[deepinthewoods]

Yes! Just search eBay/AliExpress. They work and sound great. I get the appeal of having nice things, but earbuds? They're tiny plastic things that just sit in your ear and could easily fall down a sewer grate at any moment.

[ebg13]

Knowing what I know about the expected quality of things found on AliExpress, I'm hesitant to put batteries found there in my ears.

[josefresco]

You overestimate the quality of your "trusted" brands.

[ebg13]

Nearly every problem I've ever had with electronic components in my life has been caused by counterfeits that either lie about their capabilities, lie about what they're made of, or lie about whether they were QC tested. Maybe that means the SD card only stores a few real megabytes before trashing all of your photos. Maybe that means your phone charger destroys your phone. Maybe that means the battery in your ear explodes [0]. The thing about trusted brands is that at least they have brands to protect.

[0] - https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/04/lithi...