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I too always use Bosch replacement windscreen wipers, and given the almost indistinguishable fakes of many products that are on the market today (not just car parts - food & drinks, toys, electronics etc), I'm not sure how we can really tell (other than what may seem ridiculously low prices) what is a fake and what isn't (especially via a website, where photos of the genuine article can be displayed and you only can tell once the box is opened, if at all).
There have been cases depicted on the BBC's 'Fake Britain', Watchdog, etc where items sold on ebay have turned out to be fake and the buyer couldn't get their money back (and ebay wouldn't compensate them either) - you also have to wonder when other 'independent sellers' on other web outlets (e.g. Amazon Marketplace) are offering such items at half the price on offer in, say, Halfords.
Normally, for CDs, DVDs etc then the cheaper price is mainly ebcause the seller doesn't have to pay for a shop filled with staff, but with car parts more of the cost is in manufacture, storage and postage as they are more difficult/expensive to make and larger items, costing more to post. Quite often an item appears to be 'sold' by a manufacturer, but in reality they are actually sold by 'middle men' firms. I would hope that large internet retailers like Amazon have a handle on such arrrangements to ensure they are all reputable, although with the growing number of such arrangements, one or two dodgy outfits might slip through the net - who knows. ebay has a much harder task as the majority of their millions of sellers are either of this type or individuals, any of whom could be dodgy.
I normally buy my Bosch wiper blades from Amazon, as I would still trust them far more than buying from an independent via ebay, especially for a safety-related item like that. Too much of a risk for the sake of a few quid.
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