My Mother surprised me one Christmas by giving me 3 SM57s that she bought brand new on ebay. They looked like cheap rubbish and were packed with old newspaper inside.

I took them to the authorized shure wholesaler and they gave me certificate that certified them as fakes. I used the certificate to show ebay and PayPal, the transaction was instantly reversed. But when the seller asked me to return the Mics, I accepted his money for return postage and threw the "Mics" in the trash.

Hope this helps