There are lots and I mean lots of fake earphones for sale. DON'T NECESSARILY BELIEVE STATEMENTS LIKE 100% GENUINE ETC unless something backs this up. I was caught out some time ago with some which said they were Sennheiser and others that said they were Audio Technica.

Having owned genuine Sennheiser headphones for many years I knew they were good

I saw some earphones on Ebay they looked genuine and I purchased them very cheaply it was a while until I realised they were fakes though the quality should have been a giveaway. The same for the Audio Technica though these are of reasonable quality for the price but not as good as the real thing.

I bought some Bang & Olufsen A8's from Ebay they weren't cheap and a good job too - they turned out to be genuine - I have learned my lesson now ASK YOURSELF IF YOU SEE ANYONE SELLING THEM FOR SILLY PRICES LIKE £29.99 HOW THEY DO IT WHEN THE RETAIL PRICE IS AROUND £100 MORE THAN THIS - IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE IS IT!!

I have bought another pair recently and chacked all the signs before buying

What to look for

Biggest giveaway is the leather case - look at a genuine one - it is perfectly eliptical and looks like quality, the copy is a ragbag that looks like a 9 years old made it in craft lesson at school

The speaker itself is silver coloured wheras the fakes are not

The earphone glides on the damped adjustor a fake will not work at all or will be rough in use

Sound quality is poorer than you would expect on a premium pair of earphones

If in doubt buy from a B&O dealer

Just look at all the info available especially with the A8's - I've just looked on Ebay and can honestly say I can't see ANY that have some proof they are genuine - some indicate they are definite fakes - there are signs eg the wrong box,a very poorly made case - the original is a half circle and is sewn so that it looks padded, the fakes are poor and obvious copies.and they sold for £48 more than half the price of genuine earphones- it's madness

I found out where the sellers buy then from and they buy them for about 15% of the genuine B&O retail price   so they are sure to be genuine aren't they??? No of course not !!

Look or other signs. in the main. price - a genuine seller can't sell good earphones for a fraction of retail price and an individual who has the genuine article has paid the real price and will want to recoup as much as possible so unless the seller can provide proof of purchase from an authorised B&O seller or they are an authorised seller (unlikely) beware.Ask lots of searching questions beforehand if they're genuine the seller will answer without hesitation

The main brands affected are Bang & Olufsen,Shure,Sennheiser,Audio Technica and I believe Bose though better known brands eg Sony can be faked as well

This review has been written to help you keep away from sharks that sell fakes and take your hard earned cash for very little - report any suspected fakes to Ebay and the manufacturer it may help

Based on my own experience and research in the hope it will help someone- be careful someone is after your cash without providing pukka goods