220 fakes on Uzum: a guide to checking authenticity

One Adidas sneaker, two boxes, and an awkward question

Six months ago my cousin ordered Adidas Ultraboost sneakers on Uzum. The image looked straight out of the official catalog, the seller had a green checkmark, and the price was ~1.3 million UZS — about a third below the official boutique in Yunusabad. Nine days later he brought the box home. The label on the tongue was stitched crooked, the QR code on the tag led to a site without HTTPS, and the insole inside was foam, not EVA. My cousin is not a professional sneakerhead, but even he could tell: this was not an Ultraboost. The same seller's page said "original, warranty." Three days later support offered to "accept a return if all tags are present." He returned it and got his money back. But nobody removed the counterfeit anywhere — it's still listed in the catalog, with the same seller, at the same price.

We're writing this article precisely because the story is boringly typical. And because the state now has the numbers, and the buyer should have a checklist.

What the state found

In May 2025, during joint monitoring by the Antimonopoly Committee and the customs service, around 220 counterfeit products were discovered on Uzum Market and around 50 on the Olcha platform. This was reported by daryo.uz and spot.uz: the report directly lists the victim brands — Adidas, Samsung, Bosch, and Chanel. This is not "potentially looks like a fake," but a formal finding: products passed off as originals have no confirmation from the rights holder.

The figure of 270 items seems small. But this was found in a single pass and only across a few brands. No one has counted the real volume of counterfeits on the marketplaces — and counting it openly is impossible until the platform itself discloses internal data on rights-holder complaints. So 220 and 50 are not the "ceiling of the problem," but the "lower bound of what the state already sees."

In parallel, the Antimonopoly Committee received more than 48,000 citizen complaints in 2025, and most of them were about the provision of false information. Counterfeiting falls legally into exactly this category. So "220 fakes" is not a separate storyline, but one of the most easily provable branches of the same overall pressure.

Why this works on marketplaces

Uzbek marketplaces are not stores in the classic sense. They are storefronts onto which third-party sellers post goods. The platform has no warehouse of its own with a preliminary inspection of every box, no rights-holder relations department on the scale of Amazon Brand Registry, and almost no incentive to block a fast-moving SKU until the rights holder has publicly complained.

This is structural. The seller pays the platform a commission on every transaction. The cheaper the product and the more sales, the more everyone benefits — except the buyer and the rights holder. A counterfeit Adidas costs the seller about ten times less than the original, sells for 20–30% below the official price, and brings a margin that an honest reseller cannot match. So counterfeits don't slip onto a marketplace by accident — they arrive there as an economic inevitability.

An additional layer is support. In our sample of 200 public reviews across five major platforms, support ranks second in complaint frequency after delivery. When a buyer writes "this is a fake," they get template replies, are redirected to the seller, and in most cases the process ends with a return — without removing the listing and without consequences for the offender.

A checklist for four brands

This is not an exhaustive guide and not a substitute for authorized expertise. If the item's value is significant, the best way to verify is to contact an authorized service center in Tashkent. Below is what a buyer can check themselves in the first five minutes after unboxing.

Adidas. The tongue of genuine Adidas shoes has a label with the article number, a UK/US/EU/CM size chart, and a country-of-manufacture code. The font is even, the stitching is straight, with no creases. On Ultraboost models, the tongue has an embossed logo, not a sticker. The Boost sole is made of visible TPU granules and is genuinely springy under compression; counterfeits use monolithic EVA that "sinks in" when pressed. The original box is sturdy cardboard with a label whose article number matches the label on the shoe. If the codes don't match, that's already a strong signal. There is a single official authorized distributor in Uzbekistan; the list of branded stores is on the Adidas website.

Samsung. The serial number on the box, on the device body, and in the system menu (Settings → About) should all match. Samsung lets you verify the serial number on the support page at samsung.com — if the device is "not found," that's a reason to be wary. The charger in an original box has a raised logo and fine engraving. Counterfeit Samsung smartphones and TVs are often sold with "adapted" firmware and a noticeably lower price; authorized service centers in Tashkent will refuse to accept such a device under warranty.

Bosch. Counterfeits are especially common in the power-tool category (drills, screwdrivers) and home appliances. Genuine Bosch has a laser-engraved serial number on the body, not a sticker. The box has a label with an EAN-13 that should match the model on bosch-professional.com. The logo font on the body is even, with no etching artifacts. Fakes often give themselves away by the smell of plastic and by weight: the original is heavier thanks to real copper in the motor windings. If the price of a "Bosch" is below 60% of the cost in authorized stores, it's almost certainly a counterfeit or gray-market import without warranty.

Chanel. Perfume is the most widespread counterfeit niche on Uzbek marketplaces. In our sample of reviews, it's specifically on Olcha that you find the direct accusation "90 percent of the perfume is fake." Genuine Chanel has a 4–5 character batch code on the bottom of the bottle and on the box; they should match. With checkers — Checkfresh or CheckCosmetic.net — you can look up the production date by batch code; if the code "doesn't exist," it's a fake. The cellophane on an original is dense, the seam neat; fakes often have a rough seam or obviously "crumpled" cellophane. The original's scent lasts for hours; a fake fades in 30–60 minutes. And most importantly — Chanel does not offer discounts of 50% or more anywhere except official sales in its own boutiques. A marketplace "−60% on Chanel" promotion is almost always a fake or expired stock.

Price as a signal

Counterfeits almost always compete on price. The logic is simple: if a seller has a genuine batch, they can't go below the rights holder's wholesale price. If they go below it, then they don't have a genuine batch.

The benchmark we use in our own checks: for branded goods, a stable retail price below 70% of the median for the Uzbek market is a flag. Not a verdict, but a reason to check. Especially if that price has held not for one day, but for a month. A real promotion looks like a dip on the chart: the price drops, then comes back. A counterfeit looks like a shelf: flat, low, constant, because the seller has no "normal" price from which to offer a discount.

Since October 21, 2025, a Cabinet of Ministers resolution has been in effect in Uzbekistan: the "old price" from which a discount is calculated must equal the minimum price over the past 30 days. That same 30-day history also helps reveal the counterfeit pattern. If an item shows "−40%" next to a round number, but the 30-day price chart is a horizontal line, there is no discount at all. If the line sits 40% below the market, it's either a fake or a gray-market import.

What to do if you bought a fake

Step one — don't throw anything away. Keep the box, the tags, the receipt, the correspondence with the seller, and a screenshot of the marketplace listing. This is the material for a complaint.

Step two — a claim to the marketplace through the official channel. All five platforms have a complaint form; in it you need to specify a concrete sign of counterfeiting (mismatched serial numbers, absence from the manufacturer's database, an authorized service's conclusion). The platform processes most returns out of court.

Step three — if the return is rejected or the seller ignores you. File with the Antimonopoly Committee (gov.uz/ru/advice/74) with the evidence attached. Under consumer protection law, the sale of counterfeit products is a separate offense, not "buyer dissatisfaction." In April 2026 the Committee already fined six developers for false advertising — there is a track record of applying the norm.

Step four — authorized service. For Samsung, Bosch, and other brands with an official presence in Uzbekistan, the service can issue a written "not original" conclusion. With that document, a complaint becomes nearly fail-proof: the marketplace refunds the money, the listing is taken down, and the seller gets blocked.

And one more thing that's rarely said out loud: it's worth complaining even if you've already gotten your money back. A quiet return does not remove the fake from the catalog. A written complaint to the rights holder (via uz.adidas.com, samsung.com/uz, bosch.uz) starts the process from the other side — and that's the only thing that actually forces the marketplace to pull the SKU.

What's next

Subscribe to our Telegram channel @birbozor_uz — every day we publish 1–2 checks of real listings on Uzum, Olcha, and Asaxiy: we log the 30-day price history, vet the seller, and break down the authenticity signals. The BirBozor app beta, in which the 30-day chart and "authorized seller" labels are built into the listing, opens in a few weeks — details at birbozor.uz.

220 fakes is what the state found in a single pass. The checklist above is what a buyer can check themselves, without a service center and without a complaint. Between these two points lies all the real consumer protection in Uzbek e-commerce. We are building a tool for exactly that gap.