I have seen several auctions for glasses on ebay that states that they have the text sample on the inside of the arm. Are these legit and genuine?

Yes, they are legit. Of course, I'm assuming the glasses are legit in the first place and not fake glasses that have "Sample" on it.

Stuff labeled "Sample", "Sales Sample" or "SS" are items used by reps to show their accounts what the product actually is so they can order accordingly. Nothing different about the pair other than the markings. Some other items need a little more pizzaz and are called "Prototypes" but are in essence glorified sales samples. The C Six "Prototypes" are an example of those (the final version on display and in rep cases, that is). They're not different than the general release models, but they needed stronger marketing lingo than just "Sales Sample" when they were displaying in it at the Vancouver Olympics or introducing it to a range of influential bloggers.

I've seen them at Vault stores in the DE shelves as of late

I actually own 2 samples - my distressed silver/ BIP Jury and my Wife's gold/ tungsten Collected. The savings are nice and as Oak stated, there's no difference or quality issues.

Thanks all!

I'm brand new to the Forums and have some questions about Oakley Sunglasses stamped with the word "Sample": Can any type of Warranty be claimed on Samples? Down the road, if the Samples were to become damaged, are they able to be sent off to Oakley for Repair/Tune-Up (at owners expense)? Thanks so much for your time and help.

I would assume they would be subject to warranty like all other frames as long as you have proof of purchase. I've seen Samples at the Vaults before, and I would hope that they'd take care of defective items if you bought them there.