A quick word in your ear
On the request of some of you, I've started a rather crude directory of the headphone stores I know and trust, and that I think you should buy from. But, there's a
'but'. Although These stores are well respected in the headphone world, for the usual suspects Sennheiser, Sony etc, you might have to pay closer to the RRP than you might want to. Either that or you can take your chance at some of the ludicrously low prices, and get caught up in the counterfeit market.
Most of the headphones offered by these stores are going to be good alternatives rather than getting mixed up in the whole nest of counterfeit vipers. 
The Far east has received a lot of well deserved criticism (IMHO) when it comes to selling counterfeit gear, however the Far East stores listed here have an A+ reputation, and I've bought from them an I advise you to use them. stores, Head-Direct, Audiocubes and the like are good places to find alternatives to fake headphones, and, well, they just sell good gear. Head-direct has an awesome reputation.
As for buying the usual suspects, if you're not going to use the listed stores, I'd ask that you use Amazon directly, not a third party seller on Amazon.
If you've bought authentic headphones from a seller on ebay or a third party seller on Amazon and you can prove it, then drop us a line. I believe I'm doing as much as I can to steer you in the right direction. If you stray off the beaten track just to save a few dollars, then I wish you the best of luck. We all want a good deal, but I'd rather pay an extra few dollars for a bit of piece of mind.
And for those of state that some fakes sound better, I've yet to find this to be true. The fakes have always sounded as they were built to sound, nothing like as good as the original ! Good luck .... well, you won't need luck with these sellers.
Top Rated Online Stores
Top Rated UK Store
I've come to trust Planet Gizmo implicitly! I've ordered a few pairs of headphones. Goldring DR50 (2nd pair which I never got around to opening), Goldring GX100 (3 pairs of), a pair of Ultrasone HFi-780's and I'm sure I bought a pair of AKG K518 headphones to name a few.
Sometimes I go through
Planet Gizmo's store on amazon.co.uk, sometimes I go straight to the Planet Gizmo's online store, but I'm always 100% happy with the service.
http://www.planetgizmo.co.uk/headphones/
Top Rated U.S. Store
Headphone.com (click the headroom image below) is the number 1, most respected headphone store on the Internet today. Not content with just selling excellent headphones, over the years headphone.com have become renowned for producing top of the range accessories including their much acclaimed
headphone amps. A truly brilliant place, for your entire headphone needs!
I hasten to add that prices shown are not necessarily the prices you pay. The best way to get this info is to simply call headphone.com (toll free in US & Canada- 800.828.8184) or email our Sales Dept. at sales@headphone.com - and they will reply with our actual selling prices!What are you waiting for. email sales@headphone.com now, and see what they can do for you!
U.S. Stores
ACgears -
Audio Technica,
Eskuche,
Grado,
Sony,
WeSC,
Zumreed
soundsolutions -
AKG,
Future Sonics,
Grado,
Klipsch,
Monster,
Phonak Audeo,
Sennheiser,
Shure,
Skullcandy,
Sleek-Audio,
Ultimate Ears,
Ultrasone,
V-Moda,
Woodees
earphonesolutions - AKG, Audeo, Beats by Dr DRE, Beyerdynamic, Denon, etymotic earphones, Grado In-ear, H2O Audio Earbuds, Klipsch Earbuds, Monster, Phiaton earphones, Sennheiser, Shure, Skullcandy (ah, bless!) Ultimate Ears, Westone
headphonesolutionsAmazon store
Proaudiosolutions - U.S. store. Bought my
Equation Audio RP21 eartool headphones from them, even though i live 4,000 miles away!
UK Stores
hifiheadphones - UK store full of goodies, and good deals. Bought
Radiopaq Jazz on a very good deal
NB: Soundwise.co.uk is off limits! I am trying to establish if they're still trading. Check out the full story by clicking this link: Soundwise AWOL? 
Soundwise - Glenn's choice in distributing his choice of earphones has gotten
5 star reviews only!
iheadphones - UK store
hand held audio - Official UK distributor of Ultimate Ears,
Amazon shopPlay - UK store. Watch out for Playtrade sellers
Planet Gizmo - UK store with
Amazon and
ebay stores. Bought AKG K518 and Ultrasone HFI-780 headphones. Has good sale and ex-display deals.
Far East Storeshead-direct - Fang has one of the best reputation in the business.
bluetin Based In Singapore
seyo-shop Based in Japan
audiocubes - Based in Japan
Australian storesheadphones - Australian store
European storesThomann.deRadio-Wolf.de
