TotalFX Rogue Lightsaber: 12 false and misleading sales tactics

TotalFX Rogue Lightsaber is trending online, especially due to the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Here are 12 false and misleading sales tactics used by a variety of vendors who sell TotalFX Rogue Lightsabers. Several companies selling the TotalFX Rogue Lightsaber are linked to at the bottom of the article. Feel free to examine the websites and decide for yourself if you’d like to purchase the product.

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE This article may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an item through some links, then SaberSourcing may receive some money at no cost to you. Thanks for supporting current and future content!

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1. Fake urgency countdown clocks
HobbiesDiscount selling TotalFX Rogue lightsabers use of fake urgency countdown clocks. These clocks start at, say 30 minutes, and just reset back to 30 minutes again the clock expires. Legitimate sites like Groupon use countdown clocks that actually expire.

2. Misleading perpetual “Launch Price”
HobbiesDiscount and StoreHouseProducts both claim that once a certain sales number is reached, the price will increase to full price. HobbiesDiscount claims that once 200 units are sold, the $39.95 sale price will increase to $114.95. The site claims 190 of 200 units have been sold–the number has stayed the same from at least 12/5/2017 to 12/11/2017. StoreHouseProducts claims once 500 units are sold, the $39.95 sale price will increase to $119.95.

The oldest reviews on each site are from December 2016, so apparently each site is still “launching” the product a year later.

3. False use of company logos
StorehouseProducts falsely uses logos from: As Seen on TV, Yahoo News, Business Insider, and CNN without linking to any actual articles from these sites.

4. Use of other saber brands in video advertising
A Storehouse YouTube ad uses footage of sabers that are not the TotalFX Rogue lightsaber. The beginning of the video depicts a circle of people holding sabers that are various models by other saber companies. The video then cuts to footage of a lightsaber battle during the 2015 World Fencing Championships.

5. False “Quantity Remaining” fluctuations
Easyhurry uses a false quantity remaining that fluctuates between 2 and 7 sabers remaining when you refresh the page.

6. False use of the lightsaber trademark
StorehouseProducts uses the term “lightsaber” followed by the trademark registration symbol. Lucasfilm holds the trademark on “lightsaber” and TotalFX Rogue Lightsabers are not officially licensed Lucasfilm products.

7. False product title
Buyers report receiving sabers with a different brand name on the packaging than “TotalFX Rogue Lightsaber.” A buyer’s complaint states, “The product I received was nothing like what was described on the website. I received a package of two “Space LaserSwords”
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/hobbies-discount/internet/hobbies-discount-false-advertisingscam-internet-1349365

Major sites like Amazon ban matching product offerings inaccurately. Amazon states, “When listing items for sale using an existing product detail page, the product being offered must be listed on a product detail page that accurately describes the product in all respects, including (but not limited to) the following attributes: manufacturer, edition, binding, version, format, or player compatibility.”

8. Omitting a clear photo of the saber hilt
StorehouseProducts shows two sabers in their photos–one with a glowing red blade and one with a glowing blue blade. The hilts are blurry and in the shadow so it’s difficult to discern the design of the hilt.

9. Vague and meaningless claims
HobbiesDiscount and EasyHurry both state, “Crafted in the same style and specifications as the original movie props.” HobbiesDiscount states, “It literally feels like you’re holding a real lightsaber.”

10. Unknown product origin

Where do TotalFX Rogue Lightsabers come from? Several different websites sell them, but none of the sites list the brand name for the product. Alternatively, is “TotalFX Rogue Lightsaber” the brand name? None of this is clear.

11. At least three distinctive products all sold under the same name “TotalFX Rogue Lightsaber”
Some vendors sells a saber with a solid silver colored hilt. Other vendors sells sabers with a two-tones black and silver colored hilt. On eBay, several seller are offering some hilts modeled after movie hilts. Which of these designs is a ‘TRUE’ TotalFX Rogue Lightsaber?

12. Brand confusion between TotalFX Rogue Lightsaber and Star Wars ForceFX Lightsaber
Lucasfilm holds trademarks on both the word “lightsaber” and “ForceFX lightsaber.” The unofficial and unlicensed TotalFX Rogue Lightsaber sounds similar to the licensed Star Wars ForceFX lightsabers. This brand confusion is possibly legal, but nevertheless misleading, especially when paired with the StorehouseProducts false use of the lightsaber trademark.

BONUS: F Rating from BBB for HobbiesDiscount and StoreHouse Products
Both HobbiesDiscount and StoreHouseProducts received F ratings from the Better Business Bureau (as of December 2017). Feel free to read through some of the customer reviews (linked to at the bottom of the page).

List of some (but not all) companies selling TotalFX Rogue Lightsaber:
https://easyhurry.myshopify.com/products/totalfx-rogue-lightsabers-includes-bundle-of-two-lightsabers

HobbiesDiscount
https://hobbiesdiscount.net/products/totalfx-rogue-lightsabers
https://www.bbb.org/northwest/business-reviews/online-retailer/hobbies-discount-in-portland-or-1000033759 (F Rating on BBB, as of 12/13/2017)

StoreHouseProducts
https://storehouseproducts.com/products/totalfx-rogue-lightsabers
https://www.bbb.org/mbc/business-reviews/general-merchandise/storehouse-products-in-vancouver-bc-1298875/reviews-and-complaints (F Rating on BBB, as of 12/13/2017)

TrendingVIP
https://www.trendingvip.com/products/totalfx-rogue-lightsabers

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Have you purchased a TotalFX Rogue Lightsaber? What was your experience?

1 thought on “TotalFX Rogue Lightsaber: 12 false and misleading sales tactics”

  1. Thanks so much for this article. I had seen the ads many times and was tempted to finally click and see what was up and cost. It seemed “too good to be true” which is usually the case. So I decided to do a quick search about it and found this very detailed article addressing the many claims and advertising issues. Thank you so much for helping me save my money!

    Reply

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