Fake vs Real how can you tell?

I am curious, how can you tell the difference between the real deal and a fake? I know that there are a lot of knock off Quake 4 and Call of Duty 2 faceplates out there so how do you know if you have an original or a fake? Are there any key differences between them, things to look out for, etc? I feel that my collection is in need of these two plates and I may have found somebody with an original one but before I buy it I want to know that I am not getting ripped off. I could just take the persons word for it but people lie especially when a knock off is worth far less than an original. Any words of wisdom would be great.

I don't know. I first heard this bootleg info at lowdown411.com from tacohead. I have an email out to him but he hasn't replied yet.

I purchased 14 faceplates from a wholesaler that were supposedly plain white OED faceplates. I don't have my original co I can't compare it, but all the first party retail plates I've gotten have a little holographic Microsoft sticker onthe back and these don't. Anyone have a factory plate then can look at to see if it has a sticker? These plates do have the name Microsoft cast into the plastic.

Oh yeah, I forgot to ask this, are there any other plates besides Quake and Call of Duty that have knock off versions?

Ok so I bought it. I didn't want to wait around and have somebody else swoop in and take it from me. Its eBay item 160182138666 Take a look and tell me what you think. The seller says its authentic and it does have that little cardboard box thingie. I compared pics of the knock off versions to the pic of this one and it does look like it is made better. I only paid $35 including the shipping so either I just got a good deal on an original one or wayyyyyy over paid for a knock off. Please don't be a knock of, please don't be a knock off, pretty please...............

Quote:

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Originally Posted by moltenluv

Oh yeah, I forgot to ask this, are there any other plates besides Quake and Call of Duty that have knock off versions?

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The Outfit.

"Fake vs Real how can you tell? "

You have no idea how difficult it was to not put, "Why, squeeze them, of course." :)

Asian knockoff version of PGR3 faceplate. The wrap has green text at the top.
Those come from Australia, Singapure, Hong Kong.

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...acexbox360.jpg

The real PGR3 has little text in black at the bottom. "Not for retail distribution" or something like it. Like this one.

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...r1der/PGR3.jpg

Funny thing. Extremely hard (almost impossible) to find E3 Limited Edition knockoff. The power button is white. I have one of those.



http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...r/148_4891.jpg



And regular E3 Limited Edition, the power button is metallic. I don't have one of those :)
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c.../E3limited.jpg

Hey, I just have one with green rings. I really want one of the real E305 plates, but I'd just as soon have that Virgin Megastore blue ring plate. I"ve never seen one for sale anywhere.

Arg! I didn't know that there were fake PGR 3 faceplates! I think the one I bought might have been a fake :crying: Didn't know about the fake E3 05 or the Outfit ones either. I do have an Outfit one but I forgot to take it when I left my ex. Hmmmm........ I will have to smuggle it outta there. I KNOW that one isn't a fake because I was working at EB when they came out and was able to snag one for myself. I have almost bid on some of the E3 ones but now I am glad I didn't. I would hate to pay all that money for a fake. Now I know to look for silver power buttons.

Well I looked back at my eBay history and the pic of the PGR 3 faceplate is for one of the knock offs. I don't have the packaging anymore so I don't know if they just used somebody else's pic for the auction or if that is a pic of the actual one that I got. Hrmph! I do remember the back of the box said something about being a promotional item and that it is not available for resale or retail or something of that nature. Does the fake one say that as well? Is there anyway to tell if it is a fake by just looking at the faceplate? I know it shouldn't really matter that much but to me it does. I gonna go cry now :( :cry: :crying:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SpaceGhost2K

Anyone have a factory plate then can look at to see if it has a sticker? These plates do have the name Microsoft cast into the plastic.

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I have an original faceplate, no holographic stick my friend.

Good.

I'm in the same boat at moltenluv. I opened my PGR plate to display and the packaging is long gone. I'll try to look back at the auction. I wish we had out of the package pictures of both to compare the backs of the actual plates.

Ok I went and looked at my PGR 3 faceplate and it does have that little Microsoft holographic sticker on the back of it so I am assuming that it is the real deal not a fake. Does yours have one Spacey?

Mine also has the holo sticker and looks identical to my other genuine faceplates.

I think we both might be saved then. WHOOPIE! :hardcore:

I find that if they feel like bags of sand then they're real.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gh0st_r1der

Funny thing. Extremely hard (almost impossible) to find E3 Limited Edition knockoff. The power button is white. I have one of those.



http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...r/148_4891.jpg



And regular E3 Limited Edition, the power button is metallic. I don't have one of those :)
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c.../E3limited.jpg

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I would give my right kidney for one of those. faceplates are a brilliant idea. It's nice to see companies putting them out.

Ok so I got my Quake 4 faceplate today. I think it might be legit. It came with one of those little cardboard box thingies and had the black/white sticker on the side of it saying Quake 4. Plus all the pics of the fakes I have seen on eBay have those two little white dots above the USB port door and this one doesn't. I am a very happy camper :hump: Or at least until somebody tells me I am wrong like I was with the PGR3 faceplate :watchout:

Ok people I didn't want to start an entire thread for this so I figured I would just continue on with this one. I got one of the 700 series PGR faceplates today from Austria. It is still sealed in the package and it is the only one I will never ever remove from the package. Why? Contrary to popular belief it is not carbon fiber on the back. I was all ready to cut the package open when I decided to look down in and guess what the back is white just like the other one. Phew I dodged a bullet there. I am afraid if I open it then there really will be no way to tell the difference between the two. There is a crack in the packaging and at first I was concerned maybe the seller did a switcheroo on me but upon futher examination I have determined that there would be no way to remove let alone place another faceplate in through the crack. It was only packaged in a cheap padded mailer which looked like hell when I got it so I am pretty sure this crack happened during shipping. I just wanted to share this bit of knowledge with everybody. It is possible that back of this faceplate varies slighly from the other one but I will never know because like I said I am not opening it up EVER!

On top of that, GameKing was going to get me one of the E3 plates and it seems like it's a knockoff. According the ghostrider, the knockoff might actually end up being worth more because they're so hard to find. Ghostrider HAS one of the knockoffs but he might be interested in another one. Gameking should give him a shout out.

Gh0st got the one that ended right before mine from the same seller. It's not the same as the one in the picture in this thread.
I have comparison shots that I'm going to try and upload this afternoon (I'm in class right now).

Maybe an official sticky thread should be started for spotting fakes? We have a pretty nice start for one in this thread.