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Featured, Inside The Industry, Professional Product Reviews, Style Tips and How to?How To Spot A Fake GHD
Counterfeits have long been the bane of all legitimate businesses – and those involved in high quality, highly sought after brands are mostly targeted by counterfeit schemers because they can ride on the brand’s reputation and success.
THE POWER OF GHD
The power of the GHD brand has drawn the attention of criminal counterfeiters – just as other incredibly successful brands including Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci have been targeted by counterfeiters.
The attention of counterfeiters shows that GHD have a highly sought after product backed by inspirational marketing – but GHD is dedicated to protecting consumers and legitimate businesses from the effect of this poor quality, dangerous and illegal counterfeits.
The counterfeits often appear to be very similar to the genuine products – but they do not have electrical safety approval, do not use the same high quality internal parts or workmanship and have not been through GHD’s stringent quality control process. Thus those buying counterfeit ghd stylers risk serious injury such as electrocution due to the poor quality construction and lack of safety checks.
CURRENT TRENDS
In recent times eBay and similar online auction sites as well as untrustworthy websites (mostly based in overseas) have become the main channel for counterfeits to distribute their cheap imitations to salons, wholesaler and the public.
WHAT DOES GHD DO?
GHD hair is going to extreme efforts to prevent counterfeits from reaching consumers. These efforts include numerous court proceeding, customs seizures, police investigations and many investigations into non authorized websites. A list of known counterfeit sites is listed on the official GHD site www.ghdhair.com.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Often if something seems too good to be true – it often is. Do your research, you don’t want to be asking yourself “is my GHD fake”.
Check that they are a hair salon, not just an online retailer.
GHD’s are a professional hair straightener, and are thus only available through Hair Salons. If I site does not have a “Salon Page” or list their salon name and address then you then be skeptical.
Look for Phone number, and give them a call.
You need to make sure that you are looking at a site that is Australian. A good, quick way to check is to look at the Contact Us page of a site. This should list not only a phone number but their Salon name and address.
Search Australian forums for feedback on the site.
Forums such as VOGUE are totally unbiased to a website or retailer, and give you a great look into other customers experience, comments and thoughts on where they have bought their GHD from.
Check ABN to make sure they are an Australian business.
This is another good idea to confirm if the ABN of the site/salon is legitimate.
Check GHD official website.
The official website for GHD is www.ghdhair.com.au. All salons that have been approved to stock GHD products are listed under their Salon Locator, check the address or salon name. If they are not listed – be very wary.
Jun 4, 2009
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Wow, this is REALLY helpful. I’m definitely book-marking this.
Jun 4, 2009
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Great article. I did a lot of research last year before purchasing my GHD from RY.com.au – it was reassuring to see the ‘authorised GHD stockist’ logo on the website, which took me to the official GHD website & confirmed that RY is an official retailer of authentic GHDs. Although I still saved money by purchasing from RY instead of my regular salon, the price was still realistic for a professional styling tool of the calibre of GHD. The sites which sell fake GHD’s sell them for prices which are ridiculously cheap, and therefore too good to be true.
Jun 4, 2009
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This is a really useful article – thank you!!! I’ll definitely be forwarding this on to friends who are looking at buying a ghd.
Jun 4, 2009
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what great info tellya what i wont get caught buying a phony now thanks for the info
Jun 4, 2009
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I bought my GHD from ry.com.au I was a little skeptical about the authenticity of the GHD, but ry.com.au is authentic and I love their next day delivery service.
Jun 4, 2009
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That is terrible that they are counterfeiting GHDs, especially being an electrical item.
Jun 4, 2009
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Don’t buy cheap ones!!!
Jun 4, 2009
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Very handy! Thank you
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Jun 5, 2009
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What is the world coming to?
Jun 5, 2009
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I wish this article was around when I bought my GHD from ebay, will check my GHD to see if its authentic once I am home!
Jun 5, 2009
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Thanks for the reminder, I need to register my newly purchased GDH.
Jun 10, 2009
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once bitten twice shy. I purchased a ghd from paddys markets in Sydney. It was $99. when I got home the plastic melted. I called ghd and I was told that I could not get a refund as the product was a fake and probably from china. they advised me to buy from a salon so I found ry which is a salon and a website. I got my ghd just before Christmas and I sometimes get my shampoo and stuff from here as well.good service guys keep up the good work
Jun 11, 2009
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Worrying to hear that the plastic melted, i hate to think what this could have done to your hair, let alone your hands. I hope it didn’t cause too much damage.
Jun 16, 2009
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Wow I wish I had found this before I got dudded.
There are so many dodgy products but this one is actually dangerous.
I did report the store and had no regrets apart from having thrown away receipt and product
Jun 29, 2009
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Thanks for the info. Now I can comfortably and safetly buy a GHD
Sep 17, 2009
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My sister and I both bought a fake GHD styler from the same website, it was called ghdhsop-au.com and we assumed it was the Australian GHD website. Mine was faulty, I could hear some serious wire crackling when it was plugged in. Not until I wanted to send it back for a relacement did I begin to become suspicious, they asked me to try and get it fixed myself! I sent it back a month ago and havent heard anything since. I learnt the hard way and wish I had have known about this site before I was so quick to snap up a bargain
Oct 28, 2009
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mmmm i just recieved mine yesterday paid $83,because it said outlet and victoria i was sucked in,i just picked it up from the post office today .They really are very good the packaging is excellent ……i actually sent them an email after i had paid [stupid me ] to ask if it was genuin i told them i wouldnt cancell,i would just like to know it was during this process that i realised i had baught from china and new it would be fake i sent numerous emails back and forth as it took so long to get it that i thought ohh great,they’ll probably take all the money i have in my account,anyway ,waiting for electrocusion,as long as its not my daughters…..yep if it seems too good to be true ,than it probably is……
Feb 3, 2010
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At 8:00 this morning my daughter received an electrical burn to her hand when her Purple GHD straightener shorted. She was thrown to the floor and was very lucky not to suffer far more serious consequences. The GHD in question was purchased from ghdshop-au.com.
Following this incident I checked with GHD to confirm if her straightener was genuine. It is not.
Suffice to say, I recommend you do not purchase from this site and if you have, as my daughter did, dispose of the item or at least confirm its authenticity. A second straightener purchased from the site is also non-genuine and has been disposed of.
Apr 6, 2010
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I was wondering if anyone has had any dealings with ghd outlet in sydney (it is an online site) their prices seem extremely low so now I am skeptical about whether or not their products are genuine, I look forward to hearing from anyone with any information they can offer.
Jun 14, 2010
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Sue, I have purchased on one off GHD Outlet Sydney on Thursday the 10/6/10 – i haven’t received it yet but i am guessing that it’s dodgey now! I’m so upset! Going to try really hard for a return. I only noticed at the end of my transaction when they wrote me an email saying that XIUCHENG will appear on my statement not GHD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jun 19, 2010
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Brooke and Sue… can you please say if your GHD has worked out? My poor friend was trying to do something lovely for me by purchasing one from GHD outlet Sydney for me. In the meantime, I purchased one from a salon. His cost $90. Mine cost $300. I have not used mine… until his came. Just want to know if yours has turned out to be genuine?
Jun 27, 2010
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Brooke was it a fake?? I just ordered one from same website and now I’m worried!!
Jul 8, 2010
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Girls, i think you would already know this by now, but its going to be fake.
I ordered from there a couple of months ago, and realised when i saw some dodgy name on my statement.
Got my real one from this site yesterday, its all registered and working wonderfully.
Still trying to get my money back from the other site. Dont think this is going to happen though.
Jul 9, 2010
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I just ordered one from a site called ghdoutlet-au The tracking number they sent me yesterday isnt registered with EMS…. So after reading this, I think it must be a dud… There goes $100! So angry! Should have known better tho. I hummed and harred about it for like an hour before i decided to get it…..
Jul 13, 2010
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i have done a big order for friends and myself from ghdhairshop. I received 12 and still waiting on 8, but have received a letter saying that they have been seized and that i must hand over all irons and if i dont hand over the irons i will have to pay $300 each iron and i will be taken to court. apprentally there is a court case with the registered owners( jemella) and the counertfeit importers. I know so many people that have brought from this website and if you go on there you can see all the names and traking number who have purchased them.
Jul 28, 2010
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Katie,
That is horrible news, and we’re sorry it happen to you. GHD (Jemella) are taking stock action to try and clean up the counterfeit styler issue world wide.
Aug 2, 2010
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i just bought 2 from ghdoutlet… after reading this, i emailed them straight away to get a refund and not to send the straighteners out to me… lets see how that goes….
Aug 12, 2010
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YEP! i got sucked in too! i payed like $130 from eBay.
and its a total dud!
I’m so angry:S i plugged it in and nothing..
just putting it out there, i have learnt a very good lesson.
so annoyed!
i do feel everyones pain lol
Aug 20, 2010
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im soo gutted just bought the straightners from ghdshop.com n then gone bk on to read reviews n stuff n there all bad
i hope i can claim my money bk it hasnt left my account yet either .
Aug 20, 2010
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DO NOT BUY FROM ghdoutletsydney.net
This website is selling fake GHD’s.
I purchased one from them and it was only because they took 3 weeks to deliver it that i started looking online and found out about Fake GHD’s on the market.
I checked on the official GHD website and the holigram numbers do not register so it is definately a fake.
I have no intentions of using this product because i do not want to be electrocuted…. wish i had seen this site before i paid $90 but what are the chances of me getting the money back the company website says its in Australia but the product was posted from China…. Dodgy Dodgy BUYER BEWARE!!!
Sep 2, 2010
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I purchased from ghdoutlet because a friend of mine had purchased from them and raved about the straightener she had received, but after confirming the purchase and seeing the dodgy account name that came up I immediately got concerned, and when it was a completely different name that appeared on my statement I knew I’d been scammed. I’ve cancelled my VISA card and put in a dispute to have the money returned. The website has not replied to any of the emails that I’ve sent. I WOULD NOT BUY FROM GHDOUTLET.COM/AU – THEY ARE FAKE… COMPANY IS NOT IN AUSTRALIA AND PRODUCTS ARE SHIPPED FROM CHINA
Sep 26, 2010
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I have been surfing the net for a while now, as i dont fancy paying up to and past $300 for a genuine ghd that you can get in Perth. I have found this shop called offhair.com. MOst of the straighteners are from $99-$129. I thought this sounded a bit cheap, and I don’t know if it is getting shipped from an outlet somewhere in Australia, or just a fake from China. If anyone has brought from this site before, please tell me, as I don’t to be ripped off!
Oct 7, 2010
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11 days ago i ordered a ghd gold iv MK4 for only $112 US, which is supposed to come with two heat protectamnt purses, one big and the other a small one, and it also should come with two bottles of spray and a compact mirror, anyways, on monday i received it, the box wasnt sealed, and it was a scuffed, i opened it, on the inside of the box it said “ghd pink styler” and the bottles of spray were missing and the glass in the compact mirror fell off due to low quality and the DVD disc that came with it was blank and it was shipped from china, the website is ghdhair-iv.com and they claim theyre an officioal retailer and they say they are gorgeous shop website which is so not true and now i claimed my money back, please do not buy from that website
Oct 12, 2010
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Oh my god I just bought one from Buyer2Shop.com for 125 Australian dollars do you think its a dud?its only been 2 days so it hasnt arrived yet (I live in NSW) The site isnt listed on the official site for being a sure fake seller but nor is it listed as being a genuine one!Pleeeeease respond with your opinions!
Thanks
Oct 13, 2010
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I just purchased a ‘GHD’ from GHDoutlet.com.au. I have not received an email confirmation and now that I have tried to contact them for a 3rd time my email was returned as the account i sent it to has now been disabled. I am so unhappy with this ‘company’ and i so wish i had read this page before hand!!
Nov 9, 2010
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Hi I just purchased an IV styler set from http://www.ghdhair-mk4.com... pretty much straight after purchasing a friend told me it wasn’t on the ghd listings of genuine ghd… I have emailed them to cancel the transaction but there is no telephone number.
Has anyone else dealt with this website and know if they will truly give my money back? Or even if I should cancel my credit card?
I also haven’t been sent a confirmation letter but in my bank account it says the money is a pending transaction…
My bank says they will start an investigation into fraud with the company.
Nov 21, 2010
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I have just done a search on ghd to buy & this article came up & glad i clicked on it to read because i also clicked on the ghdoutlet one that you are all talking about & thought it was genuine. Thanks to everyone one who has written comments will definately get mine from an authorised retailer as it is clearly not worth risking your life!! just to save a $100 or so bucks.
p.s on the bottom of their website it says powered by GHD & when you click on it it takes you to diesellevisjeans.com which i am assuming is another website selling fake counterfeit items.
pps. i also love how there is absolutely NO CONTACT details for this mob whatsoever apart from their website details. Any self respecting business will ALWAYS put a phone number.
Nov 21, 2010
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GHDoutlet also have another website GHDcurls.net Clearly another fake again with no company or contact details. Buyers Beware!!!
I have just found the official GHD website & it looks a lot like these 2 fake ones.
Nov 22, 2010
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I bought my little sister the pink GHD from this website: ghdoutlet-sydney1
She has had it for 3 months and yesterday it burst into flames, luckily she was not holding it or using it in her hair (it was sitting on her bedside table).
I politely contacted the company and sent them pictures of the destroyed product and kindly asked for a refund – they responded by offering me 10 USD for compensation.
I went through the roof! She could have been scarred for life or worse!
I am now on my fourth e-mail to them and have resorted to threatening them with legal action as they refuse to give me a full refund, despite the fact that in their Shipping and Returns section of their website they promise a full refund if goods are faulty.
Nov 30, 2010
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I received my ghd straighteners just recently in the mail and right away plugged it in and used it! OMG! Was it great or what?? I have thick, curly hair. The cheap ghd hair heats up super fast and straightened my hair so well I couldn’t believe it! It makes my hair smooth, soft, and silky! I have spent more money on another cheap hair straighteners before but the GHD blows it out the water! I have never seen or used hair straighteners that worked so well on my thick, curly hair. I have even got complements on my hair after I styled it. Yea it is a little expensive, but well worth the money!!! I highly suggest that whoever is reviewing or reading this to most def buy it! My mother bought it for me for my 21st birthday! It was the best birthday gift EVER! You can do so many more things to your hair with the New GHD straighteners than just straightening it! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!mikzeran_i
Dec 15, 2010
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Has any one heard of this website its buyghdsaustralia.com. i bought a GHD from them a month ago and still havent recieved it, at first i thought i could trust this site coz it was based in Australia, it wasnt until the company emailed me with my tracking number that i realised they were sending it from China. There is no phone number or address listed on the website only an email address which they don’t ever reply on. I have been asking for a refund and have had no response because i called Australia Post a week ago to see where it was and they told me the wrong address was put on it by the company so they sent it back to China. DO NOT BUY FROM BUYGHDSAUSTRALIA.COM!!!
Dec 19, 2010
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Hi
i have to say i was duped as well i bought mine from the ghdstore….and yes it said it was the official online site for GHD they took two payments outof my debit card and had to chase up after the product i could not log into the site as it said that my details were invalid i kpt sending e-mailsand just received the parcel on friday last week ..thought i will check the product just plugged it in it turned on and then turned it self off nd that was it …..nathing has happened since..i checked to see if it was authentic and got a e-mail back statin that the numbers dont match…and checked the website it is not a registered website.. i guess i have donated $113 dollars to the chinease government….i need to do more research before purchasing … also have to live the wrath of my partners as he told me not to get it as it could be a fake and also not safe ….lesson learnt there are some horrible ppl out there..
Jan 19, 2011
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WARNING! Don’t buy from www .ghdhairera.com. I bought a fake ghd from them and when i received it 5 days ago i realised it was a FAKE. DO NOT BUY FROM THEM. Now i’ve wasted more than AUD$100 as i’ll have to dispose of the unsafe item.
The website seemed so genuine but i should have realised the prices were too good to be true. They claimed a 30 day money back guarantee but there is no way of contacting them. They supplied an email address but it turns out it doesn’t even exist!!!
How i could tell it was fake:
-Shipped from China and took 11 days
-Poor quality materials used
-Date code etc. was not recognised on GHD official website
Just don’t make the same mistake I did!
Jan 27, 2011
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Hi Guys,
Please keep an eye out for this website also.
It is set out the same as the previously mentioned http://www.ghdhairera.com.
http://www.ghdhairaustralian.com
I am in the process of disputing this with my bank as it is definately a fake website.
Thankyou
Feb 10, 2011
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hi, i also fell for this stupid site and bought a fake ghd from ghdhairera.com
i have been pulling my hair out trying to get in contact with them…realising i can’t.
did you ever get in contact with them? woujld going to the police do anything?
thanks
Megan
Mar 23, 2011
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Thankyou so much to everyone posting on this wall. i came soo close to buying a replica GHD off someone online, a facebook store to be exact. This info has sopped me dead in my tracks, does anyone else know the faults of the GHDS?xx
May 22, 2011
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Hi,
I was also duped. My sister asked me for a ghd for her birthday and I thought they must have been cheaper because they were older models.
I actually can’t find the site I bought it from, Australia ghd outlet I think, obviously very fake since it appears to no longer exist. After I saw a strange foreign name on my account I went searching on the site and in the shipping information (tiny link on the bottom off the page) it said that only partial refunds will be given if the reason you are returning it is because you didn’t realise you were purchasing a superior copy of a ghd. Serves me right for not reading the fine print!
I’ve heard that you aren’t likely to get your money back and I don’t want to waste more money posting it back to no avail, so I’m just considering this as an expensive lesson, if something looks too good to be true, it usually is!
Nicole
Jul 26, 2011
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I’ve got to say, terrific job on this blog, I’ll be sure to look in once again actual soon
Aug 12, 2011
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ghd can provide you with a Letter that states you styler is a counterfeit, a lot of credit card companies have insurances for this exact type of thing, if you think you have a fake call ghd and double check. most times your credit card supplier will simply reverse the transaction provided you have the correct letter from ghd hair Australia. It cant hurt to call and chek. It also makes them aware of the sites so they can be reported and shut down! their number is 1300 443 424
Aug 17, 2011
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Do not buy from the website: ghdaustraliahairstraighteners.com
It’s another non-genuine website and unfortunately I got caught.