Playtrade, FaKe CX300 II phones

basill

I ordered a pair of CX300II from Playtrade, admittedly at a suspiciously low price, but the seller had very good, 100% positive feedback.

The Phones arrived quickly but were of poor quality. The "eco" packaging looked good and the phones passed a cursory examination but were obviously not as well made as my originals, the pouch especially gave the game away with really wonky stitching and embroidery on the tag.

I contacted the seller who claimed they were for the Asian market and this explained the differences I had highlighted compared to my existing, real, phones. He also refunded immediately.

Here lies the problem, now the item has been refunded I cannot leave feedback to warn others.

Now I know how these dodgy traders are able to achieve such good scores.


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Bamber19

What was the sound quality like? I only ask as some companies do produce cheaper versions of their products for different markets. A good example is Italian football kits. In Italy they sell lower quality versions of the kit with less detail, if someone here bought one they'd be convinced it was a fake but it's not.

That said, when you buy here you expect the product for here, not another market.

basill

Sound not very nice, very loud, booming bass, rather poor mid or high fequency sound.

The originals do have a strong bass but sound significantly clearer.

Differences with construction showed where moulding flash had been left on the plug, cable strain reliefs were not well fixed to earphone and the groove on metal part of earphone very shallow, pressed in rather than sharply defined, the cable itself feels harder, not so rubbery as originals.

The pouch really was laughable the stitching was not even nearly straight and the letters in the manufacturers name were all different heights.

When the seller said Asian market I think he meant the one that sells the cheap Rolexes and designer handbags 3 for a fiver.


I almost expected them to be wrong at the price, but did not realise a refund blocks off buyers feedback!

heronfolder

I realise this is an old-ish thread.. but I'd like to add my 2p.

Firstly OP - legit cx300's are amazing headphones, good call

Earlier this week I searched for a Jivo Utune on play.com (one of those fm transmitter things for your mp3 player in the car). It was only available through 'dealhunters' which I was a bit apprehensive of, as i've not used playtrade before. I had a read of the Playtrade guarantee etc and it seemed reassuring so I ordered one.

Anyway, it arrived very quickly, hats off to dealhunters for that.. However what I received was a blatant chinese copy. I appreciate that some companies are fairly generic and re-brand a product with their name etc, but the item was listed and pictured as a Jivo!

Had a quick look on ebay and found what the packaging should look like.. definitely not what I received. Mine was in a plain white box, no instructions!

I've contacted the seller for a refund and they've sent me an RMA form to send it back. Which I shall do tonight when I get home. Fingers crossed they actually refund me.

If you're buying from Playtrade, be VERY careful. It seems Play.com doesn't care about retailers selling fakes! Even if the seller has good feedback, it doesn't mean the goods are legit. It could be that the buyer cannot tell a fake, or doesn't want the hassle of refunds.
Research the price of the product on places like Amazon etc. If the price seems TOO good a bargain, then it's likely to be fake.

I think I will be avoiding Playtrade in future.

basill

heronfolder wrote: »

If you're buying from Playtrade, be VERY careful. It seems Play.com doesn't care about retailers selling fakes! Even if the seller has good feedback, it doesn't mean the goods are legit. It could be that the buyer cannot tell a fake, or doesn't want the hassle of refunds.
Research the price of the product on places like Amazon etc. If the price seems TOO good a bargain, then it's likely to be fake.

I think I will be avoiding Playtrade in future.

I may not have made it clear but apart from Play apparently turning a blind eye to fake goods being sold under their banner, I was dismayed to find that if a seller refunds at the first mention of "fake" in a complaint it is then impossible to leave any feedback at all to warn others.
So good feedback stays, but negs never appear!

It is possible to leave general feedback on products but the site will not publish any that mention specific vendors or service. This is from their feedback guidlines:


(feedback must not) Contain comments on either Play.com’s service or that of PlayTrade sellers. Please visit the Play.com Helpdesk for help with those issues.


Useless!


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xocbc

Simple solution. Contact Sennheiser, let their legal people deal with the seller and Play as the facilitator. I did something similar with Acronis a few years back over fake software and they sent me a complmentary copy for my trouble.

zappomatic

heronfolder wrote: »

Earlier this week I searched for a Jivo Utune on play.com (one of those fm transmitter things for your mp3 player in the car). It was only available through 'dealhunters' which I was a bit apprehensive of, as i've not used playtrade before. I had a read of the Playtrade guarantee etc and it seemed reassuring so I ordered one.

Anyway, it arrived very quickly, hats off to dealhunters for that.. However what I received was a blatant chinese copy. I appreciate that some companies are fairly generic and re-brand a product with their name etc, but the item was listed and pictured as a Jivo!

Just received some CX300-IIs from this very seller and I am convinced they're fake. Have made contact with the seller, left feedback and informed Sennheiser. Fingers crossed!