Tactical Counterfit

So, my roomie was looking for a grip pod last week.  It's a nice rail mounted fore grip with a bipod that recesses into the grip.  He found some for a reasonable price, and ordered them.  When they arrived, he eventually found out that they were cheaply made Chinese counterfeits that were made for airsoft.  The website that he bought them from, advertised them as the real deal, and said nothing to the contrary.  He immediately got a refund, and managed to find a genuine grip pod for cheaper than the crappy clones.  An interesting story, but what I want to know is, if they make the REAL grip pods for cheaper and of a higher quality than the clones, why in the crap does anyone buy the crappy clones?

Here's a side by side comparison of the two:

Not a whole lot of differences visually, but once you hold each in your hand and examine them in person you can tell a big difference in quality. The one on the right is the real one, btw.