Excellent Advice!
Manolo says, if you, like the Manolo, are someone who loves the eBay you should read this from the Manolo’s internet friend the Cranky Biscuit.
Think that Louis Vuitton purse from that powerseller is authentic because they have a high feedback rating? Think again. Just because a seller has 500 feedback, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are trustworthy. Some unscrupulous sellers will sell hundreds of $.05 recipes (usually as private auctions) to get a high feedback rating, and then use that rating to sell fake designer handbags. They can also use this tactic to bury negative feedback from the buyers they fleeced, since they know that many potential buyers will look through the first few pages of feedback, but will probably not bother to wade through everything to find the negative ratings.
There is more! Go read it all.
June 10th, 2005 at 5:26 pm
I didn’t read the whole post, but another way to check out a real item is to check out the dimensions against the real ones, i.e., there are a million Alma Bags on eBay, but if you check out the dimensions against the real Alma Bag on e Luxury, they are all close but not the same. Plus, look at the feet, the color of the leather, the stitching, all the details, etc. Sorry if this is redundant.
June 11th, 2005 at 9:30 pm
The Cake of Johnny is no whiz expert on the e of Bay but her “stink-o-meter” is aroused by multiple the same pics of everything all labeled “rare,” “unique,” “Wow-O,” the etc. the etc. The Cake of Johnny looks for Real People selling Real Things they bought in Real Places but didn’t want anymore. The Cake of Johnny considers LOWER feedback (yet positive) ratings with less than professional photography the best — not the Meg-0-Sellers offering everything from 1989 Ford Thunderbird parts to flyswatters to Home Decor wallplaques to Bebe blouses and Chanel runway clothes. The Cake of Johnny *may* have been burnt a time or two but not often.
June 13th, 2005 at 9:22 am
Another way to sober oneself up as to the authenticity of designer merch on eBay is to approach the web from another point of view: as someone who wants to buy fakes. I did a search on “chloe paddington replica” just to see what was out there, and I found some astonishingly convincing fakes out of Hong Kong from a well-known distributor of counterfeits named Francis Tse. Tse’s fakes are apparently so good that people who sell known fakes brag about them being authentic Francis Tses! Knowing that convincing replicas are being sold elsewhere for $200 makes me scoff at eBay “GUARANTEED AUTH! HARD TO FIND!” auction bags going for $1,000+. Suuuuure, it’s new. Suuuuure, it’s real. So I agree with Johnnycake up there: I only buy used pre-owned designer items, maybe with a little wear and tear (easily fixed by a leather repair place), from real people who had them for a while but then decided it was time to shed them, not these megasellers who have sold more “authentic” designer bags than the actual company has manufactured.
June 16th, 2005 at 9:36 pm
“Replica” designer bags are not worth buying to begin with. They scream “CHINA” You are not fooling anyone, really. Anybody call tell a real bag from a fake and if they can’t … then why bother impressing them in the first place?
September 1st, 2005 at 3:26 pm
Not so sure…I used to work at Bergdorf Goodman and have had original handbags of many designers. A friend of mine purchased some of TSE’s reproductions and I can say first hand from comparing two identical items that it is very hard to tell with SOME styles. It basically comes down to the touch of the material and sometimes the interior. Not to shabby if you are looking to save a few bucks i guess. Not really my preference but for those who do…..