Audio Technica ATH M50 headphones on eBay - real or fake?

ensign · Post by **ensign** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:07 am

I've seen some really good deals on the Audio Technica ATH M50 headphones on eBay. Are there fakes of these out there? Anyone have any problems buying these ever?

They're at least $60 cheaper. Too good to be true?

Thanks!

ensign · Post by **ensign** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 12:03 pm

*edited to remove specific company names*

Ok, I decided to research one of these sellers a bit more. It turns out that the seller is part of a company that is listed as an authorized dealer on the Audio Technica site. I called the toll free number and they said they're legit. Person I spoke to said they got a really good price and are passing the savings on to customers. Sounds kind of funky, but it at least seems like they are legit.

dsw · Post by **dsw** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 12:15 pm

Probably not fake. AT gives really good discounts to certain dealers, and they have specials where if you buy a certain quantity you get a percentage off. So some of these on line guys will stock up and then sell at a low mark up. Often this violates what the industry calls MAP pricing. It stands for Minimum Advertised Pricing. MAP on the M-50 is $159. Manufacturers try to police MAP pricing to avoid de-valuing the product and to maintain a fair and level playing field for its distributors and dealers, but often they are unsuccessful. Manufacturers cannot tell a seller what the final price of a sale must be, but they can enter into dealer agreements which specify terms of advertising policy such as MAP pricing. Dealers who violate MAP run the risk of being terminated as a dealer, but the truth is it doesn't happen very often.

Which is all a long way of saying, you can indeed get a good deal on AT M-50 headphones on Ebay.

As someone who works in a small pro audio shop here's what I think:
Make sure the dealer you buy from is legit so you don't get ripped off. If you have a local dealer who you count on for service, advice, trying products out etc....make sure you give him a chance at the sale before you buy online, otherwise your local guy is likely to go out of business and all you are left with is Guitar Center and online dealers who don't give a rats ass about you.

ensign · Post by **ensign** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 12:18 pm

Cool, thanks. I edited my post to remove the specific company names so as to not incriminate anyone based on the info you provided.

I'll have to check into some of these other Audio Technica dealers. Unfortunately, Guitar Center pops up at least a couple times in the list and is one of the closest to me!

dsw wrote:Probably not fake. AT gives really good discounts to certain dealers, and they have specials where if you buy a certain quantity you get a percentage off. So some of these on line guys will stock up and then sell at a low mark up. Often this violates what the industry calls MAP pricing. It stands for Minimum Advertised Pricing. MAP on the M-50 is $159. Manufacturers try to police MAP pricing to avoid de-valuing the product and to maintain a fair and level playing field for its distributors and dealers, but often they are unsuccessful. Manufacturers cannot tell a seller what the final price of a sale must be, but they can enter into dealer agreements which specify terms of advertising policy such as MAP pricing. Dealers who violate MAP run the risk of being terminated as a dealer, but the truth is it doesn't happen very often.

Which is all a long way of saying, you can indeed get a good deal on AT M-50 headphones on Ebay.

As someone who works in a small pro audio shop here's what I think:
Make sure the dealer you buy from is legit so you don't get ripped off. If you have a local dealer who you count on for service, advice, trying products out etc....make sure you give him a chance at the sale before you buy online, otherwise your local guy is likely to go out of business and all you are left with is Guitar Center and online dealers who don't give a rats ass about you.

woodhenge · Post by **woodhenge** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 4:56 pm

dsw wrote:As someone who works in a small pro audio shop here's what I think:
Make sure the dealer you buy from is legit so you don't get ripped off. If you have a local dealer who you count on for service, advice, trying products out etc....make sure you give him a chance at the sale before you buy online, otherwise your local guy is likely to go out of business and all you are left with is Guitar Center and online dealers who don't give a rats ass about you.

Amen, brother!

Also, along those same lines, if you develop a relationship with your local dealer and do repeat business there faithfully, they'll probably hook you up with some great deals along the way anyway... just because they'll know you'll be back. I used to do that all the time for my regulars when I worked at an independent music retail/pro audio shop. In turn, they always knew where to find me and came to depend on me as well.

And, those AT cans are kick-ass, too... my faves at the moment, FWIW.

ctmsound · Post by **ctmsound** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 7:14 pm

MOST companies do not offer warranties off ebay sales. But if you don't care, that's a stupid price for those. Go for it.

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Audio Technica ATH M50 headphones on eBay - real or fake?

Audio Technica ATH M50 headphones on eBay - real or fake?

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