[ImperialX]

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=7960947370
 
It's selling for 128yuan. That converts to exactly $19.64USD as of today's currency.
 
It makes me puke in my mouth to think just how much profit those eBay sellers are making with it. If you go onto eBay now you can still see the no reserve auctions for the IE8 reaching ~$200. And some of those sellers have well over 1000 stars! It's just disgusting.
 
I ordered a pair from here (I have sources in China) and I've also ordered a pair of genuine ones from hifiheadphone.co.uk for the full retail price of £199.99. I'll post comparison pictures later, and from I can see from the photos, these are really well done enough to trick the normal listener's ears who have never heard >$20 headphones.

 

[crayonhead]

Yep. looks like what my source gives me for that price.
 
It's a different story in China though. Most people look at brand, not quality. So you can sell them a &@#$ piece of merchandise as long as it has a well known logo.
 

 

[ImperialX]

But this isn't China. I can see US eBay sellers who are clearly selling fakes, but still have 99.9% Positive feedback with everyone saying how it's 'genuine'.
 
These guys are making 900% profit for each IE8 they sell. It's outrageous, really. But then again, the buyers are also stupid for not being able to tell the difference.
 
I'll probably received my genuine ones first since they're directly from Europe. It takes longer for fakes from China to get to where I am but I'll post comparisons for sure.

 

[TheGomdoRi]

I have found in my experience many Chinese eBay sellers have gamed the system in terms of feedback.
I remember long long time ago, when I was a kid and saved up $250 to drop on the highest Sony IEM model and bought it on eBay.
Got scammed and contacted eBay and PayPal and whatnot because the seller deleted his ID or closed his store can't remember exactly.
Eventually I got my money back, the seller wrote me an apology and told me to keep the fakes.

Most of the times, buyers aren't careful enough, I agree. But sometimes it's really hard to tell and details can be overlooked when anxious to buy.
 
Btw, just curious, I have heard fake merchandise is a revenue stream for organized crime - true of false?

 

[henrylee]

They are basically all made in shenzhen basically like 20mins from where i use to live ,they fake most things and you can find fake headphones easily in hong kong markets.

 

[MaxwellDemon]

They are basically all made in shenzhen basically like 20mins from where i use to live ,they fake most things and you can find fake headphones easily in hong kong markets.

The amount of fake Beats you see in HK is amazing... unfortunately, that is one headphones that I don't mind seeing as fake.

 

[DaBomb77766]

I've seen these even cheaper on taobao.  About half that, actually.  I'm tempted to buy a pair just for kicks.

 

[henrylee]

Quote:

Quote:

They are basically all made in shenzhen basically like 20mins from where i use to live ,they fake most things and you can find fake headphones easily in hong kong markets.

The amount of fake Beats you see in HK is amazing... unfortunately, that is one headphones that I don't mind seeing as fake.

Go to Ladies market in mong kok you'll find tons of fake sennheiser and beats ,also in shenzhen mall there are tons as well

 

[lazuline]

True. It's a lot safer then selling drugs to get into pirating Intellectual Property (TV shows, movies, video games, pornography) and manufacturing fake products & pharmaceuticals. Why? It's not unusual for Drug dealers in China -- if caught -- to get a bullet to the head. Of course the biggest players will never see time because of the corruption and bribes.
 
Quote:

Btw, just curious, I have heard fake merchandise is a revenue stream for organized crime - true of false?

 

 

[ImperialX]

Quote:

Btw, just curious, I have heard fake merchandise is a revenue stream for organized crime - true of false?

I wouldn't be surprised. The profitability at 900% is not that much worse than drugs - considering how much safer it is.
 

 

[DaBomb77766]

Manufacturing and selling fakes is technically organized crime by itself - it's a copyright breach and there are probably dozens of other laws being broken too.

 

[kostalex]

I'll post comparison pictures later, and from I can see from the photos, these are really well done enough to trick the normal listener's ears who have never heard >$20 headphones.

I am awaiting for your comparison with interest.

 

[sygyzy]

It would be useful to the readers if you guys could post a guide on spotting IE8 fakes. For someone who is in the market for IEM's, the IE8s are on the list. I had no idea there were fakes and certainly don't know what to look for.

 

[mvw2]

You mean like the one that already exists?

 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/457420/warning-fake-ie8s-comparison-pictures-included

 

[dbdynsty25]

 
Quote:

The amount of fake Beats you see in HK is amazing... unfortunately, that is one headphones that I don't mind seeing as fake.

Now the question becomes which pair sound better?  I've got money on the fakes.