Counterfeit Audio?

Many of you may have seen the recent auctions for Cello line state preamps on Ebay?

I have always been intrigued by the design and rarity of Cello equipment, but otherwise would not put it on my short list of realistic purchases.

In this case, however, it seemed like a simple, useful piece of gear, which I could perhaps use as a line stage, and I came very close to bidding.

My instincts told me to pause, however, perhaps because the seller claimed "still brand new...never touched by human hands etc etc" which seemed a bit odd about the sale.

Subsequently, the item was relisted with comments about fraudulent and/or counterfeit Cello for sale.

Before reading this, that never would have occurred to me, but I thought I should ask the community here before bidding.

Any ideas or advice? This seems like a nifty collector's type component, but I dont want to pay big bucks for the high end audio equivalent of a fake Rolex?