Counterfeit items are found just about anywhere these days. Electronic gadgets are often sold purporting to be the genuine article. Many times, you get the item home, find out it doesn’t work properly, and discover it is a cheap knockoff.

How can you avoid purchasing a fake iPod? Several things come to mind. In the first place, if someone walks up to you on the street offering to sell you one, or is selling them out of the trunk of a car, that should send up a very large red flag!

Here are a few other tips.

A genuine iPod will generally cost anywhere from $59.00 for the 2GB iPod Shuffle to $199.00 for the iPod Touch 64GB. If you are offered a price that seems ridiculously low, for example $50.00 for a brand new iPod Touch 64GB model, two possibilities come to mind. It is either stolen or fake.

The plethora of fake iPods out there often do not include the Apple logo. Quite often, they have small screws in the bottom of the cases. (A true iPod is seamless)

Another warning sign is the lack of a standard sized USB connection on the dock. Many of the fakes will use a smaller Mini USB-B connector (What you might have with your Digital Camera.)

Another giveaway for a phony iPod is when you fire it up. Genuine iPods display the Apple Logo when the screen comes on. The fakes generally do not, or if they do, the logo is not quite right. The menus on the fakes are often seen with garish colors, and the screen itself may even be off center.

When you connect the real deal to your computer (usually via a dock) iTunes should automatically come up. This is the way to load or change music and videos on your iPod. When you plug one of the fakes into your computer, it may be recognized in a similar fashion as a thumb drive. You will have to copy and paste your tunes into the device.

A legitimate iPod is packaged in a clear plastic case with the Apple logo imprinted on the case. Fakes usually are packaged in plain clear plastic, with no logo.

If you purchase your iPod online at sites like Ebay.com, beware. Many scam artists out there will use legitimate sites such as Ebay to sell their phony merchandise. Ebay personnel are working hard to weed out the scammers, but there are some who slip by. On the other hand here is an old saying in Latin that applies here. Caveat Emptor – let the Buyer beware!

There are other sites out there where you can buy an iPod for a ridiculously low price. (Remember? This is one of the signs of a phony.) The problem with making a purchase from one is that once you receive the product and discover you have been duped, you are unlikely to be able to get your money back. These sites come and go faster than… well you can come up with your own analogy.

Suffice it to say that if you want an authentic iPod, go to a reputable store, or directly to Apple.