When these bad boys first caught my eye I knew I had to have them. So you can imagine my delight when I thought I'd struck gold and found a pair of Bathing Ape's limited edition Ghostbuster shoes on eBay for only £45. The above is what the seller was advertising, so, I ordered myself a white pair. Today they arrived, and this is what they sent me.
Now the differences at first may be minor with regards to the actual shoe. But the first tell-tale sign that these are counterfeits is the box. It is a 'regular' Bathing Ape box, and in battered condition I might add. It is contrary to the limited edition box they should have arrived in, pictured above. And yes, they were advertised as brand new, having never been worn. Second sign is the shoe itself. You will see on the 'official version pictured the head of the ghost touches the tip of the shooting star. On mine, pictured above the head is clearly well underneath the star. Further attention was drawn to the sole of the trainer, as pictured right, which looks either incomplete or worn. Being supposedly new it shouldn't have been the latter. So I did some snooping on other sellers offering the same product on eBay and my PKE meter found pictures of someone who owns a pair, pictured below.
With the two shown side-by-side it becomes more obvious where the inconsistencies lie. The box and the ghost's head are clearly different. After searching for more pictures of what 'should be', I came across another promotional photo which more or less confirmed them as fakes. If you look at the sole on my shoe compared to that pictured on the right the information printed is different. I suppose in retrospect I was a bit naive to think that finding a pair of $200 shoes on eBay being sold by some kid in China (my first clue perhaps) for £45 was a good deal. Since then I have sent the seller a message (which I hope babelfish will translate adequately for him) asking for my money back. If I don't get a response by Monday I'll take the matter up with eBay. God damnit! And they're such awesome shoes as well! Bloody fake Chinese tat. (cries) ='(
Now the differences at first may be minor with regards to the actual shoe. But the first tell-tale sign that these are counterfeits is the box. It is a 'regular' Bathing Ape box, and in battered condition I might add. It is contrary to the limited edition box they should have arrived in, pictured above. And yes, they were advertised as brand new, having never been worn. Second sign is the shoe itself. You will see on the 'official version pictured the head of the ghost touches the tip of the shooting star. On mine, pictured above the head is clearly well underneath the star. Further attention was drawn to the sole of the trainer, as pictured right, which looks either incomplete or worn. Being supposedly new it shouldn't have been the latter. So I did some snooping on other sellers offering the same product on eBay and my PKE meter found pictures of someone who owns a pair, pictured below.
With the two shown side-by-side it becomes more obvious where the inconsistencies lie. The box and the ghost's head are clearly different. After searching for more pictures of what 'should be', I came across another promotional photo which more or less confirmed them as fakes. If you look at the sole on my shoe compared to that pictured on the right the information printed is different. I suppose in retrospect I was a bit naive to think that finding a pair of $200 shoes on eBay being sold by some kid in China (my first clue perhaps) for £45 was a good deal. Since then I have sent the seller a message (which I hope babelfish will translate adequately for him) asking for my money back. If I don't get a response by Monday I'll take the matter up with eBay. God damnit! And they're such awesome shoes as well! Bloody fake Chinese tat. (cries) ='(
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