I receive a lot of questions about counterfeit products and 80% of them are related to headphones. I recently read an interesting press release from Otterbox about their fight to keep counterfeit smartphone cases off the street.

Otterbox is the grand poobah of smartphone case manufacturers. They are number one in most countries and are struggling under the tidal wave of cheap Asian knock-offs.  In 2012 alone, the US Customs and Border protection teams seized over 118000 counterfeit Otterbox items.

These cases look exactly like the real thing but can often be purchased for 50-80% less than the originals (from sites like eBay, Aliexpress and others). Counterfeiters are interested in making their products look authentic  but don’t care about actual performance.

If you have a normal slim type case then the difference may be negligible. If you are using one of their more heavy duty products, you may be upset when you realize that after a drop, the counterfeit didn’t protect your device and now you’re stuck with a cracked screen or dead phone.

This is a case of buyer beware. You get what you pay for.

Related articles:

 

• How To Detect Counterfeit Headphones
• Counterfeit Electronics Being Sold On EBay
• Counterfeit USB Chargers On EBay May Be Dangerous