With the growing popularity of MAC among lovers of high end cosmetics items, it's no surprise that an influx of items and auctions have appeared on ebay over the past few years. However, one has to be careful when choosing upon which to bid as unfortunately, many fakes do actually exist.

A common occurance is the selling of fake MAC pigments. Many sellers pass off mineral pigments or any other form of loose dust and powder as authentic pigment samples. I know this because I was once scammed - I thought that I was buying a six set of MAC pigment samples but it was actually cheap powder dust. Common warning signs are photos used without being watermarked with the seller's ebay username, blurry photos, using stock photos and no knowledge of the actual colour tone or correct name. A helpful hint is always to ask the seller if they are able to provide a receipt for their purchase. Although tiresome and a tad anal, it will make the difference in the long run between the buyer receiving poor quality powder and actual densely particled pigments.

Another common search term is that of 'MAC eyeshadow'. MAC eyeshadows can come in either a pro pan palette refill or small case. Fake MAC eyeshadows are produced in many countries and are often termed #01 or some other number, with the excuse that 'because this was bought in such and such a country, they don't have names on them." THIS IS INCORRECT! MAC eyeshadows are each named and each belong to a type such as 'frost' or 'veluxe pearl'. One of the worst scams are sellers who sell huge eyeshadow palletes and claim that they are from MAC, when the palettes are just cheap ones that you can get from your local discount store.

It's a good idea to check the MAC website or do a google for the actual product that you're thinking of buying. The reason is, many fake products don't actually exist for MAC. You might purchase something, only to discover later that there is no such shadow/gloss/blush from any of their collections.

As always, please check the sellers feedback and whether they are selling other dubious items. Furthermore, one can check the buyers who left them positive feedback, to see if they have purchased MAC items in the past and if they would be able to tell the difference between real and fake! Remember, if the price seems too good to be true, then it probably is.