A leather bag ... Or is it? How do I tell?

[4amInsomniac]

Ordered a bag from Amazon, pictures looked good and it said it was leather. It arrived this morning, and I'm not convinced that it is. Price would be good if it is genuine, but not SO good that I would automatically be suspicious: exactly what I would try and sell it for if I were an unscrupulous crook!

Anyone have a good method for seperating the genuine from the fake?

Smell it? I've never encountered leather that didn't have that distinctive leathery smell.

Hmm, thanks Koala. It definitely smells of something, but I'm not convinced is leather! I'm now driving myself mad, running around sniffing all my bags. You even have me doubting some bags I'd previously accepted were leather ...

I got a bag from Ebay that I thought might not be leather as described and in the end had to undo a few stitches in the lining to have a look. It was leather, just looked a bit plasticky.

apparently you can't tell by the smell now as their is a spray manufacturers can use to mimic the smell. Could you take it to a shoe repair place that replaces straps and the like? They might be able to tell from the feel.

grr, there is a spray not their.

That is exactly it pumpkin, it smells like it is trying to smell like leather, but not quite making it!