Every girl loves a designer bag, but not every girl has a thousand dollars to so carelessly spend on a purse with a pretty logo. Some gals will go out of their way to buy illegal bags for pennies on the dollar, while other fortunate chickadees have the money, yet buy a fake one anyway and pay way, way more than they should.
Fake bags are everywhere, there is a shop next door to my job selling fake Louis Vuittons, Chanels, Pradas, and Coach bags. I even take a dip in and buy them from anywhere from $20-$55 for larger diaper/pet carrier bags. Not because I like breaking the law, but because they are nice bags for cheap prices. I know they are fakes, and I know it’s illegal. But the cops never came in to shut her down, and she displays her fakes proudly, they are attractive, why should I not buy this designer dud for $20, when a block over they’re selling the same exact looking one for $1,200? Heck, I’m not rich, but it’s nice to walk about and ‘think’ that I am.
My cousin is convinced that these ‘fakes’ are real just flawed. A lot of people, stupid people, are falling into that category, believing their fake bags are sold to these vendors from the actual designer. Hah! Get real. No pun.
If this was the case these ‘fakes’ would only be slightly flawed, not crudely put together and made with cheap fake leathers.
Now I know the difference between a fake bag and a real one. All I have to do is pick it up. The bag feels lighter, it seems faded, and even has a cheap fake scent to it. A real designer bag should smell of leather, it should have decent weight to it, the zippers should be stitched neatly, and the metal zipper should be sturdy. Side pockets should be durable, and not looking as if they were added on with some discolored cheap material.
Some people are too lazy to inspect a bag though, they just look at it, find it attractive and purchase it. It does not take rocket science though to figure out whether or not you are getting a fake bag.
Here are a few designer bag tips to consider when thinking of buying a bag:
1. Don’t ever buy an expensive bag off of Ebay. This place is a playground for illegal vendors to be selling ‘real Chanel bags’. In reality only about 10% of the handbags on Ebay are real. The rest are overpriced fakes.
2. The Vietnamese vendors in the city! Come on! They take you to an abandoned warehouse and bring you to a back room to show you their goods. I know I have done this before, and let me tell you…this is not safe! I had no idea I would be taken to a back alley, up a flight of rickety stairs and into a room the size of a closet, to have the door locked behind me. This ‘vendor’ could have raped me, killed me, and stole all my money for all I knew.
I am glad I got out safe, but who knows!? Don’t ever trust a NYC vendor who asks ‘you want coach, Prada, you want bag…‘ All of their bags are fakes, and you put your own safety at risk.
3. Price is a major factor when buying a bag. If the price seems just too damn good to be true, well that is because it is. It’s a flipping fake man! Walk away.
4. Study a bag before buying it. Even in actual stores. There have been cases of people returning fakes for real ones. So study the damn bag before buying it. Fake bags will have a fake leather scent. (This is leather scented spray they will spray all over the bag to try and capture a real scent), so smell the leather handles, the leather designer logo found inside of the bag.
5. Fake bags WILL have obvious flaws. If the bag does not sit right, or if it has a wrinkle it is usually a sign of a fake bag. Designer bags are made to the highest of standards. You see a wrinkle, walk away.
6. The best way to spot a fake it to check its stitching. If there is one stitch out of place, or a loose thread, it’s a fake. Don’t even consider it!
7. Never ever buy a designer bag online. This is the biggest no! Ebay is the worst spot for fakes to be present, but these fake bags show up everywhere. Buy in person, in the store, and even then, still be sure to inspect you bag.
8. All real bags will come with a certificate of authenticity. However vendors of the illegals can copy these certificates just as easily as they copy the bags. Don’t be fooled by a vendor who mentions the ‘COA’. The COA should not even be mentioned or give to you until after the sale. If a vendor is quick to mention it, and hand it to you to look at, realize your being taken for a ride.
Fake bags are everywhere, and some even go out of their way to purchase them. I myself am well known when it comes to buying fakes. It’s simply because I refuse to spend top dollar on bags that are only worth the $30 I pay for the fakes. But I hate when I hear stories about poor broads that buy expensive bags for hundreds and hundreds of dollars and it turns out the bag is an impostor.
The next scenario is when you think you bought an expensive bag, and you find out the thing is not all you thought it would be. Here are a few signs you will see in about a month. If any of these events ever happen, know that you got conned.
1. Your designer emblem fell off. FAKE
2. You have your ‘leather’ peeling. FAKE
3. Stitches are coming undone. FAKE
4. The metal rings or emblems have another name hidden on the back of them. FAKE
5. The zipper breaks off. FAKE.
6. Inside pockets come undone. FAKE
If you bought your bag from a vendor for more than $100 find that SOB and get your money back. If you bought your bag at the designers store, bring it back. Fake bags fall apart at the seams, and they don’t last long. Do know that if you bought an expensive bag and it begins to fall apart most likely you bought an expensive waste, and that you could have gotten the fake for only $20.
The thing that pisses me off abut vendors is that they know their bags are fakes, yet they will try to pass them off as ‘real’ to idiot shoppers for hundreds and hundreds of dollars. If the ‘idiot shopper’ does not know any better he or she can easily get taken advantage of when it comes to cost.
Do know that if you ever … yes you are so naughty… but if you ever, ever buy a bag and you know it is fake, and most likely you will, don’t ever pay more than $20 for it. If they won’t take $20 walk away. Their loss.
The whole point to this piece is to warn those who are looking for real designer bags, because let me tell you the real ones are the diamonds in the dirt. There are way more fake bags waiting for you to be fooled into buying them, than there are real bags. So be wary, take my advice, inspect your bag before purchasing it, and ask questions.
