Cheap Interconnects from Hong Kong

Its getting so bad,there are "authentication" services now offered on ebay.
Just hit the "US Only" button on all your searches.
My worry is they will ship abunch here, and sell them here with a US address.
These are very bad times for audiophiles looking to upgrade, unless you buy from authorized dealers.
The only safe way anymore.
Recently bought some 72v Colorados on ebay from a US seller at a ridiculously low price, couldn't pass it up (the active audioquest would be harder to knock off I would think).
Bought the auction, and then the worry set in.
Did he buy it from China, got a fake, and decided to resell it?
Something to think about on the non actives(reselling after they bought knockoffs!).
Mine turned out to be real (If they could make them sound like mine do, they would be so rich they would not have to sell on ebay, or knockoff audioquest).
I would not chance it, buy from well known sellers or authorized dealers.

I found this thread after seeing a massive assault of XLO speaker cables from Hong Kong on eBay. Having owned (and still owning) a number of XLO speaker cables the fakes are just obvious to me. It reminded me of the book 'Blink' - trust your intuition. Why do the older cables - Ref 2, Pro 600 - have the anachronistic latest bananas? Even if the wire is real, is it even terminated in the right direction? It just makes me shudder. I'm going to Hong Kong soon, but don't intend to do much high-end audio shopping.

Below is the sample of the fake ones:
Nordost ReDawn: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250712211049&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_3312wt_1139

PS Audio AC-5: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150508098427&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_500wt_1156

Things with King Cobras are getting ever hairier
these days.

The lack of the "Audioquest" logo on at least
one of the RCAs is a sure sign of a fake. Now
they even started selling Audioquest empty boxes
for those who want to get more creative, like this
seller:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AudioQuest-King-Cobra-RCA-1M-1Pair-Free-shipping-/180793916890?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a18283dda

Had a glass of wine, tired after work, CLICK-ClICK
BANG-BANG you get taken:(

I will say the counterfitters have gotten much better on AQ products lately. In the past it was very easy to spot a fake but they are getting much better & now alot also include packaging, which some look very close to the origional.

For HDMI cables, Vodka, Carbon & Chocolate are ones that there are plenty of fakes out there (lots on Ebay), & they do include packaging (which do look close to the origional, especially if you don't know what to look for). I find the fit & finish of the knock offs, still not up to the same standards.

I recently purchased a pair of King Cobra RCA's with packaging. When I compared them to my Diamondbacks that I purchased a couple years back I noticed some differences in the connectors. So I opened up the ends to compare. What I found is a cable that appears to be made of the correct parts but did not have the fit & finish of my older Diamondbacks. Things like insulation not cut as neatly, & end wasn't wraped as well (clear vs black). The bare conductors were long & sloppy, & also had a bunch of nicks out of them. The area of the center conductor covered with heat shrink was much less & abit lose (could move around).

I sent pics to Audioquest & they said it was a legit cable but I wasn't happy with the purchase, so I returned it. I purchased another set from my normal AQ supplier & of course opened it up as well. What I found was fit & finish that matched my Diamondbacks.

So now I'm not sure if the first set was legit or not (maybe a "second"). Have the counterfits got so good that even the manufacturers have trouble spotting some of them?