Starting My Search
I saw Cristiano wearing those earrings in an interview video and thought, damn those look sharp. Immediately started googling “Cristiano Ronaldo earrings where to buy” on my phone. First page showed dozens of sites, all claiming to sell official ones. Prices jumped from $15 to over $200. No clue who was legit.
Getting Scammed Initially
Clicked a sponsored link with flashy photos of CR7 wearing them. Site looked professional, had 24-hour sale banners everywhere. Paid $40 via credit card, got zero tracking updates. Emailed support twice – ghosted me completely. Took two weeks to admit I’d been ripped off. Had to cancel my card because shady charges popped up after. Learned lesson: never trust sketchy discount pop-ups.
The Price Hunting Process
Became super careful this time. Spent hours cross-checking every seller:
- Checked big marketplaces like eBay first. Same earrings listed for $30, $80, and $150. Asked sellers for authenticity proofs – most sent stolen stock photos
- Searched fan forums where people resell merch. Found one guy in Portugal selling unused pairs, but shipping cost doubled the price
- Visited three local jewelers pretending to know about sports bling. One admitted they source from cheap wholesalers and markup 300%
Scoring the Deal
Finally found a sports memorabilia shop during their clearance sale. Showed them competitors’ prices on my phone and straight-up asked, “Can you beat this?” Manager shrugged, scanned barcodes, then slashed 40% off. Paid cash to avoid fees – total damage was $55 with a proper receipt. Felt like winning a penalty shootout.
Final Thoughts
The earrings arrived in official packaging with anti-fake holograms. Took me two weeks of grinding, wasting money first, arguing with sellers, and physically visiting stores. Would’ve paid triple without haggling. Never buying athlete merch without doing these three things again:
- Demanding real-time photos before payment
- Comparing at least 10 sellers
- Physically touching the product whenever possible
Saved over $100 but lost sleep. Worth it though – these shine like Ronaldo’s free kicks.
