To tell DS that he cant buy them?

[loopylou6]

I am genuinely stuck here between overstepping the mark or being helpful.

DS has wanted a set of Dr Dre Beats headphones for months, its his 13th birthday tomorrow and he's saved a bit himself and also worked out that if he uses all of his birthday money then he can afford this item ( 130 quid )
I don't agree with him spending this amount on a set of headphones but hey Ho...

Anyway, he found a pair on eBay, I was about to order them this morning, but decided to message the seller to check if they are the genuine brand ( normally they retail for a hundred quid more ) and it turns out they are replicas.

I think DS is being ridiculous to pay for these, but wibu to not 'let' him, or do I have to stand back and let him do what he wants with his own money?

But 13 year olds can't always see logic Squirrelz. They don't think like we do. (Well in my experience)

Don't order fakes, he will know. My policy is if they save up and buy it themselves then it's their business.

so, owners of teenagers - on a scale of mumsy to desirable, where do these sit? I was given some and I have a feeling that from a brand awareness perspective they may be wasted on me...

Skull Candy is good... apparently.

I'm much closer to being a teenager than a mummy of a teenager and i love my skullcandy earbuds.
I am jealous though - i have these and yours are much nicer ;(

Is jealous of mythical's youth

They are pretty desirable to teenagers I believe. Some hifi geeks say the skull candy headphones are a triumph of style over substance but then they are usuallyquite dull individuals.

I had replica dr dre headphone things that my dad bought me from china. I didn't have a clue what they were. They WERE very good but the cost my dad all of £20. No need to spend that much on a replica at all.

So I can wear them safe in the knowledge that any passing teenagers will be incensed that someone so obviously deeply uncool possesses such an object of desire, then ? ignoring the possibility that their next thought could be to mug me for them

(until my DS ate them)

I wouldn't let him. It's all about having the in brand and the right model. Like people have said, his friends will cotton on to the fact they are fakes.

He only wants the monster because they are cooler than the solo. He must know full well that genuine solo will sound better than fakes. Beats overall are overpriced for the the sound quality. I have these and they sound so much better than beats and aren't that much more than what he already has saved up.

stealth you'll be envied and admired as 'the cool mum'

I own these and panic about wearing them out of the house, not because I fear a mugging, but because a mate told me they made me look like Makka Pakka from In the Night Garden.

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00549PZD4/ref=mp_s_a_7?qid=1335189317&sr=8-7

Oh and if he wants real old skool hip hop credibility go for a pair of AKGs hip hop artists always used to namecheck them (mostly cos it rhymes with me) but there you go.

As it happens what hifi voted these AKG headphones , the headphone of the year last year. Richer sounds clog them for about fifty quids.

Tell him the Beats headphones are for dim witted footballers with more money than sense.

www.whathifi.com/review/k450

I feel lucky dd and ds are both happy with smartprice headphones.

But, DS (13) is desperate for an android phone, even though he cannot afford it and he hardly uses his phone that he got for christmas.

I keep telling him that not everyone can have the top of the range things-that's why there is a range!

Ah....if I was still in the uk I would have sent you a pair of skull candy for free.....a friend worked for them anyone day a massive box with maybe 40 pairs turned up from him,......I had no idea they were very good head phones and was trying o give them away to everyone so as to not have them cluttering the lat.
To be fair if he can ind the genuine thing and he wants them, let him spend his money.......my brother was like this and still is.......to him it is worth it to have the sound quality, so let him use his money how he wishes.

Maryz, teenagers really are wicked about this sort of thing aren't they?

Trust me OP THEY WILL KNOW THEY ARE FAKE!

God I have just endured 3 weeks of "Muuuum, can I buy these fake Dr Dre's please? Muuuuum, can I have them for my birthday in June? Muuuuum can I show you these fake Dr Dre's please?" from my also-13 year old DS. Hell's teeth, I thought my head was going to fall off I heard so much about these ridiculously over-priced FAKE FFS headphones. And all because I screeched at the price of the real ones!

Very interesting reading all the comments about fake vs real as I don't have a clue about this sort of stuff because I much prefer looking at handbag porn and rely on DS to know what he is talking about. WAS thinking about going for the fakes for his birthday, but now see that that is a really stupid idea.

God, how am I going to endure another 2 months of whinging for the real ones? Especially when he has enough money in the bank to buy them himself?

What are you going to do, loopylou6?

Just a side issue. How do you peer pressure proof a teenager? I think that is the key.

Mine seem pretty immune - I suspect the youngest will be less so. Partly because we as a family put zero weight on labels. Also I think the kids, when they were younger were not running with the pack ever- they were never "cool kids" (being academic and singing does not make you cool LOL)

Thank you everyone for your replies :)
I have managed to convince him with the help of you lot to not get the fakes replicas, but instead, either get the beats solo or even better ( I think ) the beats buds which are only 80 quid, then he'll still have 50 quid over.

He's in his room 'researching' now

MrsG, you could show your ds the 80 quid genuine beats ear plug ones?

I don't know Theas18 - wish I did! We've never given DS labels etc., and as a devotee of model railways, lego and all things transport, I rather assumed DS would be an anorak wearing geek. Sadly not.

He uses his geeky computer skills to work out what's in, and then raves about it to his geeky and non-geeky friends. It's not peer pressure so much, as all wanting the same "cool" stuff.

loopylou6 I could try! He has some other 25 quid ear plugs that are flexible and more comfortable to wear than normal ones, so maybe that would work. I have a bad feeling that DS wants to appear bling. Maybe I'll scare him by saying he'll be mugged before he hears his first track? Or they'll get nicked at school? Not that he takes any of that in. He wants wants wants wants Dr Dre's.

He does bang on. Bloody things.

I can't pretend I'm immune to a bit of marketing guff but I'm so glad I that when I do give in it is purely for me and not because I'm constantly being judged by a load of teenagers

It must be horrendous being under so much pressure to conform whilst simultaneously trying to convince yourself and the rest of the world that actually you are a free spirited individual and certainly not a sheep!

No wonder teens often look a bit grumpy and stressed.

Blue, this isn't about peer pressure, none of his friends have these, he's not being a sheep.