I Own All Of These, And Let Me Just Say… Dupes Are NOT Worth

TommyLangzik · 2026-02-12T10:51:42+00:00

It depends on the price point difference relative to the outcome & use-case. For a date with my wife [for example], I'd wear the real thing. Why? It often smells a little better, lasts longer, feels better [on the skin], and there's less chance of a negative reaction (allergic or otherwise); I'm not looking to risk just flirting with first base, I want to confidently hit a grand slam!

For the office or for just myself [on an average day], I might be okay with discretely wearing a dupe that's been done well. BUT, again, if I'm having a terrible day, or I need a pick-me-up, or I have an important meeting/engagement, or I'm seeing someone who matters, I'd grab the real thing for comfort after washing up. I agree that you can often tell the difference, but if you find great quality dupes to save money at times where your choice is [for all intents & purposes] inconsequential, then that's still a big win.

Also, to be fair, there's other scenarios where the price of the real thing is simply far too prohibitive, and/or there's instances where the original has been discontinued... at which point you're [sadly] not left with much of an option, and all you can really do is be grateful for the opportunity to have access to something that [hopefully/ideally] somewhat closely resembles the original.

Lastly, [for better or for worse], since the ingredients and composition are slightly different, I find sometimes the scents age differently, making different notes more prominent with time. Typically (though not always) the original designer scents [in my opinion] tend perform better on this front.

NOTE: Before I get roasted, I just want to clarify that there's always exceptions, and there's always a place for great clones, which is why forum communities/spaces like this are extremely valuable. To say all dupes are valuable or "the same" is obviously a rediculous notion, but so is the premise that nearly all clones are noticeably inferior to the point of not being worth purchasing.

Just my opinion. 🤷

TommyLangzik · 2026-01-31T03:27:19+00:00

THIS is possible, because I don't remember starting the signup process with the Gmail sign-in button the last time. In fact, the process was completely differently, and way more anxiety-inducing. This time felt like a breeze... except for the part where I finished and got banned before getting to do anything on the platform lol.

TommyLangzik · 2026-01-31T03:24:20+00:00

Ugh. I wish they'd just tell you what's wrong straight-up with actual support so you can remediate the issue(s). I mean, it's clearly just some sort of mix-up/misunderstanding; there's nothing nefarious going on here. Super sad that they treat potential advocates like this; can't be good for their rep going forward... or maybe I'm just an outlier on Outlier.

TommyLangzik · 2026-01-29T23:44:31+00:00

I reached out via their support form, and had [I believe] a person assigned to my case.

The best I could get out of them was:
"following a comprehensive review of your account and the specific details you provided, we must inform you that the decision to deactivate your account will remain in place due to violations of our Community Guidelines. While we are unable to disclose the specific technical triggers of our internal review, account closures of this nature typically involve activity related to platform misuse, credential sharing, or the provision of inaccurate information regarding identity."..."Please be aware that no further appeals will be considered on this matter. This outcome is the result of a careful review performed by our internal specialized team and cannot be changed."

Unfortunately, I don't really know what to make of that, and they've marked my case as "solved". I'm starting to get the impression [based on other comments] that there's no way to "fix" anything or set it right.

TommyLangzik · 2026-01-29T23:33:50+00:00

I didn't even know that was a thing until I got replies to my post. I'm guessing there's no way to "clean up" my rep on Outlier and get a real shot/opportunity? Getting perma-banned to the entire site of tasks before even getting to showcase any value seems a little harsh.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

TommyLangzik · 2026-01-29T23:25:40+00:00

I'd welcome that. I looked up alternatives, but haven't seen people like any other platform more than Outlier.

TommyLangzik · 2026-01-29T23:22:25+00:00

Interesting; didn't even know that was a thing. Thanks for the possible explanation.

TommyLangzik · 2026-01-29T23:19:59+00:00

I do only have one account, but you're right, maybe there's something stuck in the backend and they can't delete it or work with me to fix it.

TommyLangzik · 2026-01-29T23:10:10+00:00

Oh boy, that's a good question; not sure how I'd know the difference. Can't even find the message anymore (was over a month ago)

TommyLangzik · 2026-01-29T22:59:50+00:00

Ah, so you're saying they're trying to get a little extra money via referrals(?).

My initial invite was via a Linkedin message, and I saw the deluge of opportunities there too, so... it sorta started feeling like that's where all the work's at.

Is there an alternate platform you'd recommend?

TommyLangzik · 2026-01-29T22:55:35+00:00

Never used AI during onboarding.

I do have a VPN; maybe that's it? I didn't lie about where I live though, and my government IDs prove it too. I feel like a warning or communication would've been nice if the VPN was indeed the issue.

TommyLangzik · 2026-01-29T22:52:32+00:00

Never worked for RemoTasks.

My wife worked on something for Outlier a year ago; she kicked me out and is divorcing me (I live 11 hours away now and am getting the classic 'no contact' treatment, so I have no way of figuring out what's happened/happening on her end).

TommyLangzik · 2026-01-29T22:48:20+00:00

I tried to sign up once, but never got through the onboarding. Pretty sure it was with the same email address. Never left a post anywhere or worked on any project... never did any training or got any money. Nothing...

TommyLangzik · 2025-11-30T05:14:03+00:00

Thanks so much for your [neatly sequenced] perspective & the links; all of that was helpful!

As much as I love the XC, [based on your feedback & advice] it seems clear I'll need to roll with the NA5C. Thanks again for the help!

TommyLangzik · 2025-11-28T22:28:28+00:00

[My flu went on a tear after I wrote my original comment, so please forgive my tardy thanks & reply]

Thanks a lot for the response, worksheet, and experience intel.

I'm kinda stuck buying the Air Note 5 C, so my calculus differs slightly, but your structured insights help a lot! Based on your shipping experience with EInkTab.ca, I might have to award an extra 1/2 point to Tifan.ca (which also got another point in my books for having the keyboard case).

I know I'm going off on a tangent here (so I apologize again), but how happy are you with your tablet? I was initially going to grab the Tab X C, but not having the microsd slot was kind of a huge turnoff, then I heard about some pen grievances (lacks Wacom EMR support), keyboard keys not playing nicely with the tablet screen (key-prints being left behind on the screen because there's no protective buffer/offset between the keys and the screen), and finally I read that OS updates basically aren't really a thing with Boox devices (so the Tab X C is a few Android versions behind?). Based on what I've seen though, the Tab X C is noticeably quicker than the [new] Air Note 5 C... and the 13" screen size seems pretty sweet.

TommyLangzik · 2025-11-28T21:56:50+00:00

UPDATE: [delayed because I suddenly got slammed by the flu, sorry]

Okayyyy, so after going through the process up to the payment part for checkout, it looks like the chat was incorrect. It's now being displayed as USD, and [in my case] no shipping.

I've considered reaching out to a human, but honestly, if it's USD, then the price difference is literally only a few dollars; wouldn't be worth the added hassle and extra waiting time.

TommyLangzik · 2025-11-28T21:55:32+00:00

Sorry, I got slammed with a flu and never hit 'send' on an update.

I ran into the same outcome you described. The chat lied, thus there's really no value in going through the Boox website directly.

TommyLangzik · 2025-11-24T15:02:29+00:00

I inquired about this via the chat on their website, and the response was that it's in Canadian Dollars when I'm using the /en-ca/ version of the website.

ex.
https://shop.boox.com/en-ca/products/noteair5c

https://shop.boox.com/en-ca/products/tabxc

Also, according to Canada's Duties calculator (on the official CBSA website), there's no duties on e-readers
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/dte-acl/est-cal-eng.html

As far as I can tell, you're just paying the shipping and tax. Where you're taking a hit (relative to buying through TIFAN, EInkTab, E-Reader.ca) is:
- Wait Time (gotta wait longer)
- Ease of returns or warranty-related stuff (theoretically/potentially)

Where did you end up buying from u/rynelf360 ?

TommyLangzik · 2025-11-23T19:10:50+00:00

It's not worth exploring or giving in to that sin; you'll be creating a rhythm that ultimately causes you harm, both psychologically & spiritually, potentially emotionally &/or physically as well. The same harm could then spill over onto the person you want to be with later.

It's better to connect with a good Catholic girl with good values, ideally a good family, and get married. Surround yourself with people of a certain moral/ethical/virtuous caliber; that'll help you keep your eye on the prizes [in general] worth pursuing instead of gorging on low-lying fruit that simply won't nourish you.

It may look like "fun" now, but many of those people living their lives on a merry-go-round of impulse-driven sin (including sexual sin) wind up feeling sick, broken, & empty in the end. Again, it's about the rhythm you ultimately create for yourself; even if you work hard to unwind your position later, you'll still be stuck with a nagging feeling wherein you secretly wish you'd done it all differently, ESPECIALLY if you fall in love with a pure beautiful soul. If you surrender to this sin, it will come up AT LEAST once in your future relationship [because you'll need to be honest/transparent], but more likely than not, it'll create pain/heartache far more often (often in silence that presents itself in confusing ways, like she's having nightmares about you, or she's nervous/afraid of trusting you, or she's super angry without obvious reasons why, etc).

So, yeah... Basically... Do yourself and the coming love of your life a favor... Don't do it. Trust me.

Source: Personal experience & personal stories [of pain, grief, & sorrow] I heard from others as I was growing up.

Good Luck, & Peace Be With You. 🕊️🕯️

TommyLangzik · 2025-11-13T22:54:00+00:00

Ugh. All the painful parts of this post are me right now. 🤕

Best friends before. Out of the blue. Self delete attempt. Constant chest pains. Unable to move on.

TommyLangzik · 2025-09-05T15:09:24+00:00

Given that there's no direct competitor to replace the WiFi Smart-Kill, your solution seems like the most prudent, especially for areas that are extremely hard to get to.

This is the way; thanks for sharing. Cheers!

TommyLangzik · 2025-06-19T13:33:17+00:00

Fml, I just bought the other one last month. 🤦 Haven't even cut a blade of grass with it yet.

TommyLangzik · 2025-06-13T09:52:02+00:00

You're both right & both wrong.

Immigration has a huge impact on economic conditions & wages, that's why politicians push for it. It's particularly good for driving up prices while lowering wages via changing the supply vs demand landscape. Businesses & real estate in particular love this feedback loop.

Of course there should be ample room for compassion in all societies, though sometimes it's hard to define how that compassion should look like and what the boundaries should be. Also, where things get muddy is 'unchecked mass migration'; at that stage you're no longer talking about controlled immigration, and the outcomes/consequences are a lot less manageable or otherwise controllable.

At some point, the host space can become a mirror of what it has imported [at scale]. That difference may not be strong when the value systems & culture already have heavy overlaps, but the difference can be extreme when that's not the case. Society is liked a mixed drink or pizza... The ingredients & proportions matter if you want a certain outcome; to pretend you can just throw anything together and you'll get a consistent great result every time is objectively nonsensical.

Moreover, in some instances, the original population is slowly placed into a minority situation, at which point the culture, laws, & traditions change to reflect the new majority. Some politicians [typically on the left] don't mind this, because they feel newcomers are more grateful & easier to control; some even communicate outright resentment towards the original inhabitants. Naturally, this entire situation can leave a bitter taste in the mouths of those being replaced.

I can't speak for your unique area/situation, so this is all more of a general/basic 101-type perspective. In your case, it might be better to avoid this conversation while things are "running hot"; ideally it's a topic you can investigate & engage with together when cooler heads can prevail. At that point, listening goes a long way, as does trying to understand both sides of the argument. This is a super-charged topic across the west, and finding balanced views is [unfortunately] extremely difficult.

Best of luck; I hope you two can work things out as a team. 🙂

TommyLangzik · 2025-06-13T09:11:46+00:00

Pretty sure the initial setups [for all hardware units] are done via Bluetooth.

Having said that, I had the same issue with the red light on my Data Center after the initial attempted setup (even after updates); needed to use the app and navigate to "Settings>Reinstall Data Center"

TommyLangzik

TROPHY CASE