bought a fake handbag, now worried in case i have been ripped off

[MistyRocks]

I am probably risking a flaming for admitting to buying fake replica bags but i do so shoot me ;)

i have hopefully this beauty [Link deleted by Mumsnet]

if anyone else is willing to admit it too, have you used this site? are they genuine?

i paid by western union as you can't pay directly through the website. this seems to be the case with most replica handbag sites but the one i usually order from you can pay via the website. i didn't use my usual one as they don't stock "chanel"

but i made the payment about 10am this morning and haven't heard anything from them yet so am now panicking....although haven't yet received confirmation from western union that the money has been collected.

F1a2....
I don't think you understood. I don't care how high quality the leather is, neither should you. When I asked about conditions I meant the terrible working conditions these handbags are produced under. Little kids being forced to work instead of being at school and playing with friends, being sent away from home, doesn't sit well with me. You shouldn't think it's ok either.
As long as you get your bags, though,eh? You need them.

I know that Louis Vuitton have very strict welfare standards for their workforce. I've been lucky enough to visit their factory near Paris, where their luggage and special edition bags are made, and the workers are very happy, proud of their skills, there is a proper training scheme for apprenticeships, etc. I have no problem paying more for a bag knowing that the people who made it are being treated well and love their work.

I think Mulberry are quite safe too? My later bags appear to be made in Turkey, an earlier bag was made in England.

Roughly 30% of Mulberry bags are made in England. They manufacture a lot in Turkey but do also manufacture in China.

I think the impression of fake bags is from a while ago, or the type brought from a dodgy market stall. Now you can buy fakes that look exactly like the real thing.

I am a bit of a mulberry addict, but the last couple of years my budget has not been anywhere near mulberry prices. So a year or so ago after much reserach on the internet i found a site selling 'replica' bags direct from china. I ordered an oak oversixed alexa, it cost around £110 and arrived and you really could not tell the difference between the fake and the real thing. All of the markings were identical, the right size, lenght of handle etc. I did give it away in the end though as having a fake didnt give me the same feeling that carrying a real one did.

I do think you are being naive though if you beleive all designer goods to not have been produced in sweat shops, some sweat shops where the fakes (fake in that they aren;t sold by mulberry/chanel/fendi etc) are made alongside the so called genuine article.

As a previous poster said, the only real way to know that anything you have brought is not made in unethical conditions is to buy truly artisan products from tiny manufacturers in your own country.

Or you can check who you buy from is a member of sedex or other ethical trading body

Hi all,

This thread was reported to us for containing possibly illegal material (in the form of a link to a retailer of fake merchandise); as you know we don't allow This Sort Of Thing. We think this is a very interesting discussion though, and probably enlightening to quite a few of us reading (including me!) so I've edited the title and OP to removed the links but we're going to let the thread stand.

Thanks
MNHQ

Thanks MNHQ - I think that is a fair response.

I understand that a lot of people have to let their morals/ethics be put aside for some things - after all, if you're struggling to feed your family and keep a roof over your head then only buying from manufacturers who are entirely ethical will come further down the list of importance than being able to buy enough food.

However, when we are discussing things like luxury handbags, whether we have enough money to buy the real thing or waste it on expensive fakes, I feel very strongly that we are in a position to question the ethics of the people we are giving our money to.

I refuse to buy anything by Donna Karan as she behaved appalingly when one of her American suppliers was closed down due to treating his staff like slaves. Rather than keeping an American supplier and ensuring they treated their staff like human beings, she just switched to having her goods made in China where there are fewer workplace restrictions.

I don't think it's possible to ensure that every single pound we spent is spent ethically, but just because we can't change the world in a big way, doesn't mean we shouldn't try and change it in a small way.

"Just because you can't do the right thing everywhere doesn't mean you shouldn't do the right thing somewhere."- David Cameron, or perhaps more specifically, David Cameron's speech writer. Deep, innit. Although he was talking about Libya, not handbags.

I agree -- well said worldgonecrazy

Yup, I agree with that sentiment.

TheCraic - I so regret not saving my pennies for the real deal rather than frittering it on quantity rather than quality. If I had been wise with my money, I would have had a bag that would probably still be going strong more than 15 years later rather than a load of rubbish that wasn't even worth giving to charity (although I'm not sure they would have been happy to be dumped with a load of fakes) and ended up being slung out after probably 5 years maximum. Not a good environmental choice either

It is definitely one thing to have to balance essentials against ethics when making purchases. But when the items in question are not essentials then it is worthwhile doing the right thing and I certainly don't consider luxury handbags to be an essential - it doesn't mean I don't lust for one though I just have to be realistic

There have been threads on here before about VK and BB*
who do or did make well reviewed replicas - the names were not deleted and the threads remained Style and Beauty orientated. How can we ever know for sure all our purchases have been made to "fair trade" type standards?

FormerlyTitledUntidy which children? what r u talking about, i am telling you from morocco, they dont have children making a bags, these are adults cleaning a leather, professionel in leathers, they make differents bags?
you talking like people who just watch some documentaire on the tv and came to give advice.
i am not telling you from india?
i go every holiday to morroc. its leather land, adults people working there.

the countries that i montioned, the children are not allow to work, they are at school, same rules in uk, marks spencer made some of the clothes their, and i can tell you that just adult people are working there, the one who have a qualifications, not even any adult can get that job, and they are feeding families rom that, so i dont know from where you getting children, i do remmenber watching something like that in bbc, but that was in india, i am saying morroco, north africa.

F1a2 - this is the first link I got when I googled child labour Morocco, feel free to google and educate yourself further.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/369753.stm

F1a2. You must be right then. Everyone else including MNHQ are wrong. Eh, no wait a minute....
You have been to the country, so what? You know more than the BBC do you? It is clearly not just adults making knock off bags. Even if the ones you bought are made by happy healthy adults doing it for the love of leather craft (!) it is still illegal and morally wrong.

everyone is different, this is my choice, i will still buy them, people are differents, nothing will change, i am happy with my bags .

Did you read any of the links posted?

oh. i can see, the problem is no more the terrible working condition or the poor little children anymore? [sceptical]

[Sceptical]

i give up, i have more thing to do. goog luck with your expensice designer bags

Anyone else see the irony of you worrying about the trustworthyness of a site selling counterfeit goods?

Either save up and buy the real thing or get something genuine you feel is worth what you want to spend.

i will get what i want and walk with it even fake, thats me
i am still happy with my bags

i love my fake bags is well, i will not pay fortune for a real ones. i am with you f1a2mumfirst

Ever been to a moroccan tannery, F1a2? The ones I visited (granted a few years ago) were vile (even by tannery standards). They say that ignorance is bliss, now that the knowledge is made available on this thread , I cannot believe that some mumsnetters are still not reconsidering their attitude. Well, carrying fakes is neither stylish nor beautiful, you just carry on breaking the law because apparently where you live a lot of people do that. Nice!