[Tuco1965]

Just stopped by my house to give my son a lift to work and looked at my pair.  No sticker but definitely not fake.  It won't spoil my listening experience that's for sure.  Pink Floyd evening coming up!  

 

[amcananey]

My point is just this:

1) You can't see the sticker from outside the packaging.

2) Even if you could see the sticker, how would you know what an authentic Sennheiser hologram sticker would look like? spurxiii just took a closeup picture and I still couldn't tell what it looks like. He said it looks like the Sennheiser logo. I doubt it would be hard to fake a hologram of the Sennheiser logo. Maybe it wouldn't pass muster with Sennheiser, but to any layperson about to buy a pair of headphones, I doubt they would ever notice, again, assuming they could even see the sticker in the first place.

I just don't see how the holographic sticker changes anything. Their impact on counterfeiting and purchasing will be zero.

 

[spurxiii]

It's really hard to make out the logo at all since it is tiny and on a very small sticker so amcananey is right. Makes zilch difference

 

[devhen]

Well I don't think you're understanding the purpose of a holographic security sticker. I don't know that the holographic sticker on my passport is authentic because I can't compare it to the original. Does that make it useless?
 
Again.... this is not meant as a means for end-users to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the headphones they are purchasing are authentic, though it does go some way toward helping that.
 
Sennheiser is using these in the same way that holographic stickers are used on other things-- as a means to prove that the item you purchased contained a holographic sticker identical to the one issued by Sennheiser and is thus an authentic product. You aren't expected to make that judgment as the end-user, on the spot, before purchasing.

 

[amcananey]

But the judgment as an end-user, on-the-spot, is the only place it matters. THAT is where Sennheiser is potentially missing out on a sale, and THAT is where the buyer is handing over his/her money.

The only other place that the sticker COULD be relevant is if/when I have to send my headphones in to Sennheiser for repair. But,

a) As I already said, I don't need to send my headphones to Sennheiser for repair, I can just get the part from Sennheiser and repair it myself.
b) As you already said, I could just send in my headphones to Sennheiser without any sticker, and they would still have to repair them, since lots of HD600s don't have stickers.

So, in summary, the sticker is completely and utterly pointless.

As for your passport, that's a poor analogy. First, you get your passport from the government. You don't buy it from a 3rd party retailer. So YOU know it is authetic. If everyone bought their headphones directly from Sennheiser, there would be no need for any kind of security measure whatsoever. The real purpose of a passport hologram is to assure a customs/border official that your passport is authentic. And (in theory at least) they are trained professionals who SHOULD know what the original looks like.

 

[amcananey]

Sennheiser is using these in the same way that holographic stickers are used on other things-- as a means to prove that the item you purchased contained a holographic sticker identical to the one issued by Sennheiser and is thus an authentic product.

 


Yeah, I get that. It's just that I think holographic stickers rarely, if ever, prove anything at all. This isn't limited to Sennheiser, it's a broader point. But at least with other products, you might have to send them back to the manufacturer for repair, and the sticker can help the manufacturer avoid costly repairs of counterfeit products. Holograms are also useful in currency and passports, since bank officials and customs officers should be able to spot fakes. But I doubt a consumer will EVER be able to spot a fake holographic sticker....especially if it is inside an opaque cardboard box!

 

[amcananey]

Look what I just found: http://www.amazon.com/Security-Hologram-Stickers-Consecutive-Authentication/dp/B002KHVHK8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1380836250&sr=8-4&keywords=holographic+stickers

 

[devhen]

You do make good points.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if a big part of why they are doing this is simply to give users a warm fuzzy feeling when they open their headphones and see that authenticity sticker. Some people (not necessarily me lol) would see that as a sign that this is a high-end product and might make them feel slightly better about their purchase.
 
I do see some legitimate uses for it. For example a third-party seller might be selling supposedly brand new, authentic HD600's and asking the seller to check for the sticker could help. If he says the sticker is there and it turns out not to be that tells you something about that seller. If he says no the stickers aren't there then he has explaining to do which might help you figure out where they actually came from.
 
Of course none of this really applies yet since I'm sure there's still some stock sitting on shelves out there that don't have the sticker.

 

[palmfish]

You guys have way too much spare time on your hands... Lol,

 

[devhen]

Look what I just found: http://www.amazon.com/Security-Hologram-Stickers-Consecutive-Authentication/dp/B002KHVHK8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1380836250&sr=8-4&keywords=holographic+stickers

 
Wow! Do those look like the ones you guys' HD600's came with?
 
It might be fun to forward that link to Sennheiser and ask how you can be sure your sticker is an authentic one.

 

[amcananey]

I wouldn't be surprised if a big part of why they are doing this is simply to give users a warm fuzzy feeling when they open their headphones and see that authenticity sticker. Some people (not necessarily me lol) would see that as a sign that this is a high-end product and might make them feel slightly better about their purchase.

 


Yup, exactly. I think this is just a marketing thing. It makes them seem exclusive. The funny thing about it is that some people who have the stickers are actually annoyed by them and looking to remove them! LOL....

 

[devhen]

Yeah I agree, its probably mainly a marketing thing. But I think its worth reminding everyone that security isn't something that's absolute. You'll notice that those Senn stickers on eBay are pretty pricey for stickers, assumedly because of the costs involved in holographic printing. When it comes to security measures, sometimes its simply about making criminal's actions more costly and troublesome. If it slightly reduces the amount of counterfeits that are on the market it may very well be worth the effort.

 

[amcananey]

Well...

1. Those stickers cost $0.06 each. It's for a lot of 1,000 stickers. I could have easily sent a link to a lot of 100 instead. For a pair of headphones that retails for $300-400, six cents isn't much. And I'm sure you could get those stickers much, much cheaper if buying them in China. Printing holograms really isn't that expensive. You could probably get down around a penny a sticker.

2. Those aren't Sennheiser stickers, they're just generic "security" hologram stickers. See what I mean! As long as there is a sticker there, nobody knows what to look for. They will just assume it is a Sennheiser sticker!

3. As far as I know, there aren't ANY counterfeit HD600s!!! None. Zero. Not even badly done fakes. I'm just not aware of anyone ever having bought or even seen a pair of fake HD600s.

 

[devhen]

Agreed on all points but if those aren't the real stickers then it still stands that there is a use for them. If a headphone comes with the actual Sennheiser authenticity sticker then it is authentic. That's all it is. Its the same thing that software companies do on their install disks. They aren't expecting all end-users to be able to spot a fraudulent hologram, that isn't the point. Nor will they ask for the sticker when you go in for software support. Its merely a helpful tool for when they are auditing their supply chain. The existence or lack of an authenticity sticker helps the process and can lead them in the right directions if in fact they suspect counterfeits exist.

 

[spurxiii]

It looks different. The Senheisser one has the logo right in the middle