[jjeremycai]

Hey guys,
You might have noticed me attempting to trade my Klipsch Custom 3, Sony MDR XB-300, Nokia N800, and Sansa Clip around here for a high end IEM. So far, I haven't had much success, so I'm thinking about making a purchase over in China in the summer when I visit my grandparents. Because I'm relatively fluent and literate in Simplified Chinese, I've been looking around Taobao (China's version of Craigslist/Ebay) and I've found some shockingly good deals on some models that aren't known to have fakes (Shure SE530's, Westone 3's, Triplefi's, UM3X's, CK10's, etc.) in the areas I plan to visit. Has anyone had good experience dealing with Taobao? My cousins use it regularly, but I'm still cautious.
 
PS, does anyone out there know what a "Triangle" CK10 is? The pictures up for them are the same for the normal CK10's, just that they've been marked down considerably. Nevermind, nevermind. The "Triangle" is essentially what Audio-technica's are called in China because of their logo.
PSS, The majority of the good deals have something to do with a factory in their title. Mayhaps this means they are factory refurbished or bought in wholesales? Not sure, but interesting anyhow.

 

[jjeremycai]

Some examples... (You can translate the page automatically if you're using Chrome)
 
Current conversion rate: 1 USD is equal to just about 6.8 RMB or Chinese Yuan.
 
Shure SE530: http://item.taobao.com/auction/item_detail-db2-0aff213692e6072b4be1903dafb06157.jhtml
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=3309000344
 
CK100: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=4331906872
 
Triplefi's: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=4267223906
 
CK10's: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=4932724372
 
UM3X: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=5291947666
 
Westone 3's: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=5362346403

 

[thor777]

My guess is that people are getting these straight from the actual manufacturing plant(s) of the IEMs and selling them cheap.

 

[jjeremycai]

Quote:

My guess is that people are getting these straight from the actual manufacturing plant(s) of the IEMs and selling them cheap.

I'm thinking that too...but the prices are so tempting. 

 Makes sense though because the majority of headphone brands have factories in China.

 

[Mr C]

Hmm taobao being the equivalent of ebay in china, and the rule of thumbs about headphones and e bay is dont buy anything from a seller that's not know around here.
You do the math.
 
As a sidenote, i remember seeing a taobao auction selling 500 dre beats for 50$ ea (bulk offer).
 
These might be direct from the factory/ no packaging (OEM versions). But I know for certain that some brands will never sell OEM (like sennheiser). So I find it a bit strange that such high end iems are being sold like that.
 
http://fakeheadphones.com/
this website might have some info.

 

[jjeremycai]

Thanks for responding. I've looked around that website before, and some of the headphones I mentioned (Shure SE530, Westone 3, etc.) are supposed to not have fakes running around. 

 
Quote:

Hmm taobao being the equivalent of ebay in china, and the rule of thumbs about headphones and e bay is dont buy anything from a seller that's not know around here.
You do the math.
 
As a sidenote, i remember seeing a taobao auction selling 500 dre beats for 50$ ea (bulk offer).
 
These might be direct from the factory/ no packaging (OEM versions). But I know for certain that some brands will never sell OEM (like sennheiser). So I find it a bit strange that such high end iems are being sold like that.
 
http://fakeheadphones.com/
this website might have some info.

 

[pekingduck]

Some of the prices are too good to be true. Genuine stuff is definitely not cheap in China... 
 
For Audio Technica products, you can check the authenticity of an online shop here http://www.audio-technica.com.hk/index.php?op=shopauth

 

[cgg123321]

most of the stuff on taobao is fake if the price is good.
 
You will see all the fake ES7's etc there

 

[JeFFz]

from the picture, the ck10 looks fake... very very fake.
 
not sure about the others since some of them only shows the original photos provided by the manufacturer.
 
and and the 2nd shure 530 link, it shows sample on the earphone jack? lol

 

[slntdth93]

if those pictures are actual product pictures
CK10 has a complete mirror finish and no vent holes on the earpiece (i'm fairly sure)

 

[rawrster]

Wow that CK10 picture sucks. It looks like a mix between the CK10 and the CK100 kinda

 

[owenhan]

Oh taobao is like ebay? I always thought they were just that store near people's square. I've been there and their prices were great and so was the service. Got my 650's and a Yulong dac from them.

 

[jjeremycai]

Haha, Taobao is essentially Craigslist. Just in a better format, IMO.
 
Quote:

Oh taobao is like ebay? I always thought they were just that store near people's square. I've been there and their prices were great and so was the service. Got my 650's and a Yulong dac from them.

 

[alive689]

The 'more positive feedback means item is legitimate' rule doesn't really apply to Taobao. Look at their Ralph Lauren or Lacoste page, tons of people buy from them, but trust me they are all fake. It may or may not apply to electronics/audio stuffs but well someone can try and report back their findings i.e. guinea pig.
 
* I think this is my first post!

 

[jjeremycai]

Welcome! (Though I'm pretty much a noob also) "Look at their Ralph Lauren or Lacoste page, tons of people buy from them, but trust me they are all fake." It's true that their positive feedback doesn't exactly mean legitimacy, but the odds of selling fake Shure SE530's or Westone 3's doesn't seem likely.
 
Quote:

The 'more positive feedback means item is legitimate' rule doesn't really apply to Taobao. Look at their Ralph Lauren or Lacoste page, tons of people buy from them, but trust me they are all fake. It may or may not apply to electronics/audio stuffs but well someone can try and report back their findings i.e. guinea pig.
 
* I think this is my first post!