Gamer in Asia: 5 rules for avoiding fake gaming equipment

If there’s one thing almost everyone knows about China, it’s that there is a lot of fake stuff lurking around. With enough time, energy, and enthusiasm, almost anything can be faked and during my time in China, I have come to see every fake imaginable.

As well as an abundance of fakery, China is also home to amazing deals and incredible discounts. Electronic equipment brought in from Hong Kong is cheap due to lack of taxes, and storekeepers with “connections” can often have mind-boggling discounts.

All bought at discount in China.

In 2011 I bought myself a Macbook Air with a 120GB SSD for 7000 RMB ($1,125). At that time, it was worth over $1,500 in the US. I still have no idea how it was possible for it to have come so cheap, but it was the genuine article, and it has served me well.

She is still beautiful.

Since then I have bought and helped others buy Xboxes, Playstations, and Wiis at great prices and with minimal trouble, without once falling prey to fakery. And if you follow a few simple rules, you won’t have to worry about fake stuff ever again.

Choose where you shop carefully

Going to the biggest, most expensive electronics markets in town will yield authentic products, but you aren’t going to get the big discounts there. Have a look online, especially on Chinese sites, and ask native speakers to help you out. Local people are invaluable fonts of knowledge to help you find the best deals for the best prices.

These places can be a place of dreams or nightmares.

If you are buying a games console or gaming equipment, then you have no choice but to go to some of the less legitimate stores. People are pretty honest about what’s fake and what isn’t, but if you look like a lost foreigner, then you might have people trying to pull a fast one on you.

Look at what you are buying

It takes a lot of time, effort, and money to make a convincing fake, and most fakers simply have neither the funds nor the ability to do so. Go online and get some photos of the item you want to buy to make a comparison. Then, look at the product itself; look for any parts that don’t fit together right, for discolorations, or for anything in general that appears to be out of the norm.