Fake GHD's

Be very careful when buying new GHD's - if the price looks like a bargin, then they are probably fake! This is especially true on market places such as Ebay and even some "companies" advertising on Google are selling fakes. If you want to buy GHDs, stick to the reputable salons or the official GHD website.

Fakes are very difficult to distinguish from real GHDs - they come in an original looking box, with instructions, DVD etc. Those people in China are experts at copying anything. Sadly however they cut corners on the design and use sub standard components which causes them to fail very quickly. For example see this page for a host of fake GHDs available in wholesale quantities.

Which GHD Models have not been copied?

The old GHD models have never been copied. i.e. Pre Mk3 and GHD3. I've also never seen fakes of the wide plate SS orSS2 versions.

I have seen fake GHD 3.1b and Mk4 models, including the latest Purple versions.

How to Spot Fakes

It is very hard to tell the difference between a fake pair and a genuine pair of GHD's from the outside. Once opened however, the difference is obvious - the electronics are much lower quality and the build quality is terrible.

The first step to work out if yours are genuine is to try registering them at http://www.ghdhair.com/customer-care/product-registration. If at the end of the process your serial number (the one on the cable) is not recognised, then they are probably fake. I have however seen one pair that the GHD registration process thought were genuine, but were blatantly fake when I took them apart.

Some other tell tale signs of fakes:

The serial number on the hologram is rubbing off or is unreadable.
They have a different "feel" to genuine GHD's - they are made from a different type of plastic. Obviously you can only tell this when you have a genuine pair next to a fake pair!
They are pink despite having the model number 3.1b / 4.1b etc (I thought "b" stood for black??). Update: I have been told this isn't always the case and that there are some genuine 4.2Bs out there that are pink.
The hinge pin is made from plastic, rather than metal and is not held together with a screw (pop the hinge caps off and you will see this).
The electronics are different - only one PCB rather than two.
The connections to the PCB are soldered, not screw terminals. All genuine GHDs that I have seen have screw terminals
The heaters are a different size - genuine GHD heaters are 15mm x 70mm (at least in the 1" wide versions - SS and MS models are different)
The thermal fuse is a different style. genuine GHD ones are in a small ceramic pot, whereas fake ones are just a fuse wrapped in tape.
The coating flakes off the plates.
The cable has a different style of connector:

Fake serial numbers

These are some of the serial numbers (printed on the label that's on the cable) I have seen on fake GHDs:

7sskm m6mz9 kvcfq - Pink 3.1Bs

Sites Selling Fake GHDs

Do not buy from any of these sites... they are fakes! Note that in the terms and conditions you "agree to submit such dispute to China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration"

They look genuine otherwise, don't they? These were all found by doing a quick google search on "ghd".

For a complete list of websites selling fake GHDs, see http://www.ghdhair.com/beware-imitations/website-checker/

Repairing Fake GHDs

If you end up with Fake GHD's and they go wrong then sadly no one will fix them for you - there are so many different fakes, that it's impossible to find common failures or have "standard" repair methods. Therefore it's not cost effective to spend an hour debugging each pair of fakes. Your only hope of getting them fixed is to find a friend who is handy with a multimeter to try and work out what the problem is.

Getting a Refund for Fakes Purchased on Ebay

Trevor B was unfortunate enough to buy a couple of pairs of fake GHDs on Ebay. Here is his account of how he got his money back:

I have now been refunded for two sets of MK4 lookalikes purchased on eBay through PayPal. The first set went without issue, as the seller clearly knew they were fake, and had sold some before.

The second set was a little trickier though. Although PayPal handled the dispute when I 'escalated it to a claim' (meaning PayPal took over!), the seller stood their ground a bit. PayPal wanted independent verification of the products' authenticity - they ignored the fact that I issued photos of genuine internals and fakes, to ascertain the difference. I also provided them with the serial number and a link to the GHD registration page, again to prove that they were fake. They would only accept a letter from an independent as verification (supplied by GHD-Repair.co.uk). Any costs involved here are not refunded...

To claim against the seller you first need to contact the seller in the usual way after purchasing an eBay item. If they do not respond, or are not interested go to PayPal.

Log onto their site and select 'resolution centre'.

Then select 'Item dispute: I did not receive an item I purchased or the item I received is significantly not as described'

Then enter the PayPal transaction number (NOT eBay item number) and 'continue'

Then select: I received my item, but it is significantly not as described.
For example:

* The item was damaged or defective.
* The box was empty.
* The order was incomplete.

Then tick the 'Fake' box. Add a message if you want and tell PayPal how much refund you want in the appropriate box. You can ask for a full or partial refund.

It took about a month of arbitration and faxing (yeah faxing!) documents. But I got my cash back in the end. PayPal (or the seller?) wanted the goods destroying prior to issuing a refund. So I had to sign to say I had done this.

Hope this helps someone matey!

Best regards, and cheers once again for your help...

Trev

Photos of Fake GHDs

The following GHD's are all fakes (and some of them have gone bang!).

This page was last updated at 10:07pm on 25th January 2010