A scary thought from Ellery911


I've thought about this for a long time and being a newbie to high end I just had to ask.

In a world where you can get fake Luis Vuitton bags, fake high $ watches (Rolex, Patek Phillipe etc), and knock-offs of just about any high $ product, have there been any instances of fake high end stereo equipment and if so, how does one avoid being the unlucky buyer?
ellery911
Ohh yeah, Faccuphase and Fryston!!!

Seriously though, I have read about grey market units. Jolida and Electrocompaniet come to mind. I would bet that there are dozens.
A few years ago there were fake NBS cables that I believe were coming from Asia. The merchant claimed to be an authorized NBS dealer, but when I spoke to the owner at NBS (I forgot his name), he never heard of the merchant.