To warn you about this retail scam?

[BurgundyFlags]

Long story short, bought a bag from a trusted authorised retailer months ago, realised last week that it's fake, and had my eyes opened to this scam that apparently is 'common'.

Here's how it usually goes:

1. Person buys something from authorised retailer, maybe even the actual store
2. Person buys a good fake from Amazon etc
3. Person returns the fake to the original retailer
4. Next person ordering from the original retailer gets the fake

It wasn't a majorly expensive bag (about £75 but it's one that is popular with counterfeiters) but it is disappointing especially since I paid a premium for a brand that's famed for having durable stuff that was supposed to last me 10 years only to get a fake that broke in months!

Just thought I should let everyone know that just because you buy something from the official store or official retailer doesn't necessarily mean it's real these days!

Who bothers counterfeiting £75 bags?? They’re hardly “a premium” OP.

No, they’re not but there are so many fakes of them around

How will the retailer know that you’ve not just bought a fake too?

Absolutely they are all made on the same production line.

It’s Swedish, not Norwegian..

They look like Swedish Kipling bags. Hardly worth the counterfeiters efforts but it obviously is according to this thread.

TBH the fake looks quite obvious to me.

It's a good reminder about retailers not always checking returned stock.

I bought some Dubarrys recently from a third party that stocks them. The boots I got had clearly been worn for a day or to try the them out, damaged and then returned. The retailer had obviously not checked the return and they got sent out to me. £400 they cost! And now Dubarrys haven't even got any available until November. Not paying £400 for used/damaged goods though. It wasn't hugely obvious until you looked closely for damage ie. Folds in the leather where there shouldn't be on new boots, a bent bit of leather by the zip.

Why does ‘crime’ need ‘funding’? Surely the motivation for drug or people trafficking is that it’s risky, but lucrative? Or do these activities operate at a loss and require the profits from counterfeit fashion to subsidise them?

Wouldn’t they have looked the same after you’d worn them for a day or two?

Thing is they’re not going to refund OP are they as she could be using the same scam!

I’m not sure if you are just really naive or playing devils advocate but criminal enterprises are hardly known for their restraint when making profits. I would assume counterfeiting provides a nice constant stream of income which can be used to fund riskier enterprises.

(I know you’re not, OP)

Do you live under a rock? You sound incredibly naive.

Yes, so as I said operating a diversified business model with multiple revenue streams, very prudent risk management. Seems the main error they’re making is branding. If you think I’m being naive tell me about the lithium in your device battery, or the leather in your boots. Nobody’s on here calling Apple or Nike criminals but there’s similar shenanigans in those supply chains.

Hmm I’m pretty sure that when I bought my daughter one for nursery hers came with some kind of certificate. Direct from Fjallraven, wouldn’t have considered it might be a fake. Must be a good scam

I read this being also done with more expensive brands like LV..

Never heard of kanken, had to Google it.
I thought you meant Longchamp.

@ReadySetDontGo
aaah sorry, my mistake, they’re lovely products I remember my dad had a jacket years ago and I loved the little curled up fox

Thanks for the pics, OP, but the fact that leather handled ones (the one I bought!) and newer fakes having the floating 'o' above the A, muddies the waters so very much! It's a bloody minefield.

The whole thing's been eye-opening to me. These are just simple, durable (at least they were when I had them as a kid), everyday basic bags and it's a counterfeit minefield. Most obvious ones are the £15 BNWT ones where you open it and the white tag inside uses a regular A instead of the Ä or Å but otherwise I don't know.

Re PP's 'if it works why does it matter', all the issues around counterfeiting aside, it's not what I paid for. It doesn't matter how much something costs, I think most people will feel ripped off when they buy something only to find out that it's not what they thought it would be.

People counterfeit rizla

The thing with super mass produced bags (and suddenly scaled way outside their normal production levels) like fjallraven is that they're made in loads of different factories to slightly different standards. I've had tops from Timberland that were all the same item but were made in factories in different countries, all the ones made in one country lasted and the others made in a different country didn't. I don't think it's always the answer that some are counterfeit

And re the connected logos way older ones don't have the connected A it seems! Just the newer ones which mine was (bought a new colour that came out recently)

This happened to us, the retailer were awful about it too and tried to blame us for it!

What can we do actually if this happens? There's no way to prove that we're not the scammer and from what I gather, a lot of fakes are so superficially similar (especially when it comes to shoes where it looks ok and then falls apart just after a couple wears) retailers don't always spot them either!