marinoa24 wrote:
Buying refurbished for a lower price point is not knowingly buying from a scammer. I was fully expecting a used product but my last refurbished ones lasted me two full years and I figured what the heck. Apple cannot tell if the inside of the AirPod has been changed out. Each AirPod has its own serial number and the case and apples system said they were ok. BECAUSE THEY CANT TELL if they have been modified internally.
Any entity that can manufacture a passible copy of AirPods can trivially also copy valid serial numbers.
Serial numbers are not useful for detecting counterfeits.
Outside of authorized resellers, expect to find counterfeits available, and expect to find counterfeits from online sales across all of the major online sales platforms.
Some background on counterfeits from Adam Savage’s Tested: