Scottish coinage if you donāt mind Toby. Theyāre offering free postage you stingy git. 
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Did you just eat a bag of potato chips before playing? LOL
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My Tortex also smudge. Bought them a year ago on Amazon. The quality of the pick itself is good, maybe they just havenāt figured out how to get the ink to stick on that material. It slightly annoys me.
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Picks are so cheap I canāt imagine anybody going to the trouble of counterfeiting them. I could be wrong.
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There must be good markup on a pick.
In volume, I bet they cost less than 4c to make, and then they are sold at 10x that price.
The question is whether the volume is there to make it worthwhile.
Cheers,
Keith
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This is what happens to my Tortex picks that Iāve bought at a local brick & mortar retailer, so Iām fairly sure these are genuine.
I donāt use them all the time, but they still smudge. Not as bad as yours though:
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I thought I watched a clip a while back of Justin opening some gear, only to find none of it was authentic. Donāt quote me, may have been someone entirely different.
Iād definitely get in touch with them. Iāve had cheap Dunlop picks from day one, all still have print on them
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Iāve used Tortex picks from Amazon and also ones I picked up in my local store. There is absolutely a difference. The ink on the Amazon picks smeared everywhere very quickly just like in Gordenās photo, so I ditched them. The ink on the store-bought picks did not smear and the design was still clearly visible when the pick was finally worn out.
So yeah, Iād say the Amazon picks are fakes, just like half of Amazonās other āgenuineā products.
Why wouldnāt fraudsters be capable of duplicating a bar code? Itās no different than duplicating the rest of the packet, and is not meant to be a method of counterfeit protection. The fake DāAddario strings I bought looked 100% genuine right down to the āuniqueā serial number. It was the strings themselves that gave the game away, just like the crappy ink on your fake picks.
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Got my picks today. Didnāt take long before it started to get on the fingers. - I will try to wash it before using. I assume its the same kind of stuff used in a laser printer, which is not very healthy to say it mildly. These chemicals gets into your system through the skin. - If I canāt clean them, they will end in the trash bin.
When looking at different picks, I noticed some where made of wood and other materials. Since I have done some wood carving, I will look further into it and what materials to use. Maybe I could easy make my own picks.
This little lovely thing I made, is around 10 cm high ( 4 inch ), so shouldnāt be that hard to make something that can be used as a pick:
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Gordon, if youāre still having issues with your new picks you could always try out these ones. They will leave your fingers smelling of the fragrance of your choice and smudge free.
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Interesting James. I might get some of those. Anyway no time this morning for guitar. Iāve got a lot do in the garden today. The recent wet and windy weather has destroyed my pasta plants. My lasagna bushes need to be replaced and Iām having trouble finding a source.
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I am very happy about this post / issue from @sairfingers
It made my take a little tour and try get some experience and knowledge about picks. Here is my findings and conclusions.
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Guitar picks is a 100% personal choice. There is no right and wrong, other than what ever a person prefer, is the right choice. 2 persons with totally contradicting views and preference is both right.
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Making my own picks without proper tools and machines, is not worth the time and effort.
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Friction between two items that touch, will have effect on both. Small dust particles will come from any soft material hitting the steel strings. Personally I prefer to not having the plastic dust or any other materials made of questionable stuff. - Fingers will get ruined if using them for strumming on the steel strings ( now and then ok, but strumming for two hours straight and your fingers are most likely gone before time runs out)
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I picked up everything I could find and tried. Fun experience. I can strum pretty well with a coin, the end of the toothbrush etc. as long I got into the right movement with hand and wrist. Picking was a totally different thing. I could find few things and kind of make it work. But no more than that.
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I tried to wash of the ink from the Dunlop Tortex picks, but time and effort was not worth it, so after messing around with it, the Dunlop Tortex now lay in the trash bin. The Dunlop Nylon fastgrib 0.88 I donāt like. It was hard to get a good strumming, sound was dull and picking wasnāt that good either.
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The soft plastic Alice picks that were thrown after me, when I bought the guitar, I prefer by far over the Dunlops. No more Dunlops for me. Period.
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Wood against steel strings sound horrible, but there are hardwood like Oak and Erica arborea (Briar Root which is often used for high quality pipes ) and all the way to what got the nickname Iron-wood. (Ironwood is a common name for many woods or plants that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is heavier than water (approximately 1000 kg/m3, or 62 pounds per cubic foot), although usage of the name ironwood in English may or may not indicate a tree that yields such heavy wood).
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The local shop have some picks made from natural materials, Horn, Bone, Wood and maybe stone, not sure though. ( I could imagine a Lapis Lazuli pick or maybe Jade or Black Obsidian, think it would be cool
) - The shop price for bone, horn and wood is 7 - 8 USD per pick. Depending how long they last, it might not be that bad after all. -
Shape of the pick, how its rounded, the bevel, size, is certainly not insignificant. It does have impact and is important, also it have to be aligned with the preferable hand and wrist movement.
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My very own personal experience and conclusion. I am going to find some picks made from natural materials and make it work. ā¦ or eventually surrender to that darn plastic stuffā¦
I think it have been a very fun and interesting tour and glad my nerdy mind took me this way. If I havenāt tried, I would have missed it without knowingā¦ - I got some food for thought and have come to some conclusions and want to investigate a bit further into natural materials, before really making up my mind about it. - Meantime I get more experience on the guitar, which also will help make a good choice. Cheers 
Iāve worn the imprints off several Tortex picks (triangles), but the imprint fades until it disappears. None of the imprints smudged. Iāve also worn bits of the imprints off my more frequently used Dunlop Delrin. Iāve worn most of the imprint off my DāAndrea Ultra Plecs and Pro Plecs. DāAndrea celluloid picks appear impervious to imprint wear as do Dunlop Ultex. Somehow, my finger chemistry is hard on pick imprints but kind on strings, which last me a long time.