Fake Shure E2G? And also, an eBay warning (long)

[JXBJXB]

Approximately 10 days ago, I decided I wanted another pair of Shure E2 headphones for my wife. The set of E2C I have sound pretty good with the "Kramer Mod" of removing the plastic washer that holds the wax guards in place, and she had kept borrowing them so it was hard to get my hands on them when I went on a trip.

I went to eBay and found a US seller in Texas with minimum but positive feedback selling a bunch of "SHURE E2c Sound Isolating Headphones!" on a Buy It Now as new for $32, plus $15 shipping via US Postal Service Priority Mail. A reasonable price, I thought, so I bought and sent a Paypal immediately.

Several hours later, a message from eBay appeared in my inbox, informing me that the listing I had just purchased against had been removed. Sure enough, it had. Evidently, the seller account had been hijacked and a bunch of listings had been placed up under that seller account. The eBay email urged me to sever all contact with the seller and begin a PayPal dispute, which I did.

I was surprised to see, the next day, a tracking number on the Paypal payment description that pointed to a Chinese shipping site (EMS). I fed the tracking number into the site, and sure enough, there was a package headed my way. Obviously, the headphones weren't located in the US and also weren't being sold by a US seller.

Last Friday, here's what arrived in my mailbox via USPS, but originating from Shanghai:



As you can plainly see, these aren't a normal set of E2 headphones from Shure. They came sealed in a static-free bag, and had a small nylon carrying bag and no "fit kit" just three sets of silicone tips in different sizes. There are three other differences between these and my E2C:

-The sound tubes do not have wax guards and don't have a seam where the "wax guard" washers should be, although I could install wax guards on these.
-The cord is lighter weight and about a foot shorter than normal, although it is still gold-plated and at a 90-degree angle.
-There's no clear-plastic slipcover at the "Y" junction where the two wires become one.

More photos:







All of that being said, they -sound- fine. They sound just like my E2C did before I modded them. The standard orange foamies fit perfectly. Yet because of the strange packing and three bullet points above, I can't be "shure" that these are really Shures.

Shure E2C are made in China. Perhaps these fell off the back of a truck in Shanghai? Or perhaps they are a (very good) copy? Or perhaps they are some sort of OEM model meant for packing with other devices?

I don't know what I'll do with them. Since they sound just fine, I may use them for their intended purpose. But I'd like to know if they are real or not, because if I decide to re-sell them I want to disclose everything to buyers.

A final warning. It appears that there are once again many listings on eBay identical to the one I bit on (see item 270084688081), although from a different seller. Check the seller's feedback, and more importantly, check and see what they've sold in the past. In my case, the seller had always sold things like baby toys and furniture, and suddenly was selling high quality IEMs? Something wasn't right. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

[LFC_SL]

I'm looking at a sealed UK bought unit from Amazon, only purchased last week as a b-day present for my bro. Looking only at the earpieces through the window (I'm not opening the box sorry!), the earpiece shape and cable attachment from the earpieces is the same shape and design as the ones you have pictured above.

Except the "Shure" logo is different slightly as you can see. As you say you don't have a fit kit or wax guards and if it was sold as new, then its either 2nd hand or pretty good fakes

[kramer5150]

Wow... if those are clones... they're dam near identical to the real ones. The sound tube opening looks a little different.

[JXBJXB]

Right - the sound tube "opening" is molded smaller as opposed to a straight tube with an insert that reduces the size. It's that insert that I removed on my E2C based on your original mod posts. With these, to do the same mod, you'd have to get out the Dremel.

[kramer5150]

Originally Posted by JXBJXB

Right - the sound tube "opening" is molded smaller as opposed to a straight tube with an insert that reduces the size. It's that insert that I removed on my E2C based on your original mod posts. With these, to do the same mod, you'd have to get out the Dremel.

I wonder if this is also a difference between the e2g and e2c?

do the e2gs have that removable washer?

[DoomzDayz]

Originally Posted by kramer5150

I wonder if this is also a difference between the e2g and e2c?

do the e2gs have that removable washer?

yes, my e2g's have the removable washer, although one side was a lot less easily removable than the other. the logo on mine are like the amazon site, and not like these pictures.

[JXBJXB]

Based on the fact that on the E2's in the photo, the "R" does not kiss the "E" in Shure, and the sound tubes appear different, I'm starting to believe that these are fakes. Good ones, but fakes. One more question. On my E2C, the logo on each earpiece is embossed, not screened, On these E2G, the logo is screened. On a "real" pair of E2G, which is it?

[PYROphonez]

I'm assuming that I'm looking at the same seller? I just searched for shure e2c, and found a list of them for $32+15 shipping. Location of seller is unclear, since he states "Will ship immediately, United States," But from what you said, I'm assuming that it isn't the U.S.

I'm actually tempted to buy these, since I've wanted some IEMs for a while now, and they're about $20 cheaper than other e2c/g's.

[audiomagnate]

Originally Posted by PYROphonez

I'm assuming that I'm looking at the same seller? I just searched for shure e2c, and found a list of them for $32+15 shipping. Location of seller is unclear, since he states "Will ship immediately, United States," But from what you said, I'm assuming that it isn't the U.S.

I'm actually tempted to buy these, since I've wanted some IEMs for a while now, and they're about $20 cheaper than other e2c/g's.

Why would you want to support a counterfeiter just to save a few bucks? They didn't pay for the R&D, the adverts, the company reputation, but they beneft from all of it. And what do you do if they break?

[GlorytheWiz825]

I still don't trust electronics in static bags coming out of China. But if they sound fine to you, then no problem right?

[PYROphonez]

Originally Posted by audiomagnate

Why would you want to support a counterfeiter just to save a few bucks? They didn't pay for the R&D, the adverts, the company reputation, but they beneft from all of it. And what do you do if they break?

I wouldn't care if they broke honestly. By the time a normal pair of e2cs broke on me, I can bet that the warranty would be up and I'd have to pay for repairs anyways. And by that time I'd want to upgrade anyways. I might just pick up some of those JVC's for $15 or so and save even more money.

[JXBJXB]

The price on the E2's that I bought was $32, plus $15 shipping. The seller changes, because I believe there's an unscrupulous individual out there hijacking little-used eBay accounts to make a quick buck by lowballing the E2 price and putting up a bunch of 24 hour buy-it-nows. To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised I actually got anything at all - I was expecting to be out $47. But I wouldn't suggest that anyone else go for this deal, because you don't know what you're getting, there's no support, and so forth. Better to spend the $55 or so it takes to get a "real" pair.

For $25, though, they'd be a bargain, and if I decide to re-sell them, that's about what I would ask (with full disclosure that they are clones).

[PYROphonez]

Originally Posted by JXBJXB

The price on the E2's that I bought were $32, plus $15 shipping. The seller changes, because I believe there's an unscrupulous individual out there hijacking little-used eBay accounts to make a quick buck by lowballing the E2 price and putting up a bunch of 24 hour buy-it-nows. To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised I actually got anything at all - I was expecting to be out $47. But I wouldn't suggest that anyone else go for this deal, because you don't know what you're getting, there's no support, and so forth. Better to spend the $55 or so it takes to get a "real" pair.

For $25, though, they'd be a bargain, and if I decide to re-sell them, that's about what I would ask.

Oooh i forgot about the whole hijacked account part. That worries me.

[feh1325]

its missing the clear tube

[hartofalyon]

those are definitely fakes. i have a pair of e2c's in front of me right now and there are differences. first would be the silver print of "shure." notice how the "R" is all garbled. there should be a space where the hole of the "R" is. second, on a real pair of e2c's, the left (L) and right (R) indicators are printed on much larger silver circles. and last but not least, the left (L) and right (R) indicators are of a different font from the real things.

i have to say, though, they are nice fakes.