within this industry that are definitely not confined to one brand, rather, which involve almost all of them. Many people feel that Mako started off questionably. But, the ball is their court now as they have cash flow and a more stabilzed business, to do the right thing by putting quality of product and original ideas, and product development as their new focus. My message to MAKO would be. "What wasn't acceptable of a new company busting down the door last year is completely unnacceptable of a now established company. Take every single one of your products and review them. If it's a direct copy of someone else's work, even if it's been changed 1O%, ie the new Reels, which have Rob Allen tossing and turning in his sleep, phase those items out. Move forward with your own designs. Always forward." And in doing so.. and seeing just how much time, energy, work, and money is involved in truly original product development.. I'm sure the pricing will equal out as well.
Okay.. enough light reading for Sunday. Coffee is finished. Gone surfin.
