Tips to help you avoid being ripped off with FAKE Oakley sunglasses on eBay

Premium Optics Ltd has been selling genuine Oakley sunglasses on eBay since 2002. Our Oakley items are genuinely discounted and we make a minimal margin. Our problem is that we have to compete along side other sellers who to the trained eye are very clearly selling FAKES/ REPLICAS/ COUNTERFIETS. These fakes possibly make up to 75% of the Oakley sunglasses on eBay.

This guide will hopefully help you to avoid being a victim. Although we are refering to Oakley sunglasses the same tips should be applied to most brand name sunglasses and other designer goods.

1/ Oakley sunglasses , if brand new should always be supplied in a retail box, a microfibre storage/ cleaning bag, a product information sheet and a warranty registration card. If the item is being sold as brand new and there is no retail packaging ask yourself why !!. Retail packaging being present is by no way proof the sunglasses are genuine. ( more below )

2/ The retail box should have a label displaying a barcode and the model name, frame and lens description. Make sure the box matches the sunglasses being sold.

3/ A retail box , paperwork and microfibre bag are by NO means proof the Oakley's are genuine. During the past year we have seen more and more fake Oakley sunglasses on eBay with fake retail packaging. Be particially vary of Gascans, Oil Drums and Minutes 

4/ If they appear too cheap that would be a good indication that not many people are bidding on them because many people will be aware they are fakes. As they say if it seems to good to be true ......

5/ Oakley only supply direct to the authorised retailers at between 50%-60% of the RRP. This means for example a pair of Gascans that retail for £90 would of cost the retailer around £45, add on overheads and selling expenses there is no way these can be sold for between £20- £30

6/ Most sellers of Genuine Oakley sunglasses sell at a fixed price only, this usually reflects a genuine discount over the RRP whist still allowing a small honest margin.

7/ Sellers of Fakes can afford to set low Buy-it-Now prices or low starting prices ( typically around £19.99 ) because they have minimal finacial risk having paid between £5-£10 for thier fakes.

8/ If a seller refuses to take Paypal as payment ask them why not. Could it be so that you cannot claim your money back under the Paypal buyer protection policy.

9/ Often sellers of fake Oakley sunglasses use 1 day listings, typicialy experienced eBay seller would say a 7 day listing is proven to be more benificial. Is the reason they are using 1 day listings so that thier fake sunglasses are not long enough on ebay to be spotted, reported and removed ?

10/  Check the sellers feedbacks, rarley will you see a seller with a feedback score of 100 or more selling fake Oakley sunglasses. They may be reciently registed new members. This may be because when they start to get negative feedbacks for selling fakes they simply close that account and start again with a new username. Make sure you look at the feedbacks carefully , make sure there is a proven track record of selling Oakley sunglasses rather that the feedback score mainly being built up by buying.

11/ Ask the seller if you can collect in person, if they are selling Fake goods he/ she may not want you to collect for fear of you spotting they are fake. Sellers with genuine Oakleys will not have this problem.

12/ Make sure the seller is using photographs they have taken themselves of the actual product. If pictures have been taken from the internet or the Oakley website this is copyright theft but more importantly it may be because the sunglasses the seller is selling look very different to the sunglasses they claim to be selling.

13/ Sellers overly stating the word 'Oakley' is on the bridge of the nose , 'O' is on the arms and 'Made in USA' on the inside of the arm. Often not all these markings will appear on the genuine article.

14/ Make sure the product spec matches genuine Oakley models, e.g Oakley Oil Drums Polished Black Frame / Ice Iridium Lens, in this example Oakley do not make the Oil Drum with Ice Iridium Lens. If unsure ask the seller for the product catolouge code , this will usually be a 5 digit number similar to 05-715 . This number can be simply checked on the internet to make sure it matches the item for sale. A genuine seller should always be able to supply the product code.

15/ Avoid any seller that does not clearly state the item is genuine or authentic. Avoid such words as e.g. Oakley Minute 'Style' . Even if they state the item is genuine thaey can still be fakes. (see below)

16/ Some sellers will say their sunglasses are genuine and will offer a money back gauantee if you are not satisfied. Sounds fair ?? Not necessarily, these sellers are still selling fake oakley sunglasses but they are playing the 'Percentages Game'. This is where they for e.g. sell 10 pairs of fake sunglasses, 7 people will nievly believe they have been sold the real thing, the other 3 people will immeadiatly spot they are fake and sent the items back for a refund. The seller still makes a handsome profit !!

                      In Summary

We hope you find this guide helpful. Please remember just because the sunglasses in the picture look real enough its by no way means they are genuine. Study the sellers feedback as a seller not a buyer, check the length of time as an eBay member.  Fake Oakley sunglasses will be considerably inferior in build quality compared to genuine Oakley sunglasses, but possibly more importantly the lens will offer only a fraction of the 100% U.V protection offered by genuine Oakley lenses. You could be fooled into thinking your eyes are protected but in fact you could be causing permantant damage to your eye sight.

We hope you find this guide of use and if so we would apprecate you putting a tick in the relivant box below. If you feel there are any other points we should add please drop us an email. Thanks for looking...