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Original poster

Has anyone got a Mulberry handbag?

40 replies

cupcakes · 27/08/2005 14:27

I'm thinking of buying one on ebay and have a question - should a real Mulberry have a serial number? And if so is it on the back of the circular disc?
Please don't slay me for how much I am (possibly) going to spend. I've been a very good girl.

OP posts:
dizzydo · 29/08/2005 07:38

cupcakes - yes you are right, the serial number is on the back of the circular disc.

I wouldn't dream of slating you for buying a Mulberry bag - they are fab

polkadot · 29/08/2005 18:24

Mine doesn't have a serial number that I can see and I did buy it from a large well-known store. I'm very pleased with it.

Original poster
cupcakes · 30/08/2005 13:02

thanks for your responses. I've been into John Lewis and looked at the one there which doesn't have a serial number - I think they must have stopped putting it on quite recently?
I've bought a second hand one off ebay which should hopefully come tomorrow. It does have a serial number. Am rather paranoid about getting fakes but this one seemed authentic (and I don't mind the second hand aspect at all - will make me less precious!).
Fingers crossed.

OP posts:
nailpolish · 30/08/2005 15:41

i have a mulberry handbag (and i can assure you its dead gen sniff ) but it has no disc

its a very small clutch type one so maybe thats why

Kayleigh · 30/08/2005 15:45

a real mulberry

...how much ????

dizzydo · 30/08/2005 18:28

I got mine from Santa about four years ago so maybe they have stopped putting serial nos on now. They last for ever and in my opinion get better looking the older they get, (unlike myself )

dangirl · 30/08/2005 19:23

Hi cupcakes.
I purchased a mulberry bag on ebay 4 weeks ago from a seller with over 400 pos feedback. Unfortunately bag has never arrived and I get no response from seller so I am now claiming my money bag via paypal.
I am SO annoyed!
Hope it goes much better for you.

polkadot · 30/08/2005 21:38

I think that you might be right about the serial number no longer being put on the disc. I bought my bag within the last month and I know it's genuine.

beetroot · 30/08/2005 21:40

This reply has been deleted

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dangirl · 30/08/2005 21:58

where is the outlet store beetrrot?

beetroot · 30/08/2005 21:59

This reply has been deleted

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Original poster
cupcakes · 31/08/2005 17:24

yikes dangirl. My seller only has 22 feedbacks but I got a good feeling, especially looking at the other types of things she was selling. And because it's second hand I feel it's less likely to be a con. Fingers crossed though. She said she would post it Tuesday so in an ideal world I would have got it today. If it's not here tomorrow I'm going to chase it up though. I'm just getting paranoid that I've bought a fake.
(I went to the factory shop last week whilst on holiday - it is very nice there. Didn't have the colour I'd set my heart on though).

OP posts:
Original poster
cupcakes · 01/09/2005 18:39

Right. Bag came today and initially was really pleased with it but am now becoming increasingly paranoid that I've bought a fake. Reasons being: the strap hooks which hang out (I've bought a Roxanne) are leather on both sides, not the nubuck of the interior which I have seen on the John Lewis version. Plus the interior is quite bright orange; the bag itself is tan - 'oak' - and this seems right for the dye which would have been used only I'm sure other versions have had paler interiors.
I've looked at net-a-porter to see and their interiors do seem to match mine - but not the JL one! It's the straps hanging out which are bothering me. But why would you make such a perfect copy (I've checked every rivet and stich with the n-a-p site) and do that wrong? Did older copies have this double leather version? Have I been conned? Any advice from mulberry owners hugely appreciated.
(Part of me thinks it's still an excellently made bag even if it is a copy and there are better things to worry about - tonight however it's really bugging me!)

OP posts:
vickiyumyum · 03/09/2005 21:56

umm! do you have amulberry shop near you? you could take it to them and ask if it is genuine. i've got a roxanne to aren't they fab, i brought mine from the mulberry shop on bond street (still haven't told dh how much it cost). mine doesn't have the disc, but my friend who says that she brought hers from house of fraser does have a disc and she has a leather interior, whereas mine is more suedey.
so assuming my friend is telling the truth (and she has far more money than me so i have no reason to suspect that she would lie) it would seem that they have changed the design slightly. but i would probbaly go to an official mulberry retailer preferably the mulberry shop and ask them to verify its authenticity, but don't tell them you brought ti from ebay, say a friend gave it to you or something like that, alternativley try ringing mulberry and asking them to verify the serial number!

Original poster
cupcakes · 05/09/2005 16:50

thanks vivkiyumyum.
After my last post I noticed that one of the rivets on the strap was missing and I complained to the seller who very kindly refunded me and I sent it back.
Interesting what you say about the different versions. I suppose the problem with ebay is that you will never know for certain if you have a fake.
Do you find yours a bit big? I used it for one morning and did find it a bit heavy and cumbersome - maybe I just filled it up too much.
Am now lusting after some of the bags in the Marc by Marc Jacobs range. Unfortunately (or maybe, fortunately) it'll mean a trip to London, which would make it even more expensive!

OP posts:
vickiyumyum · 07/09/2005 08:36

yes it is very heavy, have to limit myself as to what i put in it otherwise end up with a bad shoulder. i do think these designer bags are made more for the likes of kate moss etc who only need to carry a lipstick and their purse.

I haven't seen a marc jacobs handbag, will have to go on a search. i am currently lusting after the mulberry phoebe bag, which is sold out everywhere, i even entered a competition to try and win one!

I regularly go to London shopping, and nearly always come back witha new handbag, not always designer though, its just one of my obsessions i just find London better for shopping for my clothes, dh's and the kids.

I'm glad that the seller gave you a refund as it was faulty, but did you ever find out if it was genuine?

Original poster
cupcakes · 07/09/2005 10:54

I don't think I'll ever know. I had pretty much decided that it wasn't genuine till your post got me flummoxed!
I really want a Phoebe bag too. Because it shares my dd's name I really think I could almost justify it to myself (and dh).

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 07/09/2005 10:58

I WISH I had one! My Lotto fantasies include a Mulberry handbag and pair of black Manolo slingbacks.

vickiyumyum · 07/09/2005 11:01

oh well at least you it was faulty and you got a refund so is irrelevant now in a way. i have seen loads on ebay coming from china, so i assume they are fakes, but if someone had good feedback and it was their handbag that they were selling then i would probably assume that it was a genuine item. and if you were paying less than half the retail value would be a good deal!

def a good reason to buy a phoebe bag! LOL! it justify's it to me!

I'd like manolos too, but won't spend that much on shoes and would rather save and buy a handbag at the moment! (although if my focus changes to shoes who knows!)

Original poster
cupcakes · 07/09/2005 13:18

yes, I prefer bags. They last for longer and you use a good (day) bag a lot more than a pair of heels!

OP posts:
vickiyumyum · 07/09/2005 18:12

never thought of that argument. will have to remeber it next time dh starts moaning about my new handbag!

Original poster
cupcakes · 07/09/2005 18:26

ah yes - 'cost per wear', the ultimate argument of justification!

OP posts:
julesgs · 07/09/2005 18:47

Cupcakes, I have an obsession with Mulbery Roxanne bags and would die to own one - and if I bought one DH would probably kill me !!!

NONE of the bnwt bags on Ebay are genuine, they are all fake - why would anyone sell for £200 when they retail at £595? Someone posted what to look for in a genuine bag once on Ebay but the only thing I can remember is no serial number and that no genuine mulberry would have cellophane wrapping around the handles - look at the photos.

Furthermore, there was an article in a magazine last month saying that most of the profits from fake designer goods went to terrorists and organised crime.

Good hunting and I hope you get the bag of your dreams. I am also a massive fan of Tods and draggged the family half way across Italy last year to visit their oultet centre near Florence!!!!

vickiyumyum · 07/09/2005 19:32

am now seriously considering a weekend away in sheptom mallett!!!! for the mulberry outlet store!

Original poster
cupcakes · 07/09/2005 19:43

julesqs - that's really interesting about the serial numbers. Do you know why that is? I had seen bags with the cellophane and it did seem odd. Mine came with the swing tags and dust bags which only confirmed to my dh that it was real (he really didn't want me to be disappointed!) but I don't think they guarantee authenticity unfortunately. In the end I decided that nobody would have paid the full £595 for it - the leather wasn't nice enough. I had hoped that by buying a second hand one it might have more choice of being genuine - but then if the seller bought it off ebay (as mine did) then that doesn't really mean anything.
Am so glad I managed to get my money back for it. Don't think I will buy a bag from ebay in the future. It's too risky! Even the ones which show receipts I am still a bit wary of.
vickiyumyum - I went to Shepton Mallet a few weeks ago. It's a gorgeous shop but there were only 2 Roxanne's - in pink or turquoise, and no Phoebe's (of course). There were some Blenheim's in oak which were really nice but too small for me. They were somewhere in the high £200's whilst the Roxanne's were £416.

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