How to Spot a Fake Cart: Signs Your THC Cart Is a Knock-Off

The best way to spot a fake THC cartridge is by looking at the cart’s packaging, vape juice consistency, quality, and production details, like packing dates, license numbers, and batch and lot numbers. Certain inaccuracies in these areas will be a dead giveaway for a fake THC cartridge. But if you’re in a bind, a quick way to affirm the authenticity of TRĒ House’s THC vape cart is by scanning the package’s QR code. This will lead you to the product’s third-party lab tests and show you all the tender-lovin’ care we put into that specific THC cart. 

In this article, we’ll go deeper than just obvious packaging errors. We’ll open up the fake carts and show you the secrets to spotting a fake cartridge. We’ll clue you in on tell-tale signs before even the first puff. Sure, fake carts smell, taste, and feel funky. But the last thing you want to do is actually use a counterfeit cart; fake THC carts are seriously unsafe. They’re untested, untreated, and contain unknown chemicals, additives, and potential toxins that can seriously affect your health and well-being. 

Grab These Carts First

Now, the best way to avoid fake, counterfeit vape carts is by ordering directly from the TRĒ House site. This simple step lets you skip all this extra reading and get real, authentic vape carts for your next THC-fueled fun!

Here are a few of our fan faves!

Grape Ape Live Resin HHC Vape Cartridge

A popular, grape-forward indica, our Grape Ape Live Resin HHC Vape Cartridge contains one gram of decadent, borderline divine HHC vape juice with a true-to-strain flavor profile. Plus, with its potent, powerful effects, this cart captures all the flavors and feels of the classic Grape Ape strain, giving it a wonderful psychoactive twist, thanks to live resin HHC. 

Green Crack Live Resin Delta 8 Vape Cartridge

Or, for a mentally stimulating, fun-fueling, rip-roaring ride through the cosmos, check out our Green Crack Live Resin Delta 8 Vape Cartridge. Packed with true-to-strain terpenes, this Green Crack cart captures all the flavors and feels of this beloved sativa, with a little more potent aromas, thanks to the cart’s live resin vape liquid. 

What Are THC Vape Cartridges?

Now, to be good at spotting fake carts, it’ll be helpful to know what a real, authentic vape cartridge looks like. A THC cartridge is a slender, cylindrical vape product that attaches to a 510-threaded vape battery. The attached battery heats the liquid, creating a vapor that emits through the cart’s mouthpiece. From this point on, take note of what’s on a real cartridge. If the one you’ve got in your hand came from a sketchy source and doesn’t follow these guidelines, then you might’ve been duped, my friend. 

Parts of a THC Cart

Starting at the top of the cart, a real THC vape cartridge will have a plastic mouthpiece with a rubber stopper in the hole. Working our way down the cart, an outer glass tube holds the cart’s vape juice. In the center of the glass tube, an atomizing tube heats the vape juice to a vapor. And below the glass tube is a metal piece that conceals the cart’s ceramic core and cotton lining. The thread at the cart’s bottom aligns with any 510-threaded vape battery. Check to see if the cart easily attaches to one of these vape batteries. This could be a tell-tale sign that the cart you bought may not be totally authentic. 

How to Spot a Fake Cart 

Here are a few steps to help you discern if the cart you bought from a reseller is real and genuine. These are our secrets on how to spot a fake THC cart. 

Strange Packaging

A little peek into the business: we go over a couple hurdles to dial in our packaging. We use custom branding, proprietary designs, and in-house artists to bring our brand’s tone and style to life on our packaging. Fake carts will typically have minimal packaging (if any at all) that may don copyrighted cartoon characters or riffs on other brands. 

Or, the fake cart may have our packaging with a few tears or bends in the cardboard. Keep an eye out for any damages in the packaging. If you find any blemishes in your order from our TRĒ House site, please contact customer support. 

Watery Consistency

Next, a tell-tall sign a cartridge is fake is the consistency of its vape juice. High-quality THC vape juice is often a honey-hued oil with a notable viscosity. It’s not super water-like, nor is it even super syrupy. Also, our vape oil is clear with a warm hue; there aren’t any strange black specks or blemishes in the vape juice. 

So, if your vape cart’s vape oil is water-like or too thick, it’s not authentic. Also, if you notice your cart is leaking, it may have been loaded and reused with additional vape juice. If your order from the TRĒ House site is leaking, please don’t hesitate to call customer support.  

Poorly Produced Cart

Also, if any part of the cart is made from plastic or cheap-feeling material, it probably isn’t real. Real cannabis vape carts can reach pretty high temps, thanks to the attached lithium battery and built-in atomizer. So, plastic and cheap materials won’t really fly when producing THC cartridges. If the cart feels flimsy or poorly made, it probably is. We wouldn’t trust it. 

Unreliable Brand

Now, if you’re still not convinced, check out the cart’s brand. If you can’t find a legible brand name, that’s a serious problem. If you can’t find that brand with a simple Google search, that’s like strike 104 for this cart you bought. Notable, trustworthy brands have an active site and social media presence. They want to be transparent with their customers. At TRĒ House, we work very hard to make our cartridges just right, just like each and every other one of our products. So, if the brand isn’t on Google, we wouldn’t trust it. 

Inaccessible Lab Tests

And finally, this step is more about finding a reputable, reliable brand than it is about deciphering the authenticity of a vape cart. Does the vape cart’s brand have accessible, up-to-date third-party lab tests? This is a pretty high bar that even some small-time brands have trouble clearing. To put it simply: up-to-date lab tests are how we divide the best cannabis brand from the rest. If your cart’s brand doesn’t make their lab tests easily accessible, then you might want to shop for a more trustworthy company.

You can find our product’s lab tests by scanning the QR code on its packaging. 

Skip the Gamble and Shop From TRĒ House!

Hopefully, after all this, you know how to spot a fake cartridge. But, and we must ask the obvious question, why in the world (!) are you buying carts from sketchy, unreliable vendors to start off with? THC cartridges should deliver fun-fueled effects, not dangerous, unsafe chemicals through your respiratory airways. So, leave the fake products alone, and order only the best THC vape carts on the market directly from this TRĒ House site!

As always, safe travels, fellow TRĒ Huggers!