While I am not an expert, by any means, I am experienced with purchasing authentic goods and do perform very thorough research when trying to find a particular item that I plan to purchase and enjoy. It came to my attention this past round while shopping for bags for myself and family, that many of the guides out there are either out-dated and uninformed or focus on only a couple of aspects of many different methods of authentication.
Learning what makes for an authentic or imposter luxury item aside, the sheer volume of these guides alone seemed to do nothing for many, as they're either buried beneath one another, or conflicting in information - creating a confusion that overwhelms buyers and promotes bad decisions. One hundred videos of the same information being repeated ad nauseam about the dangers of variations in the monogram canvas will not help you better understand why or how you managed to purchase a counterfeit item,. however, one great article can prevent you from making the same mistake twice or better yet, not making it even once.
Nothing is worse than seeing a purely fake designer wannabe with a current and actual bid of 700.00. No one wants to see people pay that much for an imposter, especially not me.
So, with that brief introduction, this "guide" is a light mix of authentication information with a focus on buyer common sense that will be updated as needed! So, with that, onto the basics!
1. Many people feel that buying from Japanese sellers is a bad idea. They feel that all of the bags coming from Japan over Ebay are designer fakes from China that have been artificially aged to appear vintage.
This is a false myth. There is actually a huge market for western-world luxury goods in Japan. As westerners are obsessed with Japan, Japanese culture and particularly, the 'kawaii' aspect of their media entertainment, they are just as obsessed with our western culture, appearances, clothing styles, celebrities and products, including the handbags that we carry.
While it is true that there are some counterfeit goods coming from Japan, there are also counterfeited goods coming from the United States, Germany, Italy.. and yes, even France.. It is your responsibility to truly research the design of the bag you intend to buy in and out! It is your responsibility to research the seller.
You need to keep in mind that when you buy from Japan, if a bag turns out to be fake, you will have an expensive nightmare in returning it. You will need to pay for true post-sale authentication to prove to Paypal and Ebay that the item was fake, AND you will have to send it back to Japan. That is at least an easy 36.00 and not even including delivery and signature confirmation.That 100.00 deal might not be a deal when you consider the possibility of loss when you do not research the style, appearance and seller completely.
You may probably want to avoid overseas bags with heavy mildew and must smells. Those bags are partially rotting and if you do recall, there was a major flood in Japan several years ago after an earthquake-tsunami double feature by Mother Nature. Some of the heavily damaged bags now appearing on eBay have literally been scavenged from the wreckage.
2. Counterfeit bags are always easy to determine apart from genuine goods, right?
This is false. Counterfeited Louis Vuitton used to be dead-obvious without even needing to place real versus fake next to one another for reference. It was common to see bags with big brown patches on the outside, or a monogram print that was very obviously missing a valid portion of the pattern, or a comically misspelled name.
Over the years, as the demand for luxury goods increased, and the consumer market became more label and brand conscious, counterfeits have had to drastically improve the quality of their product, and this included properly mirroring the image of what they were trying to re-create to begin with. This has resulted in many, many fake imposters out there looking eerily identical to the style that they had originally stolen from and still, at a whopping fraction of the cost.
3. This bag looks just like the real thing, it must be the real deal, right?
If you are not comfortable with your own ability to determine what a real bag should look like, then become comfortable. Research your bag, inspect genuine rivets, genuine vachetta leather. Try to become familiar with measurements, zippers, grommets, monogram. Ensure that a style is real and not something someone somewhere dreamed up and then said, "Hey, I'll call this a Louis Vuitton and try to sell it for a few hundred dollars!"
The best source is Louis Vuitton itself. Look over every single square space of the bag on their website. You can also look at Yoogi's Closet, or The Purse Forums, also known as TPF. There are entire threads dedicated to authentication and exposing counterfeits. If you browse carefully through those images, you too will soon learn what makes a bag real versus fake but remember, monogram print can and will vary because everything is handmade.
Watch YouTube videos of reputable posters, people with vast Louis Vuitton collections. Pay attention to what they say and show you. Try to avoid videos of people who don't seem too entirely sure of what is coming out of their own mouth. If they're not confident enough to explain to a viewer what they need to be looking for, they're probably not authenticating their own bags, either.
If you have done all you can on your own and feel 90-95% sure that a bag is real, but want to quell those last minute worries that perhaps you've overlooked something, there are websites that offer pre-authentication for sales made online. Carol Diva is recommended, along with others and for a small fee, 7.00-10.00, they will tell you whether or not a bag is real or fake.
7.00-10.00 MIGHT seem annoying but believe me, nothing is more annoying than having spent 700.00 on a fake bag, and then to find out later that when you try to get your money back from the seller, you will be jumping through a hoop around the tune of 60.00-100.00 in losses, regardless. Why? Because to prove that a bag sold to you was fake, you need to pay for authentication, and at this point, it's post-sale and you need it in writing. These services charge a lot more for post-sale authentication complaints, a whole lot. If you are sure you want this particular style of bag, 10.00 is a lot better than 100.00.
4 This bag looks real enough to me! So what if it's a fake, no one will know anyhow, right?
Possibly not, it depends on how good of a fake you end up with, but keep in mind that your bag will potentially deteriorate if made with, and likely is made of -- inferior materials. Your 'brass' is probably only lacquered nickle and soon, that shiny gold polish will wear off and reveal an unsightly grey interior rather than an aged brass hue. Eventually, the glazed coating on your monogram canvas will peel away, allowing your bag to split, wear unevenly or even allow the print to fade away.
Eventually, your zipper or magnetic snap will seize up or pop through what turns out to be little more than thin plastic. Your threads will pull out, and the handles will break. When all of this happens, you will be left with nothing, and if someone hasn't noticed your bag is a total fake by then, you must have kept it hidden away in a box.
Someone with a real Louis Vuitton has been able to take their bag to any Louis Vuitton location for repairs. If designer flaw allowed for a strap to break, that strap is repaired free of charge. If consumer error broke a strap, that strap is still eligible for repair at a slight cost to the buyer. While your bag has been thrown away, theirs has become an investment purchase that will be handed down for generations with proper care, handling and maintenance.
5. What if I don't want a bag to last that long? I just want to look like I have the label on my arm!
Then why are you buying a bag with that label if you don't want the perks that they symbolize? It's like buying a car without an engine. While it's true that a genuine bag costs more than an imposter, it's worth it not to feel the shame of knowing that when you happen to stand next to someone with the real article, yours is going to stand out like a bright flashing light and not in that good way either.
If you can only afford to spend 200.00 on a bag and want a Louis Vuitton, buy a pre-loved. If you can afford to spend more, save over a longer period of time, putting the money aside until you've built up enough to buy brand new. If you're going to go brand new, just buy directly from Louis Vuitton and you can completely disregard the rest of this article! Just be sure to thoroughly inspect the details on the bag you're potentially bringing home because the quality has gone down over the years, especially in monogram canvas.
This is just another reason to go vintage then, isn't it!
6. OK, I get it. I'll buy a real one, but I want it now and still only have a few hundred dollars to spend! What do I do?
It's quite OK to buy pre-loved! I actually prefer it for many reasons such as mentioned above, and it's not just about the price point. Pick out the style that you like and stick with it for the duration of your search, figure out the most that you want to spend and don't look over that price. Determine the typical condition of a bag in that price range over a period of time. Determine whether or not you can handle distress on the bag, or if you want it to look as new as possible.
The better a bag looks and the cleaner it is, the higher of a price it will command on the second hand market. The rougher it is, the lower the price will be, but higher is the likelihood that you will get an utter piece of junk. Sometimes you can get lucky and get an unbelievable piece next to the cost of beans just because, but that will be rare. There are people who literally do nothing else but sit on Ebay all day long, shopping for deals just like this so that they can take them and mark them up.
7. I found the bag! This is the one and it is authentic! What do I need to know now?
This is great news and while it's easy to get excited and smash buy it now, and blow your hard-earned cash on it right then at there, you need to be sure that you've read seller feedback. Pay attention to their negatives and neutrals. Pay attention to any comments made by people against that seller relating to other Louis Vuitton bags that they may have made.
Does that seller have a lot of negative feedback? While a low volume seller is easily destroyed by a few negative ratings, a high volume seller can slide by at 99.5 even with 50-60 negatives a month. Don't pay attention to the percentage, look at what made up the percentage.
This poses another question. If they're selling 50-60 Louis Vuitton a month, you might want to step back and wonder where all of these bags are coming from. With that many going out a month, and a lot of negative feedback, you might have found someone who deals almost exclusively in counterfeits and this is a great time to walk away, no matter how good it looks, or how cheap it is.
This person might be pulling what is effectively a bait and switch, displaying one bag, but sending you another in the same style, but clearly not authentic. This is not a risk you want to take, especially if an overseas seller.
If all looks well in the feedback department and you honestly feel that this is a reputable seller to deal with, find out what their return policy is. Sometimes sellers have a return policy allowing 14 days for a return, but sometimes things are sold as-is, and no returns are accepted. This isn't always their stance though. If you contact the seller, politely ask them what their return policy is if the item is proven to be a fake. 9 times out of 10, that seller will not want to risk their name and good standing by selling a counterfeit. A good seller will tell you that if it is fake, that they will gladly allow you to return it on proof. Remember, eBay can and will read these messages if they later contest it, and you will be found in favor of, provided that you're on the up and up yourself.
If you have done your homework though, and the seller is of good fiber, this will likely be unneeded.
While you have the sellers attention, ask them for details that might not be listed, a valuable lesson that I recently learned was this, no matter how good the bag looks in the picture, if you are buying a monogram, ask the seller if there are ANY cracks on the canvas, this is important. Why? Because this will void any repairs that Louis Vuitton will ever do for your bag. They will not handle a bag that has been cracked over the canvas for the sheer reason that they will not be able to guarantee that their handling won't make the cracks worse.
Sadly, this means that you will never be able to get repairs on handles, piping or hardware through Louis Vuitton, but rather a cobbler, who may or not be able to match the materials originally used at all. You don't want that!
If it turns out a bag is cracked anywhere on the monogram (The vachetta can be replaced, so it's not as important when you are on a strict budget) then you have to ask yourself if you really want to buy a genuine Louis Vuitton if it can't be repaired. On one hand, it kind of defeats the purpose, but on the other, how bad is the damage. How good is the rest of the bag in terms of shape. Can you make that bag last?
As I had just mentioned, I learned this lesson the hard way. I found a bag that I felt in my heart, was 95% accurate in terms of authenticity, and on that front, I turned out to be correct. I had found a bag that was 250.00 on Buy-Out, and had a bid of 65.00-70.00 with two more soon after taking it to 70.00-85.00. Encouraged by my knowledge of genuine articles and the information made available by the seller that the bag was in used, but good vintage condition, I took the plunge and bought the bag out with excitement.
What had ended up happening, was I got a bag that looked amazing, better than I could have hoped for my price range, and I was excited, until I saw it up close. It turned out that there was a series of cracks along either side of the zipper that came down into the threading for the zipper bed and while they're barely noticeable, I would have to be extremely tender with the bag until I could do something to prevent them from getting worse, which is really nothing.
The downside of all of this, is Louis Vuitton will never repair my bag, ever. Never ever. The most that I will ever be able to do, is take great care of it, perhaps try some fabric glue in the cracks to prevent them from spreading (Think like clear nail polish on a running stocking) and if the handles ever break, I will have to go to a cobbler to get it repaired.
Understandably upset and sad, I contacted the seller as nothing was said about damage, and though the buyer had a no-returns policy, they were willing to take a full return on the bag, or a partial refund to allow me to keep the bag. To me, this was a good policy, and I had respect for the seller for doing the right thing and at this stage, I opted to keep the bag at a discount. Yes, the cracks devalue the bag greatly, but for the now very discounted price, it's better than what would ordinarily be even in that range.
So, the lesson here is this, ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask questions, and if the seller doesn't respond to you, or doesn't give you the answers you need to hear, walk away.
8. I purchased a bag and it was real, but the seller didn't disclose damage!
Your first step is to contact the seller through the Ebay contact seller/buyer format and let them know. Provide pictures. Remember, Ebay can read these communications.
If they respond, good! Let them know that you will be opening a claim to ease the return or partial refund and then you two can work out the details there. If you choose refund, you will have to provide return shipping for the item. Use tracking and send it with a signature pink slip. You will need proof of delivery acceptance.
If they ignore you, their loss. Give them 24 hours anyhow, and if still you have heard nothing, open a claim and fill out the important information, then you have to wait. The seller will then have to respond to that claim within a certain time period. If they do not, you can escalate the case with Ebay and they will become involved as a mediator. Ebay will often provide a shipping label to you. This will track the package to the destination and is their proof of return.
If you agree to partial refund, you will get to keep the bag. You and your seller will essentially barter back and forth on how much you will get knocked off of the original cost. I wrote more on this later, but even if you paid via Paypal, the refund amount will not come directly from the sum now locked up by your claim in their account, but out of the sellers private funds. Provided that they're in existence, this will be credited back into your Paypal account within 4 days once the deal is accepted on both ends.
Ask for more than you are willing to settle for, and be polite. Always ... be.... polite.
9. I bought the bag, it looks as described and shown, but I think it turned out to be a counterfeit.
Are you absolutely sure? Have you checked the rivets, the zippers, the locks, the stitching, the pattern, the interior, the weight, the size, the leather and the canvas? Have you inspected the heat stamps inside and out? Do the date codes match the origin of the bag? Bags are not only made in France. They're also made in the U.S.A, Spain, Switzerland, Italy and Germany. Don't let someone tell you a bag is fake just because it doesn't show made in France on the exterior heat stamp.
Has the bag ever been repaired? Sometimes this is a cause of concern when the interior and exterior heat stamps do not match. Sometimes a bag has been repaired and as a signal of service, a new date code corresponding to the repair facility has been attached to the interior of the bag. If the exterior vachetta has been completely replaced on a bag originally made in France, but the service occurs in South Dakota, United States, it will no longer be stamped made in France, but made in U.S.A.
With mis-matched heatstamps, it is very, very important to know when the bag was repaired and preferably, to have proof of this repair because when you have your bag authenticated, this will be a seam that does not match in the figurative sense. Without knowing that the bag has been repaired before, even taking the bag to a Louis Vuitton counter may result in side-eye and rejection.
Your first step is to try an authentication service. You can contact Carol Diva, or you might even try politely asking for help on TPF. Be courteous and follow the rules. The moderators there dislike counterfeits just as much as you, and they want people who participate in that forum to make the best, most informed decisions that they can when it comes to luxury goods. If a bag is fake, there is a good chance that they can spot it right away.
Sometimes there might be a temptation to claim an item is fake, even if it's real, just out of nerves, inexperience or fear that something seems not quite right so be patient and let the casual experts or the paid experts set your mind at ease.
. On my Speedy, I felt that the stitching was too straight, and it turned out to be a genuine bag. Hundres of people will always say that the stitching is consistently perfect, or that the monogram pattern will always be straight, but they're not always right. These bags are made by human hands, and human hands are prone to human errors. They're just not allowed to make grievous errors!
Now, when it comes to heat stamps, rivets and grommets, those are machine pressed and thus, less prone to mistakes. In fact, a mistake on a heat stamp, heavy on one side and light on the other, a poorly pressed grommet or rivet CAN quickly indicate an otherwise, very good fake.
So, with that said, either your bag turns out to be real or not. Once you know for sure either way, you then need to contact the seller and essentially in a mirror of what was done for the item not as described charge, this time, it's a counterfeit charge. The seller will either agree to take it back immediately, or ask for proof. More often than not, they will not accept a non-paid service as proof of authenticity. Why? I'm not sure, it's good enough for me, but in this case, they might not want to easily give up the money you paid them for the product, and now, that they cannot in good faith, resell, because it IS a fake and selling fakes is not only against the T.O.S on Ebay, it's against the law.
If they do fight the charge, you are going to have to do a post-sale authentication with a formal letter from Carol Diva, or another reputable authenticator, there is no way around it.
10. My bag is perfect, I love it.
This is great news, and I am happy for you, truly. Now, take care of it. The first thing you should do is take it to your nearest Louis Vuitton to see if it needs any repairs. Be prepared to pay out of pocket in some cases. If a handle needs to be repaired, vachetta needs to be replaced, or a canvas needs to be re-glazed, I would recommend doing it, particularly the glazing. If the glaze wears out, that opens your bag up to cracks and you definitely do not want those, because as mentioned before, cracks prevent further maintenance.
Love your bag, don't leave it in the sun and be careful of the products you use in, on and around the bag, Remember that the handles stain easily from oils, and until you build a nice honey brown patina, they will also damage easily from water. This is the other upside of buying a pre-loved bag aside from price, patina. Having the luxury of skipping the break in period is almost as nice as being able to bypass paying 1000.00 or more for a purse!
I hope that this article has helped you. Rather than focusing on what makes a bag real or fake, I thought it was more important to focus on all of the options, and things that are important to know when you are considering buying a bag by Louis Vuitton. The rest is up to you, now!
11. Bonus tips for payment?
As a lesson from the now-wise. Always, always, always buy large-ticket items through Paypal using your debit as a credit, or a credit card. Do NOT use ACH or direct pay from your checking or savings account. Using ACH will prevent your bank from helping you in a fraud case. Without this backup, you are at the mercy of Paypal, Ebay and possibly, the moral fiber of the seller.
What would qualify as a fraud? Well, in one example, say you agreed to a partial refund from the seller, and then the seller opted not to allow that refund to clear their payment method selected, such as their bank in an effort to draw an already painful complete or partial refund process out. Somewhere in the fine print of Paypal and somewhere deep as I've not been able to find it yet, the money you have given to the seller should at this point still be in their Paypal account, and while there, it is apparently untouchable and inaccessible by anyone.
Since you would logically have a claim open to begin a refund process (Always use a claim form, you don't want to trust the seller to return your money without one and opening a claim prevents the seller stalling beyond the buyer protection period), as mentioned, the money you paid for the item with is frozen in the sellers Paypal account. That all seems well and good until you go to recover an agreed-upon partial refund, however.
Paypal and Ebay will not guarantee a partial refund. If you then have to escalate a claim because you have received one or several eCheck delays and the seller seems disinterested in honouring their portion of the bargain, Ebay is then going to force you to send the item back anyhow. They will not negotiate this, however, they will provide a return label with tracking for you and a 7-10 day return period, though I recommend getting right on it to ensure that this time, you will actually get your money back.
With the label on the box, you can send the package via UPS, or USPS and once the returned item is packaged and sent off, it is tracked to the sellers address. With that process complete, you should be able to expect your Paypal refund for the full amount in addition to shipping paid within three business days.
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