Fake HID Bulb Identification

[MindBomber]

I'm not an expert, but after seeing a thread jack in the buy and sell forum I thought I might have some useful information on identifying quality Phillips/GE/Osram bulbs from fakes. Anyone else who can contribute information would be appreciated.

A bulb in generic packaging is not necessarily a sign that its fake. When a retail company purchases its bulbs wholesale they do not arrive individually packaged, they arrive in bulk vacuformed plastic trays. Companies then repackage them in boxes or those little plastic tubes.



Serial numbers in Phillips bulbs used to all be 1 letter + 3 digits in the third row, its been speculated that bulbs with 2 digits + 1 letter + 3 digits are fake, but its been confirmed that some new Phillips bulbs have that pattern.

A space between two letters and serial number in the second row has been highlighted as a potential cause for concern, but I haven't seen a confirmation that Phillips doesn't produce bulbs with the space or that it wasn't changed when they switched to longer serial numbers.

The metal ring on the base of bulbs supposedly has clues to whether the bulb is fake or not. On Phillips bulbs the metal ring is molded into the base itself and two prongs go down into the base itself. With fake bulbs the ring sits on the surface of the base and the metal prongs aren't formed in the same way.


Salts. Red is extremely expensive and will likely only be found in real bulbs cost $100+. All Phillips CM bulbs come with yellow salt. Red is used for high kelvin bulbs, yellow and brown lower kelvin.

Of course the best way to protect yourself from buying fake bulbs is buying from reputable sources like TRS instead of the cheapest seller on Ebay. I'll try to add to this as I research or am given new information.