How to tell whether your new handbag is counterfeit

Published: September 7th, 2009

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You really want the latest designer handbag. You have seen it in ads and in the high-end department stores. You wait and wait for it to go on sale. Then one day you spot it at your local flea market or a sidewalk vendor. The price is 75% or more off the price saw if for in the department store. You buy it immediately. Then you realize, or your friend tells you, you have bought yourself a “fake”. The fakes (knockoffs, replicas, counterfeits) are now so good even the experts have trouble telling the difference. So how do you know if your just bought the real thing or a counterfeit?

There are several ways to tell if the handbag you are thinking of purchasing is a fake or not. The first thing is cost. The biggest clue a handbag is a fake is the price tag. True designer handbags are sometimes discounted in the stores or at outlet stores but they are never marked down to such an extent as you would find on the street for instance. If you see a Louis Vuitton Bag for $100 it is a counterfeit, they usually start at about $600 (for a small one) in the stores. Where the handbag is being sold is another clue of their authenticity. To keep demand up designers limit the number of each style that they send out into circulation. Any one selling “designer” handbags who has fifteen of the same exact one is selling counterfeits.

The biggest indicator of whether your new handbag is a counterfeit is the bag itself. Look at the logo for starters. The plates that designers often put on the front of their handbags should be well printed and easy to read. If they are blurry or slanted, it’s a good sign it’s a counterfeit. Another thing you will see on these plates is misspelled designer names. Look for logos printed on the inside linings of the handbags. Make sure to check out the stitching and labels also for signs of a counterfeit. If the stitches are loose or uneven and the labels on the inside say made in China or Hong Kong it is a counterfeit. True designer handbags are not made in Hong Kong.

Fake handbag manufacturers also use lower quality materials and fabric. The leather for example may feel and smell like plastic. True designer handbags very often come with certificates of authenticity. Counterfeit bags do not have this paperwork. Sellers will say they can mail it to you or that it was lost in transit.

Lastly, when looking for a fake designer handbag look at it for scuffs, tears, scratches or other minor imperfections such as crystals that don’t line up exactly right. The true designer bag manufacturers pride themselves on superior quality. Handbags with imperfections would never make it out of the factory.


 

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