How to Spot Fake Geek Bar & Elf bar

by Theo Wilson
Fake Or Real: How to Spot Geek Bar and Elf Bar Disposables

Fake Or Real: How to Spot Geek Bar and Elf Bar Disposables 

Geek Bar and Elf Bar are two leading disposable vape brands. Built to a high quality by leading manufacturers, they’ve become highly popular, sought after products. Unfortunately, as a result of this popularity, unscrupulous manufacturers and retailers have begun trying to get in on the action by releasing counterfeit products onto the market.

Whilst this is quite worrying for us as retailers, the group to whom this faces the biggest threat is you, the consumers. In more immediate terms, counterfeit disposables may be unsafe to use due to issues such as weak or dangerous batteries, leaky tanks, and non MHRA-approved e-liquid ingredients. More long term, enough bad press could see a market reduction of even legitimate disposable products, thus reducing consumer choice.

This blog doesn’t intend, however, to go into depth regarding marketing regulation. Instead, it will simply give you a straightforward yet detailed guide; how to tell if the product you hold in your hand is the genuine article.

We’ll take you through the design and appearance of genuine Geek Bar and Elf Bar packaging, including elements like barcoding and holographic verification stickers. That way, you’ll be all set to quickly and confidently verify the legitimacy of your products.

Packaging Design

One of the first ways to determine the validity of your Geek Bar or Elf Bar 600 disposable is to simply examine the packaging itself. Although counterfeit devices often have packaging that very closely approximates the real thing, there are a fair few handy telltale signs that can help you separate the wheat from the chaff. It should be noted that due to the proliferation of fakes, there isn’t a single “consistent” fake design. That is, rather than show you how to spot a fake, we’ll show you what the real deal looks like.

Geek Bar: Packaging Check

The first tell-tale sign for a Geek Bar product is that a genuine box is laminated, whereas a fake typically is not. This should be readily visible, but can also be discerned by a simple touch test; i.e. you’ll be able to feel the lamination with your finger.

It’s important to note that Geek Bar have recently updated their packaging in a further effort to distance themselves from counterfeit products. However, some of their older packaging still exists out there; so just because you come across a box which doesn’t conform to the updated design standards, it may still be legitimate. Below you’ll find the correct for how each side of a Geek Bar box should appear.

Elf Bar: Packaging Check
Elf Bar: Packaging Check
Elf Bar: Packaging Check

Elf Bar: Packaging Check

Similar to Geek Bar, Elf Bar also plan to introduce new packaging. However, as this has not yet been rolled out, we have provided the proper details for the current packaging.

As noted, because the appearance and design of counterfeit versions of both Geek Bar and Elf Bar may vary, we have instead given you the full details of the proper boxes. That way, you can simply compare your box with the above details for a quick verification check. Knowing what the real thing looks like should make it easier to spot inconsistencies in fakes, such as resized or misplaced logos and barcodes.

Barcoding
Barcoding
Barcoding

Barcoding

One sign that you’ve discovered a fake device may be the barcoding on the box. For Elf Bar products, it’s relatively straightforward; they feature a single EAN barcode which can be found on the side of the box, alongside the holographic sticker. In the case of Geek Bar, there are several barcodes. For newer packaging, the EAN barcode is found on the bottom flap.

On the side of the box where the hologram is, there will be a dual sticker showing an expiry date barcode and a serial number barcode. On older packaging, all three barcodes appear together on the same side of the box. Fake Geek Barboxes will still have the EAN barcode on the side, but will be missing the expiry and serial number barcodes. Often instead there will be a sticker that looks like a serial number, but missing any barcode.

Barcoding: Geek Bar Check

Barcoding: Elf Bar Check

Barcoding: Elf Bar Check

Hologram

Both Geek Bar and Elf Bar packaging feature holographic stickers, which serve as handy additional methods for verifying legitimate products. For Elf Bar, the holograph is highly detailed and a full overview of it can be found on their official verification page.

The key aspect to note is the QR code; scanning this will take you directly to their “Verify” page and automatically insert your device’s unique verification code to be checked. In the case of Geek Bar, counterfeit devices are a little more sneaky.

Geek Bar products also use a holographic sticker, but some fake versions also attempt to copy this. One facet of the Geek Barstick is a scratch-off section; underneath this you will find the product’s security code, which can be checked on the Geek Bar product verification page.

You don’t necessarily need to use the verification tool for Geek Bar, however. While counterfeit devices have attempted to replicate the sticker, as well as the scratch-off section, they tend to be missing the actual hologram, in which a large capital G should be clearly visible.

Hologram: Geek Bar Check

Barcoding: Elf Bar Check
Barcoding: Elf Bar Check
Barcoding: Elf Bar Check

Hologram: Elf Bar Check

Verification Tools and ECID
Verification Tools and ECID
Verification Tools and ECID

Verification Tools and ECID

To recap, you can check the legitimacy of Geek Bar and Elf Bar disposable vape products using any given device’s unique security code.

For Geek Bar, scratch off the ‘Scratch and Check’ section underneath the hologram to reveal the code. Enter it using this tool.

For Elf Bar, locate the QR code on the holographic sticker. Head to the Elf Bar verification page and enter the code below the QR code; or simply scan the QR code to be taken there automatically.

In addition to these device-unique security codes, all vaping products sold in the UK and EU have what is called an ECID (European Community Identification). The ECID is a unique identifier assigned to products for regulatory purposes. For Geek Bar, the ECID can be found on the back of the packet, alongside the warning labels and ingredients list. On Elf Bar packaging, the ECID can be found on the side of the box, alongside the manufacturer and importer info. In the UK, the regulatory body for vaping products is the MHRA, who have a handy online tool for checking ECIDs.

Simply enter your device’s ECID on this page and it should give you a match. If the ECID you’ve entered gives either a non-matching result, or no result at all, this means that the product you’ve purchased is unregulated, and thus not a legal product on the UK or EU market.

Genuine Geek Bar and Elf Bar at myCigara

At myCigara, we exist to make the UK smoke-free, and we put our customers at the heart of everything we do. We want everyone to have as safe and pleasant a vaping experience as possible; that’s why we only sell authentic, premium product, which we purchase directly from manufacturers and official UK distributors.

We take the issues of counterfeit merchandise very seriously, and our goal is simply that every customer is aware of all the facts. That in mind, we have a blog that further investigates the safety and legality of disposable vapes, ‘Are Geek Bars Safe?’ As mentioned, we only sell legitimate products, so if you’re ready to get your hands on some genuine Geek and Elf Bars, but would like a little bit of guidance, check out our handy roundups of the top 5 flavours from Geek Bar and Elf Bar as well as our Elf BarGeek Bar Review.

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