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batman75

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 15, 2010
726
175
I lost my AirPods 2 when I left them in the cabin on a redeye flight. So I needed another set.

This time I bought a pair of AirPods with wireless charging from Amazon.com for $179.99 + tax. Received but haven't opened them yet.

A few things tweaked my attention. One is while it says sold by amazon.com on the listing, on my order summary it says sold by Amazon.com services LLC. So this makes me wonder if it is really an authorized reseller product. Also I heard Amazon and FBA inventory can get mixed up which is a risk.

Finally the serial number stickers seem misaligned versus on the previous set I bought from my Apple store.

Should I keep it, or return and pay $20 more at Apple?

Here are some pics. Apple store box on top, Amazon one on bottom.

IMG_2868.JPG
IMG_2869.JPG
IMG_2872.JPG
 

willmtaylor

macrumors G4
Oct 31, 2009
10,314
8,198
Here(-ish)
I lost my AirPods 2 when I left them in the cabin on a redeye flight. So I needed another set.

This time I bought a pair of AirPods with wireless charging from Amazon.com for $179.99 + tax. Received but haven't opened them yet.

A few things tweaked my attention. One is while it says sold by amazon.com on the listing, on my order summary it says sold by Amazon.com services LLC. So this makes me wonder if it is really an authorized reseller product. Also I heard Amazon and FBA inventory can get mixed up which is a risk.

Finally the serial number stickers seem misaligned versus on the previous set I bought from my Apple store.

Should I keep it, or return and pay $20 more at Apple?

Here are some pics. Apple store box on top, Amazon one on bottom.

View attachment 845649 View attachment 845647 View attachment 845645
From Amazon directly? Probably.

From anyone else? Probably not.
 

Herrpod

macrumors 65816
May 29, 2019
1,000
1,979
Amazon warehouses mix items and ship you the item from a warehouse closest to you. So the AirPods you order directly from Amazon might actually have been provided by a third party and it might be a fake. Order directly from Apple or Target.
 

batman75

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 15, 2010
726
175
I’m going to return them and order from Apple. I opened them and for some reason they seem slightly quieter than my previous pair which I bought in my local Apple store.

Also since I am buying from Apple do people think I should get them engraved with my phone number in case I loose them again?
 

AllergyDoc

macrumors 68020
Mar 17, 2013
2,016
9,450
Utah, USA
Also since I am buying from Apple do people think I should get them engraved with my phone number in case I loose them again?
I wouldn’t. You might get lucky and have an honest person find them, but most likely they’ll be found by someone who couldn’t care less about having someone else’s phone number on their, free, iPods.
 

brenard

macrumors newbie
Dec 10, 2017
29
2
I agree. Some people will make no effort to find the owner. Finders, keepers.
 

batman75

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 15, 2010
726
175
As an update I returned the Amazon ones and bought the Apple Store ones. While the Amazon ones are fully functional, the Apple ones seem better to me (more volume, and faster pop-up of the battery indicator on the phone.

Could be wrong, but it feels to me like the one sold on Amazon were replicas.
 
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