In a clear indication of the depth of counterfeiting of wireless earbuds targeting the United States market, the US Customs confiscated about 360,000 fake AirPods at the country’s entry points in the first half of 2021. The totality of the cache has a valuation of approximately $62.2 million, well above the previous haul of 295,000 units in 2020.

The details were part of the information released by a recent report on the level of fake products that aim to defraud unsuspecting consumers of their money while offering a counterfeit and substandard product, in this case, earbuds. The Apple AirPods has been a very successful model and is the principal object of the counterfeiters. The report also hinted that up to 80% of the US seizures originate from China, indicating a possible source of the syndicate. It has to be stated also that Chinese company OnePlus also suffered an embarrassing seizure of its authentic earbuds, as Customs officials claimed it was a fake version of the Apple AirPods. However, OnePlus insists that there are significant differences between its product and the Apple AirPods.

The wireless earbuds market is a rapidly expanding one globally and counterfeiters have sought to reap from the success of established brands like Apple and Samsung by faking their products. Apple, on its own, is taking steps to ensure that it safeguards its customers and limits the counterfeiting of its products. It has collaborated with security agencies and e-commerce websites and taken other relevant measures to stop the thieves from tracking and protecting its customers. Other leading brands also continue to pursue processes that would make counterfeiters’ jobs more difficult.

If the current half-year volume of seizures is to be countenanced, it is possible that by the year’s end, up to 600,000 seizures would have been accomplished by the US Border Customs. However, this depends largely on the response of the counterfeiters.

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(source)

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