Is anyone else surprised at the quality of some FAKES?

Jayne1

Jayne1

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Aug 2, 2006
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#1
I usually buy full price at the Boutique, so I never really think about fakes. However, I always assumed, that if I were to come across a reasonably priced Chanel, and if I looked really carefully, I would be able to see the shoddy workmanship. Or something really, glaringly wrong.

Lately, I have been watching eBay and I was curious about this bag:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Genuine-Chanel-B...2QQihZ005QQcategoryZ63852QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The initial red flag for me, was the fact that the seller has so many, new and unused Chanel bags up for sale. What is she, a store? If you scroll through her pictures, you can see the clasp reads, "Chanel" "Paris"... so isn't that wrong? Or not?

Then I noticed the same inside clasp on this listing, the one that Smoothoprter pointed out:

Smoothoprter said:
OMG, WTF? Everything looked OK until I saw this picture.:Push:

DSC_6956Medium.jpg
Click to expand...

So my questions are:

1) Do you find that some fakes are remarkably well made?

2) Is it possible that just because a bag reads "Paris" it can still be genuine?

3) Would you be able to tell the above bags were fakes, if the seller hadn't exposed the inside plaque?

4) Is anyone else a bit shocked at the quality of some replicas?

5) Is it possible these fakes are being made in the same factories as the genuine bags... because they look really good.

(Moderators, if I posted this in the wrong place, please feel free to move it. :smile:)
 
#2
Actually Chanel - Paris on the back of the CC closure is absolutely correct.

What is wrong with the picture above is the 4 point screws (philips screws). Chanel, as far as I know, only uses flat head screws.
 
#3
Jayne1 said:
Lately, I have been watching eBay and I was curious about this bag:

eBay.ca: Genuine Chanel Black XL Large Jumbo Soulder bag (item 150080034372 end time 18-Jan-07 08:32:58 EST)

The initial red flag for me, was the fact that the seller has so many, new and unused Chanel bags up for sale. What is she, a store? If you scroll through her pictures, you can see the clasp reads, "Chanel" "Paris"... so isn't that wrong? Or not?
Click to expand...

I just looked at the bags this seller has listed and they all look authentic to me.

ETA: I just looked at their completed auctions and they also all look like authentic Chanel's to me.
 
#4
That's a fake?! The only fakes I've seen are the extremely obvious Cambon bags. I would never have known it to be a fake unless I actually touched the quality of the leather. I'm so tempted to buy the beautiful bags from eBay because they are such a great deal, but I've been burned before with a fake LV Houston for $500
 
#5
Smoothoprter said:
I just looked at the bags this seller has listed and they all look authentic to me.

ETA: I just looked at their completed auctions and they also all look like authentic Chanel's to me.
Click to expand...
No wonder they look so good. They're real. :smile:

So where does someone get so many brand new bags to sell? Where do you suppose these bags come from?
 
#6
Since Smoothoprter confirmed that the bags being sold by the Canadian ebayer are real... I should change the title of this thread to:

"Where in the world do some eBayers get so many brand new Chanel bags to sell?" :P
 
#7
I don't think any of her bags are new. They all look older to me, and show some signs of wear. I have a lot of shopaholic friends who go bargain hunting on eBay. There are bargains to be had if you have the time and the inclination. They wear them a few times and then want to sell to buy something else.
 
#8
I met this guy once who worked at Saks and told me that if Saks finds bags with anything wrong with it - a pen mark, stitching come loose, a rip in the lining, etc - they throw it out. He said he had purposefully "destroyed" some merchandise on the inside just to get them for free! He was kind of an interesting guy, so I would take what he said with a grain of salt, but its always been my fantasy since then to be a Saks employee and get some Chanels for free :smile: But maybe some of these ebay sellers get them with these small defects - I've seen a few descriptions that say there is a pen mark on the inside, or something to that effect.
 
#10
I asee some chanel bags with texter crossing the chanel made in trademark saying because its a display they are forced to do that to prevent store returns.
Is that a common practice>?
 
#11
Jayne1 said:
I usually buy full price at the Boutique, so I never really think about fakes. However, I always assumed, that if I were to come across a reasonably priced Chanel, and if I looked really carefully, I would be able to see the shoddy workmanship. Or something really, glaringly wrong.

Lately, I have been watching eBay and I was curious about this bag:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Genuine-Chanel-B...2QQihZ005QQcategoryZ63852QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The initial red flag for me, was the fact that the seller has so many, new and unused Chanel bags up for sale. What is she, a store? If you scroll through her pictures, you can see the clasp reads, "Chanel" "Paris"... so isn't that wrong? Or not?

Then I noticed the same inside clasp on this listing, the one that Smoothoprter pointed out:



So my questions are:

1) Do you find that some fakes are remarkably well made?

2) Is it possible that just because a bag reads "Paris" it can still be genuine?

3) Would you be able to tell the above bags were fakes, if the seller hadn't exposed the inside plaque?

4) Is anyone else a bit shocked at the quality of some replicas?

5) Is it possible these fakes are being made in the same factories as the genuine bags... because they look really good.

(Moderators, if I posted this in the wrong place, please feel free to move it. :smile:)
Click to expand...

My answers:

1. Yes, absolutely. They are getting better and better while quality of authentic bags are getting worse and worse.

2. No. I can't judge a bag with just one factor.

3. Just by the look of its leather, I won't buy this bag.

4. Not just yet :smile:

5. No. I don't think they are made at the same factory as genuine ones.

There was an article about a manufacturer company in Korea. They have the most sophisticated and high tech equipment for making fake bags.

It's too scary to buy Chanel on ebay unless you know the seller very well.
 
#12
Jayne1, LOL!! That IS the question I always ask myself. They either have $$$ out the ying-yang or an extremely high limit on their charge cards!

Shoe gal; employee theft is the #1 reason dept. stores up their prices (and that is WAY beyond what the designer/brand sets as it's retail price). The amount stolen is in the billions; per YEAR.

A few years back I went to a friends house; she was holding a "girls night out" and there were manis/pedis, waxing, girlie stuff. There was this chick selling LV, Gucci and Chanel bags. I owned a few and thought I'd check them out. They were gorgeous and the prices were amazing. I mean, I looked these bags over and over and over; even the ones I ALREADY owned and I could not see ANYTHING out of place. In fact, it was the chick selling who told me they were fakes. Hate to say it, but I would never have known. The prices were MUCH cheaper than retail but NOT rock bottom. Example: LV speedy 35. I paid (back then) around $300 for mine. Her price was $150. Everything was about 50% cheaper than retail.

The bags were flying out the door. She handed out her business cards and said if anyone was interested in starting their own business, to call her. She would set them up w/"her buyer".

Well, about 5 months ago, her buyer, who had a stall in our local mall (and in a number of others plus many home businesses) was sent to prison along with/30 others for fraud, money laundering, and numerous other charges. I wonder if this chick went to prison? HUGE front page article in the Washington Post; esp. as a good portion of his profits were going to support terrorist groups.

Lovely.
 
#14
I know for a fact someone can have a lot of bags. I have at least 100 designer bags that I've collected and most are carried just a few times before they sit in the closet for months or years. I have decided to sell most of my Louis and Gucci's but can't part with any of my Hermes or Chanel's just yet.
 
#15
cjj said:
... employee theft is the #1 reason dept. stores up their prices (and that is WAY beyond what the designer/brand sets as it's retail price). The amount stolen is in the billions; per YEAR.

A few years back I went to a friends house; she was holding a "girls night out" and there were manis/pedis, waxing, girlie stuff. There was this chick selling LV, Gucci and Chanel bags. I owned a few and thought I'd check them out. They were gorgeous and the prices were amazing. I mean, I looked these bags over and over and over; even the ones I ALREADY owned and I could not see ANYTHING out of place. In fact, it was the chick selling who told me they were fakes. Hate to say it, but I would never have known. The prices were MUCH cheaper than retail but NOT rock bottom. Example: LV speedy 35. I paid (back then) around $300 for mine. Her price was $150. Everything was about 50% cheaper than retail.
Click to expand...
Employee theft? I had no idea.

Re: "girls night out" -- I know someone who has a few bags from these parties. Very nice prices, but not, as you said, rock bottom. I asked if they were fakes and she said she didn't think so, but also didn't really care, because they were a bargain. So we were closely examining her bags (Prada, Chanel and one Gucci) and they looked real to me. I knew they couldn't be genuine... but they did look authentic.

Part of the thrill for me, is buying in the store, from my very special SA, and knowing it was shipped direct from Chanel... to me. I have also bought from a trusted eBay seller... but buying a bag at a house party just seems so wrong. Remember Carrie Bradshaw not being able to buy that bag out of the trunk of some guy's car? A true purse lover wrote that scene!
 
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