7 Ways To Spot Fake Y3 Trainers

Y3 trainers remain one of the most popular brands for both those interested in the latest fashion looks and styles, and those keen on purchasing footwear which will last the distance, be comfortable and help give them the edge they're after in whatever sport or activity they enjoy. There's also a wide selection to choose from, with Y3 trainers available in a range of colours and looks, and with specific alterations and features designed to help provide real advantages to those playing in many different types of sport, from running and tennis to boxing and martial arts.

A quick look online will reveal many retailers offering Y3 trainers and Y3 clothing, but there's a problem. Because on the one hand you'll find many people selling genuine Y3 products for the sort of price you'd normally expect to pay, usually over a hundred pounds. But you'll also find Y3 footwear for sale at ridiculously discounted prices such as £20 or £30, particularly on anonymous auction sites such as Ebay. It's clearly likely to be the case that those trainers for sale at such absurdly low prices are fakes, but what about those being sold at high prices? Some of these will also be fakes, which makes it hard for anyone looking for a pair of trainers to know whether they're getting the real thing or not.

The situation is also complicated by the fact that you do occasionally find genuine Y3 trainers for sale at very low prices because they may have been purchased in error, or be given to someone as a gift who then prefers to sell them. Real Y3 trainers will provide great comfort, and be manufactured to an excellent level of quality that means they'll last very well. Fake trainers not only look less inspiring, and will be much less comfortable but they will fail to provide the added benefits which real Y3 products offer, and they'll definitely not last anywhere near as long, meaning that you'll have to keep buying replacement much more frequently.

So how can you tell if the trainers you're interested in are real, genuine Y3 products, or fake ones? Here are 7 steps you should follow in order to make sure you're not being fobbed off with counterfeit goods.

1. Ask the seller to let you have the product code written inside each trainer. The product code will usually be something like '@@#@@@#@####' (the '@' represents a letter, and the '#' represents a numerical digit.) If the seller is unwilling to provide you with this, then be suspicious. If they say that both shoes have the same code, then walk away. Every genuine Y3 trainer should have a unique code.
2. Unless otherwise provided, ask to see a photo of the sole of each Y3 trainer. If you see the Y3 logo then you'll know it's definitely counterfeit. What you should see is an Adidas logo, although it's important to be aware that there are now some fake shoes becoming available which do include this logo instead.
3. Ask whether spare laces are included. If the shoes are new, then these will be included if they're genuine. If they're advertised as new, but don't come with spare laces then they're unlikely to be genuine. Of course, some genuine second hand ones may not have the spare laces any more.
4. Request a photo of the inner sole of each shoe, with the insole taken out. You should see 'Y3 - YOHJI YAMAMOTO' stamped inside. If it's not there, or something else is printed there instead then you're looking at a fake pair of trainers.
5. Ask for a close up photo of the ends of the laces. Counterfeit shoes will just have plain ends, but real Y3 laces will have three very small, neat holes at each end.

If you're not looking at the trainers online but are in a shop or at the market then you can also try the following tests:

6. Smell the shoe (best if they're not second hand!) Real Y3 trainers are made of leather, whereas fakes are made of plastic. If you can tell the difference in smell between leather and plastic then this will give you a real clue.
7. Check the sizes because Y3 trainers are sized the same as other Adidas trainers. If you normally take a 10 in Adidas trainers then a size 10 Y3 trainer should fit just as well. Fakes tend to be made a little larger.

For genuine Y3 trainers visit Infinities Menswear, a trusted retailer with 20 years' high street experience.