High end designer bags on e bay

[Aeroflotgirl]

I have bought some lovely genuine designer bags on e bay (Miu Miu, LV, Gucci, Christian Dior). I have been buying and selling handbags on e bay for about 10 years, and have had my fair share of fakes which thank goodness I have got my money back going through e bay. What are your experiences on buying high end designer goods on e bay. How do you spot fakes?

[gunsandbanjos]

Mulberry is my brand of choice and I've bought several from eBay. I get them authenticated pre purchase on the purse forum.

[Aeroflotgirl]

The Purse Forum is great isent it, saved me from so many fakes. I wish I had the ££££ to walk into a designer boutique and purchase a brand new bag, so have to rely on e bay and TPF. I have a collection of Dior, Miu Miu, LV and Gucci. My current bag I am carrying is a LV Passy GM from e bay, which is gorgeous.

[gunsandbanjos]

It's fabulous, the authenticators give so much time to help people.

I'd never buy on eBay without getting it authenticated, I don't do fake! There's some real monsters on there right now and people are actually bidding on them...

[Aeroflotgirl]

I know, I sometimes bid on a bag, only if I know it's definitely genuine. I am quite good with Miu Miu and Dior, and know what to look for, and to some extend LV. I feel sorry for Dancer on the other thread, £400 is a lot to loose.

[Aeroflotgirl]

Designer bags really depreciate in value, and you can get some very good genuine bargains.

[gunsandbanjos]

Definitely good for bargains, I got a beautiful condition super rare mulberry Roxanne in emerald goatskin for £127!! I was gobsmacked that I won it for that.

[everythingtoplayfor]

Wow Guns - what a bargain!

How do people authenticate bags on the purse forum? I took a look at the site...

[Aeroflotgirl]

I got a Miu Miu coffer bag recently for £150 and a LV passey for £280, almost new, the others on e bay were selling at £500+

[gunsandbanjos]

Thanks everythingtoplayfor, I was amazed, never seen one for sale before or since. It was immaculate too, think the seller didn't know how rare it was. I also got a red goatskin Mabel for £109. There was damage to the handles (where they'd glued something to it!!) but mulberry replaced them for me.
If you go on the purse forum in the mulberry shopping section there's an authenticate thread. Lakrits, Kriscat and Jazzy are the 3 authenticators, they are amazing! Really really know their stuff. The first post on the thread tells you what they need to see to authenticate.

[mouldycheesefan]

They are just people telling you whether they think something is fake, they don't represent the brands they could tell you anything! I wouldn't consider something genuine just because someone in the internet who had never actually seen the item told me it was.

[Larastheme]

mouldy
They are just people telling you whether they think something is fake, they don't represent the brands they could tell you anything! I wouldn't consider something genuine just because someone in the internet who had never actually seen the item told me it was.
Exactly!!!l
I could never trust anyone who just authenticates from pictures without seeing the bag in person.

they have no qualification in identifying fakes,

And what I find completely ridiculous is that you need to post 500 posts before being allowed to authenticate a bag, just that ,you could hang around the celine or mulberry sub forums and comment on which colour you like, which design you prefer,help a member decide which bag to choose, or which one to sell, do a few reveals and after hitting the 500 post mark you can authenticate, I love TPF,but I would never trust their "authenticators"

[Aeroflotgirl]

I have been using TPF for years now, usually they are pretty accurate and clued up about the brand they are authenticating for, on some sub forums, they even work for the brand. No you cannot be 100% accurate, but usually they are. Even if you walk into the store, you might pick up a fake, as somebody has bought a genuine designer bag, got a replica fake one, and returned the fake bag to the store, they have put it out on display. You cannot just go in TPF and authenticate, usually there are one or two main authenticators who authenticate, they require very good quality pictures of the tags, zips, stitching, labels to authenticate. Picture quality nowadays is excellent, not like it was years ago.

[LittleBearPad]

Are you advertising it?

[Aeroflotgirl]

What no, I just go on there to talk about bags, and for them to authenticate, but found them very helpful and accurate. As the discussion has moved onto TPF.

[mouldycheesefan]

How do you know they are accurate? You don't.
I could go on there suggest I work for one of the companies and be "authenticating" in a few weeks.
Just Because a random person online says something is authentic, does not mean it is.

[Aeroflotgirl]

I have been using them for about 10 years, no you cannot be 100% accurate, if the authenticaters are unsure, they tell you.

[Larastheme]

This is from the pursefourm
NOTE: The PurseForum requests that only members with an extensive knowledge of the brand and authenticating who have over 500 posts participate as authenticators in this AT thread. The moderators reserve the right to remove authentications that do not meet these requirements.

Technically anyone over the Internet can pretend to be knowledgable. You don't need to go through any sort of formal training ,and yet people treat authenticators over the TPF as experts!

The resellers could be authenticators too, one member was told off for praisng collector square ,one of the most respected consignment stores in Paris , and was acused of promoting them And her posts were quickly deleted, but when another member was waxing lyrical about an ebay seller, over and over no one batted an eye,


I own several celine , and hermes bags, I sat many , many times with hermes SAs and talked extensively about colours, leathers, sizes, you need that sort of knowledge to buy hermes bags, but there is no way i could authenticate a bag, I'm not trained to do so, what if the bag is genuine but it has a defect For example? Stuff like this happens,
Without feeling the leather, touching the handles, examining the stitching in person, how could anyone be sure,

[Aeroflotgirl]

I don't just rely on the Authenticators on TPF I use my own research and knowledge of a particular brand. This has taken years, and several mistakes. I also would never to a deal outside e bay, as you have no protection, if it goes wrong. I tend to buy the preloved bags, not tge BNWT which are more likely to be fake. I have got some genuine bargains from e bay, and they can be found if yiu know what to look out for. You can become your own expert. I wish I had the ££££ to go into an actual store, many of us don't, so we have to get the preloved bags.

[Larastheme]

Apologise for my grammatical mistakes , must learn to double check before posting.

aeroflot I know you have nothing but good intentions,and its just a chat about bags, but I have very mixed feelings about the purse forum, the concept is great, but I would urge anyone to take anything they say with a pinch of salt, if you have any doubts about the authenticity of a bag,then fallow your instincts.

[Aeroflotgirl]

Exactly lara I do my own research, if it does not look or feel right, or something looks off, it goes straight back to the seller. Tgere was so one on chat who did a deal outside e bay on a Mulberry bag. She might loose £400 as she does not have that protection.

[Larastheme]

Yeas i agree you need to do your own research, and familiarise yourself with the brand you are after, and this takes a lot of time and money! It's not cheap, you need to know types of leather, styles, changes the bag went through every few years, even the most timeless bag had a few tweaks and changes.

mulberry, has an extensive data, but I think the most faked bags
Are the bayswater and alexa, the older bags are less likely to be fakes as they are not popular, ,and I think the lining of the 80s and 90s were completely different, so does the label plaque,

Hermes from the 80s has a different stamp,some types of leathers were used and are now discontinued, and so on... You need to keep these things in mind . You need to ask the seller questions, be persistent, if they show any lack of knowledge, don't bid, ,

[Aeroflotgirl]

Oh yes you are definitely right,i am more a Miu Miu and Dior fan and have researched the style I am after, and what it should look like. I have made some mistakes in the process.

[chiquita1]

The only way to know for sure and I am only talking about LV (which is the only brand I really know and own) is take your ebay purchases to Louis Vuitton and ask to have them repaired, something minor like changing the zipper, etc. If it is not genuine, they will not repair it and some of the minor repairs are free of charge.

[Aeroflotgirl]

There are very good e bay bargains to be had, if you do your research and are careful.