Spotting a counterfeit supply line before it costs you an account

A counterfeit supply line rarely announces itself. It shows up as an unusually good price on a brand everyone wants, with photos that look right and a supplier who is very keen to move fast.

Price is the first tell. Genuine overstock has a floor — the supplier paid for it too. A quote far below every other quote you have for the same item is not a bargain, it is a different product.

Ask where the stock came from. Legitimate sources can describe the chain: a closing retailer, an authorised distributor clearing a season, a returns lot. Vague answers about "our warehouse" are a signal.

Look at the packaging in the sample, not the hero photo. Serial numbers, batch codes, inserts and print quality are where replicas cut cost, because buyers rarely check them.

Consider what it costs to be wrong. Selling replicas does not just risk a refund — it risks your selling account, and marketplace suspensions are hard to reverse.

When in doubt, buy one unit and compare it against a known genuine item in person. One sample is the cheapest insurance in sourcing.