A brand new designer handbag is a delight, but to find out it's
a fake is a very costly slip-up. When you want to get a new designer handbag, it
is important to be able to spot fakes so that you can make certain that your
expensive purchase is authentic. If you recognize the difference between a replica
and a genuine bag enables you to make an informed choice about the purchase of
any bag.
Click Here To Purchase Your Authentic Designer Handbag From The Large Purse Shop
An authentic designer handbag is made by fashion houses, well-known
brands and high-end designers. Nowadays many lesser-known designers and brands also
produce top quality bags. However, many sham companies make imitation replicas
of bags and sell them to gullible people as the genuine thing.
1.
Investigate The Brand
You must recognize the brand and what unique features make it
special. Check to confirm the bag you want to buy is in a shape and pattern
that the designer produces. Most brands have a signature style.
2.
Check The Quality Of The Material
One of the top ways to make sure your new designer handbag is genuine
is to look at the bag itself. A designer handbag cost as much as they do
because they are made of high quality materials, such as Italian leather
or branded canvas.
So check the material. If it is Italian leather it should look, feel and smell like leather. Be suspicious if it smells like glue,
rubber or chemicals. If it is a heavy-duty canvas, it should be strong and well
stitched. The material can tell you so much about the bag's quality.
Also check the lining inside of the bag. Often a genuine bag
will have a distinguishing pattern inside which distinguishes it from replicas.
If the interior sounds like paper rubbing together, then it's not the genuine
thing. A genuine designer bag will be lined with leather or a branded high
quality lining material.
Look for discrepancies in color in the material. Although some
variations will be obvious, others may be very difficult to detect.
3.
Check The Quality Of Workmanship
A real designer handbag is typically handmade by skilled
craftsmen. Branded bags will have
quality stitching because it is part of the designer's reputation to manufacture
a quality product.
So take a really good look at the stitching. Sloppy, slanted,
and uneven stitching is a sign of a poorly made bag which well may be a fake. There
ought to be no loose or missing stitches and the stitches should
be evenly spaced. The color of the thread should match the main color of
the bag.
Also check out the seams, the shape and symmetry. Seams usually
do not have glue, except for perhaps on wallets. The symbols often mirror each
other on right and left seams, especially on Louis Vuitton monogrammed canvas
items and more recently on Gucci and Fendi.
Also check the stitching of the lining, and see if it is double
stitched or not.
4.
Check The Quality Of The Hardware
The hardware on a designer handbag should be of top quality.
Hardware must be heavy weight, quality pieces with no scratches or color
variations, i.e., zippers, clasps and closures should all have the same color
and finish. The only exception is the brand Chloe, which often makes use of
mixed hardware. If it does not look like genuine top quality hardware, i.e. it
feels light or has rough edges, etc., it may be a fake copy.
Zippers and clasps must open and close smoothly.
Some brand names put their logo on the hardware. For example,
check the zipper manufacturer because generally the underside of the zipper
will have a logo.
Some manufacturers, including Gucci, Fendi, Prada and
Christian Dior protect the hardware with a plastic cover that is removed
only after it has been bought.
5.
Check The Logo Is Real
The logo should be straight and spelled correctly. Any engraving
or embossing must be neat and accurate. Logos are often area where frauds slip
up. The name may be spelt slightly differently, such as Carter instead of
Cartier. Or the lettering may be incorrect. For example most imitation Chanel
bags have interlocking "Os" instead of "Cs", which in point
of fact makes it legal to sell but is, of course, still a fake.
Most designers have a unique way of using their logo. For
example the brand name on an authentic Michael Kors bag will say either
"MICHAEL Michael Kors" or just "Michael Kors," and have the
MK logo on a hanging metal tag. The interior and exterior normally have the MK
logo as part of a repeated pattern, rather than the full name.
If the designer handbag is leather, the logo will be
engraved, not just printed on the leather. The brand name or logo will also
be engraved, not embossed or simply printed on the hardware.
The bag's logo, charms, attachments, etc., are characteristic of
the brand down to the precise positioning and number of such features. Tags,
signatures or marks stating the designer's name are an integral part of the
bag's overall design and authenticity.
So check the tags and labels. Check the inside tags to ensure they
are stamped into leather or hand-stitched in the lining. A clear counterfeit
will have no name on the inside tag. Check outside tags as well because many
designers include authenticity labels on the outside of a designer handbag.
Instruction booklets should not have misspellings or be
photocopied.
6.
Is An Authenticity Card Provided?
An true designer handbag will come with an authenticity which is
a little card that usually has the manufactures logo embossed on the front and
has some information about the product you bought. It sometimes includes a
magnetic strip or bar code.
7.
Is There a Serial Number?
Not all manufacturers use serial numbers, but many do. A serial number is a hallmark inside the bag
which relates to the brand/style and other production information. Sometimes
the serial number is also fake, but it will look different and be in a
different font to the real product.
8.
Do Be Realistic About The Price
The price of a designer handbag is determined by what the purchaser
is willing to pay for the brand. A real designer handbag costs a lot of money
because it is well made from quality products by crafts men. They are a status
symbol which reflects wealth and position. If the price looks too good to be
true, it probably is and the bag is most probably an imitation.
An authentic designer handbag will cost anything from a few
hundred dollars to several thousands of dollars depending on the brand and its
availability. For example Hermes handbags cost on average around US $8000 and
there is a waiting list to purchase one.
Be guarded of unrealistic deals. If a bag typically retails
for $800 or $1,200 and someone is selling it for $100 or $200, you may be
getting swindled. Or if you see very luxurious bags that you can buy several
copies of, be cautious.
9.
Always Ask For A Guarantee Of Authenticity
Ask the seller if the bag is genuine, a copy, or a
fake. Judge for yourself from the answer; keep your emotions in check and
your common sense at the forefront. Traders who evade answering questions or
are shifty have something to hide. Ask if you can return the bag if it's faulty
or fake. As you would expect, don't assume street vendors will agree to this!
10. Watch
For Wear and Tear
.Even though this is post purchase, how your designer handbag
wears can be a sign of its authenticity. For example, the leather on the
handle, after a while, should look like a good worn leather coat does. It will have
an "aged look". Stitching should not begin to fray and zipper handles
or other embellishments that fall off prematurely may show a fake.
A real designer handbag should last a lifetime if cared for
properly.
Learn
About Fakes
There are many bogus brand bags on the market, particularly in
Asian countries at street markets, and on the internet so be very cautious when
you purchase. High-end brands do not approve of street vendors selling their
bags or purses.
Illegal, counterfeit bags are put across as being the real
designer's bag, right down to the very last logo, tag, charms, etc. Replica
bags copy all the features of the brand, and they are passed off as the unique
brand with no effort to make a distinction as look-a-likes. The cost of fakes
can vary significantly from cheap to expensive. It is illegal to make counterfeit
goods, and if you knowingly buy one, you are supporting illegal action.
Nevertheless, a legal imitation can be sold as
"designer-inspired" if it is not a direct copy. As long as such a bag
does not claim to be the genuine designer's bag and does not try to use the
trademarked symbols, logos, or features it is legal. Usually the style and
colors of an authentic brand bag can be copied, but some features must be
altered in some way in order to avoid copyright infringement. Even
though the bag may be very similar to the brand that it's inspired by, it won't
claim to be an genuine designer handbag.
To the unperceptive eye the "designer-inspired" bag
can certainly be mistaken for the genuine one and you could be tricked into
spending more money than it is worth, and therefore it is important to be able
to spot the differences.
If you knowingly buy legal copies, be sure you don't pay too
much and double check the quality!
Realize, though, that some "designer-inspired" bags
can convey the blessing of the brand owner who lets lower-end knock-offs be
sold by chain retailers, etc. Commonly the store will proudly say something
along the lines of "as licensed by X brand for our store".
Summary
Counterfeits are more difficult to spot now than they once were.
There are two main reasons: counterfeiters have become more sophisticated and
manufacturers have become a bit slack. Even though no replica is perfect, there
is certainly no bag that’s too hard to copy. The differences between the two
are getting harder to spot. This is facilitated by the fact that workmanship in
the real goods is not as good as it used to be. They’re not finished the way
they were back in the good old days.
If you have reservations about your new designer handbag, take
it to an authorized store. Staff of an official brand store can easily validate
your new designer handbag. There are a number of factors that need to be looked
into when determining whether or not a handbag is genuine or fake, but if you focus
on the list presented in this article you will be a long way to making the right
decision.
Discover all you can about a designer handbag if you're buying
from estate sales, thrift stores or on-line auction sites. Apply the steps
listed above to any acquisition of a designer handbag made at such places.
At the Large Purse Shop, we do not work for any of the valued
brands that we offer, but we do guarantee that the designer handbag you buy
from us is 100% authentic and new with tags and made exclusively
by the fashion house. Any use of the terms Hugo Boss, Burberry, Coco Chanel,
Christian Dior, Coach, Dolce and Gabbana, Fendi, Gucci, Prada and any other
brand are all trademarks belonging to those companies and we do not in any way
claim to be these companies or work for them. We obtain all items directly from
the companies themselves..
