Fakes

[cosmichobo]

G'day,

Sometimes I get a bit frustrated at the gap in Apple Tech Vs What I Can Afford. Yesterday I jumped on eBay to look at 2nd hand Air Pods. Just the basic kind.

There were a number of sellers selling high volumes of "Air Pods 2nd Gen Refurb" at around AU$80 - $130.

(Dead give away when the images of a "refurb" product are exactly the same across different sellers...)

Reviewing their feedback, they all have plenty of people claiming that the product they received was a fake, but far more saying "Thanks! Great Product!".

It's very frustrating how eBay has become such a haven for Apple fakes. You used to be able to buy second hand stuff there with a reasonable level of confidence, but not any more. Now you're either going to get a fake product, or a foreign market refurb (iPhones are big on this; USA or Asian market "refurbs" with non Apple parts dominate the eBay market here in Australia).

As for just finding someone selling their genuine 2nd hand Air Pods after upgrading? I may keep looking, but probably will just go back to dreaming.

Cheers

cosmic

 

[Apple_Robert]

I have noticed the same thing. I buy from Apple most of the time, to guard against that kind of problem. The forum Marketplace is another good resource for quality second-hand Apple products.

 

[cosmichobo]

The only problem with buying from Apple is the price. Even their refurbs are barely any discount - 10 to 15% - I can do just as well buying brand new from a stockist like JB HiFi over here in Oz.

 

[BulkSlash]

I made the mistake of buying some “genuine” Apple refurbished AirPods 2 from eBay last year after the microphone went on one of mine a day after the warranty expired and Apple wanted full price to replace them. On initial inspection they really did look genuine but I could tell they weren’t the moment any music started playing because the sound was tinny and low quality.

Thankfully I got my money back but the seller is still on there and selling fake goods even after I complained to eBay. eBay used to be really good but they just don’t seem to care about anything other than money these days.