11 Ways to tell if your Oakleys are real or fake! Learn how to easily spot Fake Oakleys with these tips!
Trying to figure out if your Oakleys are real or fake? We’ve rounded up our top rules for easily spotting fake Oakleys. From your standard Oakley Fives Squared to out-of-this-world Medusa Goggles, we’ve got the best general tips plus frame-specific guidance.
Keep reading as we cover our top tips, and you’ll be a fake Oakley expert before you know it!
1) Check the price
If it’s too good to be true, it probably is!
You’ve heard that saying a million times, and when it comes to Oakleys, it still rings true.
Oakleys often retail for $100-$500+, so if you’re seeing new pairs selling for $20-$30, they’re 99% likely to be knock-off Oakleys.
Does that mean it’s impossible to find discounted Oakleys? No.
You can often find Oakleys for 30%+ off retail prices on sites like eBay or our Oakley Forum Exchanges, but you’ll want to do your homework before buying cheap Oakley sunglasses.
2) Check the spelling
Maybe the easiest tip on our list – Is Oakley spelled right? Do you think Oakley would spell their own name wrong?
Whether it’s “Oakly”, “Oakely”, “Oakey”, “Foakley”, “Fokley”, etc., lower-end fakes often have misspellings in the name on the frame or Oakley logo.
This is a big giveaway to turn around and run!
Legitimate Oakleys have the brand name clearly spelled out with appropriate markings.
3) Check they exist
Did you just find a “Fandango” or “Foakley”?
This term is used by Oakley collectors to describe bootleg sunglasses that never even existed!
A quick Google search of the model name should tell you if Oakley ever made the frame or colorway you’re about to buy.
The second half of this equation is, does the pair you’re buying look anything like what the internet says it should?
This is a simple way to tell if your Oakleys are real or fake. Look at the pair on a reputable site and compare it to what you’ve purchased.
The picture below is a terrible fake frame, which looks nothing like any released Oakley models. Aka, a “Fandango”.
4) Check the Papers
Most authentic Oakleys come with a warranty card and papers if purchased new.
We’ve already detailed what the Oakley Warranty covers and doesn’t, but regardless the papers are an indicator that your sunglasses are authentic.
But don’t just check they exist!
Give them a quick read and confirm there are no misspellings or red flags that indicate they may be counterfeit papers.
5) Lookup the SKU
Often Oakleys have a Serial or SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) number on the inside of the arm stems. These numbers often start with OO on modern pairs, followed by alphanumeric codes, such as OO9999-99.
On older and vintage pairs, the SKU or Serial number may be a series of numbers separated by a dash or hyphen, such as 99-999.
If you’ve found the SKU number on your pair of Oakleys, try a quick Google search or even call Oakley customer service.
You should be able to pull up the exact model based on the lookup and check to see if it matches your pair.
6) Beware the sticker!
Beware of large stickers on your lenses, often that say “Oakley”.
Polarized authentic Oakleys and Prizm sunglasses may come with a small P sticker on one of the lenses (pictured below), but there are rarely any other stickers on the lenses.
Those lenses are Oakley’s pride and joy – they don’t want to mess with them. In general, the legitimate stickers will only inform you about the lenses themselves, often differentiating them from standard ones.
You can see legitimate sticker examples in the pictures below:
Other guides have reported that an “O” on the lens is a sign of a fake. While this typically is the case, especially if it’s a sticker, member Fernando was keen to point out that the Oakley OO model has an “O” in theleftlens.
For reference, the Frogskins below show an example of fairly common “O” stickers you’ll find on Fake Oakleys. Real Oakley’s don’t feature this sticker.
7) Check the Quality and Lens Etchings
Checking the quality of Oakleys can be difficult at first glance, but the easiest way is to keep an eye out for chips or flakes on the frame.
Especially if you’re buying new Oakleys, the frame should be damage-free. You should also check any lens etchings, which typically are engraved in the lenses, and say “Polarized”, “Prizm,” or “Prizm Polarized”. Prescription eyewear from Oakley will also contain an “O” engraved in the corner”.
On fake Oakleys, they may use stickers instead of lens etching to recreate these markings.We’ve often noticed counterfeit Oakleys with “etching” that rubs off.
8) Inspect the ear socks
Often on fake Oakleys, the ear socks are thinner and may slide on and off very easily. This is usually because they are made out of cheap plastic.
Additionally, you may notice a gap between the frame and the rubber earsocks due to misaligned parts. While Oakley earsocks certainly slide on and off, when fully in place, they are flush with the frame.
On fake pairs, it’s not uncommon for the earsocks to be poorly cut and not even fit the frame itself.
The photo below compares a fake Oakley (top) with real Oakley New Straight Jackets (bottom). Notice the fit, shape, and quality of the earsocks between both pairs. While the fake pairs’ earsocks appear to have large gaps, the real Oakleys fit firmly on the earstems.
9) Notice the size of Fake Oakleys
Fake Oakley sunglasses may actually be smaller than real ones.
It’s not surprising that the people trying to scam you also want to save on materials and costs. Therefore, they’ll scale down the size of the sunglasses, hoping you won’t notice. You can see this in action in the same example below.
The fake Oakley Straight Jackets (left) are significantly smaller than the authentic pair on the right. If you’re buying Oakleys on the street and notice they are much smaller than you previously remembered, this could be why.
10) Check the Model Specific Guides
While these tips work well for all Oakleys, it’s also important to be familiar with the model and frame-specific guidance. The links below include the best tips from our members for spotting specific fake Oakleys!
- Bob
- E-wires
- Fives
- Holbrooks
- Holbrook Metals
- Jawbone/New Racing Jacket
- Mars Crater
- Minute Machine
- Pitboss
- Plates
- Timebomb II
- X-Metal Kevlar Case
- X-Metals
- X-Squared
Don’t see your Oakleys?
For the latest list (with more models), check out this thread: Cacatman’s Guide to Fake Oakleys. Additionally, try the search function here for any pairs not listed.
11) Check the Certificate of Authenticity
Every pair of modern Oakleys comes with a certificate of authenticity stating that the sunglasses are real and were produced by Oakley.
But be careful since some fake Oakleys also come with these papers, however, many will have misspellings or wrong information. Read through the papers and see if you find anything wrong; this is a giveaway that you’re looking at fake sunglasses.
Still unsure? Post in the Fake Oakleys Inquiry Thread to find out
Here at Oakley Forum, we have a hatred for Fake Oakleys.
If you’re still unsure about your specific Oakleys or want a SKU check, try posting in our dedicated Are these Fake Oakleys Inquiry Thread. With over 9,000 replies, the forum has helped thousands of members identify whether their sunglasses are real or fake!
Have A Tip?
Have another tip or trick to quickly spot fakes? Join the largest Oakley community and share it in the comments below!
Shout out: We’ve gathered this information from several sources on this site! Big thank you to members Cacatman, SiRacer 420, and more!
OakleyBoss
Created this site because of the lack of a place for the Oakley Community to talk. Feel free to Message me any time with feedback for the site, tips o...
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