Avoid Fake Louis Vuitton Handbags (2)
On July - 9 - 2008 1 COMMENT
Continuing the previous article of the way avoiding fake Louis Vuitton handbags part I, below one of another Ebay member wolverine1027 give us the tips :
As most of you know there are alot of fake Louis Vuitton handbags, wallets, and accessories being sold online. The following guide will help you with the basics of what to look for and what to avoid when looking for authentic Louis Vuitton handbags online.
- Tip #1: This is the most simple way to tell if a seller is honest. Check their feedback, most sellers are going to have a few negative feedbacks because it is hard to please everybody. But, if you see a pattern of negative feedback left about authenticity, chances are that this seller has been selling counterfeit goods.
- Tip #2: Another easy thing to look for is price, nobody is going to sell a brand new Louis Vuitton bag for $50 or $100 with no reserve. If you see an $800 purse being sold for $75, there is a 99% chance that it is a fake. Some people will say that they are Louis Vuitton wholesalers so that is how they get their price so low, Louis Vuitton does not wholesale to anybody, not only that, they will never sell “damaged” goods at a discount, these “damaged” handbags are simply discarded and never make it to the store. Also Louis Vuitton Stores never have sales, the prices only go up not down. Louis Vuitton doesn’t have outlet stores like Coach, this is how they keep their pretige so high, by never selling any one of their items at a discount and by assuring the highest quality goods.
- Tip #3: The best way to see if a bag is authentic is to compare the bag you want to buy with an authentic one. Louis Vuitton spends a great deal of time assuring the quality of their bags to the point that each bag and wallet are pretty much identical. The way to do this is either go on eluxury.com (an authorized online Louis Vuitton dealer) and compare the bag you want to the same one on eluxury.com, pay careful attention to the placement of the LV’s and the leather patches. Or if you can find a mypoupette reccomended reseller (mypoupette.com authenticates designer handbags) and see if they have the bag or wallet you want and compare the two. Mypoupette Resellers have to verify authenticity of everything they sell on eBay, so all of their merchandise is authentic. Or you can go directly to mypoupette.com and they will tell
you if the handbag you are looking at on eBay is authentic or not for a small fee, I think it is $5.
- Tip #4: Ask for more pictures or information on the bag, an honest seller will get back to you promptly, someone selling you fakes will probably not even answer your questions. The more pictures a seller has, the more likely it is that their merchandise is authentic.
- Tip #5: If the date code is not pictured or stated ask the seller for it, all Louis Vuitton products have a date code that states when the product was made. For example Louis Vuitton’s Cerise collection came out in 2005, so all date codes should end in the number 5, if the date code is TH0024, this bag is fake, TH0025 would be more likely to be authentic.
- Tip #6: Louis Vuitton uses date codes to tell the location and date a bag, wallet, or accessory was made. Louis Vuitton started using date codes in the early 80′s, so bags made before this time like French Co bags will not have date codes. The first date codes used consisted of three numbers, example 873, the first two numbers represent the year and the last one or two number represent the month. So the numbers 873 mean that the bag was made in March of 1987. If the date code is 8910, this bag was made in October of 1989. In 1990, Louis Vuitton changed the format of their date codes by adding letters to the mix. The letters indicate where the bag was made, the first and third number represent the month, while the second and fourth number represent the year. For example; TH0025 means that the bag was made in February (02) of 2005 (05). So if somebody tells you that the bag is brand new and the bag was made in France and the date code is SD0959, this bag is most likely a fake because the date code states that the bag was made in the United States (SD) in May (05) of 1999 (99). However, if a bag that was made in France in 1995 had its lining replaced in the United States
in 2005, then the interior date code may read SD0075 but the exterior of the bag will still say Made in France, but if you see something like this chances are it is a fake instead of having the lining replaced. - Tip #7: If you see one of the following items on a Louis Vuitton handbag, it is fake. If the handles are wrapped in plastic, if the hardware is wrapped in tissue, if there are tags attached to the bag, if there is a canvas fabric swatch hanging from the bag, and a yellow authenticity card comes with it; these are all signs of a fake handbag, authentic Louis Vuitton bags don’t come with any of these things. In regards to wallets, any time you see an “authentic Louis Vuitton with original dust bag” this is a fake, wallets come in boxes, they do not come with dust bags. Also if you see a wallet that comes in a box that has a white interior, this wallet is a fake. If you get through all of this and you still buy the wallet, check the interior creases and spread the material apart, if the wallet is fake you will see glue holding the seams together, if it is real the seams will have no glue.
- Tip #8: Louis Vuitton bags do have tags. When you buy a bag in a Louis Vuitton store the bag or wallet will come with two tags and perhaps a care booklet. One tag has “Louis Vuitton” written on it and underneath that it says what material the bag or wallet is made from, the other will have the items correct French name along with a bar code underneath that. However; these tags are never attached to the bag, they are descretely slipped into one of the pockets. So if you see a bag with tags attached to it with a plastic or rope tie, this bag is a fake.
- Tip #9: With regard to dust bags, Louis Vuitton has recently changed their dust bags, the older ones have a discreet LV that is brown and the bag is soft beige cotton, if you see any hint of red in it, the dust bag and probably the bag that comes with it is fake. The newer ones say Louis Vuitton across it and are made of a rougher cotton material.
- Tip #10: Many people selling authentic Louis Vuitton products do not allow returns unless the bag is found to be a fake, this is fine. If you come across an auction that says “All Sales are Final” and doesn’t allow a return even if the bag is fake, then this is probably why they don’t allow returns, because it is a fake.
There is much more to know, but this will help get you started, and gives you an advantage on people who are trying to rip you off.
