Back Market was founded on the idea of creating a safe marketplace, so that buying premium refurbished electronics would be easy, affordable, and safe. This is the reason we do everything we can to keep the fake duds out, but nothing in life is foolproof (no matter how hard we try).
We know how annoying it is to realize you’ve bought a counterfeit item, so we’ve made returns and refunds as easy as possible.
How to return counterfeit AirPods
Step 1: Log in to your Back Market account
- Go to “My orders”
- Click on “Ask for help”
Be sure to have photos of your item and a screenshot of Apple’s counterfeit notification to send to Customer Care.
Please make sure that your device is running Apple’s iOS 16. This software automatically detects counterfeit AirPods and sends a notification when you try to pair them with an Apple device.
Step 2: Send the item using our prepaid shipping label
Customer Care will send a prepaid shipping label via your Back Market account. The refund will be processed as soon as the device is shipped.
You should see the refund appear in your account within 3 - 6 business days, depending on your bank or credit card company.
How to return other counterfeit devices
Step 1: Log in to your Back Market account
- Go to “My orders”
- Click on “Ask for help”
Be sure to have photos of your item and any comments or notes about why you believe the item is counterfeit.
Step 2: Send the item using our prepaid shipping label
Customer Care will send a prepaid shipping label via your Back Market account. Once we receive the item, we’ll inspect the device within 2 business days and process a refund for counterfeit items.
You should see the refund appear in your account within 3 - 6 business days, depending on your bank or credit card company.
Devices that are checked and found to be authentic, and not counterfeit, will be shipped back to you for free.
| P.S. The information and devices you send to Customer Care help us ban counterfeit sellers from our website. So thanks for helping us fight the good fight. |
How Back Market prevents counterfeit items from being sold
We prevent counterfeit in 2 key ways:
- During the vetting process of sellers
- Continuously with our Innovation Lab
Vetting sellers is part of our quality control process. Potential sellers undergo a rigorous process that assess their track record and quality of the items they sell. More concretely, only 1 out of 3 sellers that apply to sell on Back Market pass the test.
Sellers that make the cut can only sell items for the categories they were approved for. For example, only 20% of sellers are allowed to sell AirPods on Back Market. This percentage is especially low because AirPods are more susceptible to counterfeit than other devices.
But, of course, we don’t stop at vetting. Back Market’s Innovation Lab continuously assesses seller performance with mystery shopping, on-site refurbisher visits, and customer reviews. The lab also builds custom software to test and check the quality of refurbished devices, but also detect counterfeit ones.
Does Back Market ban sellers?
Yes. We have a zero tolerance policy for any seller caught selling counterfeit items in our marketplace. While we can’t banish counterfeit sellers to the End of Time, we 100% banish them from selling that category of items on our website. They can requalify to sell in a category only if they have an impeccable track record going forward and can show us that they have improved their authentication processes.