We have all seen TV programmes where the expert from Trading Standards compares the real item with fake and can tell because something like the font on the packaging is wrong, or something else you could only spot by directly comparing genuine with fake. With a good fake the punter doesn't really stand a chance.

A bulb isn't really a safety item; it either works or it doesn't. Saving a few quid up front for a bulb that doesn't perform any better than a £2.50 one or fails in a few months, isn't a saving. A fake Mintex brake pad could work OK in normal driving but an in an emergency fads to nothing.

Apply some common sense......

Standard Osram headlight bulbs i.e. the type fitted by manufacturers retail at around £3, distributor pricing is a lot less, they actually cost pence to manufacture, inc overheads.

Night breaker plus advertise +90%, but Osram won't tell you that it is referenced against some obscure standard that even the cheapest chinese bulb can beat, and that they are at best only 10-20% or so brighter than their oe bulbs and "whiter" because they run at higher temperature, and so have a much shorter service life.

In other words its a marketing trick.

The ebay sellers at £11 per pair are the genuine articles, there are very few if any fake OSRAM nightbreakers on ebay.

Ebay is a great source of cheaper parts for cars, ECP, GSF also trade on ebay under different trading names. There is a lot of crap out there but many high street factors, yes even Halfords etc also carry a lot of crap lines. Use common sense and research what you are buying, before you order....ebay guarantees the description must match what you receive.