I recently got two pairs of Airpods Pro 2nd gen. from Craigslist for 1/2 MSRP. They were sold as new in a sealed box. They seemed legit and I did check the serials before purchasing. After a few days, I had noticed enoughred flags that I took them to an Apple Store where I was promptly told they were fake. After a few unanswered texts to the seller, I threatened to file a police report if she didn’t return my money. When she called, I pretended to believe her excuse that someone had given the earphones to her as a gift, and got my money back in an amicable way.
The red flags were the following:
- buyer had 2 (likely many more!)
- serials checked out but warranty had started months ago
- both boxes had the same serial (I missed this as the apple website lets you scan the stickers instead of entering the number manually)
- sound quality was mediacre
- spatialization introduced distorsion and did work
- could not add to “find my” because they had already been added to someone else’s account (big one!)
- seller went to her car to get the boxes
- font on the inside of the case is subtly different (only noticeable when compared side to side)
- switching between devices did not work (had to unpair and repair each time)
- ad was still up after sale (seller probably had plenty more)
Anyway, they were really good knockoffs, and it makes me realize that if they can do that with a $250 product, they are also definitely doing it for the more expensive ones. I wonder how many bad reviews of fake products there are out there… Beware! I hope my story helps others.